StevenGuthmiller

That's what I'm thinking. Primer! Steve

Still plugging along on this project. I'm hoping to finish up before the first of February. Leaving on a weeks vacation to warmer climes on the first, so I'd just as soon be starting a new project when I return. Body's all polished out, (except for a little on the hood) & the foil is finished on the body. Took almost a third of a sheet of foil to do this one! More than you would usually expect from a '65! Steve

Looks like you're off to a good start Rob. I mix my own engine colors, & most of my interior colors for that matter. Who cares if they're perfect. Although, I will say, the early Mopar blue was more of a turquoise color. The later Mopars used a blue closer to the color you used. But, as you say, it's supposed to represent a daily driver & a lot of guys used to "refresh" their engine paint occasionally. For my '65 Chrysler, I just used the same turquoise that I had mixed for my interior & then just added some white for the engine. Keep her going Rob! Steve

Mine will most likely be built as I always build them. Pretty much box stock. I don't worry a whole lot about being 100% accurate. Steve

I over did it a little & doubled down Mark. This week I picked up an even nicer version of a '65 Plymouth hardtop! I think I'm played out for a while! Steve

I enjoy those "way out" creations too. I've just never had any real interest in building them. I've never really understood why I have no interest in customs & rods. Even at a 1:1 car show, most times I'll rush right past that tricked out custom that everybody else is gathered around, to get a look at the stock '59 Desoto in the back! I guess you don't really pick the things you love, they pick you! Steve

Just came today. In excellent shape! needs a little work on the vent posts, but other than that, very nice! Steve

I'll bet I've built twice as many old Johan kits than anything else in the past few years, & I've still got a lot more to go. out of the next dozen or so builds I'm planning on, I'm pretty sure at least 8 or 9 will be old Johans. I have this Olds in my pile too, but I really don't know when I'll build it. Never been real big on compacts. Very, very nice job Ludwig!! I love the color! Steve

I hope so too Bill. I just figure you never know when the eyes, or something else, will go. I hope to still be modeling in my 70s! I just don't know how realistic that will be. Steve

Ten years from now, I'll be 62. Ten a year will make 100 builds. If I can still build after that...Great! Steve

If you like 300s Bruce, I've got a butte load of them coming up. Probably in this order. '65, '62, '66, '67, '63 & '68. Not all right in a row mind you. I do have some other stuff I want to build, but I hope to get them all done in the next couple of years. I still need to do a '56 & '57 at some point also. Steve

And there's nothing wrong with that in the least, as long as the ride was enjoyable! Me....I'm planning on another 10 a year for the next 10 years at least, until something gives out! Steve

It's funny because I have a ton of unfinished kits in my stash, but they're all from many years ago. Since I started again about 3 years ago & have "simplified" my approach to building, I finish probably 95%. I've built roughly 35 kits in the past 3 years & I can only think of 2 that have not been finished, mostly due to paint issues. I fully intend to revisit those 2 at some point. I'm guessing that I probably built maybe a dozen kits in the ten years leading up to my hiatus. Not a very good ratio! I find myself much more excited about the hobby now that I am finishing builds! Steve

I get the impression that "my chick" would just as soon have me doing laundry & cooking on the weekends instead of hiding out in my shop! But she does concede, it's better than hanging out at the girlie bars! Steve

There's a tough one to find! I'll bet finding a wheel cover for it would be an exercise in futility! Steve

Great stuff Ron! I've got that gold '65 Monaco hardtop on the list for this year too. The '66 Plymouth I just picked up is a convertible, otherwise, all of mine are hardtops. I don't know, I guess I have a thing for hardtops. Either that or a convertible with an up top, which the Plymouth has. Along with all of the Mopars, I still have to fit in a '58 Ford, '59 Bonneville & a '61 Starliner. I have a lot to do this year! Steve

Wow! What a douche! If I'd had his address, I might have made a trip just to punch him in the nose! I've been kind of keeping my eyes peeled for an original convertible too. I always thought a '62 vert with an uptop would make a great looking build! Steve

Just beautiful Ludwig! It's great to see these old Johan kits being built! I just love the hell out of them! Such great subject matter! Steve

Very cool Ron! It looks great in black! I'm in the final stages of polishing mine right now & you're right, I've been looking at the trim & realizing that there's plenty of foil on this one too! But at least it's all nice & straight for the most part. I have the '66 as well, which is the body style I really like! But I decided I could only build so many Chrysler 300s in a row & thought I'd get the less favorite one out of the way first. That way I wouldn't lose interest when I come back later to build the '66. I just recently built the '64, am working on the '65, and have the '62 & '66 slated for the bench this year. I also have a '63, '67 & '68 that I hope to build within the next couple of years to finish up the Johan 300 "lineup". Recently, I've been working on the mid 60s Plymouth line up also. I recently added a '67 & '66 Fury to the collection & am pretty excited about getting started on them as well. Very nice Job Ron!! Steve

The only problem with worrying about how many others there are like yours at the show, is then you're building for someone else, not yourself. Part of the reason why I've never been interested in shows & contests. I guess some people really enjoy the shows & such for a variety of reasons, & that's great! But personally, it would suck all of the fun right out of building, making it into a competition. But, we're all different & some of us love the competition & comradery. I've just always thought of it as a solo sport. steve

I voted # 5 without hesitation. It's the only reason I'm in this hobby in the first place. I've built aircraft, military, ships, trucks.....Just about everything at some point. I've built customs & race cars as well. I settled on stock builds because that's what I liked more than anything else. That's the only reason any of us should be building whatever we build, because we like it. Steve

I have one of the turquoise ones too. As well as a white one if you can believe it! The white one is going on my bench soon too. As usual, it will be built stock. Steve

Not sure if the AMT parts pack custom grille & bumper set has that style of headlight in it. Although it does have a '61 Style Chrysler 300 Grille! But I'll bet if you asked around & put up a post in the "Wanted" section, Chances are pretty good someone will have a set they'll be willing to part with. Steve

Those "short" axles are actually not axles Rob. They're "chassis pins" to replace the screws from the original kits. The kit you have is the from the Johan "USA Oldies" series which was made some time in the 80s. The original kit produced in '62 would have had the screws plus a few other goodies like some customizing parts, as well as the same "Long Ram" intake option as the '64 & the original rear bucket seat interior tub. But the USA Oldies kits are getting tougher to find also. They were molded in all kinds of funky colors like the yellow you have as well as colors like turquoise & red. I have a couple of these kits in my stash also. As a matter of fact, I was planning on building one myself in the very near future. The USA Oldies '62 Chrysler is not extremely rare yet, so enjoy yourself & build a nice one! Looking forward to seeing it! Steve

Welcome to the world of old annuals Rob. Anything made before about 1970 is going to be pretty much as you described. But they can still build up into petty nice models. I just finished a '64 Chrysler 300 & am currently working on a '65 & both of them have that same simple engine, chassis & under hood detail you mentioned. This is a pic of the engine bay on my '64. It has that "hole" in the engine you speak of, which is almost un-noticeable & the screw "cylinders" have been removed. (I hate the look of them too) Don't let the primitive detail on these old kits stop you from building them. You'll be missing out on a lot of great subject matter. Steve