StevenGuthmiller

Thanks guys!! Steve

Yeah, I know that. But in this day & age some people get all upset if you say Merry Christmas instead of "happy holidays". I like to tweak them a little!

At the risk of offending anybody.....HAPPY JESUS CHRIST'S BIRTHDAY!! Steve

Well, not exactly scratch built. It's a modified Revell 1959 Chevy top with a sandwich bag rear window! Steve Thanks guys! it was a fun year! Hopefully this year will be as much fun! Steve

Thanks guys! They were all curbside builds so that may explain why things went quite well. The next ten may take a little longer. A lot of those will require a little more detailing. Out of the next 8 builds that I have planned, only 2 will be curbside projects. But, I have really enjoyed building these old kits for the past couple of years. I've begun to consider myself more of a "conservationist" than a builder. I have begun to get real satisfaction out of saving these old kits, mostly as they were produced. I like to think that maybe I'm actually saving them for the next generation of modeler. Maybe in another 40 or 50 years, some one else will restore these old kits all over again. Makes me smile a little! Steve

I guess I'll get in this game. I had a pretty good year I guess with 10 finished!! Just finished the '64 Chrysler tonight! Steve

That's what I would use. Steve

I've sprayed Testors clear lacquer over decal paper after printing homemade decals. works just fine. Guess it all depends on what kind of paper you're talking about. Steve

The old AMT Cragars were always the best in my opinion. The '37 Chevy & the '65 Galaxie come to mind, but I know there were others. I had a 1:1 set on a Chrysler years ago & the AMT ones looked spot on to me. They had the correct spoke shape & the right "domed" center cap with the Cragar logo. Steve

When I was growing up most people I knew treated Mopar like the crazy uncle. It was Ford vs Chevy where I came from. Even though, in my family it was Chevy vs Mopar. My mother bought nothing but mopars, & my dad was a chevy truck guy. I'm a huge Mopar man myself! Steve

I apologize as well Christian. I prefer not to get into these arguments, especially on a model site, but sometimes the ball gets rolling & things go a little over board. Let's just call this one a draw! Steve

Not giving them a pass Jonathan. I get annoyed about poor kit engineering as anyone. Believe me, I've done my fair share of cussing when things aren't "as advertized". I just believe, in the grand scheme of things, it's not all that important. There are much more pressing things in life. whether or not a body line is incorrect or a roof is too high is of little consequence. Like any product, I think we should have a reasonable expectation that it will be done correctly, but if I have to choose between things I would like to be done correctly, I'd rather it were the brakes in my car than the engine size in the kit I just bought. Steve

You might want to do a little research before you start accusing people of things. I "NEVER" called anybody a "jack wagon", whatever that is. I merely brought up the HVAC thing as an illustration about why we should be focusing our "perfection" argument in other areas rather than something as basically meaningless as a model car kit. You're the one who made a production out of it! The way you jumped down my throat & used the tried & true "blame the Chinese" argument, I would have sworn you were a furnace salesman rather than an MD. I hope you treated your patients with a little more tact! Steve

Exactly! Everybody's an expert! & I'll bet that nobody here ever makes any mistakes & every thing they do & create is perfect. I don't like to settle for sub-par products either, but I don't pretend to know the model making business & even if I did, I think we should all have bigger fish to fry in our lives. Steve

There is no such thing as perfection! Good luck in you pursuit of it! Steve

Not buying it! If Honda can make a car that lasts me for 15 years & goes for nearly 300,000 miles, why can't Bryant make something that keeps my house warm, for 3 months out of the year, for 8 years? They can. They've done it in the past! The cars have greatly improved in reliability & longevity over the years & everything else has only gotten worse. Explanation? Steve

That's the problem! The house I lived in prior to this had a ten year old furnace & water heater in it when I moved in. Lived there 11 years & never touched either one. The washer & dryer that my wife & I purchased in 1987 is the only thing left in our new house that works properly!! I've had repairmen in my house cleaning or repairing the furnace and/or water heater a minimum of 12 times in the past 3 years. It's all garbage under the guise of progress. All of these companies managed for decades when they used to produce products that lasted 20 or more years! So, while some of these model companies may give us an occasional sloppy kit, which I assume is nothing more than an over-site, everybody else blatantly rips us off & tries to convince us it's because their products are greatly improved from the past! What a load of craaap!!! Steve

I think a lot of people are getting pretty worked up about a model kit! really? this is what people lose sleep over at night? You've never bought anything else that proved to be a disappointment? I built a house in 2001 that now needs every major appliance & system replaced from the furnace & water heater to the dishwasher & refrigerator. Let's talk about who's really passing off their junk on us in this country. I can live with a model kit with an "off" body line, how about somebody produce a furnace that lasts more than 10 years!!! Steve

Thanks Carl! steve

I usually pull the tape off as soon as the paint is dry enough to handle. Nice thing about Tamiya tape is, it sticks great, but it's also very easy to remove. Steve

For having several components of this build done, I still feel like I have a long way to go! Engine, interior & chassis are finished. Interior is basically right out of the box except for a few extra touches. Scratch built turn signal switch, door locks, gas & brake pedals & embossing powder carpet are the only additions. steve

Bingo!! Tamiya! The Scotch Blue is ok for grunt work, but I would never try to use it for anything critical. It's basically designed NOT to stick! Steve

Personally, I've never been a huge stickler for 100% accuracy. I leave that for the anal retentives among us. I'm just happy to have interesting & new subject matter & I'll be the first to say, Mobius kits are some of the finest I've ever seen in my 40 plus modeling career. So, keep up the good work Dave! You're doing it right!! Steve

They pretty much all do at some point. Some just more than others! Steve

Best & most obvious one so far!! Otherwise, it's all just preference. Steve