StevenGuthmiller

That’s a good question. And one that I can’t answer. I’ve been using the same bottle for the past 20 years. ? Steve

Happens all the time. All one has to do is visit a couple of Facebook groups and read through a few threads to see that there are an awful lot of people offering advice that shouldn't be. Someone will ask for instruction on a particular subject, and invariably he'll get a couple hundred responses. With a little investigation it can become obvious pretty quickly that a lot of the guidance given is something that the respondents themselves haven't even mastered. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're trying to BS anybody, but I personally wouldn't take any direction from anybody that's not willing to back up their recommendations with some photographic evidence. Trying to help is only helpful if it helps. Steve

True. And I don’t think you’re ever going to get the “dipped” look with Duplicolor clear. It’s just not the nature of the beast. I usually use about 5 coats. Seams to be about the perfect balance. Enough to protect for polishing, yet not enough to start covering detail. Steve

Oh I believe that a local station might cover it. It’s the national network news that I no longer waste my time on. They seem to be more interested in the latest “sensational” story, (often creating it themselves) and trying their best to scare the bejesus out of everyone, than they are just “reporting” the news.......wherever it occurs. Steve

Agreed. Steve

Looks fabulous! I think you’re on the right track. You’ll eventually get it down to a science! ? Steve

I guess that's why they call the enormous area between the east coast and the west coast in the U.S. "fly over country". It's just a vast wasteland full of genetic mutants to the people in the population centers of the country. You know, kind of like in the Mad Max movies. Steve

The wife and I had to have a little laugh yesterday when this story was featured on the national, network news. Not because fires in Canada is funny, but because according to the networks, nothing happens unless it happens in New York or California. Every time we have a catastrophic weather event, or something like this smoke issue from the Canadian wildfires in my part of the country, nobody knows about it until it eventually hits the east coast. We had 1/10 of a mile visibility, suggested mask use, and outdoor events canceled in my area due to Canadian wildfire smoke several weeks ago, off and on for a week or more. Don't remember seeing any national news about it, and if there was something I missed, it was likely nothing more than a blip. Same thing happens every winter when we get hammered by a huge blizzard. Doesn't count until it makes it's way into New York. Steve

Personally, I would start by foiling all of the side trim, and then, using a dark brown paint, do the wide portion of the lower trim that's supposed to be wood grain. I would probably take it even a little further and paint the wood grain area with a light tan enamel, and then when dry, do a thin dark brown acrylic wash and allow the dark brown to draw away from the molded in wood grain ridges to create more texture and a little more of a wood grain affect. Then of course, with a little thinner on one of the tightly wound Tamiya conical swabs, wipe away any paint that gets on the surrounding chrome portion of the trim. Then, using the same technique, flow a thin black wash into the voids in the remaining upper and lower trim areas, followed by careful paint removal from the ridges of the trim with the same swabs barely moistened with thinner. You would be surprised at how well this sort of technique works on fine detail, not only for trim, but for badges, scripts and chrome parts as well. Steve

Why not just foil them and then use washes for the background? Steve

Here's another part that I recently made from just basic shapes as Bill suggested. I needed a wiper motor for a '64 Pontiac, so rather than try to scrounge something from another kit, I decided that it was just as easy to make one from plastic sheet plastic. It will do the trick very nicely. I didn't take photographs as I progressed with this one, but you can pick out the individual shapes and pieces used for the overall part just by viewing the finished part's photographs. Steve

I agree. Don't get too involved right off the bat with stuff that's too complicated and takes a half a dozen different materials, especially if it's a part that can easily be substituted from another kit. As Bill stated, look for the basic shapes in a part and devise the best way to put the part together using those shapes. Here are a couple of basic and relatively simple examples. You can put together a pretty easy GM power steering pump with basically 3 shapes, starting with an appropriately sized plastic tubing or rod for the base. With a little filing and sanding, you can make the "bottle" shaped portion from thicker plastic stock. And finally, the cap from another piece of plastic rod. Then, if yo wish, you can continue on to make things like mounting brackets pretty simply with thin plastic sheet and thin rod for bolts. Steve

I did something similar a dozen or so years ago when I paid around $300.00 for a mib Johan ‘61 Plymouth Fury. Other than that, I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $150.00 or $175.00 for a kit, and that includes some pretty rare stuff, including Johan “flat box” Plymouth Fury’s from ‘64- ‘67, and Chrysler 300s from ‘62- ‘68. Steve

I’m with Joe. I almost never use Novus #3. If the pads have been used in succession as they should be, there shouldn’t be any reason why you can’t move on directly to #2. Steve

Old kits are all that I build anymore. it helps to keep me motivated knowing that I’m not building the same kit that 5,000 other people are building. Luckily for me, I filled in the vast majority of my wanted vintage kits 10 years ago or more, when it was actually fun to bid on eBay. You know, back when you might be able to bid $40.00 or $50.00 on a Johan 1969 Roadrunner, and actually win it! It appears to me that most prices for these old kits have more than tripled, as a rule, over the past 6 or 8 years. But, the prices reflect the market, and if people don’t mind paying $600.00 for a model, I guess that’s their business. Myself, I’ve got enough subject matter to easily keep me busy for the rest of my life, so it bothers me little. I will say though that it gives me a bit of a chuckle when I see people asking $300.00 or $400.00 for a ‘60 Ford Pickup, or a 1971 Dodge Demon, when Round-2 is about to re-issue them! ? Round-2 seems to be destroying quite a few individuals dreams of fortune as of late! Steve

I knew right away it wasn’t a Palmer. The body was far too “in proportion” for a Palmer! ? Steve

I would just finish polishing around it, and then touch it up with a brush. Lightly polish the touch up area, and chances are you’ll never know it’s there. Steve

I would just get some cheap, craft store, acrylic craft paints. You can do some pretty convincing weathering with just craft paint and nothing else, just using wash and dry brush techniques. Steve

I had been buying cases of acrylic display cases from "Pioneer Plastics" pretty reasonably for a few years. I think I was getting them for somewhere around $6.00 or $7.00 apiece? Since I moved my models to stand alone cabinets, I have empty acrylic cases everywhere!! Not that it's a bad thing. I use them mostly now for transport purposes to shows and such, and when the day comes to thin out the built kit herd, each one can be sent off in it's own case. Steve

A lady in an SUV with a half dozen six year old kids inside! Steve

If you don’t want to cover them, you’re gonna have to clean them. There’s nothing in between. Steve

And if the body in question was painted with enamels, it's a pretty quick and easy operation to strip the paint and begin again. There really shouldn't be any reason to ever toss out a body because of a bad paint job. Chances are extremely high that it will be salvageable. Steve

What is the shade of blue your using? If it's a darker blue, or at least a medium blue, you can use Testors enamel gloss. Testors clear enamel gives you a nice gloss with a single wet coat, but it yellows fairly rapidly, so use over a light color isn't recommended. It also takes a long time to cure, as do all of Testors enamels, as well as most enamels. For that reason, if you're using enamels, you have a couple of options. Either you can use a dehydrator to try to speed up the curing process, or you can just plan on putting it in a safe place for a number of weeks while the paint cures. Way back when I was using Testors enamels, once the paint and clear were applied, I just planned on letting it cure for a good 6 weeks to 2 months, especially if you plan on doing any polishing. The paint should be dry enough to handle after a week or so, but I wouldn't do much else with it until it's fully cured. Just be aware that Testors clear enamel can run and pool, so don't apply it too heavily. Just enough to give full even coverage, and a glossy finish. While it's a little testy to work with, as are Testors enamels in general, a fairly decent finish is possible. If you plan on going this route, just plain old Testors primer, whether enamel or lacquer primer, will work just fine. As a matter of fact, back when I did the paint jobs depicted below, I often used Testors "Metallic Silver" in a spray can for my primer. Here's a couple of old models shot with Testors enamels and clear that I painted many years ago. They could be fairly presentable if I ever decided to finish them. Steve

Sounds like you have the basic inclination required then. Now settle in for a long and illustrious ride! Steve

It was a bugger to get in and out of, I can tell you that!! Steve