StevenGuthmiller

I just tried a Sharpie last night on a build with pretty good results. The 1960 Chrysler New Yorker I'm working on had gold anodized scripts on the hood, rear valance & front quarters as well as the vertical trim pieces on the rear quarter panels. What I did was of course foil all of those & then very carefully go over them with a gold metallic Sharpie. Gives a much more realistic affect than gold foil & is a lot easier than paint. Steve

That Del Rio wagon is much cooler than the previous Ford sedan kit! Never even bought one of those. Just didn't interest me. But this wagon I will definitely buy!! Steve

Does look a little better with the front end mangled Miles! Steve

But be warned Leslie, even a very good resin kit will, in all likelihood, require more prep work before painting or assembly than styrene. Many times there will be pin holes & voids to fill, warpage can be bit of a problem & chances are pretty god there may be a few part fit issues. These are things that may, or may not, arise with a good resin kit. If it's a bad one...... Steve

My mother in law owns one!! Whenever she visits, I make her park it on the street, honestly! Steve

Although, I think a repaint may be in order! Steve

Hmmm, that one's not even available here. Could be an old one that they don't make any more. might have just been old. steve

Surely no uglier than this!! These things not only hit every branch, they obviously hit the ground with great force!! Steve

Very nice Mark! You know I'm not real big on T-buckets & the like, but you always do such nice work on them. Great job! Steve

Waste of perfectly good sheet metal. I wouldn't drive one of these death traps any faster than 35 mph, even if it would go faster than that. Steve

Strange. Do you remember which Testors clear it was? Was it The Model Master #28139 "Ultra Gloss Clear Coat"? or was it one of the other Testors clear lacquers? (#1834 Wet Look Clear or #1261 Glosscote) I've never had that sort of problem with them. Although I have been having a cracking problem with the "wet look clear" lately. Steve

I think I've bought a couple of kits from this guy. Recently I got a very nice '65 Dodge Monaco from him. If I recall correctly, he was selling off a collection of an old gentleman who had passed on & his wife needed to get rid of his massive collection. I believe he had taken all of the parts off of the trees & placed them in plastic bags to save space. He must be coming into the home stretch. He had a lot more rare kits & resins a couple of months ago. I went back & looked & I bought my '66 Chrysler 300 from him as well. Steve

Understandable Richard. Some people really don't like cats. Some don't care for dogs. Others just don't believe in pets in general. I just won't tolerate anything hairy in my shop!! Steve

I used to keep a small kids dart gun handy many years ago with our first cat that we needed to teach to stay off of the kitchen counter. It didn't take her long to get the drift! Our latest cat however, wouldn't get the drift if you shot her with a crossbow! Steve

Plus the fact that most of the mirrors included in these vintage kits were notoriously bad & completely inaccurate to boot. You can only rob so many mirrors from your newer kits. Maybe my next step would be to come up with a few good designs & then resin cast a bunch & see if I can make a few bucks selling them. Steve

I used the back of a spot light from a '49 Merc kit for the head in this one. I think I'll use this one on the '60 Chrysler & then maybe try tho refine the design a little the next time around. Steve

It does dry slower than automotive lacquers, that's for sure. I usually let my clear coats cure for at least a week before I start polishing. The longer the better. Steve

Kind of along the same lines as guys who will pay $500.00 for a sealed vintage kit. Obviously a collector & not a builder. Seems a waste to me to buy a model kit just to set the un-opened box on a shelf & look at it. As far as they know, the box could be full of scrap plastic. I guess it's no different than people who restore real cars to better than new condition & then never drive them. All seems a little pointless to me. Steve

Holy Cow!! You could buy the real car in probably as nice of shape for the same price! It's nice, but.....Whoa!!

Thanks John. I knew I had to do something but my options were pretty limited. Steve

For any of you who build these old Mopars know that the late 50s-early 60s out side mirrors are almost non-existent except for the AMT '57 Chrysler 300 kit. So, I guess you gotta make your own! It's not easy with big "fumbly" fingers, but I guess it's not bad for a first effort. Steve

I got tired of waiting for that "mirror pack" John, & decided to do a little scratch building for my '60 Chrysler. These old late 50s style mirrors for mopars are pretty much non-existent except for the AMT '57 300 kit. So I thought I'd try making one. It's fiddly work but I think it'll work with a little more tweaking. Steve

I tell my wife, the first time I find a cat hair in one of my paint jobs, it' back to the farm for the cat!! Steve

I guess the first thing that pops into my head when I think of a girls car, just because my wife made the mistake of buying one from a friend when we were dating, is the Renault Le-Car! There's something seriously wrong with a car that shares it's engine compartment with the spare tire!! Steve

Being as the '59 Ford is in a bit of a holding pattern, work on my '60 New Yorker can progress a little faster. Body is all polished out, (no cracking paint on this one) & got a good start on the foil. Foiling isn't too bad on this one. The majority of it is in the rocker & wheel well trim & the window trim. I've really grown to love this body style after building the '60 Desoto & the '61 New Yorker. Yes, it had those enormous fins, but it was done in a way that gave the car a real "sleekness". I think Chrysler's decision to eliminate any side spears on the New Yorker was a good one. Gives it a nice "clean" look. I'm still having trouble getting good color portrayal with my camera though. It still looks more gray with a white top. In person, the colors are an exact match to the color chips. Steve