charlie8575

I know a couple of people who have done this with the Tamiya lacquers, because they're not "lacquer" a'la DuPont, PPG, et al, but some sort of weird synthetic lacquer. I don't know what it is, but they stink to high heaven- enough so that I wear my paint mask with them, otherwise I feel like I'm turning green. I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen the models myself. So far, I'm not at all disappointed, Coats three and four just went on, with four being a light mist coat. The paint is now drying. A final sand and clear tonight, followed by some detail painting and foiling, then assembly. Worst case, I might do final assembly and decals when I get to Jersey, but I think it'll all be done before I hit the road Friday morning. Charlie Larkin

Very nice, Art. I'll look forward to seeing it Saturday. Charlie Larkin

It's called honor. You're on your honor if you say you did something. As in we have to trust you're telling the truth. However, where it's pretty clear that this man has acted in a way that is dishonorable, the shows should have a right to bar his entry, and possibly even his spectatorship if his presence is sufficiently upsetting. If you can document that someone bought a model and entered it, and at least one of the shows in this area has done that, then a registered letter containing copies of your evidence should be sent, along with a request to return awards and, at the discretion of the contest sponsor, permanent forbearance from entry. Charlie Larkin

More of your fantastic work, Geoff. I always enjoy seeing your projects. Charlie Larkin

I just hit the paint. I must say, Tamiya spray lacquer polishes out nicely, even with 600-grit paper. There was enough schmutz in the paint (dust and such) that I needed to start out a bit more aggressively. As also suspected, I will need 1-2 more coats of paint. This paint is incredibly thin. Quite impressed. After the next coat or two dries, mostly to cover a couple of spots I missed due to tuck-under and to provide a little extra depth, final polish, a probable clear coat for a little extra depth and then assembly. It's raining here, although painting in the basement shouldn't create too much trouble. Post-polish pictures below. Charlie Larkin

Well done. Charlie Larkin

VERY nice guitar. As to saleability- try it. Perhaps have some other instruments to if people want to depict a band? A drum-set, trumpet, trombone, electronic organ and/or keyboard, different guitars. There are a lot of possibilities here. Charlie Larkin

First really good view I've gotten of this one. Very nice indeed. Charlie Larkin

Very nicely done, David. Charlie Larkin

Nice execution. Love the colors. It might be a bit hard to tell, but did you foil the letters on the rear panel? Charlie Larkin

Very nice execution on that. Use that OHC 6 in a Holden. That'd be a fun car. Charlie Larkin

*Rimshot.* Looks like the yolk's on you, Rich. Nevermind me, I'm starting to come out of my shell a little.... Oh, wait, I've been cracked for years...*retreats to shell.* Charlie Larkin

Nice work, Jesus. Two-tones aren't my strength either, but I like what you did. Check mine out. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=88581 Charlie Larkin

Well...as the post title suggests, we now have paint. It'll probably need one more light coat, followed by a polishing, but we're definitely in the money now. I ended up going with Tamiya TS-11 Maroon, as experience has shown Tamiya spray lacquer does work well on plastic directly and it's almost idiot-proofed. I now bring you the results.... I should be able to do most of the assembly sometime tomorrow. Charlie Larkin

I agree; very nice start to that. Charlie Larkin

Right now, a tray table cluttered with other stuff. Re-organization of the house is creating more chaos that clarity! Eventually, I plan to have a small desk/table thing someplace. I paint in the basement or outside if it's warm/dry enough. Charlie Larkin

Two WELL deserved trophies, Fred. Congratulations. Charlie larkin

That's going to be a very sharp car, Ray. I like it. oO//Sting little Cobra, get ready to strike...//Oo Charlie Larkin

Well, one small update. The trip to CVS to print the special graphics as a picture didn't work...their printer scaled it up way too much, and I ended up being this pixelated mess. So, I grabbed a package of 4x6 index cards and decided to give it a whirl. After fiddling with the printer settings to actually get it to print, this is the results. Body update will be coming later. I grabbed a can of Tamiya Maroon, which, over the red plastic, is very close to the Deep Cranberry Chrysler offered. The body is drying now. I'll shoot pictures later tonight. Charlie Larkin

Hmm...I'll try that again, Tom. Perhaps I was rushing a bit, or perhaps the computer doesn't like me. Both, maybe? To clarify, you removed the yin/yang decal from the backer? How did you adhere it to the inside? While it was still wet, or did you let it dry first on another surface? This may be a case of I have to see what you did to understand it. I'd print my own, but our printer is old enough that it won't handle heavy paper without jamming. Printing the photo at CVS costs me about 25 cents (tip- always get the prints in an hour. They actually cost less and use better paper and chemicals so they'll actually last,) and I can do that while getting paint and stuff. Charlie Larkin

Today has been very slow-motion. Things like that happen, I suppose. This is the body, post-strip and wash-down. There's a little bit of paint that's being stubborn. Hopefully, it won't cause problems when I apply color again; this is almost mandating primer now. I think, for the safety of this really horrid, cheap plastic, I'm going to blow the dough and get the Model Master lacquer primer and paint, because I don't want this getting buggered on me. The areas where a lot of the bubbles that occurred are still paint bubbles, but they're coming off with my fingernail. I suppose that's a good thing. The big spot on the top, though, doesn't seem to want to budge much, so I'll leave it rather than risk more problems. As it's supposed to rain, I'll be painting in the basement with the door open to vent. Hopefully some more updates tonight. Charlie Larkin

That blue is gorgeous. Charlie Larkin

The 273/1967-up 318/340/360 are all the LA-block. As to the four-barrel, didn't one of the RevellOgram muscle cars have a 4-bbl. 340? I thought one did? Charlie Larkin

I found that Chrysler Engine Blue is a good match for the vinyl; if the vinyl is a metallic finish, try an overlay of Model Master clear pearl mixed with a little flat to give it more of a semi-gloss finish, while still retaining a pearl/metallic sheen. Steve Guthmiller, who built that beautiful two-tone rose '59 Dodge in the finished section uses Delta Ceramacoat satin pearl clear craft paint for that sheen. Unfortunately, I can't find it around here, as none of the stores seem to carry it, but I think he told me he got it at Hobby Lobby, but I wouldn't want to swear to that (and no, we don't have any Hobby Lobbies in this area.) Pontiac Engine Blue generally does a good job of representing the painted metal pieces (unless they're black or white,) and I like Testors Sea Blue for the carpet- a good shade that works well to represent most of the darker blue carpets used in the 1950s-70s. Charlie Larkin

Past Master Councilor, (former) Marlborough (Mass.) Chapter, 1995-96. And it was the most fun I had. One of my long-term projects is re-activating Marlborough Chapter. New York DeMolay has a really great e-Mail newsletter called The Bridge. Go to www.nydemolay.org and sign up if you'd like. While I was at LIARS last year, I was going to try and make Wantagh's installation, but wasn't able to pull it off. Hopefully this year if it's the same day again. Charlie Larkin