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Ken Hamilton Book


Jim B

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I have been looking to find a book on biulding diorama sceens for model cars & trucks, and there only seems to be one "How to Build Creative Dioramas for Your Scale Auto Models" by Ken Hamilton. I have "How to Build Dioramas" by Shepard Paine, but that book generally deals with 1/35 military models (don't get my wrong, it's a good book!) I saw Ken Hamilton's book on Amizon for $284, but most were around $70 (the highest I saw was a rental for $300). Is this book worth $70? I was just wondering because as soon as I pay $70 for the book, Kalambach will reprint it & sell it for $20.

Just looking for thought on the book.

Thanks.

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Jim, the reason why Ken's book is that price is that people are taking advantage of the fact that it is out of print, so they ask whatever price because they know what I know which is that Mr. Hamilton's book is THE BOOK on building automobile related dioramas. I am a happy and proud owner of a signed copy.

My advice is to keep looking for it in hobby shops, etc . . . and you might just run across it one day. The other option is to contact The Strand in New York and see if they can track you a copy for a more reasonable price.

Is it worth it, you bet!

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Keep looking, it is a great book. I came across mine on ebay for around $20 and it happened to be one that Ken was selling himself, he even autographed it before he shipped it. They are out there without paying an arm and a leg for them, just keep looking.

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Here's the response I received from Kalmbach when I asked them about this book:

"Hello James,

Thank you for your recent inquiry about How to Build Creative Dioramas for Your Scale Auto Models. As of now, there are no plans for a new edition of the book. However, it is possible that the book will appear in a digital format in the future, as we are converting some of our older titles to this format. You can check our website, www.kalmbachstore.com, for these titles.

Also, www.bookfinder.com, checks various sites besides Amazon for out-of-print books. Unfortunately, there is nothing less than $76 for this book.

--

Best regards,

Randy Rehberg

Associate Editor

Kalmbach Books

21027 Crossroads Circle

Waukesha, WI 53187-1612 "

Not very encouraging. I don't want an e-book, I want a book! You know, paper pages. What am I supposed to do? Read it on my wife's Kindle?

Edited by Jim B
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Same here. It's sort of strange, but if these books are selling for between $75 - $300 it seems like bad business sense NOT to print another edition. If a $19 book is selling for that high of a price, obviously there is a demand for it. By not printing another edition Kalmbach is loosing out on profits.

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It's a really long shot, but have you checked the nearby libraries? It's not the same as having your own, but if you find a particularly useful section you could photocopy it. If there are any nearby, a university library would be your best bet. They generally have all sorts of strange books.

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