gman

Mother company Rustoleum/RPM has gutted the Testors lines of paints. Depending on what you are painting over, it may be time to try Tamiya- spray (acrylic laquer) or bottle (aqueous acrylic).

^^ here are a couple of threads

Dat's da bomb! (sorry, had to say it)

I scored one at Michaels last weekend- happy to report there are no sink marks (as seen on earlier posts in this thread) on my example. While the windshield height does not seem to have been corrected from the test shot photos, it overall has better proportions than the old Revellogram issue (ex-Aurora?) kit.

You can do a little bit of adjustment on the airbrush, but the real magic is in experimenting with your paint thinning and air pressure, combined with varying the distance you spray from the surface being painted. Temperature of your paint and ambient temperature will also play a part. Thinning paint to the consistency of milk is a good starting point with enamels and lacquers. If the paint is too thin (or your airbrush is too close to the surface of what is being sprayed, or you are moving the brush too slowly), your paint can run, wick away from high spots and pool. If the paint is too thick, it will sputter, or leave an orange peel texture. If the paint is thin but comes out too grainy and textured, you are likely shooting from too far away, your air pressure is too high, or you are moving the brush too quickly across the surface. There are many variables, and for every paint/thinner/airbrush combo (and sometimes even different colours within a familiar line of paints) it will require practice to get good results. Do a test spray on something other than your model- a plastic spoon, a junk body, a bottle or container, what have you, until you know it is thinned correctly, your air pressure is right for the paint, and you are getting good results on the test surface. Don't try to cover everything all in one shot- the beautiful thing about airbrushes is their ability to lay down thin coats, and sometimes that means several sessions will be required to get good coverage, good depth of colour while avoiding runs or too much texture. Some paint types are more forgiving than others and will lay down nice and smooth as they cure.

That is truly a beautiful looking interior. Nice Job.

Welcome to the forum. That job may be a good candidate for a decal- you can buy white decal stock which works in a printer. Print the number "11" in the desired type and size on the decal paper, trim out a roundel and apply. Alternatively, you could buy a sheet of white roundel decals and apply individual 1 decals to it.

I too use a Dremel with a cutoff wheel to do the rough cuts. I then place some masking tape on the glass with the final cut line marked on the tape, and get as close to that line as possible using a drum sander on the Dremel. It helps to remove a little bit of material and then let the plastic cool down before continuing, as the Dremel can build up a lot of heat in the work surface. I gently use Flexi files to clean up the rough plastic left behind by the Dremel, straighten out the cut with rough grits and take it down to the final cut line, then polish the edge using progressively finer grit files. It helps to go easy, use as light a pressure as possible with the tools (Dremel and files), and take your time, unless you have a spare kit glass around. The Flexi Files even allow you to bevel and thin the edges of the glass for a more in-scale appearance. Rinsing the glass as you work with the files keeps any grit shed by the files from scratching visible portions of the clear plastic.

I have never seen one. You could try searching online for a resin cab/bed as a starting point. All I turned up in a quick search was a resin model of a '56.

That is part of the beauty of lacquers- later coats physically melt previous layers (where the orange peel was). You may still have some texture once everything cures, but it should be easier to work with come wet sanding/polishing time than the initial coats.

Wow. The paintwork is outstanding. Nice job. What did you use for paint? Never mind, watched your build video. That laid down nicely

As a former MGB owner, I am delighted to see your build. The wheels didn't twig for me (even though I have a set tucked away for a build), but now that I see them in context, I guess they are kind of evocative of the MG Rostyles.

If building up the wheel with plastic to friction fit into the tire isn't the desired option, a slow-setting epoxy might do the trick. Epoxy should be pretty inert after setting.

A Deuce that turned out greater than the sum of it's parts. Very nice.

Much of determining how a certain colour is going to look over a particular base coat will depend on the thickness of the paint coats, and the number of paint coats in total. Most metallic and pearl paints are translucent, so if you apply a couple of thin coats the base coat will have a bigger impact on the final colour than the same paint will with several coats. If you need a large difference in colour, it may be best to decant and mix according to your needs- if you go this route, mix up more than you think you will need, should you find the project will need more coats, or allow for touch-ups.

I find wiping the nozzle before putting the cap back on, and then keeping the superglue in the fridge usually keeps the bottle usable- the worst I have had happen this way is having to run a tooth pick down the bore of the nozzle for very slight clogs. With the last few bottles of Zap A Gap I've purchased, I've been able to get pretty much every last drop out of the bottle.

It will depend on what kind of paint you applied it over top of- I use alcohol, but that doesn't work on fresh paint (especially lacquers and acrylics). Goo Gone may be a good option.

Tamiya makes an aqueous acrylic clear, and if you are looking to clear coat over Tamiya's aqueous acrylic red shortly after initial cure, that will be the one you want to use. You may be able to use other types of clear coat overtop of aqueous acrylic once it has completely cured, as they are fairly inert (unlikely to react with top coats) once the paint has fully cured.

Good to hear. I imagine I'll track down a copy or two of the latest issue. As mentioned, it is a parts gold mine, and a good looking vehicle in its own right.

I had 80's and 90's reissues of this kit- as mentioned, it is overall pretty good for its age. Oddly, the 80's release I had was full of flash, and had some seams and voids in the body that required fixing- neither problem was as bad as the later version of the kit. I would be interested in hearing how the mold has held up in the latest release.

That is looking really good. Contrasting roof insert and running boards would look good. Some flat white headers with heat discoloration and a dark wash (to look like it was driven hard) would set the engine off nicely.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/profile/504-kris-morgan/ ^^ you could try sending him a private message

That is (or should I say, those are) beautiful.

Very sinister, and your paint job really sets it off. Tell me more about your wheels.

I remember prepping the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH out of the Revell Russ Davis Ford Thunderbolt kit shortly after it was released (molded in bright orange styrene). I was building it as a plain Jane Thunderbolt, and laid down some Duplicolor Wimbledon white. Much to my surprise, as the colour coats were gassing out, I watched the entire body start to turn a nice coral colour...not what I was shooting for ? That body was relegated to the "box of shame," with valuable lessons learned regarding barrier coats for molded-in-colour bodies.