charlie8575

Joel, First of all, very nice build, especially the engine. A few thoughts on your colors and interior. If you can figure out how to do this, it might be wise to fill in the gap on the front seat-back. Perhaps some small round or half-round rod might do the trick. As the white/turquoise isn't stock (Straw (light tan) and Mahogany (dark brown) was the sole color from the factory,) For Glacier Blue, you can certainly get in the ballpark using Testors Light Blue. The non-metallic color might also make painting the wood easier. Sandpiper Tan isn't too far off (at least to my eye) from Model Master Shell Beige. With regard to the wood area, I would suggest using white primer for the body, and masking off the wood area to make painting easier. Seafoam Green might be best replicated with Testors Gloss White with Gloss Green added a few drops at a time. Testors Cream in the square bottles, mixed with a little light brown, will get to "maple" pretty well. Dry-brush some brown for graining, and top-coat with some thinned clear yellow to give the slightest cast without changing the color- play with the tinting a bit before application. The mahogany Di-Noc decals are best simulated by starting with a brown-red mixture, and building up with brown mixed with black to darken it a bit and black, which will suggest the grain pattern. Take a look at some pictures of plain-sawn mahogany to get the grain pattern. Top-coat this with some clear gloss; even if using enamels, it might be safest to use acrylic clear, which will also not yellow. The clear acrylic should be applied over the entire wood area. With regard to stripping, I've found it's safest to strip resin with Easy-Off, it's enough less potent to avoid damaging the resin. Whestley's Bleche-Wite also works well. Good luck with this project. It's nice to see something different getting done. Charlie Larkin

VERY nice work, Tom. Resin master? Charlie Larkin

I personally would've gone with the inverse (red with a black cove,) but man, does that look nice! Charlie Larkin

Beats the almost six feet of snow we've gotten here in the last three weeks from the sounds of it, Geoff. That Trabant is absolutely stunning. I thought it would never say that about one of those. Looking forward to seeing this one completed. Charlie Larkin

Like and thanks sound good. So does Bill's anonymous "yuck"/dislike button. Charlie Larkin

Really? I have to say, though, the nose on that rig is a very handsome piece. Reminds me of the Brewster-bodied Fords. Charlie Larkin

Wow... I'm buying a fastback. That wood option looks great. Mike- very nice job with yours. I remember seeing that in at least one of the magazines when it was out. Jairus- I can understand a little displeasure about some of the remarks made by the GM rep about the young lady on the swimsuit (I mean, really, hasn't she ever seen a '40s two-piece??) but the revised art, at least in my opinion, is 1000x better, and is much more befitting of the rest of your stellar work. And that coupe....I can see a very nice matron's car coming out of that in black or dark green. I'm really looking forward to this one coming out. Now, the million dollar question- will Gary include the cute girl on the box-art?? Charlie Larkin

Perhaps this is going to be Moebius looking to move production stateside? I'd be very happy if that happened. I'll gladly grab another one of these. Charlie Larkin

If I find this at NNL, I'll believe it. And not a second before. Charlie Larkin

Ordering next paycheck. Very nice. Charlie Larkin

Please do. I'll look forward to seeing them. Charlie Larkin

I agree. It's a very nice model. I'd consider buying another one. Charlie Larkin

This makes the point I was about to make, Bill. While improvement might require change, change is not always improvement. Charlie Larkin

Love those fish tanks. Great idea. Charlie Larkin

I love stories like this. Give me a couple of days, and I could work up a good case study with this. Charlie Larkin

Yeah, what he said. Part of the aesthetic of an automobile is its sound. And, frankly, I think this will cost Ford dearly. More manufacturers are moving to V8s, as they've found ways to make them get six-cylinder mileage, or very close, and still perform better. This is a sad day indeed. Charlie Larkin

Moebius is rapidly turning into the company to beat in a lot of respects. Charlie Larkin

Cool. Very nice truck, too. Charlie Larkin

Driven daily for 38 years. Except possibly getting something in a little better condition to start with, the idea has a lot of appeal. https://autos.yahoo.com/news/man-buys-pickup-75-drives-38-years-plus-153023218.html Charlie Larkin

That looks very nice, Geoff. And I'm starting to think the kit may be more complex than the real car. For curiosity's sake, have you found a paint chip set for Trabants anywhere? For those of us Stateside, it would be helpful for painting and detailing. Charlie Larkin

Excellent work, David. This is definitely a credit to you and your skills. I'll look forward to this one coming along. Charlie Larkin

One of the reasons I'm probably going to remain single. I'm sure there are some special women out there that get it, but I have yet to meet one. Welcome aboard. Charlie Larkin

I have about a dozen things I'd like to get done hobby-wise. 1. There are about 6-8 car builds I really want to get done, and if I can get more in, so much the better. 2. I want to have a more permanent work area. 3. I also plan on finally building my model railroad again, along with the requisite items for that. Charlie Larkin

Finish my LIARS project from last year that ran into "technical difficulties." Get a '55 Chevy ready for MassCar. Get an Impala ready for LIARS this year. Get something ready for NNL-East's sub-theme of hearses. Charlie Larkin

My understanding is that Goodyear especially is exorbitant in their licensing charges. That kills Monarch, Kelly-Springfield, Fiske, Dunlop and two or three other smaller brands. Firestone, according to someone I know with some knowledge of the licensing process, does not charge royalties, and only asks for review samples prior to signing off on it. Firestone would be Dayton, Bridgestone, LeMans, Runway and a whole bunch of other gas station tires. I'm not sure about Michelin, although I've been told they're more difficult than expensive- that controls the availability of Michelin, BFG and Uniroyal/U.S. Royal. I've long advocated going with the companies that make gas station tires, like Multi-Mile or Cordovan, or smaller firms like Cooper or Continental-General. Similarly, we could use companies that are out of business, like Armstrong. I suspect that a lot of these companies would be very reasonable to deal with because it's a little bit of brand exposure, and, if they want royalties, a little extra income. "But these are small brands!" "But these are...*gasp* aftermarket tires!" "But....but...but..." Yeah, so? Looks a far sight better than blank sidewalls. Charlie Larkin