Psychographic

Not only is your work amazing, you always seem to find the coolest subjects to build.

Nice work. As for your nylon gear, you could try dying it with fabric dye.

Thanks Pat for the pointers on the BMF. As for the roof, I stuck with my original plan and painted the roof a flat dark tan to simulate a canvas top. I too liked the painted roof to match the body. Unfortunately the lines for the canvas roof were left and I even added the welting to the sides after cutting it up, plus I never painted the whole roof, the back was still primer. I doubt there will be anymore progress shots, the next time you see it will be Under Glass.

Thanks guys. My first attempt at using BMF and it couldn't have been an easier subject, six long straight pieces and two shorties. I'm very happy with how it looks. I also used a small piece to touch up some missing chrome on one of the wheels.

I do, that was a great show!

Very very nice job Doc.

Thanks guys. It feels good to be this close to finally finishing something. I've got a couple of last minute additions to make and should finish up in a couple of days.

After all the work to make the windshield smooth, it broke going in. I had to make a new one from clear styrene along with the rear window as that one disappeared. The headliner is in, the rear sides and back glass are in and the door panels are on . She's getting close now. I haven't broken the body in quite a while! Now that things are getting glued together, the body is stiffer and probably out of danger,

That is one slick ride!

Finally some progress. I got the woodgrain decals, unfortunately I made the base for the panels a bit too dark, You really have to look to see them. I've got the frames about done, just a few spots I need to darken up in the jambs, then the final clear for the wood.

The person who bid $20.

The El Camino was never a stand alone body style from the windshield forward. So to all that said the Holdem Ute/ Pontiac is an abomination and ugly, what would you use as a base for a new El Camino?

So then it's not cheaper than CCP, also you' did not answer the question where do you buy your qts and how much do you pay? I never asked about their reliablitly, I stated a fact based on experience. It was not the painter, HOK admitted the problem and paid me.

"The reason I can't get anything built." You're locked in that shed?

Thanks for clearing up my confusion on the lacquer thinner in the HOK. I thought it was strange to read that it was being thinned with it. What do you pay a qt. and where are you getting it? Also where are you getting 4oz for $3? Can you buy the reducer and catalyst in small quantities also? I'm new back to modeling and don't have a large knowledge of where to buy supplies, hence the qt. reference. As for what I bought at NNL, I don't have it handy, so I don't know where it came from, but thanks for the heads up. I found your statement about the paint on my truck to be a bit arrogant, you don't know who painted the truck, nor their capabilities. HOK admitted a problem and reimbursed me for all the materials. It wasn't the painter. Have you ever sprayed enamel that's been over reduced in 40 degree weather? I f not try it and you will understand the reference in regard to spraying CCP. The Dark Magic was a bit of a joke, It refers to experimenting with different paints and their applications. Had no one done this to start, we would never have the candys and pearls we use now. Also the point of my original post was not aimed at beginner airbrush, nor was the post from the Op. It seems you keep steering it in that direction and that might be the problem why you are having a hard time with other posters on here.

Pat, I agree and disagree with some of your statements and maybe you could clear some things up for me. "Now just think what you can do with other more reliable, more user friendly paints that don't even cost more." I know you are a HOK guy, a great product, but how can you compare a qt. of candy at $60-80, or 1oz. jars at $8 (not including reducers and catalyst), to $2.12 of Cheap Craft Paint (now known as CCP) and Nail Polish (NP)for enough to paint a model? Maybe what I'm missing is, are there two paints available from HOK? Is one a lacquer for the hobbiest and then the urethane for the automotive world, or is there just one line and people are thinning it with lacquer and getting away with it? I have to admit, the HOK line is one I've never messed with altering their product other than clearing it with another brand, so if other hardeners, reducers, thinners will work, I have no knowledge. But then again, even if you only need lacquer thinner to cut it, it's still much more expensive percentage wise than to go CCP/ NP. I did buy a bunch of HOK at NNL East, but have yet to even open them. they were 1 oz. jars, marked down 50% and I paid $4 or 5 each. Even at this price, CCP is still much cheaper. As for ease on a first time AB'er, yes the CCP is harder to spray due to the amount you have to thin it and the long amount of time for the water to flash off. I equate this to over thinning an enamel on a cold day and telling a newcomer, have at it. I think the average person who has taken the time to learn to use an airbrush and understand the properties of how the paint they are using, could in a matter of minutes get the hang of using CCP. I certainly didn't find it harder to spray, just different. As for reliable, who can say what is reliable and what is not in the dark magic of painting? Years ago, my S-10 was painted HOK Kandy Pink over Orion Silver, it failed miserably. after 8 months there was spots showing almost bare silver. "The effort put forth to use these cheap acrylic paints is far more than user friendly Enamels and even cheap aerosols". I actually found this method to be one of the easiest I've used yet to paint a model. The one thing I did like much better, the speed. If you use a hairdrier, it's dry almost immediately. The other thing I noticed, it goes on very thin and you lose very little detail. Clean up was a breeze, but then again after using an AB for as long as I have, I find it rediculous when people complain about cleaning one. A note to anyone reading this, if you spray water through your AB/Spraygun, always flush the water out with a little lacquer thinner. The other benefit to CCP/NP is it's availability. I will definitely be using this method again in the future.

I decided to do some experimenting with the cheap acrylic craft paint as a base for my last paint job. I will explain my process and you can decide if it works. Prep body and prime with grey lacquer primer (it's a house brand from my supply house and is similar to Dupont 131 filling primer). Sand with 600, clean and hit with a tack rag. Dust coat of the cheap acrylic (thinned with hot tap water), hit with the hairdrier to dry. The next coats can go on heavier. Repeat process until coverage is even. Other than a problem I had with my mixing cup, this paint layed down smooth, better than most enamels, lacquers or urethane. Also before moving on, I applied tape to it several times as I was afraid the craft paint wouldn't bite into the primer. It held fine although I only waited about 5 minutes for it to dry, I even yanked the tape off trying to get the paint to lift. It wouldn't. My mid coat was also the cheapest I could find, a 99 cent bottle of nail polish in the exact shade of the cheap craft paint only in pearl. After two coats to acheive even coverage, it was set aside for a few hours. The final step was a couple of coats of clear urethane. As this body is way too fragile, it won't get color sanded and buffed. I don't see a problem using the Cheap Craft Paint, nor mismatching paints. You just have to adapt to your situation, find out what you can and can't work with and use what you are happy and capable of. Other than primer and clear and thinner, this paint job cost $2,12 and I have paint left over. So does cheap paint work, you decide.

It's in a box, somewhere.

My totally chaotic disaster area.

I would hire Bill Geary to finish his GTO with the working convertible top.

Supposedly the only change is removing the splitter.

Well it looks like it's finally going to happen, the trucks are going to Earl's Place (yea, I know it Tony's now), that's right the trucks are going to run at Eldora.

If you look at the general shape of the hood and tops of the fenders, they are very similar on both cars, I wonder how the headlights from the Fusion would look on the Merc. It would bring some of the sharp angles from the back and bring them to the front. I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but the front is all rounded shapes while the back has crisp lines and angles, the headlights might balance it out a little. On the other hand it might be too much and you could lose all resemblance of the Merc.

Still waiting on decals and stalled for the moment. Had a snow day today, so among getting caught up with some projects, I started one that's been in my mind for quite some time. I didn't like it at first and thought the idea was a mistake, but after a little cutting here and bending there I'm starting to like it. I'm toying with making it a Woody too. Or would that be Woody 2?

I'm doing the wood in gloss.