StevenGuthmiller

You're right Carl, it does look pretty dark. One thing I have learned with this MCW paint is that it "usually" looks darker in the bottle than on the kit. Plus I almost always use white primer, even with a darker color. Lightens them up a bit. Generally, I'm not a big fan of dark colors. We'll see what happens. Steve

Thanks Everybody!! As usual, your kind words give me the inspiration I need to get right back into the shop! THANK YOU!! Steve

It is Richard! Not so much 1960 for me. That just happens to be the "heart" of the era that I love! From about 1958 to around 1962. With a few other "variants" thrown in here & there. Steve

Thanks Everybody! I will admit, I think the color combo is a nice one. I just had more issues with painting this one than I have in a long time. But I did learn some things along the way & if I had it to do over again, it would probably go a little smoother. Oh wait, I do have it to do over again. I still have a '60 Merc hardtop to build! No black next time though. Maybe a nice blue or green. Steve

Ron. I've been on a 1960 kick myself lately. More just because I love the 60s & they're just way under represented in todays kit line up. I've recently finished Plymouth, Dodge, Oldsmobile, Buick & Mercury & still have Chevy, Pontiac, Lincoln, Chrysler & Imperial to go. Froghawk. That's a beauty my friend!! I hope mine comes out that well! Thanks guys! Steve

I promised pics of my '60 Merc convertible from my "Man I Hate Black" WIP. Well, here you go. Thanks for encouraging me through this one guys. I think it turned out ok. Steve

No Chris. I'll be building it as a curbside. I just can't bring myself to cut up a vintage kit. Especially one as nice as this. I might consider it if it were a glue bomb or an otherwise damaged kit. But I figure in order to keep it some what stock, I'd have to use the original interior tub anyway so why spend a bunch of extra time & effort detailing an engine & chassis. Steve

I have a convertible too Ron. As a matter of fact, I picked up the convertible a while back, & then when the opportunity arose to get a hardtop body, I snatched it up! For some reason the hardtop kit seems to be much harder to come by. Steve

It should be a fun one guys! Charlie, the color I've chosen for this one is called "Bronze Rose". I have a bottle of a 1962 Mopar color called "Luminous Brown" that looks very close. Pretty much a reddish medium brown. Not to everyones taste, I know, but you know me, I like the more unusual colors. If nothing else, it'll be different! Hard to get the right light for a photo, so I took a couple that would give the best idea of what it looks like. I believe photo #2 is probably the closest representation. Steve

I got lucky enough a while back to pick up this 1960 Edsel hard top for a pretty good price. Hoping to get a good start on it yet this week. Steve http://public.fotki.com/stevenguthmiller/1960-edsel/

FInished!! Pics to come in "Under Glass" soon! Steve

Sorry Brett. I,ve been posting pics directly from my computer so my space is limited & I have to delete some occasionally. One of these days I'll start posting them via Fotki or something. Steve

Finished up the interior for the '60 Merc tonight. Was having a hard time finding good lighting for pics, so they're not great, but here they are just the same. Steve

Beautiful Sean! I started one of these many years ago & never finished. I removed the top from mine to do a convertible version being as MPC had seen fit to include the top boot with the hardtop kit. Some day I'd like to finish it. That is if I didn't have 50 other projects to do! Very nice job Sean!! Steve

My first "real" attempt with Alclad. I think I love the stuff!! I had "dabbled" half heartedly with it in the past, but this time I thought I'd try to do it right & I was amazed at how nice it looks. Don't think I'd be comfortable with doing bumpers & the like, but it worked great for these small parts. Now I'm thinking about ordering a bunch of different colors for engine bay detailing & bright work panels on bodies. Something makes me think some aluminum Alclad on the rear quarter panel bright work of a '57 Chevy would be amazing! Steve

Welcome Dane! You're correct. this is a great forum! There's every level of building experience here, from the novice, to the crazy good pros. No need to be embarrased about your level of expertise here. Every one is greeted with the utmost respect. A great bunch of wonderful people. I just joined recently myself & I love it here. I spent some time on some other forums also where everything was discussed, from the weather to politics. If I want to talk about the weather, I'll talk to my neighbor! Have fun! You'll find it's a fantastic place. Steve P.S. I have three words for you about stripping those "glue bombs". Castrol Super Clean!!!!!

Oh well Gary, we can't keep 'em all. That's why we build models......so we can!! Steve

That's a beautiful car Gary! Sometimes these Canadian versions were nicer looking than their American counterparts. I'm thinking, this may be one of those. The Parklane may have been what you might call, a little "over embellished". This one looks so clean, almost "racey". I saw "almost" because, after all, it is still a monsterous automobile! Steve

Thanks guys. All is going pretty well except my usual "window tinting" issues. For the life of me I can't figure out why I've been having such problems with coming up with a good system for tinting windows. I've tried acrylic & enamel paint & have had no luck lately. I'm thinking I'll just go back to the old tried & true system.....Just leave it clear!! It'll save me a lot of frustration! Steve

Thanks everybody! It boggles my mind sometimes how these companies can mess up these kits. AMT seemed to be a major "culprit" for these inaccuracies. The '68 Roadrunner comes to mind. But I guess they've all had their fair share. But I digress, When nobody else seemed to have any interest in doing things like the '58 Plymouth, the '60 Ford or the '57 Chrysler 300, to name a few, AMT came through for us 50s-60s guys! That's gotta be worth something. I would have switched out the white walls Alan, but at the time I had nothing else available. You'd think they could do a little better job with them so you didn't have to throw them in the trash! Steve

Just a couple of scratch built pieces I did for the '60 Merc tonight. Shift lever, rear view mirror & antenna. Debating whether to put forth the effort to shoot them with Allclad, or just paint them with Testors chrome silver. Hmmmm. Steve

With seeing a few '58 Plymouth builds lately, here & in WIP, I thought I'd drag out another old build. Not my best work by any stretch, it was my first build after my 10 year hiatis, so I was a little rusty. Some day, I'd like to do another one of these & do it a little better. First thing I'd have to give the ol' heave-ho to, is those wide whites that came with the kit. Same ones came in the '58 Edsel kit. I just hate 'em! Steve http://public.fotki.com/stevenguthmiller/1958-plymouth/

That color reminds me of the '58 Plymouth that I built. Mine is painted off white with a sort of gold-green top & interior. Keep up the good work Andre! Looking good so far! Steve

That's why I like to use the tape. My eyes aren't what they used to be either. My problem is, by the time I get done laying on 3 primer coats, 2 or 3 color coats & 3 or 4 clear coats, that moulding edge can get a little rounded & the blade can kind of have a mind of it's own. Scribing the edge of your mouldings can be a good solution also, but when you're dealing with something like that '58 Chevy...... That's a heck of a lot of scribing! On the ocassion that you find yourself with a kit that has rather faint trim, which happens a lot with some of the old kits, the tape thing works pretty nicely. Even if the trim is hard to see, you can still tape it off & get a perfectly straight line. Of course I only use this technique for long straight sections of mouldings, which are the ones that are hardest to keep straight. The rest I just do free-hand. Steve

John. Try using a lighted magnifier to start with. It really helps to be able to really see close up what you're doing. Another thing that works really well for me is to run a piece of blue painters tape along the edge of the trim after applying the foil & before cutting. This helps give an edge for the blade to "ride" against to keep your cuts straight. The contrast in color between the tape & the foil is also a great help. Make sure you use a fresh sharp blade for each job. They're not expensive, so don't skimp. There are a lot of great tips on foiling out there. These are just a couple. Steve