LoneWolf15

Hey , Gang ! I have always believed it is better to give than receive and this year proved it big time. I bought the girlfriend an H series Paache airbrush , a tool box full of modeling tools , and a Revell ' 69 Camaro. She was the epitome of the words " Little kid at Christmas " The lady has a serious case of modeling fever ! The smile on her face was something to behold! The ex and my daughter gave me a hooded sweatshirt with " Chicks dig model builders " across the front of it with a '60 's era Cadillac underneath the logo . I'll make sure to wear it at the shows so Tom Kren and the rest of my crazed modeling buddies can check it out ! Kathie ( girlfriend ! ) got me a ' 69 Falcon from The Missing Link and a beautiful sweatshirt with the Lone Wolf Custom logo airbrushed on the front of it . The wolf head is stunning ! Best part of it all , the ex called me at work Christmas afternoon just so I could listen to the nieces and nephews playing with their new remote controlled helicopters that we bought them for Christmas ! That my friends, was priceless ! Cant wait until next Saturday , we are going to my daughter and son in law's home to celebrate Christmas with my granddaughter . She is too cute for comfort ! I have been warned , after the New Year , my nose is being put back to the grind stone by Kathie ! We are about to start shooting the Tips and Tricks for Show Cars dvd and I have quite a bit of prep work to do in the next couple of weeks. Aside from that , building for the upcoming show season is on the list too. Sometimes I feel like a one legged man in a butt kicking contest ! It's all good ! Bluesman..... A couple more books to add to your list that Davis has out . 1 - Super Stock - Drag Racing The Family Sedan 2 - Quarter Mile Muscle These books are a fantastic source for drag racing fiends , Slixx Decals carries these and quite a few more that are more than worth their weight in gold . Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas . I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year. I'm out , I've got a ' 66 El Camino to finish up and a ' 66 GTO that is almost there too. After that , into the paint booth tomorrow afternoon for a paint marathon that is going to last for about 4 hours ! Hooray for me !......I think ! The Old Man Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Bluesman , I 'm in the same boat with you and Harry , I just can't seem to push for that " intended " date of completion. I keep 6 or 7 projects running at once , in case of melt down , boredom , or off the wall syndrome ! That is just the builds , I always have kits prepped for paint , in case I'm so inclined towards that end of the spectrum. To each their own , everyone has their own likes and ways of approaching the hobby . I started back into this to maintain my sanity ... Seems I waited a bit too long. From reading a lot of these posts , I gather that I have a whole lot of company ! Noticed as of late , a bit of testiness around here . Merry Christmas , Everybody ! The Old Man

If you are worried about primer use and what not ... Simply shoot the body with Testors Metallizer - Aluminum . It provides a paper thin metal coating , drys in about 30 seconds , protects as all get out , best of all , you lose no detail lines . Works like a charm , every time ! Does'nt matter if you are shooting laquer or enamel over it . It does'nt hurt the plastic ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Hey , Gang , I'll throw my two cents in . The later Lindberg kits , ' 64 Belvedere , '64 dodge , 61 Impala , '66 Chevelle , and the '53 Ford are all excellent kits . Florida Boy , you are safe with the '53 . The '34 pickup can be either here or there . The ' 40 Ford is a piece of garbage . All of these kits go together well , the molding is top notch and the detailing is superb . I will caution you on this . For those building the '66 Chevelle kit , trim off a 1/4" off each side of the frame in the front . If you don't it will cause the front fenders to bulge at the bottom and the bumper does not fit right . Other than that , I never had a problem with any of them . Also , in case you are interested , AMT's Pro street Roadrunner & GTX frames fit right under the Belvedere with no work involved . I gotta get a life ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

You , and only you , could or would come up with something like this ! Thanks for the belly laugh , been awhile since I had a fit of full blown hysterical laughter ! Thou art a twisted child ! The Old Man

Amen ! , Bluesman, Amen ! There are far too many products out there on the market , readily available , for anyone to settle for an "okay " paint job ! Polishing kits , airbrushes , Novus products , etc , are out there for a very fair price. Instead of buying a ton of kits, invest in some worth while equipment , and practice ! If you srew up , into the brake fluid it goes , start over again. I was up at Detroit , watching guys spend hundreds of dollars on resin kits , that can't paint to save their lives ! Yet , they'll complain about it to everyone who will listen . Your paint work is the first thing that is noticed on the tables , modelers need to realize this and address it ! Work at it . It does'nt take a rocket scientist to learn how to do it , just some concentration and focus. The perfect scenario in my mind when it comes to the whiners at the show.... As soon as the first word of complaint leaves an individual 's lips , the show stops! The 1st -2nd -and 3rd place winners from that person's class are immediately sat on an empty table. The complaintant 's car is then placed on the table with them . Let the fun begin! Ahhhh ! , In a more perfect world , I guess ! Who knows , they might have a legitimate gripe , this would force the judges to really play fair ! On the other hand , it would shut the whiners up for good. As for me , I'm going to continue to build like an idiot , meet new people , make new friends , and continue to learn as I go . Concerning the youngster's comments on pictures of non perfect paintwork , I just don't see the Kahuna releasing a show car issue titled " Not So Perfect Show Car issue " I just don't see it selling ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Yep ! I'm back at it and still reading and thinking on it at the same time. I'm going to try and approach this from a diffrent angle , to explain what the contest modeler goes up against , to those who do not compete. In other words , don't judge a man until you have walked for a few miles in his shoes . I want each and every one of you to remember this . Without the contests , there would be no contest annuals to purchase , slobber over , or , garner ideas from for our next builds ! That being said , here are a few personal experiences of mine that I have encountered at the shows. I will not mention any show by name , only the state that they were held in , thus protecting the identity of the guilty parties ! I placed first in the street machine catagory at a show in Pa. This put me in the running for the Best of Show catagory. My car was now one of 12 , vying for the award. A car that placed 3rd in the street machine class was chosen for the Best of Show award . The car had a minimum amount of detail done to it , the paint job had a clearly visible thumbprint in the paint job under the clear coat , and the Bare Metal foil work looked like it had been applied with an axe . In short , it did'nt even come close to the other 11 finalists . The reason it was chosen ? The individual had followed a recent article in S/A and made the car's headers from solder . That was the only reasoning behind the judges decision. Stupid! Me , I laughed it off , some others reacted a bit diffrent , to say the least ! I attended another show in Pa , I overheard the judges argueing over a Batmobile entry for Best of Show. Now , I am not a great fan of this particular model , however it was an outstanding piece of workmanship , literally flawless! One judge stated that he hated the model , period ! There was no way that he was going to vote for a subject that he hated , not at " HIS " show. Talk about bias ! Personal prefrences should never enter into this arena! I competed in a show in Ohio, I was up for a Best Paint award , I did'nt get it . The winner was a ' 66 Cobra that had not been painted , it had been polished out with an LMG kit. At the end of the show , the guy that had won the award tried to give it to me , God bless his heart . All he kept saying was that it was'nt fair . Every time we see each other , we start laughing and one of us will start whistling " Three Blind Mice" It's a great memory ! Ridiculous ! , but funny ! I'm not even going to mention the state on this one , too many people that I love and respect are involved. A large group of us had been attending this show for several years and had done quite well awards wise. At this show , we were booed when we went up to receive our awards , not loudly , but it was there! The following year , we were all shut out , awards wise . Cars that had been on the tables for 3 and 4 years running , some literally glue bombs , took home the awards . The whiners and complainers had won out . Mediocrity had won out . It's not about the awards on this one , it is about the show club cutting it's own throat. Cars that had more detail in the cockpit of a funny car chassis lost out to cars that when 4 of them put together, could'nt even come close , detailwise . Mediocrity was rewarded , hard work was punished , and the hobby ended up with a black eye. Just plain wrong ! Another boo boo by clubs , shutting down the show area while judging . Dumb ! John Q Public pays their admission to see the models , not wait around for up to 3 hours until the judging is finished . All a club has to do is announce that the judging is taking place and ask that people respect it and give them room to do their job . Most times after the judging is over , the contestants are starting to pull their entries . In reality , what does the paying public really get to see? Some of us travel quite a distance to these shows and have to get on the road . Who loses when we shut down the show areas like this ? Simply put, the hobby does . Stuffing or rigging the ballot boxes at Peoples Choice shows is beyond contempt ! I've seen this one too ! These are but a few of what I could mention examplewise. We do need the shows, they need to be uniform when it comes to judging , most of all , fair ! We all constantly need to be ambassadors to our hobby , you never know who or where the next Augie , or Duleba ,or Dave , etc , is going to come from . I guess it all depends on how they are initially received by us as a modeling community. Guys like Florida Boy and myself and others on this forum have been around since Moses was in short pants. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge available to those who want to learn , all you have to do is ask ! My personal forte , airbrushing with Testors enamels. I'm always around to talk about it. For those of you who have been told or believe that enamels are " yesterdays news" or worse yet , "garbage " , I have two words for you " Ask Gregg " I'm curious as to where this thread is going to go , but I'm liking it thus far ! Sorry this post is so long , I think Ken would be proud ! lol! Oh ! , one other thing ! Getting your model's picture in the magazine beats the hell out of an award any day ! The Old Man Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Jared , I use a Paache H series , single action , perfect with the # 5 head attached for shooting model cars The kit comes with everything you need except for an inline filter (A must! ) and naturally an air supply and regulator . Cost online ... Between $ 44 and $59 dollars depending where you look . I have 5 of them. Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Dave , This topic is similiar to what I entered awhile back in the rant and rave section and I think it is an excellent topic to discuss until something gets ironed out . I've read what was posted on my segment and yours and spent alot of time thinking about it in between those two posts. While I don't always agree with the opinions expressed , I do have to respect them . Here is what I've come up with thus far. To remove the taint of biased judging ... No member of the show host club should be allowed to enter models in the contest . All shows should have a point system ...... So many points based on , detail , paint work , workmanship , and so on , based on a scale of 1 to 5 , 5 being the highest , then add them up. Highest total wins first place. Clubs should educate their judges as to what they are looking at and what to look for in workmanship , scratch building , detail parts , etc. Do not hold shows on the same days as the NNL events or other local shows. These are nothing more than common sense rules / suggestions but would go a long way towards alleviating some of the problems. I believe that the reverse bias that someone mentioned in their post is one of the main problems that we are facing when it comes to the down turn in show attendance . Guys who work their tails off for months building exquisite pieces are punished for their efforts by the shows simply to appease those who refuse to better their skills. After several encounters with this , these guys walk away from the show tables , taking with them the reason we attend the shows, beautiful cars to view . I learned very early on that if a show car does not do well after being entered in several shows , something is off . Either the car has several flaws which need to be addressed , or you need to take your building skills up a notch . I have attended shows for 7 years now. In that time frame , I have seen the same models on the tables , put there by the same individuals , honestly expecting to win . When they don't , they complain ! They need to build another model. Ill concieved paint schemes , glue on the windows , lack of detail , finger prints in the paint , paint work that any member of the citrus family would fall in love with ( orange peel ) , the list goes on and on . There are far too many modelers that attend these shows , who are more than willing to offer sage advice when asked, for this trend to continue . Alot of these modelers have blinders on that will never be removed . That is simply human nature! Our hobby , for the moment , is suffering a down turn due to economics . I believe that this is playing a part in the lowering of the show attendance also . People are working more hours to make ends meet . They can't afford to drive 4 or 5 hours away to attend a show like they once did . That money is better spent on the family . The same goes for the purchasing of kits and modeling supplies and or detail parts. It is a vicious cycle that is eating the blue collar family alive. Mediocrity sucks , we should not award it ! When one goes to a show , expect to win , or expect to get your tail kicked . If you win , great , if you don't , go home and build a better model for the next go around . Don't whine and cry about it . Yes , I have won my share of awards . However ,with what I have gained in friends , education , and companionship , in the modeling world , the awards are a minor thing in comparison. The modeling world will continue to grow , sometimes fast , other times , slow , the important thing , it is that it grows ! Whether you compete in the shows or not , we all should continue to push the envelope to improve our skills and help the newbies as much as we can. This way, we preserve the heritage and continue to improve on the thing that we all so love . Contests are an integral part of this growth that we need to preserve and protect. Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Wash your bodies off with soap and water , then rinse thoroughly with warm water . Do not dry them off with cloth. Jack your regulator up to the hundred psi. mark and blow them dry with filtered air . No lint , no dirt , no fuss , no muss ! Using cloth to dry your cars off is only inviting Murphy into the equation. Just a suggestion . Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Tom, Tell me Steve was'nt like a little kid showing that kit around at the NNL. I wish I had a video camera up there with me .I would have filmed his reaction and sent it to AMT. He was like a little kid at Christmas with a new toy , and rightfully so! Kudos to Steve and AMT for their love for the hobby! Donn Yost

Oh what a can of worms that would turn into ! Buy the dvd and paint your own , Troublemaker ! The Old MAN

Greg, I'll make you a deal. Send the wagon bottom to me , I'll paint it for you. This will give you more time to fight through the spiders and all that webbing on your work bench so you have room to work on the Nova .By the time you get finished with that , your wagon body will be painted , flashed out , wrapped up , and on it's way back to you . I'll even pay for the shipping because that exterminator bill is going to be a killer ! Did'nt you mention the '90's ? Was that like, the 1890's when you last put a finished product on the table ? Just curious . Inquiring minds would like to know ! Donn Yost

Tom , Great pictures ! As always , it was great to see all the plastic psychotics from Ohio again ! As for your weather , I did'nt see it . I always keep my eyes closed driving through Ohio , it's safer that way !If I did'nt , I might end up as crazed as Forrester is ! Donn Yost

Yo ! Kahuna, This show would have been right up your alley , temp was a balmy 40 degrees as compared to the 19 degrees when we left Pgh on Saturday morning. Laying on the beach in the hot sun is no way to spend your life ........Or is it ?...... It was a very good show . Donn Yost

I am of the mindset that they can only make me grow older, not grow up . I will never be able to afford a ' 41 Willys coupe , but I have built over 25 of them in my life time , all in 1/25th scale . All of my builds reflect my personal touch on cars that I would love to own . Can't afford the real one ? , build to your heart's content in 1 / 25 th and you can own them all . I involved my daughters in both the trains , and the cars , and loved every single minute of it. It is a form of artistic expression that is beyond description . Now in my fifties, I can go back and buy the kits that I could'nt afford as a kid and build to my heart's content . The people that I have met on line , at the contests , and through the hobby shops , are the warmest , most easy going , that I have ever encountered in my lifetime . Pushing the envelope on every new build raises new challenges every single time , making me a better modeler. You are only as good as your last build , the next one should always be better ! Donn Yost

My , My , My, I have'nt seen this quote in many a year , but I have always tried to live by it! You are a man after my own heart. Strange that within the same family , his cousin , decades later stated , " We have nothing to fear , but fear itself " Those who do not follow history are doomed to repeat it . These are strong words and advice which never seem to go out of vogue , regardless of the times . Bring it to the tables , win , lose , or draw , it is all about an education and having fun , regardless of the outcome ! Thanks for reminding me ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

I buy mine from Model Empire . I believe web address is is modelempire.com . They are out of Wisconsin. They have a nice catalog , filled with a well rounded group of supplies. Detail Masters also sells a similiar kit . Go to detailmasters.com. Anymore questions , you can get ahold of me at oldmansmodels.com Good Luck ! Donn

A polishing kit from LMG will provide you with wet / dry rubber backed sanding paper . Sanding medium starts at 1800 and goes up to 12000 . Wet sand it gently under cold water at the sink , start off with 4000 and work your way up to 12000 . After that is finished , wash your body off with warm soapy water and dry it . I use Novus 2 to polish out the body , applying it with small squares of soft tee shirt . After you finish with the Novus and satisfied with the finish , apply The Final Detail wax in the same manner. Your paint will look like a mirror. If you find a few spots that you' re not happy with , you can go back over them following the same steps. Sometimes a spot will be stubborn and you'll have to step down to maybe the 3200 grade. If so , you polish it to get the spot right and work your way back up to the 12000 , repeating the Novus and the the wax tratment again. Hope this helps. Donn Yost

It was just a general discussion , not a rant or a rave , and besides , you commented on it . As for painting your father's trains black , thank God you had such a loving and tolerant parent , I'd have beat you your behind black and blue all the way back to the point it that would have taken you three more years to reach the age of five ! But then again , that is old school ! Donn Yost

We went to a show in Morgantown.W.VA. several years ago . One of the local guys from Pgh. took 6 of the Johan Hearse kits and kit bashed them into one long limo ! He then took all of the custom interior parts that he scratch built and sent them out to be gold plated with 24 karat coating . To say the least , he had a small fortune wrapped up in this project . A short time after it was placed on the table , an ill behaved little brat decided to start pushing it back and forth on the table. This was not the first time he had done so , he had been admonished for this several times before. From the moment that he and his siblings had entered the door , they had been creating havoc, running up and down the show isles, banging into the show tables , attempting to touch the models, etc ! Grimm had finally had it ! He removed the limo from the table , put it away , and promptly gave the brat's father a piece of his mind concerning the children's behavior . The confrontation almost came to fisticuffs . The father told Grimm that if he did'nt want his models touched , he should suspend them on " sky hooks" , if they were so precious ! By this time , the father was surrounded by more then a few irate modelers . The club president stepped into the middle of all this and handled it like a pro . He pulled the father's entries from the show , and had the family escorted out of the show . He apologized to Grimm and the rest of the contestants for not handling the situation sooner . All of this could have been avoided simply by the parents controlling their kids. I have had fellow contestants glue parts on their cars at the show table , reaching over top of the other contestants entries and had superglue dripped on my paint . Not a great disaster , I was able to sand and polish it out . Bottom line , it should have never happened . I always arrive early at the shows so I can put my cars down where I want them to be . More than a few times , I have come back to the tables later on to find my models have been moved . This irritates me to no end ! If you want a certain spot on the tables , be the first in the door ! I solved the problem with judges picking up my cars awhile back . All of my cars are on mirrors , the detail is plainly visible for all to see. No reason what so ever for anyone to touch them . I had a judge flip one of my hoods over with a pencil to make sure the bottom of the hood had been painted . The hood tumbled off the table, hit the floor , and the judge inadvertantly stepped on it , chipping the paint . Being that it was a custom mix , I could not replicate it to a perfect match with the rest of the body. Now , I use the mirrors to avoid this type of situation from occuring again . Too often , people are like a bull in the proverbial china shop at the tables . If a judge wants to look at a car , get the modeler that built it , and allow them to handle it . This removes all liability and any semblance of a recipe for disaster ! All in all , my fellow modelers , for the most part are careful and considerate of each others work at the shows . The fact that there are always a couple of boneheads in every facet of life is simply a given ! Donn Yost

Model Empire has a nice selection of paints that you can order through their catalog or website . I use nothing but Testors enamels with excellent results. I airbrush with a Paache H series gun and use garden variety laquer thinner that you can purchase at you local hardware store to cut it with at a two parts paint to one part laquer thinner ratio.The laquer thinner helps the paint to flow better , dry quickly , and you lose none of your trim detail . The trick is to use multiple whisper thin coats not two or three heavy ones to achieve a nice gloss and depth of color. You don't want to use automotive laquer thinner as it will turn your model into a puddle of plastic. If you are looking for grabber green , "lime green ? " , Testors sells a color called Sublime green which is dead on for the 70's era colors . Feel free to email me anytime with questions about paint at www.oldmansmodels.com , I know a little about the subject . By the way , welcome back to the hobby ! Donn Yost Lone Wolf Custom Painting

Ken , You did the right thing. If nothing else , the youngster should have learned where cheating leads to . However, judging from the rest of your story , the avoidance of your contest by the nefarious pair speaks volumes otherwise ! I remember working shoulder to shoulder with my daughter on her models for hours at a time . She stayed with it for 6 years and I loved every minute of it . There is nothing more satisfying than watching your child build a model on their own ! When they win an award with it , it is even more priceless because they earned it solely on their abilities , no one elses! The aforementioned parent is robbing his child of the sense of fullfillment and joy of a job well done , not to mention the pride and feeling of self worth that comes with it ! It goes without saying how unfair it is to the other junior contestants when this situation occurs! As for "old school " no such thing , we need more of this not less. Right is right , wrong is wrong , the truth is always the truth ! Ya done good ! Donn Yost

Hi Gang ! I'm new to the Forum and did'nt realize I could post my website here. Website address is www.oldmansmodels.com . Feel free to visit any time . Check out the information on my new dvd on airbrushing show quality finishes . There are pictures of about 70 of my builds. Drop me a line and let me know what you think. Thanks, Donn Yost Lome Wolf Custom Painting

Quanah , Try a piece of scotch tape , it will pull the decals off , if not packing tape will ! Press the tape to the decal and gently pull . You might have to repeat this several times , but , it works. As for saving the decals , uh uh ! Not gonna happen , Kiddo . Once they are on , in my experience , they are done , especially 35 year old ones. Believe me, somewhere out there , one of these plastic psychotics has some stashed ! If you are going to repaint the car anyway , soak it in a tupperware container of brake fluid , it will all come off , paint and decals together! The Old Man