StevenGuthmiller

I guess it's all up to interpretation. Some prefer Alclad, others chrome. I use both depending on application. I believe a good builder will use anything & everything at his disposal. That being said, I'm not sure how chrome can be "out of scale" Brett. Steve

This is my latest acquisition off of ebay. A Johan '65 Chrysler 300. Never been painted, very lightly glued. Only missing stock wheels, radiator & firewall. Radiator & firewall shouldn't be to hard to replace. Stock wheels may be a little tougher. Paid $77.00 for it. A pretty good deal if you know what these usually go for. That is, if you can find one! Steve

Nope, just flat black. I do the old "rubbing it down with your fingers" trick to give it a little bit of "sheen". Therefore it may look a little on the gray side because of the lighting

I used to use Easy Off & it does work great, but I got tired of "suiting up" with a mask, gloves etc. everytime I used it. Super Clean works just as well, if not better, with a lot less hassle & toxic fumes. & it's completely bio-degradeable, so when it's all used up, (& I use it over & over again) you can just dump it any old place. Now whether or not all of the stripped paint etc. in it is bio-degradeable.......? steve

I've tried it many years ago with limited success. I probably wouldn't mess with it anyway with these one piece interior tubs. In my opinion, there's not enough detail there to justify spending too much time on something that will be really hard to see after the model is completed anyway. I'm intending to give it a try soon on a few more detailed up-coming builds. I'm hoping to get going soon on a '64, '65 & '66 Chrysler 300 trio all of which at least have seperate seats & a little better interior detailing. As far as this Mercury goes, I slacked off a little & didn't do my usual floor mats to add a little more interest to the floors. Steve

A little more Progress. Interior is finished & ready to be installed. Hoping to finish it up sometime this weekend. Steve

That's true Tom. But personally I stay away from the "Nasty Built-ups" I'd rather pay a little extra for a good "canvas" to start with & generally, if you're patient, something will come along. I just picked up a Johan 1965 Chrysler 300 built for $77.00 this week. No sign of being a glue bomb, no paint anywhere on the kit. Only some stripe decals on the hood & trunk. Only thing missing are stock wheels. If you can even find one of these in nice shape, they generally go for well over $100.00. There was a painted one for sale @ the same time that went for. $100.00. I have nothing against resin kits. They can be a great option. Personally, I much prefer styrene. Steve

Looks great! But I have to say, having them re-plated sounds like a lot less work & You don't have to really worry about whether or not they come out right. A little more expensive to re-plate, but I'll stick with that for large parts. Steve Steve

I use acrylic craft paints for fine details most of the time, so it's just water clean up. I avoid using any kind of thinners on my models. way too many bad things can happen when thinners come in contact with styrene. Steve

At least! Most of the stuff from Modelhaus runs between $80.00 & $100.00, if they even offered it. Many times, with a little patience, you can find a nice restorable original on ebay for less money. For example, I picked up a very nice '59 complete Bonneville hardtop on ebay for $63.00. The Modelhaus kit runs $79.00. Not a huge difference but I'd much rather have the original styrene kit over resin any day. Steve

I just use cheapo paint thinner, (mineral spirits) for cleaning brushes & thinning my enamels for brushing or airbrushing. You can buy it by the gallon almost anywhere. Seems to work just fine. I've had a gallon I've been using for the past 10 or 15 years, & I still have half of it left. Not sure what you mean about the "messy paint jobs". Don't use it to strip paint off of your model if that's what you mean. Steve

Nice Emmanuel!! The Starliner roof line really was beautiful. I wonder why Ford only made them in '60 & '61. I have one of these in my line of builds to do. My interior tub is a little messed up so I'm waiting till I can find a new one. These are getting increasingly hard to find & exceedingly expensive! you did a great job! Steve

I love the color Jim!! The gold in the anodized trim area is a little much for me, but the color combo is pretty cool. I love the stance too. It's got that "50s tail dragger" look. Nice! Steve

I'm sure you know, there were no "kits" made prior to 1958. before that it was all promos, whether plastic or metal or a combo of the 2. They were few & far between & the plastic as you know was horrible. X-EL did a couple of repops of prior to '58 promos such as the '57 Olds, but other than that, finding unusual subjects from before '58 in restorable condition will be either be resin or something you probably wouldn't want to spend 25 cents on. Steve

I have all of my work done with Chrome Tech. They do very nice work. My only complaint is turn around time. The web site says 3-4 weeks. I've never recieved my shipment in less than 6. Many times it's approaching 2 months. Steve

This is Dusk Pearl. MCW Lacquer. Steve

I have a question for you Richard. Didn't these '59 Chryslers have a 2-tone top? If I recall correctly, my '59 Desoto had a 2-tone top. Not that they all would have been that way. Just curious. Steve

I think spray cans may be the answer. trying to get a good finish with a brush is nearly impossible in my opinion. Go get yourself a couple of cans of spray paint, Tamiya, Testors, whatever. That's where I would start. If you want to use brush paints for your interior & the like, I would use flat paints. They dry much flatter & smoother than gloss paints. You can always spray a gloss or satin clear over it to get the finish you want. Steve

This model was never done in kit form Hench, so you're only option is a promo. The original promos that were done by Johan in '59 were made of a type of plastic that usually warped horribly over time, so you're best bet is going to be an X-EL repop. X-EL took over the molds from Johan in the 80s & re-did some of these old models in styrene. Problem is, X-EL is now out of business & every indication is that the molds are no longer & these old models will probably never be made again. Therefore, the prices only rise over time. I doubt if anybody has done, or will do a resin cast kit of the '59 New Yorker, so if you really want one, you're kind of stuck. Steve

I'm liking it Richard! But you should expect as much from me. You & I are on the same wave length when it comes to these old kits. I really wish some resin caster along the way would have done an interior for some of these old X-EL promos. I have the '59 Desoto 4 door hardtop that I had begun converting into a convertible years ago, but kind of gave up on it due to the lack of interior. Maybe some day, eh? Steve

I clean mine immediately after each use. When I was young & stupid, I would just run a little thinner through after I used it & call it good. Strangely, after a while, they kind of stopped working. Now I dis-assemble & give it a good cleaning out after each use & have had a great run with my cheapo Badger 200 for the past few years. Steve

Yes Pete, They are automotive lacquers, so I'm assuming this "airbrush cleaner" is some sort of automotive lacquer thinner. But I know it's not the same as the lacquer thinner from Home Depot, etc. This is a much more powerful solvent. I've soaked airbrush jars in the store brand stuff for days & it never really cleans them too well. This stuff from MCW will clean them like new in minutes. Steve

Actually, I'm not even sure what it is, but occasionally when I order paint from MCW, I get a can of "Airbrush Cleaner" from him. This stuff will clean anything out of your airbrush....Pronto! I should find out exactly what it is because I'm sure I could get it a lot cheaper from my local auto body supply store. Steve

A good place to look for kits, paint & supplies is Hobby Lobby if you happen to have one nearby. There are no hobby shops in my town either Charlie, so whatever I can't get at Hobby Lobby, I have to get online. Not always the cheapest way with shipping costs & all, but you don't always have the options. There are a lot of good model supply sites online that carry everything you'll ever need. I buy a lot of my stuff from "Model Roundup". Just google it. There are many others & some of the people on the forums may have some good places for you to check out. Just ask around! Steve

What I'm assuming you're talking about Skip, is what most of us would probably refer to as "Crazing". When the plastic "wrinkles" up from the paint being too "hot". Usually occurs from applying lacquer paints directly over un-primed or insufficiently primed plastic. As far as I know, the only remedy would be sanding. The damage is in the plastic itself. so in order for it to be repaired, you must remove a layer of plastic. As far as bleed through, I would think that as long as you sufficiently prime after sanding, there sould not be an issue. Several coats of a good primer may be necessary. Steve