Monty

Mark, I've been watching your tutorial, and I'm glad we're on the same page as far as wire-painting techniques go. I've been doing something similar for years - I use one of the brighter MM non-buffing Metalizers such as Aluminum and lightly brush it over the surface of the "wiring" on the firewall etc. (Sharp 10/0 brush required!) As you probably know, these paints are about twice as thin as a standard enamel, so they flow nicely and cover well without as much build-up to paint over. Plus, the brighter shades of the Metalizers allow shades like white, yellow and orange to be used more effectively. A friend of mine recently told me about the micro-tip Sharpies: http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Product/Sharpie_Micro_Permanent_Marker.html They're about $6.00 for a set of 12 at Wallyworld, so they're not going to blow your modeling budget. I can definitely see them being useful for doing the wiring on lighter colored firewalls etc. The idea of adding your own wiring could provide excellent results provided you nail the scale and the routing of the molded-in wiring. Google images is your friend. My thanks to all who responded. I've been away from building for about 10 years and wanted to see if any radical changes in detailing techniques had occurred. I have recently started my "comeback kit" and I'm pleased to report I still seem to have my "chops". OTOH, I don't know jack about cameras or posting pics, so be prepared to walk me through that when the time comes.

My old boss had a metallic blue 928 - what a car. I like the direction you're taking this one. It looks sharp. May I ask what paint you used on the body?

That is one sharp Mercury! I don't think there's a better color combo for that car than the one you've chosen. Would I be correct in assuming it's the old AMT kit re-released by Model King a few years ago? The paint kinda looks like Tamiya Mica Red. (Am I even close? ?) I'd love to see some engine/chassis pictures if you have any.

Wow, I like what you're doing on this. Is this the Model King/AMT kit? I can't wait to see this finished.

This morning, Dave Burket (Model King) posted an announcement on the Spotlight Hobbies board that said Round2 will be reissuing this kit (as well as the Nirvana Chevy van) in the near future.

Al, would you mind sharing some casting tips? I've got a friend who is passionate about semis & enjoys building contest-winning model semi trucks. He felt that some of the tires in certain AMT and Italeri kits were inaccurate, so he mastered his own 1/25 semi truck tires, (drive and steer axle). He’s having problems casting them because the Alumilite Flex sets up way too quickly for him to get the results he wants. I don't know all the inside details, but he has cast other items (with regular Alumilite IIRC) and they've turned out fine. He won't be selling the tires as he intends to use them solely on his personal projects. Any tips on helping him improve his casts would be greatly appreciated.

How does it differ from posting a regular reply?

Very nice build with an interesting history. Must be nice to be able to buy fuel in a supermarket (Boxes labeled Sonnenblumenol = sunflower oil. Nice job on those too, BTW). What is the significance of the UN lettering on the doors? Diplomat's car?

I've got a concept in mind, but I'd rather not spend the money on the paint unless I can be sure the White Lightning will provide enough of a reflective background/base for the candy. I'm trying to avoid that "I shot candy over white styrene" look. If you've shot a candy over White Lightning, I'd appreciate your comments, pics etc.

I've got a firewall with some decent molded-in wiring and I'd like to see your opinions on the best procedure(s) for paint detailing small lines like these. The firewall will be painted flat black per factory specs, and I'll be supplying larger items such as heater hoses.

I haven't built mine yet. What body issues did you encounter? Yours looks great, BTW.

I've had that kit before, so I know some of the effort it took to make it look that sharp. Nice job!

Hi Steve! What part of "aksarben" are you from? I grew up out in the Panhandle. Welcome to the board. I look forward to seeing your builds, especially the red ones

I'm going to be attempting to replicate the red carpet you would find in a late 1970s GM product. I'm familiar with flocking techniques, but from what I've seen on here, embossing powders differ because you apply them to a white glue surface, then do a color wash over the powder when dry. Would I be better off buying colored powders? Where do you get these powders? (I have a Hobby Lobby nearby) Probably most importantly, what type of paint (enamel,acrylic) would you recommend I use for the "color wash". TIA for any tips, instructions, pics etc.

According to Google, this stuff's found only in the UK and Australia.

Lookin' good! Would you mind posting some engine and chassis shots?

I like what you've got going here so far. Can't wait for the next installment. Thanks for posting the setup pics for the pinstripe. I'm going to copy those over into my "how-to" files. I noticed you have several jars of HOK paint on your shelf. Have you figured out which reducer works best with them? Any pics of cars painted with them?

Thanks Kyle! That'll save me some time.

Funny that you bring that up - it's kinda what prompted the question. I'd been trying to get rid of some mold seams on a pair of mufflers, and it took quite a bit of sanding to accomplish that. To prevent the sides from getting a squared-off appearance, I had to do multiple angles with the sanding stick, which eventually took care of the mold lines but left a different texture than the top of the muffler. To give all surfaces a uniform appearance, I ended up polishing the plastic on both mufflers till it was nearly glass-smooth. I'd heard Tamiya white primer goes on extremely smooth, and I wondered if it might help the Metalizer stick to a polished surface without creating buffability problems.

Those are great. A classic old Ford and a '70s 'Vette. As a Corvette owner, it isn't hard to get me to look at models of them, especially the C3s, but the color you used on that Ecklers version really makes it stand out. We'll take more pics whenever you're ready.

I'm curious if using a primer will increase a Metalizer's adhesion to the part,(sealer seems to change the metal tone) or if the primed surface would be too rough for a Metalizer to achieve its intended appearance (especially the buffable ones). I'm hoping to hear from those who've got some experience with this.

Wow, if Porsche didn't offer that blue, they should have. It really pops on that car. I'll have to see if Dupli-Color offers that shade here. Car looks great so far!

This is a YouTube video of a parts replicator. The process starts by scanning the object, then the replicator produces it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggvzcGdZsTc&feature=PlayList&p=977AA255ACA7E9A9&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=39 If you'd like, you can scan ahead to around 4:00 where they scan a 1:1 crescent wrench. Minutes later, a working plastic crescent wrench emerges. Hypothetically, this endeavor would probably entail buying up the rights to produce JoHan kits, then finding complete, unbuilt kits and scanning & replicating all the parts trees. The scanner/software is only $3,000; I don't know what the replicator costs, but if someone were to get enough good kits produced it should pay for itself. Who's with me?

See post #14.