StevenGuthmiller

Yeah, if you consider McDonalds & Subway good stuff! The Midwest has been a food "wasteland" for many years. I think it may have a lot to do with the farm land basic "meat & potatoes" mentality. Not that there's anything wrong with that, farmers are just down to earth people who are normally not real "down" with extravagant things. Around here an Applebee's is a gastronomic adventure!! Although in the larger cities, it is getting better. There are some fairly good restaurants in the town that I live in. Steve

Yes Bill, I use a piece of sandwich bag for my rear windows in convertible tops. Looks more realistic than sheet plastic. Steve

Thanks guys! I got a few fairly good shots this morning so this one is now under glass. Steve

Well, I finally finished this one last night & got a few pics this morning. I've been on a bit of a "slow roll" lately, making progress on my builds, but not as quickly as I'd like. I think it turned out fairly well. I like the color combo, I think it makes it look kind of "classy, but it was just another reminder of why I detest working with black! Every little smudge & speck of dust stands out like a sore thumb. I relegated it to it's case @ break neck speed as soon as it was finished! Just a short list of additions: The interior is nothing more than a detail painted piece straight from the box with the addition of embossing powder carpets, resin cast door handles & rear view mirror & door lock buttons. The engine was taken directly from the AMT '62 T-bird kit & dressed up with some additional wiring & plumbing. I elected to leave the air conditioning pump on the engine, although I know that the interior has no air conditioning components. I scratch made the fittings for the hoses. I also removed those unsightly "screw posts" from the radiator brace that were always present on these old annuals & added a hood latch plate & a few detail decals. The headlight buckets were hollowed out, the buckets were foiled & some scratch made lenses were added. I also drilled out the center of the tail lights & added clear back up lights. The skirts were taken from an old Johan '61 Chryser kit, modified to fit, & foiled. I just taped them in place just in case I ever decide to remove them. Although, I actually think that they add a touch of class. I like them. I also added a "sandwich bag" rear window to the uptop. Anyway, here it is. I hope you all like it. Any comments or criticisms are always welcome. I think my next project will be one of 2 Dodges. Either a Modelhaus resin '56, or more likely an MPC 1965 Monaco. Thanks guys!! Steve

Well, it's finally done! Just like my last project, it took me more than twice as long as my average build. I like the color scheme, but this just reaffirmed the fact that I hate working with black! It looks "sexy" when it's done, but it's a major pain during, & after for that matter. Trying to keep the dust specks at bay is an exercise in futility! I'll just leave you with a couple of "teaser" pics for now. I ordered a photo booth setup last weekend, but it just shipped today. I'm anxious to try it out. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day here in the great white north, mid 40s & sunny, so I should at least be able to get a few outside shots, that is if I can keep the dust goblins away for a few minutes. Anyway, thank you to all who posted & kept me motivated during this 2 month project. I appreciate it! Steve Good thing I ordered some more "Dust Busters" a while back!!

I believe I've heard the same thing. Steve

Must have been. I know that there are a lot of guys who drill them out & install new buckets. Yuri from Russia is a master at this. I believe he buys aftermarket buckets & lenses intended for military models. I just thought this would be a way to save some extra parts by using what was already there. Except for the lenses of course. Unless you're talking about the "Homemade Lenses" thread that I started a while back. That was just a technique to save me from having to scrounge up a bunch of extra lenses for this technique. Steve

Simpler times, that's for sure. About 10 years before I was born, but if I had a time machine.......... Steve

Yes, I don't replace the buckets. I just use my Dremel tool to hollow out the plastic where the headlight used to be leaving a bowl shaped bucket & then foil it & add lenses. Here are a couple of pics. Steve

You're pretty much stuck with old AMT & MPC kits if you're looking for Bonnevilles Frank. As far as I know, there hasn't been a new Bonneville kit produced since the early 70s, except for the trumpeter '60. Just wanted to tell you Frank, I don't replace the headlight buckets, I just "create" them by hollowing out the old ones with a dremel tool. It's a slow tedious job, & sometimes it works better than other times. It's a judgment call as to whether it's worth the effort, but I do like the realism it adds. Steve

I'm pretty sure I've got a whole box full of these old cans around somewhere. The paint was barely usable when it was fresh, I'll bet it's some wonderful stuff now! Steve

Thank you Greg! Thanks Bill! The tires are just the AMT Firestone Deluxe Champion "parts pack" items. I've bought probably a dozen sets over the past few years, mostly for the wide whites, so I have a lot of the narrow whites to use up. Steve

Thank you Gary. I appreciate your kind words. All I do is the best I can, & I enjoy this hobby immensely. That's what's important. Steve

Thanks Charlie, but the engine was stolen from the new AMT '62 T-bird kit. I used the same engine for a '61 Starliner build a little while back. This '62 is sitting on my bench right now nearly finished. I just have the plumbing & a few details to finish up & it will go "under glass". It seems like it's been a long time coming. I'll be glad to have it finally finished. Hopefully sometime this weekend. Steve

Very cool Monty!! Thanks for the link! I bookmarked his page immediately! I don't use a lot of white lettered tires, but when I need some, I will definitely use him! I really like the concept of molding the tires in white resin, painting them & polishing the paint off of the letters. Should work fantastic! He also has some fantastic looking GM door handles! I can use about a million of those! Thank you! Steve

I have that same problem! I probably have 3 or 4 sets of the big rear tires laying around. I've never been a fan of the fat rear tire thing. I believe I used my last set of BFG's on my '62 Chevy. I like the Good Year Rally GT's that I used on my '61 Ford almost as much. Steve

I found this mildly interesting. I bet it will bring a couple of bucks! Steve http://www.yahoo.com/autos/s/world-only-chevrolet-corphibian-heading-auction-land-sea-170005022.html

Sharp! One of the few I have yet to add to my collection. Nice job on this one Ray! Steve

Steve

Sharp Dann! One of the nicest '70 Chevelles I've ever seen! Don't you just love those old BF Goodrich tires?! Steve

I would almost bet on that! Steve

That would be pretty close to mine if you scattered about 150 kit boxes around it! Steve

Do you actually build models in that room Dann? If so, would you like to come & clean mine up for me? I won't show any photos of mine out of embarrassment! Mine has enough dust in it alone to fill a 100 pound feed sack! Steve

My guess is that you'll never get it for less than the a fore mentioned $20.00, but give it a shot. It may be well worth more than 20 bucks to someone just in need of a hood, rear bumper or a good interior. I would also pass myself because of the A-pillar. I hate fixing pillars & avoid it whenever possible. The Johan '66 Toronado is by no means easy to find, or cheap when you find a good one, but probably not as rare or valuable as other kits. Steve

They don't get any cuter than that!! The car's nice too. Nice job Matt! Steve