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Thanks! And hoping all goes well with the kidney stones! I have had a couple and they are definitely no fun. Bart

I would need them to be around 3/16" wide (.1875"). They are being used on the front grill and rear tailgate of a 1/25 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Bart

Does anyone have any 1/25 scale Ford Blue Oval decals? I just need 2 for a model I am working on. But a couple extra would be good in case I would mess something up! Thanks, Bart

Does anyone have a source for 1/25 scale Ford Blue Oval decals? I just need 2 for a model I am working on. Thanks, Bart

Bill, Thanks for the info. I forgot that Bare Metal makes decal paper, too. Not exactly what I think of when I hear the word "Bare Metal"! A question for you: Let's say that my decal would be a colored dark red rectangle with some white text inside of it. If I cut the decal tight to the edges of the decal, would any of the white decal base be visible at the edges when it is applied? Bart

I am looking for some white decal paper (for Laser printers). I am not having much luck finding anything on the internet. Do any of you have a good source for a quality product? Thanks, Bart

Thanks, Phil I found this kit on eBay. I had eBay alerts to notify me when any Cougar models were listed. I considered both unbuilt and built models. It took a while, but I finally found this unbuilt kit that was 99% complete. I also saw others that were way overpriced or were missing too many pieces. If you aren't already doing this, you may want to consider it. I found it interesting that for a while you will see nothing, then all of a sudden 4 or 5 items show up! Bart

Al, I added some pics to the Community Build forum for my 67 and 69 Cougars. Didn't know that there was a section exclusively for Cougars! Thanks, Bart

Here are my 2 Cougars to share. A 1969 Cougar and a 1967 Cougar (which started life as a 68 Cougar and was back-dated to look like the 67 Cougar).

Keith, The technique I used was a "stamping method". I used a pencil with a clean, unused flat-top eraser. It was one of the cheap plastic pencils with refillable lead that had a flat-topped eraser on it. If the eraser is rounded at the top, I don't think that would work as well. I used Metallic Silver craft paint and would get just a little bit of paint on the head of the eraser, and then would touch it gently to the taillight ribs. Don't drag the eraser across the ribs; just tap it gently to the surface like you'd do with a rubber stamp. It sometimes took multiple "stampings" to get the paint built up to where it was visible. I like the craft paints since you can remove paint from any unwanted areas with a sharp toothpick that has been lightly moistened with water. That worked well to remove any paint that ended up between the ribs where the red taillight should be seen. If you really screw up, you can remove everything with water while the paint is still wet and just start over again. I did create a post a while ago where I asked for ideas on how to do this. You had made some comments on that post. You may want to revisit it to see the different ideas that were suggested. Good luck with your taillights! Bart

Steve, The use of wire might be a good idea. It would probably be easier to hide in the photos. If I am paying better attention when shooting photos, I would try to put the plastic strip in a position where it would be hidden by the sides of the roof. One of the features I like about the plastic strip is that it is flexible enough that the horizontal portion of it can be bent up or down as needed to fit close to the underside of the roof. I had also considered using thin clear tube or a thin plastic tube for the vertical section with the wires running inside the tube. This whole contraption was something I thought up while falling asleep one night. My prototype was thrown together quickly, I will continue to try to come up with an improved version of it. I will be interested in seeing what you come up with. Bart

No good reason for using the 68 steering wheel - except laziness. I considered trying to modify it by adding that big projection out from the center, but figured not too many people would notice the 68 steering wheel in it! But, good catch on your part to notice it! Plus, I always thought those steering wheels with the big projections on them were pretty ugly! Bart

Being able to see the interiors of cars in photos is sometimes hard to accomplish. It's especially hard since the lighting on the car is lighting up the exterior and not the interior. For my latest model photos, I took an extra battery box and an LED light to make this contraption that slides in under the roof of the model. It's mounted to a thin piece of plastic that has a 90 degree bend to it. I also made several paper sleeves that can go over the LED to dim it down if it is too bright. If you position it correctly, it should not be visible in the photos. The contraption How it slides in to the body (the interior looks bright in this shot since the exterior was not lit up for this shot) A finished photo ( I should have done a better job of hiding the contraption from view!)

I picked this up from an online seller. The kit was actually a 1968 Cougar, but I wanted to modify it to look like the 1967 model. That required sanding off front and rear marker lights from the fenders, Cougar script on the rear fenders, and GT emblems on the front fenders. To get the correct Cougar emblem on the rear fenders, I used a decal set from Keith Marks. I also sanded off the trunk lid details and the XR7 logos on the sides of the roof since the decal set also included those. The pin stripes are also from the decal set. The color is Phoenician Yellow from Scale Finishes. Phoenician Yellow was for name used by Ford; Mercury called it Jamaican Yellow. The kit was missing one of the stock wheels, so I had to use the custom wheels from the kit. Since these were intended for the Drag version (with the wide rear tires), I had to trim the posts that the rear axle attached to so that the stock tires would fit correctly. Painting the chrome strips on the rear tail lights was a lot of fun! I usually take photos of my interiors before they are attached to the body so that I can capture all of the details. Trying to photograph the interior once it is in the body can be challenging - both from a focus and lighting perspective. I tried something new with these photos - I took an extra battery box and an small LED light that was left over from the lighting I did for a Star Trek shuttlecraft. I attached the LED to a thin piece of plastic and added a 90 degree bend to it. I can slide that light into the top of the interior to get some light on the interior in the finished model. I have a few sleeves made out of paper that I can slide over the LED if it looks too bright; these help to diffuse the light and reduce the intensity. Bart NOTE: Interior light was used on the first 2 photos NOTE: No interior light for the next photo. My interior lighting invention

Thanks! The windows were painted with a white base first and then the decals with the text and graphics were applied. I create my own decals and have them printed at my local Fed Ex Printing office. The printers that they use for my decals cannot print white (as most printers cannot do). Bart

Looks really nice! Especially like the interior! Bart

One of my friends is a State Farm agent and he asked me to make a model of his business vehicle - a 2007 Jeep Liberty. I started with a 1/18th scale diecast model and took it apart (which is not an easy task - I think you could drop it from 10 feet and it wouldn't be harmed!). I used Aviation Paint Stripper to get the paint off - which was really effective. It is a gel that you brush onto the model - and about 5 minutes later you use the brush to remove the paint which has bubbled into piles of goo. Krylon white paint with primer was used for the body. I created the decals using Photoshop with photos I had taken and some of the artwork that was created by the company that made the wrap used on the actual car. Thanks for checking this out! Bart The disassembled model The paint stripper I used After paint has been removed The actual vehicle

Here is my latest completion - a 1961 Ford Galaxie Club Victoria. The paint is Tamiya TS-94 Metallic Gray - which is a really dark metallic gray, which is pretty close to black. Chrome trim and scripts were done with Bare Metal foil for some, and hand painting for others. Thanks for checking this out! Bart

Once I use them, I may be able to answer your question. Until then, I am sure others on the forum may have some experience with them. Bart

Brian, Would you use an X-Acto knife with a sharp #11 blade to then cut the decal out? Bart

Thanks for the tip. Good to know! Bart

I hope my question makes sense. I have some decals from Keith Marks. The decal layer on the blue transfer paper covers the entire decal sheet. I need to be able to cut individual elements from the sheet. I want to be able to cut as closely as possible to each element. Would decal scissors be the best tool to use? If so, any recommendations on the best ones to get? ...or are there other methods you'd recommend using? Thanks, Bart

Excellent work! I especially like the scenes with the mailbox diorama. Bart

Sounds like you have quite the collection of VW Beetles! I just have the one Beetle. However, if you ask me about Mustangs, I have around 25-30 of those - plastic models, die cast models, Matchbox and Johnny Lightning, etc.! Bart

That really catches your eye! Great work! Bart