Ace-Garageguy

Word you were s'posed to use 4 hours back was "dumbfounded".

Not yet, as my chuck adapters for the Dremel won't quite handle the shanks on the cutters. But I have some on the way that will. I'm pretty sure the burrs you sent will be exactly what I need to do some mods on the diecast body. I've been using the same tungsten carbide cutters I got over a decade back, on steel, and they're still sharp and effective, almost indestructible if you don't let them get clogged. I expect the dental cutters to be much the same.

Thanks Carl.

You're not going to like my answer. I use MGS 285 epoxy resin and 285 (fast) hardener. It's over $300 per gallon, takes 24 hours for a full room-temperature cure, and likes a subsequent elevated temp post-cure to achieve maximum strength. I use it because I usually have it in stock for real aircraft work, and when it goes past the use-by date, it's a write off. It is used to build and repair high performance aircraft like the Cirrus SR22, and keep's 'em stuck together at 7g, so no worries about cracking while you're doing bodywork on a model. For high-strength fill work over questionable substrates, I use West System 105 resin with 205 hardener, thickened with microballoon. It takes 12 hours for a room temperature cure, but the beauty of the stuff is that it takes very fine scribed lines beautifully, with no flaking edges...very important for scribing new door opening lines, etc.

Yup, I've used fisheye eliminator in the past on real cars, but only as a last resort. But since I got into thoroughly cleaning everything with iso alcohol prior to painting, I've never had a problem. EDIT: In general though, this seems like one of those threads that reinforces the importance of testing materials from different paint systems that are NOT designed to work together on something else, BEFORE trying to paint a model.

"Hog out" in reference to brutally opening something up with a grinding tool is an expression that leaves more than a few listeners dumbfounded.

Looking great, and judging from your earlier work, you can bring it all together into a beautiful model. For me though, defining features of the GTO's body shell are those gorgeous rear quarters, and the signature taillight panel. If I were ever to do a similar mod, I'd try to keep those somehow...but that's just me.

Nice work so far on a great but not-easy kit of a very special car.

Motels that date to the postwar era, when lots of Americans hit the roads, are among my favorite travel stops.

I'm in. This falls right dead square in the middle of one of my main areas of interest.

Thanks, Ray. We'll see how far this one gets.

Grown men who act like spiteful high-school drama-queen mean-girls.

Good thing I'm rarely in a hurry then. I've bought his stuff before, and it's worth a little wait to get that kind of otherwise unobtainable quality.

Boy howdy...glad youse fellers posted this. That selection of parts is exactly what I'm needing for a coupla builds.

Truly impressive. Looks like a real car being prepped.

For being reasonably healthy and fit, I'm also very grateful.

Hmmm. Gun oil, eh? You know where all your guns are?

Fisheyes are most often caused by surface contaminates like wax or silicone, or a basic incompatibility between the clear and the base (or contaminated air, the possibility of which you've apparently dealt with). Can the water-base paint stand being cleaned with 70% isopropyl alcohol prior to clearing? I've had 100% success removing fisheye-causing contaminants on all kinds of real and model paint substrates...except water-base. If you CAN clean it, and you're subsequently fisheye-free, well, then you're OK. If the water-base paint can't take cleaning with iso, or if it still fisheyes, you're screwed.

De-bloburization of chassis continues. Screw holes 'bout done. This basic technique will make a decent chassis from just about any early blobular screwbottom. Decklid mold edges taped and coated with PVA release agent. Blob of brown clay in the corner is a Q&D repair of a void where I missed stippling the first layer of glass for the mold down real nice on the body. We'll see if it's salvageable. 2 layers of .010" glass layup in mold Decklid popped out, rough trimmed. Same rough-trimmed f'glass deck with a coat of self-etching primer to show up flaws. Divots where trunk handle / license lamp mounts will be drilled, emblem will be sanded off, pinholes filled. Repair area in LH corner will be fine with a little work, so I won't have to make another mold. Initial layout of parts for engine / gearbox. Engine is from AMT '53 Stude kit, bellhousing, Borg-Warner T10 trans, and shifter are AMT parts-pack. I believe the trans is a little overscale, but I've never measured and don't really care at this point.

I always blame "A-line drift", things slipping into alternate lines of probability. I spent an hour looking for a tool today, and the fourth time I looked in the same place, there it was.

One of my all-time favorite cars, one of my favorite kits, and you did a stellar job. Beautiful.

Observation of physical reality and critical comparison between what you see and what you're told to think are good skills to have.

Movie heroines who weigh 95 pounds soaking wet, but are able to kick 250-pound biker butts are a little unrealistic, doncha think?

Cook 'em and eat 'em if they can't take a joke.