StevenGuthmiller

Yup. It’s all down hill from here. ? Steve

Flaunt it if ya got it! ? Steve

I’m only 60, but at this stage, I’m still doing pretty well. we’ll see what time brings. Steve

Thanks guys. Well. I've moved on to the engine, and after some thought and experimentation, ( as well as some input from fellow members ) I've decided to go with a single 4 barrel intake on this project. After putting it out there for suggestions, I settled on using the intake manifold from the Revell '68 Firebird, atop the Revell '66 GTO engine. Of course, I couldn't help myself from some additions and modifications. First, I opened up the intake manifold, and dug out one of my coveted Fireball Carter AFB carbs for the intake combination. While I was fiddling around with the parts, I happened to notice the casting plugs and accessory bolt holes on the ends of the heads while analyzing some reference photos, so some quick drill bit work added them in. Something likely to only be seen on one head, if at all, but it was about a 5 minute thing, so why not. With the manifold being open, I embarked on the short journey of creating a valley pan for the engine, which I of course got carried away with. But, before you say it, yes, I am fully aware that most of it will likely never be seen, but the point was that it was another fun challenge. Steve

I have nothing against 3-D printing, and think it's a good thing to an extent, but also a bad thing in some regards for the hobby. Personally, with my limited tech abilities, and at my age, I'm not going to embark on a whole new endeavor that's going to eat up even more of my precious model building time, but as I said, that's my personal take. As I said, I think it's good for the hobby as it stands now, because it can offer some things that we lack as far as detailed parts. I love some of Fireball Modelwork's parts and will routinely incorporate them into my builds, for things like finely detailed carburetors, which our hobby has lacked for decades. Where I feel like 3-D printing can hurt the hobby is by depriving the builder of actually learning how to build. I understand that it might be much easier to print or buy an extremely highly detailed engine, or engine compartment, or whatever it might be, but at some point, it's going to become just a matter of printing up a show caliber model that will basically require little skill or thought outside of painting and assembly. Old school modelers, like many of us, who have learned how to shape and mold plain old plastic into something tangible, will no longer have any relevance. Not that I care, because I'm still going to do things as I always have, but at some point, nobody is going to have to go through the thought process, and the dexterity that it might take to build something yourself anymore, whether it be something as small as a power steering pump, or as large as a complete interior, or for that matter, an entire car, when they can just print up something that's going to be better anyway. I would hate to be a judge at a model contest in the near future, who has to decide between the perfect and astronomically detailed 3-D printed model, versus the guy who spent months and months laboring over scratch made parts that are inferior to the 3-D printed ones. Do you reward the finished product, regardless of how it was obtained, or do you reward the actual work that went into it. I think that 3-D printing is probably the future of the hobby, without a doubt, but I think that it's proliferation also has some quite sad drawbacks. Steve

Had a run in with a car door at work.........The door won. Occupational hazard you could say. Fortunately, it never hurt too much, and since the evening of the first day, hasn't bothered me at all. Really looking forward to seeing what's under my thumb nail when it falls off! Steve

Thanks Trevor. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to go with the '66 GTO engine instead, The valve covers are more correct, and the intake actually fits better anyway. Now for some valley pan detail. Here's another little thing that grabbed my attention while looking at reference photos that was an easy add. Always looking for little details to add to enhance appearances, it was pretty quick and simple to add the plug and bolt hole detail on the ends of the heads. Not a big deal, but at least one of them might be noticeable in the finished engine compartment once a wash has been applied. Steve

I think I'm headed in the right direction, BUT........ I'm thinking that the engine from the '66 GTO kit might be a better starting point. It appears to be closer to the '64 in appearance. The valve covers from the '61 kits are wrong, and with the '61 having a generator instead of an alternator, the pulley configuration is incorrect as well, and thanks to a couple of members who sent me engine parts from the GTO kit a few years ago, I have plenty of parts for that engine to start with. Anyway, after opening the manifold up, and digging out one of my coveted Carter AFB carbs from Fireball, I think I'm on the right track. Steve

Thanks for all of the input guys! It appears at this point that options are very limited. Most of the old annual kit pieces appear to be so poorly defined that I'm pretty sure they're out. It's looking like the best option will be the manifold from the '68 Firebird, but I think I'm going to investigate modifying it a little. I'm thinking that I'm going to try to open the voids that should be present in the manifold itself, and add a valley pan underneath. Wish me luck! Steve

You should be able to use any of the Testors clear lacquers over it. I know for a fact that it will not damage the plastic, but as I use almost no decals of any kind, I can't tell you with certainty that it is safe to use over your decals. Steve

Does anybody happen to have any information of where I might find a Pontiac 4 barrel intake manifold? I'm considering going with a single 4bbl on my '64 Bonneville, but they don't seem to be very prolific. Everything has tri-power intakes. Already looked at the intake from the '68 Firebird, but it doesn't look right, and it's too wide. Thanks! Steve

Thanks guys. Yes. That's why I said "it will need some refining". I'll probably thin it a little more around the inside, and depending on clearances when I get all of the carb/intake/air cleaner/hood dimensions all figured out, it might need to be thinned more for height as well. Once I have that all dialed in, I can add seals with some thin sheet plastic. Steve

For those of us who are "Do-It-Your-Selfers", who like to find uses for everyday items, or even better, things that you would normally pitch in the trash, here's a little tidbit that I stumbled across for anyone that might have the desire to make a filter to go into that full sized air cleaner. I've probably thrown out thousands of these lip balm tubes in my life time, but I just happened to look at one the other day, and something just clicked. I thought to myself, If that's the right size, with a little work, it just might make a convincing air cleaner element. Well, it's pretty close, so off to the shop I went. It is still going to get a little more refining, but once finished and painted, it should look pretty good. Steve

No. Very little brush painting went into this dash. Almost everything that was painted, (the dash itself, gauge pods and knobs) were separate pieces and were sprayed. Nearly everything else was foiled, a decal or silver wire. The only things that were brush painted were the wood on the dash and steering wheel, and the fine background detailing on the ribbed trim, Bonneville script, etc. Steve

I don't normally get this carried away with a dashboard, but in this case, I'm building a '64 Bonneville convertible and wanted to upgrade the interior tub. As I was going through the trouble of completely rebuilding the door panels, and other aspects of the interior, I wanted the dashboard to exhibit the same level of detail, so I dove in pretty deep. Some parts swapping, scratch building and a fair amount of detailing went into this dashboard, as well as some gauge face decals. "Best Model Car Parts" provided the gauge decals. Otherwise, it was a lot of scratch made and repurposed parts, with plenty of foil and Alclad chrome paint. Steve

Nothing special or interesting for me. I use scraps of any kind of soft cotton material that I have around. There are always cotton T-shirts or flannel of some sort that's heading for the trash, so rather than pitch it, I cut it up and use it for polishing. I use a Micro-Mesh polishing kit for my sanding purposes, usually starting at about 3600 or 4000, and working my way down to 12000. Then, with the scrap cloths, I use a little Novus #2 "Light Scratch Remover" followed by Turtle Wax "Scratch and Swirl Remover". Probably not the most perfect finish in the world, but I seem to get plenty of compliments, so I figure I must be doing okay. By the way, I use Duplicolor, Perfect Match, "Protective Clear Coat Finish" straight out of the spray can, (usually about 5 coats) for my clear. Steve

You can get as thin as .010 through Evergreen. However, for windshields and such, I prefer a thinner product. I use a "Clear Lay Film", manufactured by "Grafix" that I purchased at Hobby Lobby many years ago. It is .007 thick, so therefore more flexible for curved glass. I have grown to really dislike kit glass in general. Far too thick in most cases, so you get all of that weird refraction, especially around the edges, that grossly detracts from the realism of a model. The lay film that I mentioned above is not as clear, or as glossy as clear styrene, but to my eye, it still looks far more realistic than glass that's way too thick. I'm sure that with some extra polishing or maybe a coat of Future, the shine level could be improved, but I usually just use it straight from the package and find it satisfactory. Steve

Get rid of as many of them as you can and replace them with thin, more in scale, clear plastic sheet. Steve

That’s why it works so great for aging transparent steering wheels. ? Steve

Both are just curbside builds with no engines. and slab chassis. Pretty much box stock in both instances, with a few added enhancements like better tires, wheels, mirrors, etc. Steve

Just cruising through the adds quickly, I think there are at least a couple that never made it to production. Personally, I've never seen a Johan '71 Torino, or '70 and '72 Delta 88. I'm sure that there are plenty of us that would have loved to have seen the Oldsmobiles! Steve

Just as a comparison, this '58 Buick was clear coated after foil. The '59 Dodge was clear coated first, and then foiled after. Just my opinion, but I feel like the foil retains more of it's reflectivity if it's exposed, and not covered with clear. Steve

I’ve done it both ways. Personally, I have had better results applying “most” of the foil after clear. Steve

No. The hood hinges are separate pieces that are held in place with magnets so that the model has the option of being displayed with the hood in the open or closed position, as well as removing it completely. Steve

The Steering wheel came from the Moebius ‘61 Ventura/Catalina kit. I modified it by thinning and slightly tapering the spokes, grinding down the center, and then adding my own scratch made spoke detail and center hub. The acrylic wheel itself was easily “discolored” slightly by spraying a coat of Testors clear enamel over it. I knew I’d find a practical use for that stuff someday. ? Steve