LoneWolf15

Harry, Believe me , I understand where the non contest guys stand , I did'nt enter ny first contest until I was in my mid forties. As much as yourself , Bri and I( to name a few ) have busted each others stones on this subject , I wish that you would go to a show and see what we are all talking about ! I think that it would give you a brand new perspective on the subject . Actually , I feel that everybody that comments on the threads on contests , judging , etc , should first attend a couple of shows before tossing in the proverbial two cents. In short , the old " walk a mile in my shoes " adage would become a reality ! C'mon out and play , Tinman ! The Led Sled and I will provide you with plenty of Geritol , oxygen , and #5 machine oil so you can move around freely ! To answer your question , yeah , I would gladly enter a cash competition any day. Besides , Kevlar underwear these days is considered the height of fashion and at a cash competition ,you best believe I'd be wearing it ! The Old Man

Ernie. Glue a small square piece of Plastisruct over the existing piece , no one will ever know the diffrence ! Believe me , this is just a minor bump in the road. Wait until you start playing with some of the vintage kits , you'll end up in the round rubber room with the rest of us ! The Old Man

Harry , Ya gotta be kiddin' ! Good Lord , man , they want to kill each other over plaques and trophies , and you want to bring money into this equation ? Perish the thought ! There is enough shin kickin' , eye gougin' , and back stabbin' goin on as it is without cash being thrown into the mix. I have to agree with Bob , they are few and far between. Now that you mentioned it , a buddy of mine from York Pa. told me last week that there is one coming up somewhere in Pa. in the next couple of months which if offering cash for Best Of Show. I'll let you know what goes on. Actually you'll probably read about it in the news , the body count should justify front page coverage ! The Old Man

Dave, There is a narrow thin line between cockiness and self confidence..... It is one's ability to back up what they say and do ! In my eyes , you back it up with what you lay down on the tables for all to see. There is much to be said and admired about your body of work. My Grandpap had a saying that he taught me at a very early age , " Visibility lends to credibility " That has stayed with me my entire life and affects whatever I do . Somewhere along the way in your life , you learned this too. It shows in your work and you are to be commended for it . By the way , my choice of glue for overall construction is Plastizap , in the orange and white bottle. It dries quick , holds strong , and breaks cleanly with no damage to the parts. A tiny bit goes a long way ! The Old Man Lone Wolf Custom Painting

When in doubt... Start with a 2:1 Paint to cheap laquer thinner ratio. It works every single time. One ounce of Testors enamel to a half ounce of hardware store laquer thinner will give you plenty of coverage. As for taking " Forever " to dry , Nope ! The laquer thinner helps the enamel flow smooth , dry quickly , and pull tight to the model's surface with no loss of detail. Shoot your clear using the same ratio . I wish I had a dollar for every post that comes up about laquers , what primer to use , this works , that does'nt , etc. With all the various opinions on laquers and their diffrent products out there , the newbies end up feeling like they've chased parked cars all day ! I never use primer under Testors solid colors and I use their Aluminum Metallizer under my pearls and metallics as a base coat for reflective purposes. The key is all in the prep work , the smoother the body , the smoother the finish. The bad rap on enamels , in my opinion , is a bunch of the stuff that follows horses. They are simple to use , and are made for plastic. People just never seem to learn how to use them , even when you tell them how to do it . Bob is correct about Testors spray nozzles , they do suck ! You stand a 50/50 chance of getting a good one. That's why I went to an airbrush long ago. As always ...... Just my opinion ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Count me in as one who loves this kit , one of the nicest around! I have one word of caution though...... On the front part of the frame , the ends need to be trimmed back to allow the natural flare of the fenders to turn under. Otherwise, the front end and bumper will not fit properly. I found this out the hard way during final assembly on the first one I built. The Old Man

Twenty years of playing professionally (guitar ) and singing lead vocals went by the way side because of the shift work. I still miss it after 14 years ! Two weeks ago , we finished up the girls softball championships and had a party afterwards at the complex. Two of the youngsters showed up with guitars and started to play with about 60 people there. After listening for awhile , I walked over and asked Austin , my daughters friend , if he minded if I sat in. He handed me the guitar , smirked and said " Show me what you got " , " Old Man " I sat down and immediately went into Buffalo Springfield 's For What it's Worth. The look on that boy's face when I finished was priceless! Everybody was chearing and singing along , especially the youngsters , during the song. Just goes to show that music and it's songs are timeless ! These days it's limited to kareoke which I enjoy immensely. I sure do miss playing out though! Donn Yost Lonewolf Custom Painting

Vince, A well supplied hobby shop should carry the following .... 1 #11 Exacto knives and blades. 2 Squadron surgical blades to fit # 11 exacto knives 3 Several diffrent sizes of tweezers 4 A pin vise and a set of drill bits 5 Surgical scissors 6 Ultra fine applicators from Microbrush 7 Dremel tool , multi speed with an accesory pack 8 Nail files 9 Small pair of side cutters and needle nose pliers 10 Sand paper wet / dry 220 to 1500 grit several sheets of each 11 Polishing kit , either LMG or Detail Masters 12 Various sizes of india ink or rapidio liner pens 13 Xacto razor saw blades and miter box This is just a start , others may add to it as the thread goes on . I hope this helps ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Every model that you build should be sanded out to remove the factory mold lines and defects , this means all of the parts ! As for this particular kit , being that it is molded in black , you have two choices. You can either primer the parts that are going to be a diffrent color , (white will be your best bet ) or use Testors Metallizer Aluminum as your base, then spray your color of choice over top. Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

My experience with the product..... Pure garbage ! Pin holes, patches , not molded completely through, extremely rough surface , the list just goes on ! The Raven said " Never more ! " , I say " Never again !" Another lesson learned from Evilbay. The Old Man

Pat, Sears sells a decent regulator for about $35 . As for the traps , you should have one for moisture and one for oil. Advance Auto sells a set for about $70. If you want to go top end , check with your local Graingers store , they have quite a selection of both regulators and inline filters. Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

You failed to mention what type of paint you're using. Rule of thumb... 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner as a starting point .Depending on your initial results and paint product , you might have to make slight adjustments to the ratio . I have never used acyrlics so I am of no help there . Laquers and enamels have always worked for me using the aforementioned ratio. As for the pens , forget it , they are useless as far as I am concerned. They are a childs toy, nothing more ! From the sounds of it , you are just starting out so let me give you some advice. Put your money into your equipment first , your kits , second ! Having good equipment will make the learning curve come much easier and quicker. Cheap equipment , more often than not , leads to a less than satisfactory finished model . Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Harry, Go with the black panel..... It is unlike you to do anything except the correct way from what I've seen thus far. No spray cans , take your new toy to a reputable shop and get it done right ! Remember, Harry , cheap always comes back to bite you where it always hurts the most ! The Old Man

Lets not forget Lindberg ! Quite a few kits that are more than worth your time and money, ' 66 Chevelle , ' 64 Belvedere , ' 64 Dodge , ' 52 Ford , etc ,all come to mind . The Galaxie kits are excellent. The Old Man

A metal coat hanger fits perfectly in the tube. Run it in and out a couple of times and it will remove any built up residue in your feed tube. Blow it out with a blast of compressed air , run some laquer thinner through it and you'll be ready to paint again. Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

In my opinion , Nope ! You want the body as smooth as you can get it . I finish up with the 1500 Wet / dry and then work my way all the way up to 12000 under cold running water . The smoother the body , the smoother your finish is going to be . Some will argue that paint won't stick to the surface if it is that smooth , not true! Even at 12000 , the body has enough texture for the paint to grab on to . You can't see it , which is a good thing , but it is there ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Yes, I would have to say they are worth the investment . Controlling your paint environment is the most crucial step you can take . I always advise those that are going into this phase to invest their money in the equipment first and the kits second ! You don't have to buy the " Cadillac " of everything, equipment wise , but , I would certainly advise you not to go the " cheap" route either. It always comes back to bite you in the end. I have seen excellent booths displayed at the shows for around $ 400. These are well constructed , built to last a life time. Be sure to put the same amount of time and care into choosing your airbrush and the rest of your equipment. You'll never regret it ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Dave , Congrats buddy ! I'm so happy for you . My oldest had a baby girl , she will be a year old in July . The younger daughter had a baby girl in February. I love being Pap. Your grandson lucked out getting you for a grandfather , he'll be spoiled rotten..... Which is what grandparents are for ! I know you'll do a good job of it too ! Enjoy , my friend ! The Old Man

Look on the bright side , you now know what the problem was and you learned from it .You have new foil coming , you get to work with new stock , and you get to practice .... again ! The more you work with the foil , the better you are going to be with it . This time , it'll all go on just the way it is supposed to and you won't have to struggle with it . By the way , how you even worked with the old foil is beyond me , that stuff was hammered ! The Old Man

Harry, It is just a period of adjustment . Give it a couple of weeks , and it'll seem like you have owned and driven it forever. My ' 85 Chevy pickup has a stick . On the rare occasion that I drove the ex's Taurus , my last of the Mohican kid would laugh until she cried when I reached for the shifter to put the car in reverse. " It's not the truck , ya big dummy ! " She'd crow. The kid got the biggest kick out of watching me trying to downshift and push in the invisible clutch , almost dislocating a knee in the process. Strange sense of humor in that child! As for the gas cap , left side on the Old Girl and the new Silverado . Don't worry , Tinman , a couple of extra shots of Geritol for a week or so outta help it all sink in ! The Old Man

While trophies are cool , Modocon and CA. Autorama come to mind , you only have so much room for them . Plaques can be hung on the wall in the shop and are easy to maintain. Trophies are dust collecters and take up space that could be used for more important things such as ... more kits ! The Old Man

Zack, I'm still here , Like Bri stated , the dvd and the shows are keeping me busy. I still check in every day on the Forum just to see what's going on . Hope everything is good with you . The Old Man

PapaFo, You had a great time Friday night , least ways what I can remember of it ! It was'nt the " Red Pop " that was the problem , it was what they poured in with it ! Tom , you and your crew put on a great show , the best that we have attended thus far. As for Friday night , verbal abuse , stone busttin' and many cocktails were the highlight of the evening ! I have'nt laughed that long or hard in many a year ! To the West Coast Crew , The Ohio Crew , " Father " Greg Hutchings , and all the other attendees of Friday Night's debacle , from the bottom of my heart , thank you for an incredible evening ! Kahuna , I don't know how you do it , but you do ! You are an inspiration to us all ! Your dedication to this hobby is second to none . I thank you ! The Old Man

If you use the white primer for your paint , it is going to mark up with the slightest bit of handling. The black semi gloss is a good start . Try this ... Take an old hood and shoot it with your semi gloss black. After it cures out , take a little bit of black chalk and lightly rub the painted surface . I think it will give you the desired effect. You can do this with just about any standard color , gloss or semi gloss surface . The chalks fade the paint , yet allow the surface to maintain some semblance of a shine. It gives it that well used but still loved patina ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting