Bernard Kron

I use rattle can Metallizer over large surfaces quite frequently. I find that some the tips that follow help me get consistently good results: 1) Make sure that the surface you are applying the Metallizer to is as smooth and faultless as possible if you want that smooth, shiny "sheet of metal" look. The Metallizer shows absolutely everything underneath it. It goes down very thin and is extremely sensitive to surface irregularities. 2) On styrene use a primer much as you would for any other lacquer paint. I use Duplicolor primers myself. 3) On resin make sure the resin is very clean with no trace of mold release. If you shoot Metallizer directly on the resin the Metallizer will flow off the surfaces completely fail to adhere at all unless the resin is clean. I virtually always prime my resin surfaces. 4) Choose the color of your primer with the understanding that it will effect the final shade of the Metallizer just as it would any other paint. Obviously the more coats of Metallizer the less the primer shade will effect the final color. I use white primer under Buffable Plate Aluminum quite a lot to ensure a bright aluminum look. Also, Metallizer is very fragile and will rub off if handled too much. Unfortunately Metallizer sealer will dull the sheen of Metallizer paints, particularly the buffable ones. If the look of unsealed Metallizer (for example to achieve a polished aluminum appearance) is what you’re after, either avoid handling the surfaces or assume that over time they will assume a more worn look where the primer might show through. This is another reason choosing the right shade of primer is important. Gray primers that show through create a nice industrial look when under most Metallizers, for example. 5) I find that polishing the primer is critical to getting an ungrained, polished look when using Metallizer. I will polish my primer with a very fine grade of sandpaper (at least 2000 grit) to make sure that the texture of the primer doesn't show through the Metallizer. 6) Also consider applying the Metallizer paint that comes in the small jars over large surfaces using a brush. I know this is against Testors recommendations but you can achieve some very natural looking and compelling effects. The shades that result from applying Metallizer this way are totally different than the same paint from an airbrush or rattle can. For example, I use brushed on Metallizer Gunmetal to achieve a worm undercoat look on chassis surfaces. Experimenting with this technique can lead to very rewarding results. 7) Remember to take advantage of the Buffable feature of some Metallizer paints. The difference between buffed and un-buffed can be quite amazing. Testors Metallizer paints are great stuff. They should be in every modeler’s kit bag of basic tricks. 60’s Bare bones FED: Body Panels – Buffable Aluminum Plate ’37 Chevy Salts Flats Coupe: Wheel wells and body under-pan – Hand brushed Gun Metal; Chassis and body extensions – Non Buffable Aluminum; Suspension parts – Hand brushed Burnt Metal; Oil Pan and Rear End – Buffable Aluminum; Push Bar and Exhausts – Stainless Steel.

For my '29 I used the really cheap acrylic crafts paint at Michaels, "Craft-Smart" brand. It sells for around $1-2 a bottle, depending if it's on sale. There are other similar cheap brands at Michael's as well. These paints come in a huge number of shades with very fine increments from tone to tone so the chances of finding the right one are pretty good, and because it's so cheap your very free to experiment. The bottle color is a very good representation of the shade when the paint dries. The downside is this paint doesn't cover very well at all so you must build up many layers. It's probably designed to be used on canvas or paper. Fortunately it dries fairly quickly. But the result is a dense, matte paint with deep color saturation that scales nicely as a dull fabric like texture which you can buff with tissue to whatever level of semi-gloss is appropriate for the fabric you want to represent. Here's picture of the '29. The carpet is a chocolate brown and the upholstery is golden brown, both over dark gray primer. The more layers of paint the closer to the bottle color it gets. The upholstery was buffed to approximate leatherette and the carpet was left matte. If I recall there are about 4-7 layers with decent coverage kicking in around the third layer.

Fascist pig indeed... From the London Times interview: In an outspoken interview with The Times of London, the 78-year-old British billionaire chastised contemporary politicians for their weaknesses and extolled the virtues of strong leadership. Ecclestone said: "In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done. "In the end he got lost, so he wasn't a very good dictator because either he had all these things and knew what was going on and insisted, or he just went along with it ... so either way he wasn't a dictator." He also criticized democracy, claiming that "it hasn't done a lot of good for many countries — including this one [britain]." Instead, Ecclestone endorsed the concept of a government based on tyranny. "Politicians are too worried about elections," he said. "We did a terrible thing when we supported the idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He was the only one who could control that country. "It was the same [with the Taliban in Afghanistan]. We move into countries and we have no idea of the culture. The Americans probably thought Bosnia was a town in Miami. There are people starving in Africa and we sit back and do nothing but we get involved in things we should leave alone." Apparently the man is an undereducated idiot who has never heard of Mein Kampf (written by Hitler in the 1920's prior to his rise to power in which he maps out the whole sordid affair to come)... and has never watched popular broadcast news media over the past 20 years... What does this say about the cocoon that must be contemporary F1? Whether he is quite as clueless about the state of his own sport as was Tony George about his remains to be seen. In a more recent response to his own stupid comments, Ecclestone had this to say: Ecclestone has not yet issued an official statement in response to his comments, but German newspaper Bild quoted him as saying the story had been the result of a 'huge misunderstanding.' He told the tabloid paper: "I did not put Hitler up as a good example, but I simply pointed out that before his terrible crimes, he had acted successfully against unemployment and the economic crisis." Oh really,""I did not put Hitler up as a good example..."? At least now he acknowledges that The Fuhrer might have been guilty of some "terrible crimes", and not merely been "taken away" by others and "got lost"... Hmmm... Pretty pathetic, I'd say. And quite likely dangerous, too. At the least this may offer an insight into the sport's capacity for self deception.

I have done business with SMBC quite regularly for the past year and a half. Shipping is always within 48 hours of order and quality is very good. I primarily order small parts and the Morgan distributors from him. Products have always been first rate. I know several builders on this forum have purchased resin bodies and transkits from SMBC and have, at various times, said in their posts that they were quite happy with them - the bodies seem to be of the high quality thin white resin variety. I'd bet as the day goes one you'll hear from some of them with their impressions. As for me, I give SMBC 2 thumbs up!

I've seen the restored 1:1 you pictured race on several occasions and gotten to look at it up close and personal. It will make an awesome build and it's clear you're off to a great start. Can't wait to see more!

It's back at last!!! The color is real nice and the stance and hood/grill combo all work out well now. The traditional upholstery colors for the immediate postwar period are pretty muted, often colors like black, deep oxblood red or darker brown leather shades. I did my maroon '29 with a lighter tan upholstery. It suited my personal tastes and I think helped open up the the look of the car a bit, but I was always a little bothered by the fact that it wasn't quite true to the period... Pergaps a deeper red might work, In any cas, I'm looking forward to what you decide. So far your calls have been pretty darn good!

Lovely, just lovely... Using either your camera (usually too late after you take a picture) or a digital photo editing suite (like Photoshop) you can fool around with the color balance...

Looks like the Model Car Garage 97's. The p/e stuff on that setup takes fiddly to a new level. Glue drops just don't scale out! But those carb castings are to die for and they look great on your flattie!

Every once in a while I miss the start of a great build. But how on earth did I miss this one!!! And to make things worse, it's almost completed. It's a beautiful build of what is revealing itself to be a beautiful car. The rims and p/e wires really set off the great paint choice. Now I'm going back to study every exquisite step...

Very fast search, and cuts across user names as well as headings and text, but it's extremely time sensitive. It doesn't seem to find anything that's more than a few weeks old.

Glad to see this over here. I'm sure everyone will appreciate it. The wheels and tires look very nice. As to whether you should leave them as is, it all depends on the paint job and overall look that you're after. The more realistic looking the more likley you'll want to make them look like brushed aluminum.

A stunningly beautiful build. Meticulously detailed and, as has been said, so convincigly realistic. Great color combination and beautiful foil work. Two thumbs up!!!

Really nice paint scheme. Lotsa cool details and a good looking car overall, well executed. Really like it. Nice collection surrounding it, too. Ditto on the "show us more"!

Boy, when you put the 3-window and 5-window side by side like that you can really tell what many have suspected - the 3-window is chopped... At least I've always thought so. Nice build and I agree that the larger rear tires improve the stance. But, as you've pointed out in various articles, the whole series can be improved even more by lowering the front and rear suspension. This has become standard operating procedure for me whenever I use the Revell '32 chassis. And I always use the Tim Boyd method! I'm really looking forward to seeing all the permutations that emerge from what will doubtless be an enormously popular kit. I know one thing, those pretty hairpins will never be hidden under a set of fenders, at least on my workbench. If I build one of these full fendered I'll use the parallel rods and save the hairpins for something where they'll be in plain sight!

Nice little non-nonsense rail job. I've always liked 'em when they were run with just a shorty body. Those big slicks standing proud over the cowling is just too cool!

Here's an interchange between Bob Plant (no not that Bob Plant!) at Round 2 and myself. Bob is Creative Director at Round 2 and seems to oversee the whole model effort. He runs the blog as well. His response to my comment .revealing on a couple of counts. The "John" referred to is John Greczula - Art Director and Brand Manager for the automotive segment. If I recall correctly John posted here last year when Round 2 first announced its license deal. The team at Round 2 in charge of all their model lines is maybe 11-12 people so they are very busy! Secondly, as I suspected, the sci-fi folks are, so far, doing the bulk of the on line outreach. Taking into account the very aggressive automotive release schedule for the rest of this year I can see that the lone car guy on their team might not be able to get to participate much in their communications work. My guess is that we would do well to let them know how we think they're doing and keep the car thing more "top of mind" inside their small and hard working group. gbkron says: June 28, 2009 at 3:06 pm I’m not sure where to put this comment so this topic, being about some of your creative team seemed to be the best place. I’m a car modeler and of course have been following the Round2/AMT licensing deal with great interest. This new blog is terrific and, along with your new web site, are very strong marketing tools if they are promoted effectively. Below is a link to a post I just put up on the MCM board that gives my impressions of Round2/AMT One Year On. The very best of luck to you all going forward! http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.p...t=0#entry188980 BobP says: June 29, 2009 at 8:25 pm Thanks very much for the kind words — we appreciate you taking the time to post your thoughts on Round 2 Models at modelcarsmag.com forum. We do take model kits very seriously around here, and have folks working on the lines that have an affection for the hobby that goes way back. I am more of a sci-fi kit guy myself, as is Jamie, who has done the majority of the posting here. Our automotive kits are obviously a big aspect of the line, too, and I’ll see what I can do to encourage John to do some posting here. John is absolutely swamped with the automotive lines, but I know he would love to share some insight into the world of AMT and MPC vehicle kits, it’s just a matter of being able to carve out the time. Again, thanks for the nice words and very much appreciate you supporting our product. Bob

Great buil;d. Superb craftsmanship. The pictures showing the fadeaway reveal that you started with a late series sedan and yet you achieved the feel and look of the Series 1. How did you make the top?

I'm pretty impressed asbout how serious they are to get the maximum out of their licensing. My only concern is that the vehicle side, so far, while it has gotten the bulk of the model releases, doesn't appear to be the source of as much excitement within their own ranks as the whole sci-fi side. But I guess I'm just sharing the general paranoia that we car modelers seem to have about the state of our hobby...

Re-contouring the rear fender panel outwards on the new Challeneger is gonna look GREAT! Very cool modification that will really perk this design up!

2 votes now for the green car but still 5 displayed vs. 6 total...

I just checked again and it shows 1 vote now for the green car when it didn't show any before, but it's still one vote down on the display vs. the total (4 displayed but says 5 voted).

It works. I voted and it accepted it. I like the pic of all the cars lined up...

I just noticed the following list of custom model decal printing services from an excellent article regarding printing decals: USA Barney Kable (e-mail). Specialty: printing FS color matches Bedlam Creations. Artwork can be supplied as graphics, photos, or an idea. Bob Anson (e-mail), who runs two Alps MD1000's, one Alps MD5000, and two Kodak First check printers. Cedarleaf Custom Decals. Apart from its standard railroad decal range, Cedarleaf does custom work for railroads and other applications Dan's Resin Casting. See 'custom decals' tab Decal Connection. Makes decals for many applications. Will not print decals with copyrights unless permission is given in writing Decal Man. Probably only car decals Diecast and Decals. Specialises in graphics for diecast vehicles E.L.S. Trains. Prints Alps decals for model railroading and all types of scale models. Exact Decals & Details. Apart from a catalog of Alps printed aircraft decals, Exact also offers custom design and printing service Fireball Modelworks, Joseph Osborn. Produces a line of Alps decals for helicopter models and does custom work. Great Decals. Has links to numerous custom railroad decal printers John Hagen (e-mail), Alps decals any scale down to and including N scale. Can do artwork from photos or sketches ModelWerks. Produces decals for Bandai Gundam models, and also does custom decal work Scale Rail Graphics. Produces decals for primarily model railroading, and also does custom decal work, but no race car, military or rocket decals. Shawn Hull Decals. Custom decals are no longer mentioned on the website, so this service is probably discontinued. Skunkworks Laboratories. Skunkworks has its own line of decals and resin parts, and also does custom decals (shipping anywhere). Tango Papa Decals, Tom Prestia. Tango Papa also sells the decal paper that is most popular with US modelers. Vince Maddux Decals The web page with this list has links to the actual suppliers and can be found here: http://www.xs4all.nl/~robdebie/models/decals.htm The author includes a much more extensive list with services available in Australia. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, in addition to the USA. I went to the Decal Man web site ( http://www.decal-man.com/index1.htm ) because of the specific reference to car decals. He has an excellent step by step on how to order custom made decals from him ( http://www.decal-man.com/customdecals.htm ) and says the following: How much does it cost? I charge $35 to produce a set of decals. A set of decals is defined as the door and roof numbers, logos, sponsorship lettering, hood markings (429 C.I.) and driver name. I do not include fender markings or other decals that are readily available. Money must be paid up front. This should give you an idea of costs in general.

It;s so easy to sell these "novelty" kits short. The chassis is really a marvel with that nicely detailed BMC "A" series engine and Mini front end. You've really done a nice jpb of picking out all the yummy eye candy. Looking forward to more...

It's probably about a year into the Round 2 licensing deal for the AMT/MPC/Polar Lights catalog right about now and so it's probably time to think about how it's going. For starters, here's a list of vehicle model kits that have been released and those that are planned through the end of 2009. This is from the new round2models.com ( http://www.round2models.com/ ) web site which appears to be a key part of Round 2's marketing efforts with respect to the model kit part of their business. The AMT 1955 Chevy Cameo and the MPC 1967 Pontiac GTO are tagged as Avalable Now since they are listed as avaliable in Round 2's on-line store, but they were scheduled as July releases so tjey may not be in stores yet. 1949 Ford Coupe - AMT - 2008 Release 1951 Chevy Bel Air Convertible - AMT - 2008 Release 1960 Ford Starliner - AMT - 2008 Release Chevy Titan 90™ Truck Tractor - AMT - 2008 Release Digger 'Cuda Dragster - AMT - 2008 Release Hippie Hemi Dragster - AMT - 2008 Release Li'l 'Stogie - AMT - 2008 Release Class Action 1980 Chevy Monte Carlo - MPC - 2008 Release Rupp Super Sno-Sport Snow Dragster - MPC - 2008 Release Speed Racer Mach 5 Glue Kit - Polar Lights - 2008 Release Speed Racer Mach 5 Snap Kit - Polar Lights - 2008 Release 1955 Chevy Cameo - AMT - Available Now 2006 Chevy Camaro Concept - AMT - Available Now 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 - AMT - Available Now 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T - AMT - Available Now USA-1 Monster Truck - AMT - Available Now 1967 Pontiac GTO - MPC - Available Now 1969 Dodge Daytona - MPC - Available Now 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee - MPC - Available Now 1970 Dodge Coronet Super Bee - MPC - Available Now Paddy Wagon Willys Panel Van Super Snap - MPC - Available Now Super Snap 1949 Mercury Police Patrol Car - MPC - Available Now 1933 Willys Coupe - AMT - August-09 1955 Chevy Nomad - AMT - August-09 1957 Chevy Bel Air - AMT - August-09 1962 Buick Electra 225™ - AMT - August-09 1966 Chevy Nova Pro Street - AMT - August-09 1968 Shelby GT 500 - AMT - August-09 1970½ Chevy Camaro Z28 - AMT - August-09 Fruehauf Flatbed Trailer - AMT - August-09 Royal Rail - AMT - August-09 White Freightliner Dual Drive Cabover Tractor - AMT - August-09 1972 Pontiac GTO - MPC - August-09 1986 Chevy El Camino - MPC - August-09 1962 Pontiac Catalina 421SD - AMT - September-09 Scooby Doo! Mystery Machine - Polar Lights - September-09 Double Dragster - AMT - October-09 Peerless Logging Trailer - AMT - October-09 1925 Ford "T" - AMT - November-09 International Transtar 4300 Eagle2008 Models - AMT - November-09 Tommy Ivo Front Engine Dragster - AMT - November-09 Daisy's Plymouth Muscle Car - MPC - November-09 Sheriff Rosco's Dodge Monaco Police Car - MPC - November-09 Depth Charger - AMT - December-09 Munster Koach/Drag-U-La Set - AMT - December-09 Two things should be quite evident. Firstly, they have been very busy and plan to stay that way. Whereas in ’08 we may have felt they were off to a slow start they are up and running now. Secondly, so far, other than the ‘08-‘09 Dodge Challengers and the ‘06 Camaro Concept they are dealing entirely with older re-issues. The range is very broad. I haven’t included the large number of Star Trek releases that they have also put out, but even among vehicles they have everything from TV themes and show cars to classic muscle cars, hot rods and drag cars and both pickups and heavy trucks and trailers. In absolute number of releases I’m guessing that they are comparable to Revell over the same period. But so far we have no significant brand new creations on offer or even anticipated. The reception of their releases would appear to be pretty good. Certainly some of the early releases like the ‘60 Ford Starliner and ‘49 Ford Shoebox have gotten a lot of notice here on the MCM board and among us we have posted quite a few builds of these kits. I suspect the Tommy Ivo FED, the Double Dragster Kit and ’25 Ford T Double Kit will create a lot of buzz. I’m not much into muscle cars myself but from what I can tell Round 2 has been well received with their strong line up of re-releases of important cars in this area. One thing that caught my eye is the very strong effort they are putting into the round2models.com website. It really is first rate. Not only do they list current and upcoming kits (frequently refreshed an updated with changes) but they have instituted an excellent blog (http://www.collectormodel.com/ ) ModelKit Central that has really hit the ground running with terrific insights into the day-to-day realities of growing the value of the AMT licensing franchise. These guys are serious about it, totally into it, and working hard to get it done. It’s not about vehicles but this post about a planned AMT Dr. Spock release (http://www.collectormodel.com/amt/54-sci-fi-kit-supplemental-ufo-mystery-ship-and-amt-mr-spock/ ), including some great shots of how the molds have been modified (butchered?) over the years and what they plan to do to restore them, is typical of what they are doing here. So far the sci-fi guys dominate the blog. I for one plan to join the blog and do what I can to let them know the vehicle guys appreciate them and are watching what they do. Also on the web site is a Workbench section which is a Tips and Tricks area full of great stuff on how to improve and expand your builds based on their offerings. Here’s a link to an item called “Detail Painting The 2008 And 2009 Dodge Challengers†(http://www.round2models.com/workbench/challenger-paint ) which is typical. Here are some illustrations from this how-to which gives you an idea of the quality what they’re putting out†Again, so far the sci-fi guys dominate so we’d better get cracking and let them know we care. My overall impression is that I would give Round 2 very high marks both for the strategy they are employing to get the most they can as quickly as they can out of their license, and the commitment they are showing to the hobby side of the model kit business (as opposed to the toy sales side). They aren’t neglecting the mass appeal side either. Many of their 2009 releases are in colored plastic – not a good thing for the serious modeler, but ensuring broader sales overall. But they clearly show the same commitment to and enthusiasm for the hobby as we do. Now it’s up to us to ensure the success of their effort by not only buying product from them, but by communicating with them about our needs and of our impressions of their work so far. Botom line – 2 thumbs up to Round 2 so far - from me anyway!