MrObsessive

If I'm not mistaken, the Modelhaus DeSoto is sold as a curbside with the hood molded in. He'd probably have to buy the whole body and cut the hood out..............a lotta work for just a hood, not to mention a trifle expensive. Here's the link to The Modelhaus '57 DeSoto. Don may sell the body separate but I'd call to see.

I gotta tell ya.......years ago I wasn't crazy about this car-----maybe because of the name. It just didn't say "GTO" to me. At least the GTO's I remember from the 1962-63 era. But I've since gotten this kit a number of years ago and now seeing yours, am going to give it a second and third look! Absolutely beautiful job! And yes, yellow does suit this car better than the standard red IMO.

Bill here is the one that my cat wrecked years ago...............It needs the hood to be finished, but I'd sooner redo the whole car. It's a "someday" project now.

Hmmmm.............. Double Hmmmm..............

And remember there were very few if any seat belt usage in those days.........Anyone who was sitting in the front seat in an actual crash would've flown outta there!

I've been in MCM and Scale Auto when certain shows (Toledo, GSL and NNL East) were featured-----one pic kinda up close and personal. As far as me speaking, years ago I did local radio for a short stint as a fill in co-host of one of our morning shows (5-9am). I was invited to return a few times, but never got into it full time as the work is just too iffy. Those that know me of course know what I sound like.......I could never bluff a voice as it's just too distinctive I've been told.

This is just my perception (and opinion) but looking at the Revell '65 from a front 3/4 view, the trailing edge of the roofline doesn't have the right angle to me compared to the 1:1. Both the leading edge and the trailing edge of the "C" pillar should be at the same angle, but to me they aren't. The rear window (part of the trailing edge) could be fixed------but with kits costing $20+ a pop, I'm just not that into the car (yet) to fool with it. I know, I know, there I go being "Obsessive" again! I'm won't be at the meeting tomorrow John as I've made plans to be visiting friends outta town............

Sigh............I hope they fix the roof on it............

WOW that's a LOT of models!!! You'll be YEARS selling those Lyn! As far as my face showing up anywhere..................I don't get crazed about it as my face turned up in magazines long before there was a 'net. Besides, I'm very hard to miss at a show, not to mention hearing me speak would be a sure fire giveaway!

Jody's comment was funny! I never thought the '59 Chevy as an ugly car-----just very different as all the GM '59 line was for its time. Styling IS subjective...............some may have thought the later '61 Chevy's were not so pretty because the fins had been mostly shorn. Still I didn't see the point of the crash 'cept to say that was a perfect waste of a restorable car.

Came across this YouTube vid of a the IIHS crashing a new 2009 Malibu into a 1959 Chevy. Now I don't think the comparisons are quite fair as the Malibu has a 50 year techno advantage over the '59. BUT you gotta see what happens when a new car crashes into an old one! I think the frame on the '59 was a bit tired as I see rust----so I'm not sure if this comparison is valid at all. It also hurts to see the old Chevy get creamed in this way.......how many '59 Bel Air sedans are left now? Take a looksee here

Hendrix does a '53 post coupe, but I know of no one that does the '57-'61 finned Hawks. If you click here and scroll down a bit there's a pic of one. Shouldn't be too hard to convert it to a '54 as they were almost identical save for the grille. Here's the link below to contact Steve Kohler who handles Hendrix resins.............. http://resinrealm.net/Star/HendrixGallery/HendrixAll.html The '57-'61 Hawks are certainly a missing link among Studes, in fact I converted a '53 to a '58 years ago but it got damaged and I never finished redoing it.

Great resto so far Ron! If you've got one of the '59 Chevy (or Caddy) uptops, that would go real nice with that when done. It might need a little tweaking, but those uptops were pretty much the same for all GM divisions for 1959-60.

Your welcome Dave! I'll be using those from now on when I do a build with opening doors! You get quite a few for the price, and those will last for a number of model projects. Glad you liked them!

Hey I got a pic of you talking to me last year George at Toledo. I don't know who took this, but I've added it to my collection of Toledo pics last year.............. That's me in the light blue shirt and George with his back to the camera.

Not the Ajax Dish Detergent for scuffing the surface Rodney, but "Soft Scrub" for doing that. It's the same stuff folks use to clean bathtubs and bathroom sinks. Soft Scrub is also good for dulling the finish on those vinyl kit tires which are always a bit too shiny.

Virgil, I gotta tell you-----your weathering is a work of fine art! That's something I haven't mastered as of yet.......subtle weathering that looks realistic.

Chris, the body (and other parts) were left in the paint booth for a couple hours before I put them in the dehydrator. Yes, you're right............paints tend to dry faster through the airbrush, but it's a good idea to let it set for a spell before sitting in the dehydrator. Since it's only the rockers touching the grid, I didn't worry too much about gouge marks (which it didn't get ) The paint is Krylon which is pretty durable and tough, so touch ups if needed are pretty easy. Thanks for asking!

Why my cats of course! No really, I have a timer on the camera--------I set it on a tripod, focus, set the timer, and start shooting! That's why I have the kinda spooked look in the mask pic------I almost forgot the flash was on!

Greg, I simply use CA glue (SPARINGLY!) to attach wiring for engines. Now I don't use a pre wired distributor, but one that was molded in resin from the aftermarket. This has the holes drilled out and I add the wires. I like to use the end of bead wire (.020) dabbed ever so slightly in a pool of CA (super glue) and then put in the hole. Or if you're careful, you can dip just the tip of the wire into the pool of CA and then attach that way. Some have used epoxy, but I find that messy and slow to use. Here are a couple pics of a detailed 348 I did in a '58 Chevy years ago. HTH!

Here's the body with several coats of primer. When painting, don't try to cover everything at once! Give the body a couple mist coats and then go just a bit heavier with each successive coat. Another rule of thumb when painting whether by airbrush or rattle can, is to start your spray before hitting the body, and then stop spraying after you've passed the body. NEVER START OR STOP ON THE BODY! This will save a LOT of grief such as spitting or "gobs" landing on your paint job. Especially you guys who are into candies this is important! After I let the primer dry for a couple days, I did sand where the primer was a little rough. Some places I used 400 grit followed by 600-----others simply 600 grit and let it go. One tip I'd like to pass along that was given by Bob Black (awbcrazy) is using BMF to cover your scripts and such. After the body is color coated, I'll rub out the letters shown here, and the BMF should show up gradually as the paint is rubbed away. This is a handy tip especially for restorers of older kits and there's no PE available to reproduce what's wanted. Thanks Bob! Okay, I got the letters trimmed out as close as I could------I think we're ready to paint! One thing I did want to mention before I forget-------when you finish sanding your primer if it's needed, you'll want to rinse off the body once again. If you feel more comfortable washing the body in the degreasing detergent, you can do so, but simply rinsing off the body with lukewarm water should suffice. Note here on this hood how I "misted" the few coats on. I went heavier with each following coat. ..........And here she is all painted and pretty. She needs some rubbing out with a polishing kit. In fact, as part of this thread, I'm going to post a step by step process of how I rub out and polish paint jobs. I gotta tell you......it's not an overnight job! In fact, rubbing out and polishing your paint can take longer than painting the body itself-----------at least for me! I'm gonna go ahead and put 'er in the dehydrator, and let her sit for awhile............... As of this post, the body parts are pretty much dry as they were painted this time yesterday and I let them sit in the dehydrator the rest of the day while I slept, and took them out around 8:00 last evening. I'm going to jump into another aspect of the build (engine), and then get started on the rubbing out and polishing later this week into next week. Thanks for looking--------comments welcome!

As I mentioned in another post, I like to wait 'til somewhat near the end before I'll paint. With the detailed builds I do with opening doors and such, I want to make sure there won't be any hangups such as getting the interior to fit correctly, chassis fit troubles, etc. This model goes together pretty straightforward.......so I won't worry about it at this juncture. FIRST thing you want to do is WASH THE PARTS! This will eliminate LOTS of painting troubles I hear about on the board such as paint peeling off, not adhering in certain spots, and the occasional fisheye. After the body parts have soaked for a spell, take a small toothbrush and scrub the parts. I've known of builders to also use Soft Scrub which will certainly clean the parts up as well as give them a very slightly scuffed surface which is good for the primer to "bite" into. My soap of choice here was Ajax dish detergent with a degreaser. (Like Dawn) After you're done and the parts all rinsed off, let them air dry. DO NOT dry off the parts with paper towels or towels you dry yourself with! That's a sure fire way to get dust in the darndest place on your body, and it'll show up nice and noticeable when you start painting! I could put this in the dehydrator if I wanted to speed things up, but let's exercise some patience here and let the parts air dry. Okay! I'm one of those guys who is a STRONG believer in airbrushing! To decant aerosols into an airbrush jar, I take a "snowcone" cup, cut a hole in the bottom, and tape onto a jar. Before you spray the first drop of paint, you want to make yourself safe and use some kind of dual chamber respirator. I also have a spray booth (where the camera was sitting when this pic was shot), and its fan is nice and strong to pull the paint fumes out of the booth vented to the outside. Pay no attention to the startled look of me getting surprised by the flash! For you bearded guys (like myself) you want to test the mask and make sure you got a nice and tight seal. Cover the mouthpiece with your hand and blow-------if you feel your ears pop, you've got a nice seal! Plastikote primer is what I'm using here for the basecoat------------just spray directly on the side of the cup and let the paint flow in. In this case I had to add a bit of acetone to get that "consistency of milk" appearance to the paint which is ideal for me when airbrushing. Stay tuned for more!

That looks pretty good for being a longtimer! I lightened up your pics somewhat..............you might want to check your camera setting to make sure it's not set for fluorescent lighting. That's what can give the blue tint to your pics.