StevenGuthmiller

Personally I don't worry a whole lot about being 100% accurate when I'm building stock. After all, unless your going to enter a contest or some thing, it's going to be in "your" collection. It needs to make "you" happy. Nothing wrong with a little critique, but it all boils down to what you like. Many times I've done stock builds with colors that were not even availible for a particular make or model, just because I didn't like the colors that were availible. Steve

Thanks Russ! Actually, if anybody has any good tips on how to make some nice floor mats, I'm all ears! These were just made on a printer. I googled some photos of carpeting in the color I want & then just using a card making program I have on my computer, I added the "New Yorker" lettering & then printed them onto some card stock. Then just cut them to the shape I wanted. The card making software I have is probably 15 years old & my printer is a "cheapo" so I'm sure with better equipment, a guy could do a nicer job. I just felt these old Johan kits, with their lack of a transmission hump or any other floor detail, could benefit from something to break up the floor a little. Haven't gotten into the "flocking" yet. That's probably the next thing I'll have to start doing. Steve

Thanks Every body!! I've also got a '58 Buick Roadmaster hardtop that is in the works. Unfortunately, when I sent in the parts for re-chroming, The rear bumper fell of the tree during the process. So now I have to wait another month or so for it to be re-chromed! Oh well, such is life. Maybe I'll post a few shots in the "on the bench" forum. Steve

Here are my "inspiration" pics for this build. As you can see, the colors are very close. Steve

Many times they were William. In a particular year, Pontiac, Buick. Oldsmobile, etc. would all share colors with different names. Some times, those colors would be used in different years also. Check out a web site called "paintref.com". There, you can check out all of the availible colors for virtually any make & model of car all the way back to the 20s. you can see there that a lot of colors were shared just using different names. The colors I used on this build were not the same as the '58 Pontiac colors, they were just as close as I could get without having to custom order paint. Steve

Beautiful Dave!! I'm not much of a "Gasser" guy, But that's nice!! Steve

I picked up this kit more than 25 years ago at a little antique shop for $8.00. It sat on a shelf up until about a year and a half ago When I decided it needed to be built. It was in pretty good shape having only louvres on the hood & trunk lid to deal with. The only after market parts are a set of Modelhaus stock hub caps, ( not sure if the kit even had them originally) & a set of "parts pack" wide whites. The colors are actually '56 Chevy colors, "Laurel Green" & "Crocus Yellow" but they are very close to correct '58 Pontiac "Burma Green" & "Calypso Green". Steve

Revell probably has the best engineered kits in the business at this point in time. (Actually, Mobius would probably take that title) I have yet to buy one of these kits. They look great. Yours is beautiful! The red is enough to burn out your corneas! Very nice job!! Steve

That's true Tom. Many years ago, when I was a kid, I had a lot of friends who were builders also. By the time we were all young adults, they had all given up, but I kept up with it. I don't do swap meets & contests, (nothing really happening in my area) So the only ones who ever see my builds are my wife & kids, & believe me, they could care less! So if nothing else, a forum like this can be helpful in at least determining whether or not I'm doing it right. Steve

Boy, You nailed this one!! I don't think you could have picked a better color. Absolutely beautiful!! Steve

Nice Tony! Simple or not, it's perfect! I love that old school flat black look. I think it accentuates the lines of the car & the '49 Merc has beautiful lines. Very nice job! Steve

I was right. It's flawless!! Beautiful Merc!! Steve

Seriously Paul? I can't even get the parts organized & figure out what I'm doing in 6 hours! I've been polishing the paint on a '59 Edsel build for the past week & I'm still only half way done. Reminds me of the guys that would build an entire house for charity in less than a week. I was in the building trades & it would take us longer than that just to do our part. Just can't get my head around it! I usually take a couple of days, at least, just to do the foiling. But, I'll admit, it looks nice! Steve

Awww, C'mon Art! Are you really gonna leave us hangin'? Just one picture, really? I'm not even gonna comment on how great it looks 'till i see more pics. But from what I can see, looks flawless!! Steve

A little bit of red pinstriping & it would have "American Grafitti" written all over it! Nice job Tommy!! Steve

Thanks every body! I really appreciate all of the comments! Niko, I've actually found these old Johans to be the opposite. From What I can tell the trim, scripts, etc. are quite pronounced & relatively easy to foil as compared to some of the kits from AMT from the same period. I have a '60 Plymouth Fury that I built a while back. Didn't really have any issues with that one either. I'll post some pics of that one soon. Biggest issue I have with some of these early Johan kits is having things like the tail light bezels, with all of those compound curves, molded to the body. They can be a real bear to foil! The tail light bezels on this '60 Dodge had to be foiled. Steve

Thanks guys!! Now that I've got the "photo resizing" thing down, I can post a few more things without having to re-take photos. Steve

Beautiful Ron! Exactly the way a '40 Ford should look! Nice job! Steve

You're correct about the metal flake. I guess one option would be to spray over it with a clear metallic. Although, I'm not sure how noticable it would be in 1/25th scale. I don't think I've ever seen one on an Olds Amere, but I'm no expert. Steve

Don't have a lot for interior pics on this one. This is the best I've got. Evidentally, I didn't take any interior shots before assembly. Sorry! Steve

Just a little break from the mopars here. Plus I had to do a little experimenting with resizing some photos. This is the latest 1958 Impala from revell. Built completely box stock with the included conny kit & cruiser skirts. I love the color on this one! It's correct "Cay Coral" with a white top & a tri-tone interior with different shades of coral. Steve

Thanks Guys!! Peter, Most of the interior detail was just done with paint, thin masking tape & a lot of patience! Although, one trick I used was to use a very fine tipped marker on some of the finer lines. Word of warning though, if you use markers, don't use any sort of clear coat afterwards. It bleeds like crazy! I learned the hard way! Steve

Here you go Dan. These are all of the Mopars I currently have in my collection. Steve

No need for that Peter! While I love Mopars, I love anything made between about '55 & '65 equally. Steve

Thanks everybody! Michael, I took some interior pics before final assembly but unfortunately, they're over the 2MB limit. If I post them, I'll have to re-size them first. Thanks Alan! These old Mopars are my weakness as well. I have a few more finished that I'll post in the coming days & at least a few more to build. I have a '59 Imperial, '60 Desoto & a '60 Plymouth Fury that are finished, & still have a '59 Plymouth Fury, '60 Imperial & a '60 Chrysler New Yorker left to build. Along with a few "post" '61 Chrysler 300s. '62, '63, '66, '67 & '68. Needless to say, I'll be busy for a while. Steve