charlie8575

Your pictures wouldn't load, so I looked at your album. Very nice work on everything. Charlie Larkin

I like the idea of the stirrers and tape to hold things by color. I may give that a try myself. Charlie Larkin

Neato! I do more rep-stock, but that's a nice looking model and a pretty color scheme. I'll probably duplicate that myself. Charlie Larkin

Pretty car. I might build one just because it's so cool. Admitedly, I do like Mercedes, but this one is just pretty. Mercedes-AMG has a "visualization" feature that allows you to play with colors and such. You know, similar to "build your own" for us plebs! Charlie Larkin

Ah, looking at page two does help. Thanks. Charlie Larkin

I think 70% will work. And yes, some scrubbing will probably be in order. I usually use 70% for thinning acrylic paints prior to airbrushing them. A word to the wise, though- alcohol has a habit of flattening Tamiya paints (I don't know about Model Master Acryl,) so if maintaining gloss is a priority for you, you might want to bite the bullet and ante up for their thinner. Charlie Larkin

Based on what appears to be your wife's feelings towards models (one on display at a time?! Pfui!,) are you sure it won't end up like this one?? Charlie Larkin

It probably would. On a largish sheet of plexiglass, you can probably get a dozen or so cases for about $40-50. I'm designing a small display case now. As I don't like a lot of the glues available for clear plastics, I'm going to use some small wooden splines, and then cut a base out of thin-ish (about 3/8") plywood (heavy enough to not warp too easily,) followed by paint/stain as appropriate. Once I get around to doing these, I'll post a few pictures up. Charlie Larkin

Brilliant idea for the stools, Sam! They look great. Charlie Larkin

Nice color choice. I liked the 1:1 in Spinnaker Blue with the white vinyl top of the pictures shown, and the Sundance special trim. Those stripes are subtle, and look nice. Charlie Larkin

Over the weekend, I picked up a Lindberg Dodge Dakota pickup. Very nice kit. It came molded in red plastic. That in of itself isn't too big a deal, but the nice folks at Lindberg were thoguhtful enough (?- great for younger modelers, I guess) to pre-paint a lot of the details, including the door handles and grille, both of which are molded to the body. Does anyone have any idea what type of paint that is? Also, the interior is molded in black. I'd like to do Forest Green with Camel. Any ideas for priming the interior- i.e., gray or white primer? I'm a little concerned with being able to adequately cover the black. Charlie Larkin

I'd use caution with 91% alcohol. I've heard reports from a few people that it can soften the molded-in details on some plastics. Test it first on your kit. Charlie Larkin

I agree that a color call-out for the exterior for those of us building factory-stock would've been helpful. For example, the 1946 Chevy paint chips I've seen list 1941-42-46, and they don't tell you which colors were available during what years, and the 1947-'48 chips aren't much better, although I suspect they may have just carried over colors (quite possible.) Also, not ever color was available on every body style, a common practice during the 1930s-50s. I found this for the 1946 models (the one I intend to build,) but the color chart from the same manual was so small, it was illegible. The Old Car Manual Project 1946 Chevy specs book As a service to the modeling community, I'll keep poking around and see what I can find, and post usable information as I find it. Charlie Larkin

I'd say it's probably pretty good, Harry. From 1957 forward, all Chrysler's C-body wagons shared roofs, floors, cargo compartment components, and from 1957-59, frames. That's why for most of the next twenty or so years, they were all 122-inch wheelbase cars, from Plymouth to Chrysler. Charlie Larkin

Now I really wish I was able to get to New Jersey! Wow! Every once in a while, around here, you'll see a 1959 Sierra in two-tone light gray and pink. Man is that thing hard to miss! And it's absolutely beautiful, too. Charlie Larkin

Some neat stuff going on here. I am curious, has anyone ever done in resin a Fairmont/Zephyr or the early 1980s Granada (and I think the Mercury Cougar was the same body) or the Fox LTD/Marquis? I'm most interested in a wagon. I'm aware of the ongoing Futura. I hope he decides to make it so I can build a street version as well, not just a racing car. I always thought those were pretty cars with the rear-window treatment. I keep an eye open in case I find one, and because they are what they are, they're not too expensive, either. Let me see how things are progressing with me. I have a few kits I could join in with. Charlie Larkin

Funny you should mention that...although blending GM and Ford styling has never worked too well to my eye. Maybe I'll start playing with some pencils and see what I come up with. Charlie Larin

Personally, I think all-gloss would look really nice, Drew. That's a very sharp combination and one I wouldn't have thought to try because of the flat/gloss issue. I suppose that's what gloss clears are for. On a side-note...has anyone ever tried mixing gloss clear of any kind into flat paint to shine it up? Charlie Larkin

As always Art, very interesting and enjoyable. Thanks! Charlie Larkin

The car pictured is a 1993, it's a Caprice Classic. The standard Caprice was 1991-92 only. I plan on picking up one of those and building a model of my car (although the model will be in better shape!) Charlie Larkin

I can't help but wonder what Edsels would look like if they were still being made today. Nice start, nice colors. Charlie Larkin

Hi, Will. There are two model car clubs in eastern Massachusetts. Both are very good, with nice people. 1. MassCar, which I'm a member of. We meet on the second Saturdays and third Wednesdays in Dedham at 150 Rustcraft Rd. It's not too tough to get too off of 109. Just take 109 to 128 south to Exit 14, follow the rotary to the East St., Dedham exit, follow through to another rotary, go around it, passing by Fisherman's restaurant and turn left at the next light. We meet in the old Rustcraft Greeting Cards building on the left. Park in the semi-circle driveway. Saturdays are at 1:00, Wednesdays are at 7:30. 2. Classic Plastic meets first Saturdays in Lowell at 1:00 P.M., take 495 North to the Lowell Connector. Follow it all the way to the end, turn right onto Plain St., and go into to the VFW parking lot. Charlie Larkin

Those hash-mark decals look nice. That's a very nice build overall; well-done. Charlie Larkin

Very nice; I'm still trying to decide what I want to do for mine for colors. Charlie Larkin

Absolutely. "Everyone is special" means nobody is. Real achievement needs to be honored,and our youth are rapidly losing an understanding of that, along with many child-rearing "experts." All it does is blunt peoples' drive and competitive edges, while the rest of the world laughs at us and their kids eat our kids' lunch. That said, I don't have a problem with a nice "certificate of participation" for the younger modelers so they do have something tangible to hold onto or display with their model if they so wish. But keep the trophies for actual quality builds. Charlie Larkin