StevenGuthmiller

I could understand the fear of one of these things bearing down on you Bill! Especially when you're only 2 feet tall! Steve

Looks all "Minty Fresh"!! Great job Doug. Steve

In my opinion, You're really defeating the purpose when you park that way & opening yourself up to all kinds of bad circumstances. If I were the type of guy, (and I'm not) you'd be the first guy getting keyed!! Steve

That's beautiful!! I love the color! But I do have to go along with some of the others. For the first time, I do have to say, I hate those wheels. They just don't look good on such a beautiful car. Sorry. Steve

Oh, I got ya Bob! I had myself confused. In '59 the Fairlane made the leap to the Galaxie & the only difference between the two was the roofline. I guess a guy could pretty easily do a Fairlane by transplanting a roof from a '59 Edsel Corsair & using some Photo etched scripts from the '57 Ford Fairlane

Amt did do a kit of it. They did an annual in '59. These Jr. Craftsmans came later as a simplified kit with no custom parts. Of course they were all "promo style" kits with no motor etc. but they all were back then. Steve

Almost looks like yours was painted that color. That's the color of the plastic on mine. I have all of the parts for mine. Already had the chrome replated which is a big reason why I'm starting it now. I have a lot of other projects I'd rather start but still need chrome re-done. Steve

Yes it was! A beautiful charcoal gray '61 Starliner! Steve

I guess my main question would be, if you rub it on, how well will it work with parts with deep recessed areas. A plastic spoon is one thing, a 1966 chrysler front bumper & grille is another! Steve

This is where I'm headed next. Another old "Junior Craftsman" kit. This one will be painted 2-tone "Geranium" & "Colonial White". Steve http://public.fotki.com/stevenguthmiller/1959-ford-galaxie/

Thanks everybody! I'm just glad it's done! This was one that I kept putting off just because I'm not real excited about the styling of the '59 Merc. Adding the top added a little interest for me to get me going on it. I've always loved the silhouette of a convertible with the top up & the late 50s Mercurys had a very unique top. Steve

Check out item #221467571175 on ebay. Buy it now price of $15.90 plus &4.80 shipping. If it works as well as it looks, it'll be well worth the $20.00 price tag! Steve

Thank you everyone for your kind comments! I'm looking forward to the next one! Steve

First off Harry, the credit for the back light has to go to someone else. Can't quite remember where I heard it. You're right to an extent about the lighting. It does show the color more accurately. I just thought the "shaded" pictures "softened" everything a little plus showed the reflectivity of the paint a little more. The bright sun just seemed to make everything so "stark". Steve

Thanks Richard! But I can't completely take credit for the rear window idea. I built a '61 Bonneville convertible a while back that I neglected to put a rear window in & someone on this forum called me on it & suggested the "plastic bag" idea. Being as most or all of these early annual convertible kits that came with an up top had no rear window glass, I thought it would be a good technique to at least try. Works great!! Just proves that you're never too old to learn a new trick or two. Steve

Here's a few more pics in the shade. Personally I think it looks better in a little more "diffused" light. Steve

Just finished up this morning. This started life as a "Junior Craftsman" 1959 Mercury Parklane convertible. Pretty much box stock again except for the modified '59 Impala top & a few small scratch built pieces. The colors are "Sagebrush Green" & "Tuxedo Black" with a black & medium green interior. Tires are the "Parts Pack" articles & the rear window was made from a piece of ziplock bag. As far as Mercurys go, this was probably one of my least favorite body styles, but no "Ford" collection would be complete without one. I think I'll stick on the '59 FoMoCo theme & do a 1959 Ford Galaxie Next. Steve

Just finished up this build last night! Look for pics in "Under Glass" soon! Steve

They do have the promo wheels scott, heck, they even have the '60-'68 dog dish caps. Although, I'm sure dog dishes would have been pretty rare on a 300. Then again, it might be interesting to research that a little. I need to research a little anyway, some of the 300 caps carried over from one year to the next, half way through the year until the new ones were out. So there may be a possibility that the late '65- early '66 caps may have been the same. I have a set of '66 wheels I could use. Steve

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