MrObsessive

I see a Type 3 listed there! I'm hoping somewhere along the line someone would do this!....................... One of my favorite Karmann Ghias along with the regular ones! Tapani and company..................you guys got one of those in the pipeline??

Greg, just check this thread here...........Tom has a link embedded that has pics of the Caddy.

SPECTACULAR!! Love the redlines! 500 rivets?? I thought I was bad with detail............that had to take forever! I know it took quite a long time to put on the 100+ rivets on my D-Type Jag years ago!

Or what they did to a bunch of 1958 Plymouths in the making of "Christine"!

One thing I would try to do before painting is to test fit different methods to getting the body on before I paint. Whatever the easiest way to get the chassis on with the fewest attempts is what I would go with. Maybe write this method down on the instruction sheet so you won't forget when it comes time for final assembly............I just hate surprises when you're so close to the end!

Hi Dean and Welcome! I built this one (the Enthusiast Series) way back in the '80's and I remember having to pry the body open slightly to get the chassis in. Unfortunately, it sounds like you've already painted it------in which case all I can tell you is to be VERY careful that you don't chip the paint! I highly recommend test fitting everything before doing any body painting to avoid pitfalls such as this. Hope it all goes well--------just use some patience trying to get 'er on. I eventually did get mine to fit, but I no longer have the model as it's been gone for years.

Okay, after some selfburnout------computer crashes, and too much of life going on.............I wanted to get going again on this 'Merc! Not a real long update here, but some pics of the interior, and now a couple pics of the car on all fours. One of the things I hate the most about old kits are their "tub" interiors! It makes painting most difficult, and since I like to use water based acrylics best for interiors----------------they simply don't brush very well for my tastes. I decided to hack this one apart, but unfortunately when one does this, it can leave some huge gaps from the X-Acto blade such as seen here . I could have used some plastic strip to fill in the gaps, but I wanted to try something that I haven't done for many years. Make my own "plastic putty"! Simply cut up some plastic scrap or sprue, and melt it in a jar with some liquid glue such as Ambroid or what have you. When it melts, simply spread it on, wait 'til it dries, then sand away like you would normally do with plastic. Here's the interior painted up and ready to put back together. I had more pics of the interior before it was painted and showing the gaps, but that might have been when the desktop took a dump and they were lost as I can't locate them now. Even though I had a backup, if the crash happens before they're saved--------they're gone for good. Various shades of blue were used for the colors--------going by photos I had of an original '49 that was being sold on eBay. While not 100% to the pics, I got the "feel" of what I wanted the interior to look like. And here's the dash--------I used BMF to bring out the chrome on the bezels. Color was airbrushed on-------particularly for the top of the dash to give a semi gloss look, I sprayed at a distance to achieve this. Here's the interior all painted and put together............ And here she is on all fours to get the stance squared away. Still have a little bit to go yet, and sometimes this is the part of the build I hate most--------------the little tedious stuff that can have a big impact on the final result! Tires and whitewalls are from The Modelhaus I was going to use on another project at one point, but decided to use them here as I hate painting wide whites! I'm not too crazy about the gap between the trunk lid and the rear fenders----------------this won't be a show goer (AFAIK!), but that's something you want to watch out for if you ever decide to build this. If this were a full detailer like I'm apt to do, I would have made my own hinges and not used the kit ones here. ...................but I'm trying to use the K.I.S.S. method as much as possible here. Next time I update this thread I'll give a few sneak peeks as to the final result, and then she'll be in the under glass section. For those of you chiming in on your lost pals............it's no problem at all! I don't mind the stories as this has been a real learning thread for me as well-------it gave me a snapshot into a number of you fellas' lives. Any questions ask away-------------------Thanks for lookin'!

Oh Virgil, I'm soooo sorry to hear that! He was a cute dog. It's amazing how pets can very quickly become part of the family. I still think of KitKat from time to time, even though I got a new kitten back in January. The new one doesn't replace him (she's a very different personality), but at least it's giving a home to a cat that otherwise would be out on the street.

Stay tuned!.........

Hi Jim, I've been doing fine lately----------Work had gotten real crazy with overtime so the 'Merc took a back seat to building. I recently started working on it again, and do have the interior finished. In fact the model is sitting on all fours as of now.........just a matter of getting the small stuff done to finish 'er up. I won't have time until Sunday though to compose something reasonable to read, and to post the pics and whatnot here. AFAIK, Little Motor Kar Co. has no website, but here's his address: 203 Linda Lane Reading, PA 19606-3511 You can click here for any email you'd like to send him.

Yup! That's him-------another good plater is Little Motor Kar Company located down the road from me here in Reading, PA. He good for those of us who live locally and can take our parts directly to him.

Welcome! You don't say which kit you got, but I would always recommend to beginners that they start with something simple. It doesn't necessarily have to be a snap kit, but something that won't have you screaming at the kit after a short while. Here's a thread I started a while back..............It's a pretty long read, but it gives the basics for new ones (and some old ones ) just like yourself. I haven't forsaken the model as it's not done in the thread (only small things to do yet), but the big stuff like painting and BMF'ing is what I get into with detail. Just click here if you're interested in viewing it. Pay no attention to the highlighted words....................I lost the thread as I had the computer crash awhile back and didn't have it originally bookmarked. Don't hesitate to ask questions.............this time of day I can answer questions if you have them-------but I work third shift and don't have much time to answer in the evening. I may be on the board, but in between trying to eat dinner and such I have a small window of time. Hope it helps!

Now that is lookin' mighty nice!! To me the stance is perfect!

Bob, here's a screen shot of the page showing the part number of the powder. I went to "Today's Inventory List", and hit "tools and paint-------then the page switched to everything that was listed. I then did Control "F" for Kosutte and it found it. Here's a screen shot of what it looks like on my page.............. It looks like you'll have to email them to order..............I admit this is a bit too convoluted to order something when it can be done simply from their page.

Thanks for the link Charles. I too don't know if this is the miracle shot or not, but I may order some in the future and check it out. I also would like to see that video of it in use.

Okay here it is................just click here fellas. It just makes life easier when a product is described to post the direct link and make sure it works. .....................And now I just noticed that it's now discontinued at HLJ. Oh well...............

Could someone, somewhere, somehow, post a DIRECT link to this product??? It's sure mighty frustrating to see something neat described and then there's no direct link. Yes, I've looked------Yes, I've Googled, and no the video doesn't work for me either.

Superb Job Peter!! Excellent scratchbuilding! The video production was excellent! Note to Ed: Stay out of PA as well! Same difficulties as Jersey!

With the economy being the way it is, it can be too expensive to buy an extra kit just for the sake of cutting out the doors. ..............And with kits costing upwards of $20+ that can be a big OUCH!! Here's a pic of a Turbine Car build where I needed to tighten up the door lines a bit with sheet plastic. Not hard to do, just take your time to get the contours where you need them. Hope this helps!

I wrote a pretty comprehensive article on opening and hinging doors for the Nov. '08 issue of MCM. You can order a back issue here on the board if you'd like. I didn't cover gullwing doors, but the technique for opening panels is pretty much the same. The back edge of an X-acto blade is good------some guys also use thread (could never do that one), also a dremel-moto tool is good for grinding out some of the plastic around the perimeter of the inside of the door works great. Also, (I cover this in the article) you'll need to add some plastic back to the doors once they're cut out. Nothing looks more unappealing (at least to me) than to see a model with the doors cut out, only to see these HUGE gaps around the perimeter of the door! As far as hinges, I would try to find some pics of an old Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing to get an idea of how the hinges would look. Even better if you can find pics of a Delorean under restoration, to give a good look as to how the doors look when opened.......door jamb pics, etc.

Happy anniversary Nick! Yesterday was four years for me.............My how time flies!

Clever idea Bill...........and a really sharp '57! For some reason I still like the older tool '57 Chevy better than the newer one! Something about the "feel" of the older one is more appealing. Sure it has some flaws (don't they all) but the older tool seems more "right" to me. Yes, that Future is great stuff! I'll always tout the benefits of using it--------especially for using it as a barrier against that nasty yellow or red plastic bleed through!

Fantastic Build!! Harold makes some outstanding kits as I have his Cobra Daytona................his FIA Cobra is really top notch!

That's a real looker Steve! Excellent paint! I've come to have a lot of respect for rotaries as I was nearly embarrassed by one years ago in my '69 AMX 390! As far as the defroster lines.................try this. You can mask off each line one by one with Tamiya masking tape and use a black "Sharpie" to color in the lines. I don't know if they call them Sharpies in the U.K., but they're basically pointed magic markers. It would take awhile.........but if you mask one line at a time and color in as you go, the results would look pretty good.

Well, it's fitting isn't it??