MarkJ

Excellent work. Super clean and awesome.

Looks awesome. Do you have any underhood pics?

John, I use an old Adobe Photodeluxe 2.0 to create the decals. I had to keep my old computer going because the program does not work with windows 8. So I have two computers on my computer desk. One for the internet and one for my projects..

No problem , Dan. I wouldn't even know if you hadn't told me. No permission needed. Hope it works okay for you.

Here you go, Dan. click on the link below http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/119848-1962-as-pontiac-catalina/

Dan, the wip thread is on the next page and it shows how I did the sedan from a coupe. Thanks for your interest in the build

Niko, Most of my decals are saved images from the internet and then pasted into the program. I then adjust them for size making them 600 pixels per inch which makes them crisp and clear. You then save them to your pictures file and print them from there on to decal paper. Some of the images are made from scratch but contengencies are usually borrowed from the internet.

Glad to see it finished, Mitch. Awesome job. Great detailing.

Mike, Thank you for your interest in the build. You will probably scoff when I tell you how I make the decals. I use an old adobe photodeluxe program that was bundled free with an old scannner I bought back in the 90's. I use the program to create the decals and put them on sheets. I then print them on white decal paper I purchased from micro mark because hobby lobby doesn't sell white sheets anymore. I use a brothers inkjet printer. After I wait a couple of days I coat the sheets with testors 1261 gloss clear lacquer. You have to use really light coats or the lacquer will make the ink run. I do 4 coats. I wait a couple of more days to use the decals. First I cut them out as close to their edge as possible and install them to the model. I wait for the decals to dry and then I trace around Them with a sharp number 11 exacto blade. I then use a tooth pick and tweezers to remove the remaining excess decal material. Its pain staking work, but it works pretty good unless the script is very small and then I just leave the black background on the decal. Some day when the price of Laser printers that can print white comes down, I will purchase one and do my decals the Fred Cady way with white underlays. If that ever happens, I think I could probably sell my decals. Thanks again for your interest.

Thanks, John. Without your help on the build it probably still would not be finished. Also looking at your drag racing builds was great inspiration for me.

Kit: Amt Paint: Scalefinishes Ensign blue metallic Decals: Homemade by me on my computer. Inkjet. The summer of 1964 was a fun time in my life. I was 13 years old. Two years earlier, my family moved from our home in Virginia to Texas. My father worked for NASA. The space center was built on pasture land that Lyndon Johnson owned south of Houston, We lived nearby in the small town of Seabrook on Galveston Bay. It was a very exciting time as my family got to share in the beginning of the space program in the 60's. My best friend invited me to go with him and his father to the drag strip in Dickinson, Texas. The stars of the show just about every Saturday night were Don Gay and his brother Roy. Their father owned a Pontiac dealership in Dickinson. Their cars were much better than their competition. So, they would always end up in the final stock eliminator race at the end of the evening's races. Don, seventeen at the time, drove an A/stock 1962 Pontiac Catalina. His brother, Roy, drove a B/stock 1964 GTO. It was always high drama when they lined up for that final race at the end of the evening. The model I have built depicts Don Gay's Catalina. I hope to find a 1964 GTO model. I would like to build Roy's car, also. Like I said, it was a very fun summer for me. I hope you enjoy this model as much as I enjoyed building it, and the history behind it.

Beautiful build, John. Those were the days when Nascar was still great.

I forgot to post the decals. I made them before I started building the model. I've spent the last 2 days installing them. It's painstaking work.

Wips are done on this one. Thanks guys

All that is left to do is the bmf, paint the headliner, Install the glass, inside mirror, install the body to the frame, bumpers and grille, decal and future.

That looks awesome, John

I got the chassis finished and the exterior pieces painted. I must say the scalefinishes paint went on with no problems. When ever I need a color match to a real car I will be buying more of this paint. For a metallic it went on very evenly with no streaking or blotching.

I got to play with the airbrush trying different trigger and needle valve settings. I final got a setting I liked and sprayed the firewall It came out very smooth. I'm just waiting for the wind to die down so I can paint the body , hood and grille. hopefully tomorrow, GO ON TO PAGE 4

Amazing build inside and out.

Somebody over at Randy Ayers did his that way. Only problem is there are pristine decals over damaged fenders and doors. I guess nascar has self healing contengencies.

Its been slow going. Its the usual amt model where nothing fits. You have to piece it together by removing plastic here and there. The exhaust are sandwiched between the frame and the lower floor of the car but there is no room for them. Also the engine cant go where they want you to put it because the headers will not fit to the exhausts. Usually on nascar models you make exhausts and discard the factory ones so its not an issue. Also when you put the wheels together you sandwich a hub in between the halves so the tires can roll. only trouble is you have to shim the hub or the tires will slop around because the hubs don't fit properly inside the wheel halves. It been a real hair puller outer. I'm hoping my airbrush valve gets here today so I can go back to painting for a while.

Wow, that's some awesome work. Especially the American flag car,

Thanks, Michael. Will do.

John, did that regulator come with your compressor or did you have to add it. When I bought my compressor about 9 years ago at hobby lobby I didn't research very well what I needed to have and bought it without a regulator. It had a built in regulator set at 40psi so that's where I always had to spray at. Needless to say I didn't have very good results. That's why I gave up on it and just used rattle cans. I'm hoping this needle valve will allow me to get better results.

That's some fine looking detail you got going on there.