StevenGuthmiller

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

Finished up the dashboard for my '64 Bonneville today. Steve

Thank you for not giving it a “witty name”. ? Steve

Thanks Keith! I estimated somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 parts or so in the dashboard. I believe that the dash is finally finished, short of some very small touch-up here and there. I added the gauge pods and decals, the tach, ash tray, (and cigar) vent knobs and parking brake release, attached the steering wheel to the column, and added a set of keys. Yeah, it's a Chevy key chain, but we'll just say his other car is a Chevy. Steve

Oh well. I still somehow manage to get the job done. Steve

I know where all of mine are too. Buried under a pile of junk somewhere on my bench! Steve

Appreciate it fellas! A little more done on some interior stuff today. Got the tach decal in place with a dab of clear epoxy for a lens. Added the speedo decal, along with a piece of clear sheet for the cover, and then trimmed it with another piece of fine wire. Never being one to let opportunity go to waste, I made the horn ring for the steering wheel with a shaped and polished wire Christmas ornament hanger. Edit: Just looking at the steering wheel photos that I posted, the first pic appears as if the end of the wire is just a straight, raw cut, but it must just be a weird reflection. I actually cut the piece with a wire cutter and then ground the ends to a slight taper and polished them to avoid just what that photo seems to portray. Steve

Thanks fellas! Steve

Glorious! That's top notch work right there!! Steve

When you only spend a couple of hours here and there, I guess it makes sense that it could take almost a year and a half to finish one project. Not the way that I prefer it, but it is what it is. Steve

First, you guys are way too organized! Every tool I own is scattered all over my work space! Second, how many tweezers do you own?! I think I have maybe 5, only 1 of which I ever use! ? Steve

Thanks guys! The speaker grille was there, but I added the defroster vents. Steve

Been a busy last few days with the holidays and all, but I managed to get into the shop for a little while today and begin some assembly on the dash board. Got the ribbed bright work, Bonneville emblem and dash knobs installed. Spent the most time fashioning a piece of thin wire for the trim piece around the wood portion of the dash. All of the other parts, (steering wheel, parking brake release, vent knobs and ash tray, are just in position temporarily. Patiently waiting for the gauge faces to arrive so that I can add the tach and guage pods, and finish up the speedo, then I can glue it all together permanently. Steve

The closest that you’re going to find for the Catalina is the AMT ‘67 Bonneville. For the Grand Prix, Lindberg did one in 1/32 scale, but I believe it’s earlier than ‘77. Nothing close for the Ford that I’m aware of. ’70 Galaxie is about as close as you’ll get in that case.

Are you sure about that? I've never seen a '68 convertible kit box. All of the convertibles that I've ever seen were promos, or at the minimum, built models. Somebody have a picture of the convertible box? Edit: Never mind, I found one. Must be pretty rare in kit form. Steve

No. Only the 2 door hard top in kit form, and the convertible was offered as a promo. Steve

The model manufacturers produced mainly top of the line cars back in the 50s and 60s, which means only Bonnevilles as far as full sized Pontiacs go. The only Catalinas ever produced in plastic were the recent AMT '62, and the Moebius '61. Steve

No. Steve

You’re going to get just about as many opinions about what paints are best to use, and what should work with what, etc, as there are individuals, but in the end, you’re going to have to find your own painting regimen, and when you finally do, stick with it as long as it’s working. I follow a lot of different forums and groups, and by far, the biggest problem most car modeling hobbyists have are paint issues. There are always a million suggestions on what you should use as far as materials and techniques, but believe me, what works for some doesn’t necessarily translate into success for everyone. It took me decades to settle on the regimen that I currently use, and there were hundreds of failures and a few successes along the way, but since I’ve finally settled on my current techniques and materials, I almost never end up with a failure and very rarely have to strip a paint job. That tells me that I’m doing something right. when you find that sweet spot you’ll know it. Take people’s suggestions, but craft your own technique and you’ll have repeated success. Steve

It’s not glued, but it is positioned where it will end up being.

I agree. You don't have to use the same brand for everything, (I almost never do) but you do need to know how what you're using is going to react with one and other. Best to ask questions. Now, I have heard of some incompatibility issues with Tamiya primer recently with some other paint brands, so you might want to consider that. You might want to consider trying Duplicolor primer. It might not be as simple to use as Tamiya, but you can rest assured that you can spray pretty much anything over it, and as long as there is enough of it to create a proper barrier, you're very unlikely to have any issues with it. Duplicolor primer/sealer, Scale Finishes base, MCW color coats, and Duplicolor clear. Steve

Seen this many times. I would be very surprised if the plastic were not crazed. Generally, when this happens, either the primer was applied too sparsely and the paint etched through all of the way to the plastic, or the paint was applied too heavily on the initial coat, which was more than the primer coat could create a barrier for. My general rule of thumb whenever using lacquers is, more primer is always better than less, and light coats with the paint. Steve

I've always just copied the picture from my computer and pasted it into the text box with no problems whatsoever. Nothing has changed at all on my end, but now, when I do that, it takes 30 seconds or so before the post appears, and when it does.......no pictures. Steve

That was my fear. Steve

Yeah, if everything else is fitting together properly, I would concentrate on a fix for the firewall itself as well. Is there anything you can do to lift the firewall and do your filling along the bottom? I'm guessing probably not if the firewall is also part of the interior floor, but a fix at the bottom would be less noticeable if possible. Steve