StevenGuthmiller

In most cases, the colors used in the recesses of badges are as a rule, basic colors such as black, white, red, blue, etc. As I use mostly lacquers for base colors and clear, I will then use lacquer for the badge colors as well. In most cases, I will just either dab a fine brush in a little of the desired color of lacquer if it's airbrush paint, or if it's lacquer paint in a spray can, I'll spray a little into a cup and then use the brush to paint the recessed areas, clean as you would a script, and then clear over the entire body with clear lacquer. In a nutshell, as I'm using lacquers, if I'm detailing a badge to be cleared over with lacquer, I use lacquer for the detail paint as well. On another note, if the badge is large enough to be foiled and detailed after all of the paint and clear has been I applied, I will do it that way. In the case of this '63 Ford truck, the badge was foiled after paint and clear, and the background was done using flat red acrylic craft paint. The rest of these were done with lacquer prior to clear coats. Some pretty dramatic affects can be achieved using this method. The badges and scripts on this '64 Pontiac Grand Prix and '61 Buick Invicta were EXTREMELY faint! Yet, they can be detailed quite nicely if planned well and executed carefully. Steve

One has to be remember that every car can be different as far as the techniques employed with things like badges. For that matter, more than one system might be used on the same car. As an example, some of the lettering on my 1:1 ‘69 Pontiac Grand Prix is chromed pot metal with painted background, but the badge on the hood is done in exactly the same configuration as the center caps on the wheels. A chrome bezel with a chrome and paint insert with a clear plastic cover. My recommendation is to find a system that works well for all of them and stick with that rather than trying to use different techniques to try to be in exact accordance with the items on the 1:1. Sometimes it’s in your best interest to pick the best hill to die on. ? Steve

The roof was the last thing. The body was completely painted and polished first. Then the foil, followed by the vinyl top. I will confess that I masked off some of the window trim prior to painting the top and foiling and then foiled it afterwards, but much of it, such as the drip rails, were foiled prior to paint and cleaned off afterwards. Sometimes there are no set rules. You just have to assess the situation and use whatever technique appears to have the best chance of success for a particular situation. I’ll use every tool that is at my disposal to achieve the best results possible. Steve

In either case fellas, it has no bearing on badges on a 1/25th scale model. If anyone can tell what “sheen” the paint on badges of this size is, well, more power to them, but yeah.......not. Even if you think you can tell in a close up photo, you can forget about it with the naked eye. Not possible. Steve

Not only does it work, but in my view, it’s the absolute best way to detail badges! Steve

That’s the technique I used on my ‘68 Dodge. Steve

To the contrary. It looks very good! Steve

I remove the paint from the scripts before clear. Steve

Excellent!! Steve

You certainly could do that, but it sounds like a lot of unnecessary work to me. And if you’re sanding rather than using a solvent to remove the paint from the script, there’s a high probability of sanding through the foil. Steve

That's the scary part. No builder required. Steve

Certainly doesn't require anything fancy. I bent this coat hanger in about 30 seconds 20 years ago and have used it for painting every body since. A couple of short pieces of tape on the inside of the body will hold it in place just fine. Steve

Another vote for lacquer thinner. For airbrushing that is. I would stick with enamel thinner/mineral spirits for paint used for brush painting. Steve

Thanks everyone! Thanks Tony. I had that idea a few years ago when I was working on a '68 Olds 442 project. I wanted to be able to show off those beautiful Fireball Modelworks carbs, so at the very least, I wanted a removable air cleaner. While I was considering that, I wondered about how difficult it might be to make a "hollowed out" version with and air filter element. Well, it turned out quite well, so I've begun incorporating it into a few models. Takes a little extra time to make, but I've never been concerned much about time anyway. Steve

Who me? I gave up on this discussion quite some time ago. The more I read, the more pointless it seems. So if I read your post correctly, we should just eliminate the term "scratch made" from the English language, because it's an impossibility, and does not exist. Everything that mankind makes is from "existing materials", zero exceptions. Anyway, It's been fun guys, but this discussion seems to have really become an exercise in futility. In the end, it is completely irrelevant whether we consider 3-D printing "scratch building" or not, isn't it? It's here to stay, and that's the end of it. Steve

Same question as "painting parts on the sprue". Steve

Hi Barry. I've been using M.A.D. pre-wired distributors for some time and really love them. Each pre-wired "kit" comes with a wired cap, a white resin base, and a length of wire the correct size to be stripped and the jacket used for boot material. Everything is included to do a nice wiring job. The looms or "separators" as you called them are just the thinnest plastic sheet that I had, with four holes drilled in a line as close together as possible, and then the outer perimeter cut and sanded to the shape desired. Then of course they are painted and simply threaded onto the appropriate wires. Hope this is a satisfactory explanation. Of course there are multiple techniques for creating wire looms all over the modeling realm to investigate. This is just how I've done them relatively quickly with things that I have on hand. Steve

Wonderful Jim! I'm glad that you were able to find what you needed. Finding a combination of tubing and wire that not only fit together properly, but the right size to look somewhat close to scale is the difficult part. Steve

Hi Jim. The antennas are by no means a secret. I can give you brief summary of the construction, but what I unfortunately cannot give you are the exact sizes of the materials used. The base is just made of plastic, and I didn't really record or pay attention to what sizes of rod that was used. It's my usual practice just to grab and eye ball the plastic stock until I find a size that seems about right. As for the tubing and wire used for the mast, I bought it a long time ago and don't recall the sizes. They came in 3 foot lengths, enough to last me the rest of my modeling career, so I don't believe that I saved any information on them. That said, here's a general description of how they were made. I started with the base by choosing a piece of rod that looked about right for the body of the base, and then sanded it to somewhat of a rounded taper. Once that looked about the right shape, I drilled a hole the same size as the mast tubing into the center of the cone shaped rod. Then I laid the rod on a flat surface on a piece of double sided tape to ensure it didn't end up on the other side of the room, and cut a short piece of the tapered end of the rod at an angle with a #11 blade. Then I selected a slightly larger piece of rod than the first, and cut as thin of a slice of it as I feasibly could, and then glued that slice to the bottom of the angle cut tapered rod. Using the drill bit itself as my holding tool, I inserted it back into the hole on the rod, and then sanded the bottom of the larger piece of rod as thin, flat and even as possible. Once it looked correct, I finished drilling the hole through the bottom of the base. Finally, the finished base was painted with Alclad chrome using the required method. This is of course the most difficult, or I should say, the most involved portion of the antenna, as it requires the most work. The rest is easy if you have the correct materials. The base of the mast is nothing more than a very small, thin walled, stainless steel hypodermic tubing. Yes, the same stuff that the make hypodermic needles with. You can buy it in lengths online, (I bought mine on eBay) but as I've already confessed, I don't remember the size. Likewise, the upper portion of the mast is just thin, stiff, steel wire, the correct size to fit fairly snugly into the center of the tubing. Once you have these materials in hand, it's just a matter of cutting lengths of the tubing and wire that you desire for the size of the antenna that you want. (I use a cutting wheel on a Dremel tool to cut the pieces and then grind the ends flat) A couple of turns with the tip of a sharp #11 blade in the end of the tubing to remove any burrs will ensure that the wire slips inside smoothly. For the ball on the tip of the mast, I just dip it in a little 2-part epoxy and then let it cure fully. Nothing else is really required, but if you desire, you could dip the epoxy ball in a little Molotow at the end. So, that's how I do antennas for basically all of my builds with varying methods for making the bases, depending on shape and size desired. I wish I could be more help with the sizes, but unfortunately......... Steve

Thank you gentleman! Steve

I would like to take a moment and thank you all for all of your wonderful comments, and a special thank you to all of those who followed along and encouraged me, and offered suggestions along the journey. Your interest and input help me a great deal as the project progresses. You're instrumental in keeping me motivated to continue on with these long projects, and for that, I am truly grateful. Likewise, I would like to thank any of you that may have contributed materials, parts, or just plain advice to help me to bring this project to fruition. Above all, I would like to thank the academy............Sorry, I couldn't resist! Sincerely, I appreciate all of the help and encouragement! Steve

? That is pretty freakin’ cool! Steve

I can’t argue with any of that Bill. Makes all the sense in the world to me. Steve

We're not talking about "sticking together" model kits. We're talking about scratch building versus 3-D printing Whether that be a single part, or an entire model. The discussion is about making something from nothing, regardless of the method. You're wandering off a little Richard. And taking things a little too seriously I might add. There's no need to get all wound up because others have a different view than you. Nobody's "sneering" at anyone. Some of us just feel that creating something on a computer is different than someone creating something by hand. Don't know why that gets some people so heated. Steve

Well folks, after nearly a year and a half of poking and prodding this project, it's finally finished! For those of you who followed my WIP thread, you'll know what went into the construction, so I won't bore you with the details at this time, but by all means, if you have a question, I'll be more than happy to try to answer. Thank you all for bearing with me for...........forever!! Hope you enjoy. (Sorry, it's a little pic heavy) Steve