Steve Keck

I never realized a round ball mill could mill a half-round circle.

Slant, Check out the tutorial by Mark Taylor on body prep, priming and painting. It will answer most of your questions. Check with Scalefinishes.com for the proper reducer. Base coats affect the final color. Get some plastic spoons. Prime and paint right up through the gloss coat. Use different metalics at the approriate stage. I paint on the convex side of the spoon and write the sequence with a fine Sharpie on the concave side. Bw aware color sanding metalics will affect the color as the particles float to the top then get sanded off.

I read your request as wanting metal "o's" and not rubber. If that's the case, then Replica & Miniatures of Maryland makes a package of photo etched concentric "o's" labled as Wizard of O's. These should satisfy your steering wheel horn rings and instrument bezels. Another way to create your own rings and bezels is to find a rod of the correct diameter and wrap the appropriate colored bare wire around the rod. Wrap many revolutions. Make a cut through one revolution with a sharp new blade. Slide the ring off the rod; re-align and glue in place. If you want to replicate the black rubber weather stripping look in the beauty/hair care department for rubber bands to hold the fairer sex's hair back. Wire with black insulation can be used for this application as well. Steve

Hey Scott! How ya doin? Long time and all that! Was it last Septmber in SoCal we last met? I just checked the Micromark site and the punch & die set is $35 plus S&H. The 9 punches are 1.0 mm (0.039 inch) to 5.0 mm (0.197 inch) diameter in 0.5 mm (0.0197 inch) increments. Steve

Brandon, Welcome to the board! There is a LOT of knowledge here. Ask and you'll get responses. Some info that might help in the long run: Best non-chain hobby shop in AZ happens to be in Tempe. Hobby Depot. 216 W. Southern A model swap meet that happens 3 times a year happens next on July 10th at the Postal Worker Hall. 3720 West Greenway Road August 4-7 at Phonix Convention Center: IPMS Natl Convention with the world's largest "hobby shop" (over 260 vendors tables sold out) and an expected 2000 contest entries More here: http://www.ipmsusa2010.org/ Steve

With your experience I figured you would know better than most what the back seat looks like LOL!

I found some similar to the above but not quite as nice at a model train store in the "G" scale section. Sorry no opportunity to include pictures today.

Randy, Please post a link to the tutorial you mention. I searched in the members section for ZEd and the only member I found did not have a flames tutorial listed. Thanx Steve

Dave, LOTS & LOTS of putty and primer! Any ghosting here? How did the paint turn out? Any reactions? Steve

Those are the tools and materials reguired to scratch build wire axles from coat hangers. Excellent tutorial. Don't miss it. Steve

Harry, I have other more lofty and noble goals Steve

THANX! Steve

Glory Hound!LOL! Steve

After you buy the Waldron punch you will be poor LOL! Steve

Zoom Zoom covered this very well. I can only add that the airbrush allows you the ability to paint the A,B,C etc. pillars and wheel well edges without paint build up on unwanted surfaces. The easiest way to decant Tamiya is to force a two inch section of 1/8 aquarium aerator hose over the blue nipple and shoot it carefully right into the airbrush cup. I don't wait but 15 -30 seconds for it to gas out before spraying. Steve

I believe in the right tool for the job - when I can afford it. In this case the tool is the Waldron Model Products punch and die set. I gave it to myself for one of my many birthdays. It comes ready to punch holes in the following diameters: .160, .120, .089, .081, .059, and .039 inches. Punch out the appropriate size from BMF; seperate the foil from the backing with a sharp Exacto blade; apply with tweezer and burnish with a Q-tip. The first search I did came up $55 for the set. Steve

Nouse, I would apply the BMF over the primer or you risk the primer appearing around the script in the end result. (There's a thought: Black primer around chrome script) But, I digress. Urethanes should not be a problem Here's a picture of Tamiya TS lacquer over BMF. I believe this script is coarser than that you are dealing with. You may want to trim the foil close to the script. I have not had luck doing that as too little foil means too little adhesive to keep the foil in place. The edge of the foil can be visible so a little primer feathered over the edge would help the transition. I wouldn't recommend putty in this situation. Last, what you see is the result of removing the paint with polish not sand paper. Take your time and the script will reveal its self. Steve

Thanks to all for your comments - much appreciated. Here some photos that may fill the requests. I think I've pushed my camera to its limits. The hood is from the AMT kit. The side trim was replaced with styrene strip finished with BMF. The dash & guages are from Replica & Miniatures of Maryland. The door hinges were made from shim brass and brass rod; painted seperately and mounted later. The carbs, fuel pump with fuel bowl and oil pump are R&MoM as well - this stuff is great - I highly recommend R&M. The air cleaner covers were the first success from my lathe. Thanks for looking Steve

You ask

Mike, First of all WELCOME! There is a lot of good here so stick around. I have paraphrased your quote from above but I think I captured your intent. Here's my view: There are many "Masters" here and many share their knowledge freely. Ask and they will respond. They, too, continue to want to learn. When someone says "I did it better (or faster, or cheaper)they ask "How?" I'm changing from third to first person as I include myself from here on. When someone continues to says "I did it better" and ignores repeated requests to explain and furthermore will not respond with even "that's my trade secret and I'm not tell'n" it gets me and others to wondering. So welcome to Wonderland where not every thing is as it appears. The Wii players were lost before we could save them. Using S.T.F.U. will draw more attention than you want. Read the board rules. I stay here because I can sift through the soap operas, laugh when I can and learn what I can. Steve

And others ask for interior and engine shots. I'll try to accomodate all requests - probably by tomorrow night. Steve

Thanks! The resin roof was mastered using masking tape for texture but leaving a seam down the middle. I sanded off the texture, primed and sanded, then painted the roof Tamiya Matt Black, TS-6. Next I dyed surgical silk fabric with Ritz black. When done and dry I stretched it over my home made vacu-form frame. I was afraid a strong adhesive like 3M Super 77 would attack the TS-6 so I sprayed the top with water-based Microscale Metal Foil Adhesive. If I did it again I would take the chance and use the Super 77. I live in a very arrid climate but even here when it gets humid the Metal Foil Adhesive relaxes and the silk wrinkles a little. Following the adhesive directions for cure time I flipped the fabric over onto the top, pressed it down and trimmed it. Hope this is clear. Steve

Try the acrylic paints from the big box craft stores - mucho selections.

Bob, thanks for the link. Question: Which of the guys in the video is Dave?