StevenGuthmiller

Unfortunately, they never produced an uptop for this kit. Personally, I love the look of an uptop. Thought about modifying one, but I think I'll save that for an up coming '59 Merc convertible build. The '59-'60 Mercs had a unique top with a wrap around back window so I think it would add some interest to the build. This one will be pretty much black all around. Black wheels & top boot with a red & black interior. Steve

I have used that technique from time to time. As a matter of fact, I used to paint all of my kits with flat enamels & then clear coat. That way it was easy to custom mix colors & with the flat paint, you didn't need to worry about the runs, sags, fish eyes & orange peel that could be a problem with gloss enamels. I moved away from that in favor of automotive type lacquers mostly because the drying & curing time are much shorter than enamels. Using lacquers is pretty much the same anyway. The color coats dry pretty much flat & it's left to the clear coats to do all of the "Shiney" Steve

Thanks guys! It's looking better, but I've had more paint issues with this kit than anything I've built in the past couple of years. I have just a touch of polishing to do on one side & then hopefully I can begin the foiling process this weekend, along with some more interior work. I'm thinking that now that the paint work is about finished, this should be a relatively quick build. Steve

It's an original issue AMT kit. I got a pretty good deal on ebay for this one. It was a complete, in the box kit. Most of the parts were still on the trees. The only issue was a clean split in the middle of the windshield frame. Paid about $50.00 for it. Steve I love black too Nick. It's just always been a pain in the neck for me. Superficial imperfections that you would never see in a lighter color stick out like a sore thumb with black! It can be a little frustrating!

Actually, there's nothing more beautiful than a nice glossy black paint job. But there's also no color I hate working with more! Every little scratch & ripple stands out like the grand canyon! I guess I'll just live with whatever I get & then I'll stay away from black for a while. By the way, this is an AMT '60 Merc convertible. Steve

You may not even have to remove it Shane. I would try just going over the top of it first. Even a medium shade of brown would probably work well. Steve

Excellent Shane!! This kit looks to be a great one & you did a terrific job on it! I do have one small tip that I've learned over the years. You can take it or leave it. The black wash in the door & trunk gaps looks very stark on a light colored body. I've done many kits like that in the past & I've found that a wash of a darker shade of the body color looks much more realistic. Either way, it looks great! Steve

Charlie. I got the idea for the antenna from looking @ Richard Manson's '57 Pontiac promo re-build. I liked the look but I didn't have any "surgical" tubing to make it with. But I do have lots of plastic sprue, so I thought I would try it with that. Started out by heating & stretching the lower part to the size I wanted, then heating & flattening the base on a hard surface. Cut it to length & then drilled out the top to accept another piece stretched thinner. Cut that to the length I wanted & then just a touch of heat to the tip. Painted it Testors "chrome silver" & glued it to the body. Pretty simple operation. Took probably all of 10 minutes to make. Steve

Thanks every body!! Your words are inspiration for me. I'm always trying to find ways of improving my builds without spending months & years on one project. I'm not much for contests & the like, so I do the best I can in a short amount of time while still trying to produce a nicely finished model. Having missed out on all of these great old annuals from the late 50s & 60s I have a lot of time to make up. But I am making a dent. Thank you again for all of the kind words!! Steve

I'm sure you're right Billy. I know several cars from the movie were salvaged and restored. I vaguely remember seeing photos of one of the stunt cars that had been saved some where too. Steve

A few fun facts about the movie Christine. The car in the movie was billed as a Fury. The '58 Fury came only in Buckskin Beige with plenty of gold trim. I would imagine it would have been possible to order one in red but even then, the interior was unique also. Not that many true '58 Plymouths were destroyed in the making of the film. Only a couple were used for "Beauty Shots" & I believe they survived. The wrecked cars were mostly basket cases to start with & were comprised of '57 & 58 parts & were used over & over again for different scenes. Some had no interiors, thus the blacked out windows. Many of the trim pieces for the bodies were cast in plastic & rubber & painted to give the cars the "Fury" look. The last I heard, all of the "movie wrecks" went to one salvage yard where, as you can imagine, they've all long been picked over for any useable parts. Nice job on the Plymouth Jesse! Steve

Thanks guys. This one took me a while, but it wasn't because of the BMF. Actually Rich, I think I spent more time on my '59 Dodge build doing the foil than on this one. It wasn't a cake walk, but it didn't seem to go too bad either. Steve

Fresh off the bench, (finally) is this original issue AMT '58 Buick Roadmaster. My usual box stock build with a few "embellishments". Painted a reasonable facsimile to "Spray Green" with a "Hunter Green" top. I added a set of Modelhaus Buick wire wheels with the "parts pack" Firestone wide whites, a parts box continental kit, mirrors & door handles from the Monogram '59 Caddy kit & a scratch built antenna. Other than that, what you see is what came out of the box in '58. Steve

I really didn't know too much about the Canadian cars until I came across photos of a 1961 "Plodge" on the net one day. A Dodge body with a '61 Plymouth front clip & interior. It was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen! I wish some one would do some kits of these cars. They're so interesting! Great Pontiac!! Steve

Very cool!! I've never been a big wagon fan, ( maybe because I spent most of my childhood in one ugly wagon or another) but that was the 60s & 70s. The 50s is a whole different story for me. While I'm still not a big wagon fan, the 2 door wagons are really nice! I could see myself driving one of these in '57! Steve

I agree Skip. I remember when I was a kid, most of the guys I knew were running some "cheapo" tires on their cars. By the time you spent the money on the Cragars, You didn't have money left for expensive tires. Besides, you were going to just burn those up right away anyway, right? Steve

Thanks guys! As far as I'm concerned, The Cragar SS wheels look good on pretty much everything. For me it's usually stock wheels, or Cragars! There is nothing else. Steve

This is one of those hard to find kits that I hope to add to my collection some day also. Just waiting for the right one to come along. Personally, I prefer the hard top, so that's what I'm shooting for. You knocked this one out of the park!! Great job! Steve

Thanks Guys! I guess you could say I'm a Cragar SS freak! Had them on my first car & they've been my go-to chrome wheel ever since. I don't remember what kit the BF Goodrich radials came from, but I love the detail on them, so I hoard them if I find a couple. Nice big white letters, That was the tire & wheel combo to have when I was a pup! Steve

You have much more patience than me Rich! I bought a couple of these old promos many years ago, & you could almost sit & watch the bodies warp! Nice job on another difficult subject! Steve

The settings on my camera are not set real well for out door shots. I seem to be getting more "blue" than I should be. I'll have to fiddle with it a bit. But anyway, here's an indoor shot that is probably a more accurate representation of the true color. And again, thanks every one, for the motivating comments! Steve

Don. Like I said, I'm not 100% possitive because I built this kit many years ago, but I believe it was MCW '69 Chevrolet "Azure Turquoise". The now defunct hobby shop that I used to go to years ago carried some MCW paints in a spray can & I'm pretty sure that's the paint I used. You can get the airbrush version of that color from MCW now, I have some. You may be able to still get it from him in a rattle can also. Steve

Thanks everybody! Lee, The side windows are very easy. Just pieces of clear sheet plastic cut to size, trimmed with foil & glued in place. Mike, The "bubble top" roofline was the standard in '61 on all of the GM cars & was replaced in '62 buy the more formal "convertible look" tops in '62 on all except the '62 Belair hard top. There may have been some cheaper Pontiac, Buick or Olds hard tops that carried over the bubble top roof into '62 as well. Not sure about that. Steve

It's pretty obvious to me it's the '62 Belair kit. The shape of the vent windows in the first pic & the fact that there's only four tail lights in the last is all the evidence I need. Looking good too! Steve

Thanks guys! I love the "bubble tops"! I have a '61 Buick to build yet & I can't wait until Mobius comes out with the '61 Pontiac. That one is gonna be a real peach!! Steve