Revell '30 Ford Coupe

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Ah, Revell decals...

 

 

Love 'em, love 'em LOVE. THEM. How good are they?

Consider the wheel directly in front. Ever since Revell/Monogram ditched that obnoxious worse-than-cellophane carrier some 22 years ago, R/M decals have been utterly transformed. Even so, I've been unsure how they'd conform to the complex curvatures of a tire sidewall, so normally I just use a compass-cut card stock mask and some airbrushed white interior dye. But this project was supposed to help break a long slump on another one, so I soaked and slapped these whitewalls on, starting with one of the rears - that very wheel directly in front of this shot.

Not too promising at the git-go, so I slopped some Tamiya Mark Fit on it and started centering the decal. Did this on assembled wheels, you see, 'cause I didn't want to risk mangling a decaled tire over a one-piece rim, and just as I was starting to stretch and center the decal...

I realized it was on the wrong side of the wheel.

That sucker came back off the tire in the water cup, and then, about as mightily as you'd expect, fought the tweezing of it back out of the water - till it occurred to me to get the backing paper back under it for the transfer. And so, not even sure if I had it sticky-side down and with solvent already working on it, I slid it onto the correct side and teased it into place. Switched to Micro-Sol and just brushed and waited, brushed and waited, brushed and waited, till all wrinkles and seams disappeared, now indistinguishable from tampo or paint.  Micro-Sol did the job on its own for the other three.

'Member that late '90s Revell Deuce article from another publication (mighta been Doug Whyte?) showing you the relief cuts you had to make in a fender flame decal with that nasty old Monogram carrier? Right around Y2K, decals went from the worst aspect of a Monogram kit to the best of a Revell/Monogram kit, as they are in this one.

 

But let's back up a bit...

Edited January 17, 2023 by Chuck Kourouklis
typo

[Chuck Kourouklis]

So Revell released that revised Rat Roaster '32, sparking some discussion of it here in Kit Reviews.  On queries of what it's like to build, Tim Boyd helpfully tosses up his recent review build and a brief note or two, and just for grins I put up my review Roaster to offer a contrast, and some commentary on how trouble-free it was to build.

 

By this time, I've been stalled on that other project for a year.  And I suddenly had a hankering to do a hot rod.  Love to do that new '32, but none of my pushers have brought it in.  But what did I have on hand?  Why, one of these '30 Ford retools.

 

Hmm. I tend to move faster through rods, 'cause you can gang-paint a lot more parts body-color than you do factory stock and on top of that, there's less surface area on these more compact body shells to collect airborne schmutz.  Got a holiday week coming up.  How much of one of these could I get done?

 

SO,

 

 

the roof and the body need to come together first, for sure.  The fit is generally good, but the alignment tabs and the voids for them inside can open up the seam a bit, particularly on the driver's side.  A smearing, sanding, and re-smearing of a little Vallejo putty from the bottle for that -

 

 

and maybe some more aggressive globbing for some of the sink marks on the outside of the frame, knocked down, re-globbed and knocked down again, then a little Mr Surfacer white to smooth it all out.

One other thing:

Witness these, shiny and chrome.

Being a little underwhelmed by Stuart Semple's Mirror paint at first, I decided to come back around for another little try. 

We've all been waiting for a near-as-soddit chrome paint that can tolerate some handling, and well...

we're still waiting. 

Although if you want something that doesn't blow off its black substrate in a sneeze like Alclad chrome, or something that hazes over with ANY sort of handling as does Molotow ink, the Semple paint is just a bit more robust, behaving like your classic oil-based enamel that refuses to cure.  It even takes a drop-wise addition of lacquer thinner to airbrush a little more smoothly.  So for my money, it's the closest so far.  Not that Revell doesn't already rain chrome parts all over you like a plating plant explosion, but this kit has prodded in me a little extra greed for shiny objects.

More anon.

[Joe Nunes]

I appreciate your comments and photos.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. ?

Joe

[Monty]

Chuck, thanks showing us another option for chrome paint.  Kinda surprised I haven't seen this one tested in one of Barbatos Rex's paint test videos, which I subscribe to.  He's constantly showing new "chrome" paints from all over the world, and as you might expect, some are much better than others.  This looks good!

For those interested, expect to pay around $30.00 + shipping for a 15 ml bottle.  

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Sure thing, Monty -

yup, I love Barbatos!  I actually thought he might've tried Semple's paint out, but that may just be an assumption rather than a firm recollection.

If the stuff would just harden all the way on plastic, I bet many modelers would prefer it to kit plating.  Untouched, it's just that wee bit muted and more genuinely metallic-looking by comparison.

[Mr. Metallic]

Thank you for your thoughts on the newer Revell tire decals Chuck. I always avoided them because i assumed they would just be more of a headache than painting. But your examples above look great.

[Monty]

2 hours ago, Chuck Kourouklis said:

Sure thing, Monty -

If the stuff would just harden all the way on plastic, I bet many modelers would prefer it to kit plating.  

Do you think a drop or two of the hardener MCW offers for their enamels would help?

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Isn't that an interesting question.

I was surprised how it tolerated lacquer thinner - it shot just a wee duller, more like polished aluminum; but that bit was thinned carelessly, and I supposed it'd be better with a more disciplined cut.

So if it can handle a chemical reaction with lacquer thinner, maybe it's enough like an enamel it can deal with a hardener too. They say it's solvent-based.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

1 hour ago, Mr. Metallic said:

Thank you for your thoughts on the newer Revell tire decals Chuck. I always avoided them because i assumed they would just be more of a headache than painting. But your examples above look great.

Sure thing, Craig!  In this case, it was just getting the decal in position, and then liberal application of Micro-Sol with a soft brush. 

There's a MIGHTY temptation to get after the wrinkles with a cotton swab, but in this case, you'd just brush on the Micro-Sol and let it dry, then brush on some more and repeat the process till the wrinkles shrunk out on their own.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

One of the other advantages with more compact surfaces is that you don't get so much wave in the surface that primer and guide coats are mandatory - certainly not in the newer tooling, anyway.  And yay, this tooling is clean enough in the body shell that I can apply color directly to the plastic, once some parting lines are gone.

Today’s object lesson (with only the profoundest respect and apologies to Maya Angelou): when a can of Tamiya TS tells you what it is, believe it the first time.

So there I was on a little post-Christmas modeling recon at Big Al Gerace’s Hobbies Unlimited (highly recommended whenever you’re in the greater Hayward/San Leandro area!), with a can of TS-56 in one australopithecene mitt and a can of TS-34 in the other, carefully pondering the cap colors.

From the look of things, my ideal envisioned color would be a sorta ambery split between these two. I mean, I am going to decant the paint for airbrushing –

which just reminded me of one of the most unbelievable discussions I’ve ever seen on any forum, btw, a choice thread about the best way to decant a spray can! Would you BELIEVE there are adherents of using a pipe tap to pierce the can? Instead of just, y’know, using a drinking straw in front of the nozzle into a jar?

Actually, let’s review this for a minute.

Pipe tap:
- You weaponize the pressure in the can
- You must empty all contents of the can at once
- Assuming they aren’t already all over your walls, ceiling, shag carpet, cat, and pretty little face (OH, doing it in the garage? Alright, all over your bench, vice, lawn mower, garden hose, band saw, tool chest and pretty little face, then)

Drinking straw:
- You use the can’s pressure as designed and intended
- You only empty the amount you need at the moment
- You can repeat the procedure all you want till the can is empty
- Drinking straws are silly-cheaper than pipe taps
- You DON’T VIOLATE the safety warning printed on EVERY AEROSOL CAN

I mean, you can get all deluxe and spend about 90 seconds molding some poster tack around your straw to seal it, or you can cut a small arc across the straw so it fits the nozzle curvature better and just hold it at the nozzle over your collecting jar. But if you’re seriously gonna punch a hole in a pressurized can, why don’cha just toss it in the nearest dumpster fire first, run for your life, and save yourself a little grief?

ANYWAY

TS-56 and TS-34, right. I suppose, since I’m already planning to airbrush it, I could just decant and mix the two. But then what if you run out, and you don’t match the ratio exactly on the next batch? Nah, the whole point is to move this thing along, and if the CAP is any indication, TS-56 looks closer than a hand grenade fer sure.

But there’s more than the cap color, isn’t there? There’s also the label. Which nakedly and explicitly declared it was “brilliant orange”…

…and that’s how I ended up with this creamsicle.

 

 

Decanted and shot thru the color-dedicated gravity feed pistol-grip Grex thru a .3mm fan tip, then GS46 clear cut around 30-40% with Mr Color retarding thinner thru an identical Grex reserved for clearcoats (gift for an artist ex-girlfriend given back to me, long story).

 

Guess I coulda just gone with the Camel Yellow. I was thinking to give it a beige finish on the upholstery, but you know what? We got wide whites, we got white pinstripe decals, and a Dutch-style white tramp stamp on the decklid.

So hellwiddit, might as well lean into the 50/50 Bar look with pearl white seats and pleats, then.

[James2]

Looking good, love the color. Where do find said Semples?

[Bullybeef]

You had me at australopithicene mitt!! ???

Edited January 20, 2023 by Bullybeef

[Chuck Kourouklis]

I've had admiring commentary about the hair on my knuckles (except, of course, where they drag). ?

Thankya, Rooster James!

Pricey, as Monty indicated earlier, but Semple has an online store:

https://www.culturehustleusa.com/products/mirror

 

 

 

 

[Zippi]

Looking good.  I like the creamsicle color.

[customline]

Love that color, Chuck.  On my Tab A, it looks more like a dark yellow (maybe my display setting. )   I also enjoyed re-living my frantic, vulgarity-laced (for the neighbors' benefit) decal application experiences. Thank you very much. It's good to know that it's not just me. Will you be leaving those wheel wells white? I kinda like it ?.  Hey, they paint firewalls white, don't they? It's kinda cool.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

See, that thought about the wells occurred to me, Jim, but I dismissed it at first.

hmmm...

Thanks much!

[customline]

17 minutes ago, Chuck Kourouklis said:

See, that thought about the wells occurred to me, Jim, but I dismissed it at first.

hmmm...

Thanks much!

It's kinda like "this A-Bone is sanitary...just look at my wheel wells!" . I can dig that . Honestly,  I never thought to do it but hey, first time for everything. It could set a new trend! ?

Edited January 21, 2023 by customline
Added text

[slusher]

Paint and color, look great Chuck, I now have a desire for a cream cycle.

[58 Impala]

15 hours ago, Chuck Kourouklis said:

Pipe tap:
- You weaponize the pressure in the can
- You must empty all contents of the can at once

Chuck, there is a safe way to use a pipe tap to decant/empty an aerosol can. I invert the can and release all the propellant until it won't spray. Then I use hose clamps to secure the tap to the can and empty through a tube into a plastic or glass jar. There is one thing you shouldn't do (ask me how I know), the expelled paint still holds propellant. So don't shake the container, it will go everywhere just like a soda can. Crack the lid on the container and let it gas off for a day or two. It's still better to stir it instead of shaking it. 

[NOBLNG]

Beautiful work Chuck! I love that colour. I use the spray through a straw method of decanting too. I don’t allow any extra time for degassing either. It would have wound up on your model if sprayed from the can, so going a second time through an airbrush degasses it plenty.

[customline]

17 hours ago, 58 Impala said:

Chuck, there is a safe way to use a pipe tap to decant/empty an aerosol can. I invert the can and release all the propellant until it won't spray. Then I use hose clamps to secure the tap to the can and empty through a tube into a plastic or glass jar. There is one thing you shouldn't do (ask me how I know), the expelled paint still holds propellant. So don't shake the container, it will go everywhere just like a soda can. Crack the lid on the container and let it gas off for a day or two. It's still better to stir it instead of shaking it. 

Just be sure not to try this with a can that says "spray any way" on the label. ?

[Chuck Kourouklis]

I mean look, it's not for me to wave my finger and tell anybody what to do or not; I can only state what I (and any aerosol can manufacturer) emphatically DO NOT RECOMMEND and leave it to those reading along to draw their own conclusions. Honestly, if you've developed a method to keep everything within a fifteen-foot radius puncturing a can, that alone implies a skill for which I can grudge a perfunctory measure of respect.

For the life of me, though, I just can't comprehend why anyone would risk the integrity of even an apparently depressurized can when there's an alternative approach that has every practical advantage in terms of simplicity, convenience, and common sense, and decisively so.

As for letting decanted paint settle, in my case, it's not so much gassing the paint out as it is letting it come back to room temperature. The straw method allows you to fill your jar at such a flow rate that the paint cools down (that good ol' PV=nRT, in case anyone remembers It from Physics class).  I've had the paint so cold that it actually boiled when pipetted into the airbrush cup.

But hey, back to the creamsicle... ?

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Chassis is up on all fours:

Because the rear axle has two hard mounting points and the coil-overs further holding its position, I decided to let it dictate how the frame settled over the central mount of the front leaf spring, to make sure each wheel touched down on a flat plane.

[Zippi]

Nice looking rolling chassis.  I always like when I get to this point on a build.  Feels like I've accomoplished something.  Nice work. 

[James2]

I love this, so much in fact I have an original Monogram Classics 40 Ford pickup that needs to be this color!

Your model is coming along very nicely...