mikemodeler

The Testors lacquers can spray up to a couple of bodies, depending on the kit and how many coats you apply. Personal tastes will dictate how many cars you can get per can. If you buy them at Hobby Lobby, use the coupon! Tower Hobbies is offering free shipping on orders over $25 and they carry a lot of paint, might be cheaper than driving to West Virginia.

Either print out their 40% off coupon or make sure you have a smart phone to locate their coupon online and get your savings!

The Testors enamels come premixed/thinned but pick up some thinner at the same time so you are all set. Depending on where you are in Virginia, there could be a Hobby Lobby or Hobbytown USA nearby and they would have a good selection of Testors enamels and acrylic paints to choose from. I would get a gloss black and semi-gloss black to start with. Label your paint brushes to keep from mixing them up (enamel and acrylic).

The Testors Acryl paints seem to work best for me when it comes to interiors. The exception being the silver chrome, where I have found the enamel to cover better. If you are using Sharpies, they might be best for picking up details on dashboards or consoles. I like the Acryl paint because they dry fast and cover well. The clean up is simple and they seem to be thinner than the enamels. I have had an airbrush for years but due to my limited time to build, I find myself using rattle cans and brush paints instead because of the amount of time cleaning it afterwards and familiarity with sprays and brush paints! Edit: I do not seem to have the brush stroke issue with the Acryl that I do with enamels.

Would love to have one of those kits, nice jobs on those !

What year are you trying to recreate? 78-82 front ends are similar, headlight treatment being different for the 82.

John, Your best bet may be a Hobby Lobby with their 40% off coupon. There are several Hobbytown USA locations, depending on where in Charlotte you will be there could be one close by. The Hobby Stop in Rock Hill is about 30 minutes from the downtown area of Charlotte, haven't stopped in awhile but their plastic section has shrunk over the years. Take John's advice and call first. Use the internet to see where the Hobby Lobby and Hobbytown USA locations are and how close you may be to one. The Hobbytown USA in Mooresville has a big selection but their pricing tends to be right at MSRP, which can be a shock to the system. The one in South Charlotte is more reasonable but it is not a very big store and selection is more limited. Nice people at both shops. Happy Hunting!

Thanks for the update Art, really looking forward to these trucks. Hopefully some test shots will be forth coming from Dave.

for sprays, I like to buy large cans of black at NAPA. They carry it in lacquer and can get flat, semi, and gloss. Lasts a long time and very economical. Like Rich, I use the jar acryl black paints and make sure I shake and stir them well before using. I like the easy clean up and fast drying properties of those paints.

I could wait for the Mobieus kits to come out later this year- there will be a shortbed and longbed and something tells me that they will be correct. IIRC, the frame on the all new 67 model year was used up into the 90s, so the measurements could be had from those kits.

Thanks to all that have posted. I really wish Art was still in the resin business, I would gladly pay him for some resin frames and beds that already had been corrected to the proper dimensions. I will have some free time next weekend and will begin the process of sawing up a bed and frame.

I remember hobby shops like the one you described and sadly they have given way to the Hobbytown USA where it isn't a passion as much as it is a way to make money. Like the corner garage that has disappeared and has been replaced a modern chain type repair facility, a little bit of what was once great about the U.S.A. is gone.

Well said Aaron.

This is typical of the hobby- we want a vehicle that cannot be justified to kit up and when a resin copy comes along, it gets ripped to shreds over the inaccuracy. I see both arguments here- thankful to have something not available in kit form and yet, why bother when the body proportions are noticeably off? Having never built a resin master or converting an existing body into something else, I can't say what goes into the process but it must take some work or else we would have resin copies of EVERYTHING!

Steve and Chris- Thanks for the information. I do have a AMT 92 F150 short bed that I can use as a guide for the chassis and bed, sounds like the best way to get it "close enough"! And Tom's idea for a step side had been kicking around in my head also!

Looks like your basic HD work truck. Very nice, clean and well detailed.

Kenny usually makes it to local shows here in the NC area but hasn't been at the last two I went to. Eric at P&P is a good friend of his and he told me last year that Kenny was moving his sign/graphics business and it was consuming a lot of his time. I agree a phone call is the best way to reach him as this is his busy season getting race cars wrapped and prepped. Nice guy and great products.

I have said before Nick but it is worth repeating- the improvement in your skills is noticeable as your paint jobs and detailing have come a LONG way since some of those first builds you posted! Nice job on the Camaros, I have several that I need to finish and today would be a good day to do that!

Thanks Art, I had an idea it was something like that. I think the issue at hand is whether or not the bed sides in the kit can be modified to accurately represent a short bed. I am going to have to find some pictures of a 1:1 and then compare the kit pieces.

Donn, I have been a huge promoter of your DVDs ( bought both of them) and have directed people to them when they ask for help with their painting skills. I appreciate what you have done for the hobby with them and agree that you do not have an advertising budget like Revell to promote them. However, you state that promoting is not advertising and I fail to understand that. In my promotion of your DVDs I was specific as to how to contact you for ordering of your DVDs, a type of subtle advertising, no? If I wanted to make sure that I did not "advertise" Donn Yost's DVDs, then I would have simply said "there is a forum member here who has produced some helpful DVDs, try to find out who that is" and that could not be construed as being an advertisement. Bottom line, in my book, is that you produced a DVD to share with the hobby and put a price tag on them, thereby "selling" them. I understand that the sale of the DVD has not allowed you to retire or buy that vacation home in the Cayman Islands, but the fact of the matter is that you created a business once you sold the first one, even if it was to cover your costs. My argument is that I want to sell some of my model kit collection and re-invest that money back into this hobby. I do not have a hobby shop or hobby related business, just a model builder and collector like most of us. What I find troubling is that if I want to sell my kits, I am told to go to eBay or a local show while cottage industry types get the benefit of selling, albeit discreetly, on the forum. My issue isn't with you or any of the many resin casters or other cottage companies, it is with the double standard that I perceive to exist here. I accept the fact that Gregg has chosen not to have a "marketplace" for active selling, but see so many instances of "walking that fine line" that it irritates me from time to time. Rant over, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

In May of last year I posted that I had some kits I wanted to sell and to contact me via PM as I was not going to sell on the forum per the rules. My post was taken down within hours. I sent a PM to Gregg and he explained to me his rules and how the forum was run, which I accepted as he pays for it and I am a guest. Other members here post about the products they have for sale and use links to purchase said products and that is acceptable to the moderators. I fail to see the difference in the two scenarios above but will consider this my last post on this topic as the horse is being prepared for the dog food canning process.

If nothing is expected of the moderator, why bother them in the first place? As they have noted, they get a ton of PMs and sorting through those that are just "notices" keeps them from other things, including contributing to this forum. Not looking for an argument, but when it comes to selling or trading, the rule I go by "is only part with a kit or money if you can afford to lose it". I don't expect someone else to fix a bad deal for me. I have had my share of good and bad trades and I keep a list of those for future reference.

Donn, not to split hairs but if mentioning a new product is not considered advertising, what is it considered? What is the purpose of mentioning something if the end result is not to promote sales and awareness? Advertising 101 was a long time ago for this kid (30+ years!) but I still remember some of the bullet points from that class!

To your point David, about the only thing the moderators could do is limit the offender's ability to post or belong here. There isn't much Harry, Casey or Gregg can do about transactions gone bad. I am not a seller on eBay or too familiar with eBay rules but my understanding is that you can lose your privileges if there are enough complaints. Most of us have figured out how to deal with the rules.

First let me say I am sorry to hear of your father's passing. There isn't any "selling" allowed, however you can conduct business via PM or email. My best advice for you is to create a list of what you have by manufacturer, kit number, brief description(make and model- ex. 1969 Ford Mustang), whether the kit is opened/unsealed or started. Most of the time, buying a kit already opened,us modelers know that parts could be missing and therefore we need to prepare for the possibility of just that. Depending on the age of the kits, their value could be a much as a 7 course meal at a five star restaurant or a happy meal at McDonalds! No way to know until you have a list or pictures of the kits, preferably with the contents showing. Sometimes selling them in lots, usually similar cars or makes (Mustangs, Fords, etc.) can get them moved faster as well. Get a list and there are several buyers of collections and there could be a show coming soon that would help you in selling them. Ask here if you have questions, there are many knowledgeable folks here that can help.