Harry P.

Simple, yes. Brilliant? Not really... If the glass you're replacing is flat (as are most glass panels on the era of cars I build), replacing the glass couldn't be easier. Just lay the kit glass down on your clear material of choice (Lexan, clear styrene sheet, acetate, etc.) and use the kit piece as a template to cut around. I suppose you could just trace around the kit glass with a fine-point sharpie, then cut out the glass piece, but I find it easier just to hold the kit piece down and just cut right around it. If the glass is curved in one direction only (example: a lot of '50's windshields, like a '57 Bel Air, for example), I use clear acetate because it's flexible and will curve to fit the windshield opening. I bought a pad of clear acetate at Hobby Lobby... I have enough material to create new kit glass for literally the rest of my life! If the glass curves in more than one direction (a "compound" curve, like for example a bubble top or the windshields of many modern cars), you have to go to a different way of doing things. You can use part of a clear plastic bubble pack. Many items are packaged in molded clear bubble packs, parts of which can be cut out to make "glass" if you are lucky enough to find a piece that has the correct curvature and no scratches or other flaws. Or like you said, you have to create a form and use the vacuforming process to make the new "glass."

I know the grille shell is in the correct position, because there are very definite cutouts on the fenders that the shell fits perfectly into... it has to be in just the right place. Likewise, the firewall and body shell mount to very definite slots on the fender unit... again, there is no doubt where the firewall and body go, they fit precisely in only one exact spot. So... with the grille shell and firewall glued in place, and the body placed into the slots on the fender unit to check fit, it turns out the hood doesn't fit because it's too long. No big deal... I'd rather have it too long than too short, it's a lot easier to shorten it than lengthen it. Out comes the trusty razor saw... And now, jumping around as I always do from one thing to another... usually I replace all kit glass with Lexan because invariably in these kits of classics, the glass is either too thick, or distorted, or scratched, or has swirls in the plastic, etc. In this case the kit glass was perfect! No need to make new glass! So while I'm polishing all the fingerprints out of it with a piece of an old t-shirt, guess what happens? Right. SNAP. So out comes the Lexan again. The hardest part of dealing with windshield assemblies from cars of this era is that they are incredibly thin and fragile, and there is just about no gluing surface area to glue the glass in. The tiniest mess up and you see glue on the glass. Plus, the wipers are separate and have to be glued in place onto tiny raised round areas on the frame that are about 1/32" diameter! I got lucky and managed to glue the glass and the wipers into place without any glue mistakes:

Are you talking about the brass plated parts? I just sprayed right over them with Rustoleum "Metallic Brass." There's no clear coat on the yellow parts.

No.

" I came home to an empty house and I found your little note... 'Don't wait up for me tonight,' And that was all she wrote..."

"If you want, you can ride my train, And soon forget the reason that you're leaving. You'll lose yourself and then sometime maybe even save yourself some grievin'..."

Cheater!

Never a fan, but it sucks to die at only 70. RIP, Joe.

Hint: "The greatest rock and roll band in the world." Not my opinion, necessarily, but it's been said.

I would take a paid reviewer's word anytime over an anonymous online review that could be total BS. Online reviews by "who knows who" are completely unreliable. You could be reading an honest review written by a person who is actually trying to be helpful... or you could be reading a restaurant "review" written by some guy in his mother's basement who has never even been near that restaurant, much less actually eaten there, but gets his kicks writing imaginary reviews just to see his words online. Let's see... tonight I might review that little bistro in Cannes that I've never been to...

Jeremy.

Again... online reviews are a complete shot in the dark as far as relying on them. I can write an online review of a restaurant I've never even been to. See my point?

"Daddy didn't give attention, oh, to the fact that mommy didn't care..."

"The way you dance and hold me tight... The way you kiss and say goodnight'''"

Come on, people. This is an easy one!

Taking online reviews as gospel isn't too smart. Anyone can say anything in an online review... real or fantasy. Factual review or "screw you" diatribe based on... what??? Online reviews are worth exactly what you pay for them.

Sssshhhh.... don't tell anyone... but the secret is... I shoot my photos on a white background. Seriously... that's my "secret." Shoot on a white background. You might have to play around with lighting and exposures to get the background to actually be white, but hey, with digital photography you'll never run out of film! Practice! Try it, check out the results, make adjustments, try again, etc. It's not rocket science. Heck, if I can do it, anyone can.

Thanks! Yep, I put my efforts into the parts of the model that you can actually see once it's built! If I was a contest guy I would, of course, detail the heck out of the chassis and everything else... but to reuse an old hobby cliché... "I build for myself." So I don't go all nuts on stuff that will never be seen. I just try to create a model that looks good when you look at it.

Just an FYI... Future is great, but you'll never find it at the store. It's not called "Future" anymore... now it's called "Pledge Floor Care." You don't want the cleaner, you want the finish... which is nothing more than clear acrylic: http://www.pledge.com/en-US/Products/Pages/floor-care-finish.aspx

Your topic was moved to the Questions section.

Much of the time is being spent waiting for paint to dry! If they could invent instant-dry paint, I could finish a model in a day!

Chryslers are built in Mexico and Canada... BMWs and Hondas are built in America... kind of hard to tell what a "foreign" car is these days...

Not that you don't have the right to own as many cars as you want... but why do you own six cars? And what does your car insurance bill look like?!

The exhaust pipes in the kit are actually very flexible metal springs. I used CA glue to attach them first to the lower exhaust header... And then CA'd them to the engine's exhaust manifold:

A little more progress...