MrObsessive

As Matt mentioned, I use Tichy rivets to replace or replicate rivets where needed. It can be a lot of work, but it's worth the extra effort to make that detail stand out. Here are couple pics of the rivets in my '55 Jaguar D-Type build that's in my signature............. IIRC, they come in different diameters and come on a tree for easy cutting.

Lee, the body color is plain 'ol Krylon Navy Blue over Plastikote gray primer. The interior seats were a mixture of the Navy Blue and White to get the two toned look-----and the interior door tops and dash were blue mixed with Alclad aluminum to give a slightly metallic look per the 1:1 pics I had.

Thanks Russ! In answer to your questions.............One should always rub out their trim before putting down any BMF with the polishing cloths. I've seen nice builds that are somewhat marred by BMF that is craggy and bumpy in appearance and takes away from a decent look. The sheet I used was about a year old.............I got the sheet when the first "New and Improved" ones made their debut. If the sheet is getting fissures and whatnot, it's best to get rid of it as it'll constantly tear each time you try to apply it. There has since been another "New and Improved" version of BMF since I started building this, but I haven't tried it yet. I hear good things about it though. BMF'ing takes practice..............one just has to get proficient with using a new Exacto blade without pressing too hard, and sometimes making a "trough" when there is no defined edge to cut your BMF. Hope this helps!

I wasn't quite sure about the blue also Harold after it was painted...............but since this one won't be a show goer, it's no big deal. My idea mainly was to show how Future can help as a barrier, to hide those annoying "splits" down the middle when the whole block and oil pan are molded that way. Here's a pic I used from a car that was on eBay a while back............it looked blue on my monitor, but then I don't see as well as I used to! Of course as old as this car was, it could have been rebuilt years ago, or could have been a replacement. Thanks fellas for all the nice words..............I'm glad I was able to help by giving some ideas to help in your next build!

Ding! Ding! Ding! George give yourself 10 points for the day! Yes, it's from P&P Resins and it's next on my table. Right now I'm cleaning up the body slightly and doing some minor body work. Then I'll start on the engine using the AMT '66 Olds kit as a donor. Stay tuned............it'll be in its own thread down the road.

Thanks Jim! You're close, but not quite there!

Finally after many ups and downs with life, work, and just hassles in general, I'm calling this one done! Fotki seems to be on the fritz at the moment so these are coming from my Photobucket account. I thank you guys for all the nice words and compliments along the way.............hopefully the next one won't take quite this long, but I've learned a few things myself while I was building this. I'm not quite that happy with the fit of the trunk, but I have to remember that this was a "tutorial" model and not one of my superdetailed ones. If I were doing this as a regular build, I would have made my own trunk hinges and tightened up the trunk lid itself a bit more to close the gaps. Enjoy the pics, and comments welcome! Now I do have a couple sneak peek views of the next one I'll be working on--------------if you can guess what it is, give yourself 10 points for the day! ;)

Lookin' real sharp as usual Cruz!! Now lets see you replicate that up top!

Flashback to the Fall of 1968........I'm in the Second Grade and the kids are all raving about this car that jumps through the air and can go underwater! I didn't know what they were talking about until I saw my first episode of Speed Racer........I was forever hooked! It used to come out of WPHL Channel 17 out of Philadelphia------it along with Marine Boy, Astro Boy, Ultraman, Spider Man and Gigantor. A fellow by the name of Wee Willie Webber (and the Peanut Gallery) used to run those cartoons from around 3:00 in the afternoon 'til about 6. Of course, then there was the fight in the house whether to watch Speed Racer, or Dark Shadows which came on at the same time. Thanks for the compliment on my Mach 5!

Did someone say Mach 5?? Here's one I scratchbuilt/kitbashed back in 1993-94. Probably one of my older models in my collection, and one of my first attempts at custom body panel making. I used the mid section of a Italeri Ferrari 250 GTO with AMT Silhouette front fender tops. The rest was good 'ol plain plastic and putty. The wheels were R&D Unique items--------in fact when I first saw those wheels that's what gave me the inspiration for doing the Mach 5. I wanted to make the car as it might appear on the street if it were real, so it doesn't have the buzz saws or the bubble top, etc. The model is a little worse for wear now (it's 16 years old!), with cracking decals and a couple chassis parts that have fallen off. But I hang on to it as it represents a middle part of the hobby for me, as this was the period of time I was starting to get into super detailing.

Nils, you'll want to get some polishing cloths------the ones from Detail Master are good as they'll range from 3200-12,000 grit. I'd probably start with the 4000 and work my way up to the 12,000 to try to get rid of the lint. Follow the instructions on the package and it should be okay. I wouldn't use just any old sandpaper as it can scratch up the paint and make a real mess. In that thread I gave you a link for, I go through the polishing process using the cloths.

Nils, here's a thread I did on basic building on a '49 Mercury a while ago. It should help on some of your questions about painting, prep and whatnot. It's a looooooong thread, but I think it's worth your while to read through it. Just click here to check it out. BTW fellas, there's only a small couple items to finish yet on it and she's all done!

When you're airbrushing, always start away from the model and stop spraying once your past it. This'll minimize the "drops" that get on your paint which can be due to paint buildup inside the sprayer "cup". It might be a good idea to keep some Q-tips dipped in thinner on hand to "wipe out" the nozzle every so often when you start to see buildup. I'm not familiar with your setup, but you'll want to make sure the needle is compatible with the nozzle it's sitting in as well.

Harry, you're right about gaining proficiency with practice from an airbrush. Back in 1985 I was DETERMINED to learn to use an airbrush when the THIRD can of Testors spray paint ruined a Cougar II I was trying to build back then. I started off with a simple Badger (250?) and went from there. I guess it's safe to say that after all these years I've learned to use it properly! That old saying has merit..............."Practice makes Perfect!"

Just as there are a lot of members here on the board, so will there be many different answers to your problem. I always recommend folks TEST their paint on a junk body before starting on their pet project. One recommendation is to make sure you have adequate air pressure coming out of your compressor. I keep mine around 18-20 PSI. Some guys use more, some use less. You'll have to experiment as to what's best for your situation and type of paint. As far as thinning, your paint should be the consistency of milk. In other words, when you swill the jar around full of paint, your paint should just slightly wash away from the sides of the jar. If it washes away quickly, it's thinned down too much. If it's washing away too slowly, thin it down some more. Once again, you'll have to test to see which variables work well for you. If it were me, I'd strip the model and start over--------but that's me just being compulsive! Hope all this helps!

Ernie, the roll bar looks fine to me----but as Rick said it looks like it's a little too forward in the interior. Maybe set it back to about the trailing edge of the door, and it would be perfect.

Thanks for the compliment Tim and yes, I DO remember your fantastic model at the Toledo show in '08! Yes, you're right about the designers losing some of their styling panache after about the mid '60's. Spoilers started to rule the day, and while they look great on some cars and can be purposeful, I like the simpler yet aggresive styling that the '50's early '60's cars had.

Ahhhhh, now this is my kind of build! I'm a real big fan of '50's racers and the Aston Martin DBR1 is one of my favorites! Keep us posted as you go along!

I'm so sorry to hear that Harold! I know what you're going through as I had to have my KitKat put down a day after Thanksgiving. It still hurts from time to time even though I have a new kitten. Of course she's not a replacement as her personality is very different from his. Pets represents different chapters in our lives and you're right.............it's tough to think that someday they'll be no longer with us. Remember the fond and funny moments you had------it'll help carry you through.

First one was this back in October 1978................. Pic courtesy of eBay. I no longer have the model------I gave it away to a cousin years ago who ended up using it for firecracker fodder. I would eventually build another one back in 2002..........but you guys all know the history of that one!

Joe, that could probably be done, but the speed could still be slow due to the amount of data needed to have the pic on the site to begin with. For example.............if a 1200 pixel pic were to be resized into a thumbnail, the amount of time needed to see it could still be longer on dialup, because the pic's file size is still the same even though the pic itself is shrunk down to 120x50 pixels.

Harry, try running some flux (you can get some at the hardware store) on the wires. That'll help clean 'em up somewhat as well as help the solder to flow. Don't hold the iron to the wires too long, or you'll start melting the insulation leading to a bigger problem (shorts)! The solder is "balling up" due to the area not being clean, as well as your tip needs to be squeaky clean in order for the solder to transfer well. One thing I recommend to folks I'm training is to always flood your tip with solder in between soldering and put it in the holder. When you wipe off the tip on the sponge, this will keep the iron tinned as well as keeping off burned on flux, which can sound the death knell for any solder tip if it's not kept off properly. Hope this helps ya Harry!

Nick, do you have a pic of the soldering unit you have? There are all types-------some are not good for soldering at all, while others are fantastic. Soldering would be the best way to go to permanently joining two pieces of metal together. Also, what kind of metal are you soldering? Brass will solder well if properly cleaned, but potmetal or aluminum not so much. A good flux is also important to getting acceptable results for soldering work. The trick to soldering is you want to get the heat in, and get the heat out as quickly as possible. I train people to solder on my job from time to time, and one mistake people make is having too much heat on the part-------destroying the property of the solder and eventually destroying the part itself. A good solder joint should be smooth with no cragginess, or "cold" solder look to it. In other words, for those of us who solder on a regular basis-------your parts should have proper solder "wetting". Here's a couple pics of how a good solder joint should appear.............. Note the hinge that was soldered, has a slight "fillet" around the joint. That's a good sign the part will hold and not break due to a cold solder joint. Here's a pic of the solder unit I use at home, as well as the type we use on my job if I'm training someone.................. It's a Metcal unit I bought off eBay about 5 years ago. The solder tip is a 600º unit and I generally use silver bearing lead solder with a flux core. Hope all this helps!

Beautiful work Chris! A not too often seen car in these parts! That interior contrast is spot on!