Junkman
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Posts posted by Junkman
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Citroen Ami.
The first car ever to sport 'architectural headlights'.
America had a Nazi style headlight dictate imposed by their Central Soviet, aka "The Feds", in 1940, which dictated 7 inch (whatever that is, I guess it's half a pink Flamingo's leg) diameter round Sealed Beam headlights. This was there the only legal headlighting until 1958, when 5 3/4 inch (whatever that is, I guess it's 3/4 of a half a pink Flamingo's leg) round low beam and high beam headlights became legal. Ever wondered why all American cars had dual headlights all of a sudden in 1958? Yep. That's why. Then it took until 1975 and 1976 respectively until some square Sealed Beam headlights complying to the federally imposed tyranny became legal. This hampered American car manufacturers to issue cars with proper headlights for over half a century. It was Sealed Beam, or sod off.
Meanwhile in the rest of the World, car manufacturers could do whatever they please as long as it complied with the general lighting standards set out in the Geneva convention of automotive headlighting of 1947. While America left that table choosing to stick to its even then antiquated Sealed Beam standard, which massively hampered front end design until the early Nineties, European manufacturers had a free hand, although at least initially restricted by manufacturing processes.
Hence it can be argued that either the 1960 German Ford Taunus 17m, or the 1961 Citroen Ami were the first cars in automotive history that made use of architectural headlights.
I tend to favour the Ami, because the Taunus merely had oblong (elliptical) round headlights, whereas the Ami's were actually part of the overall design and in addition based on scientific research undertaken by SEV Marchal, back then a major supplier of automotive lighting equipment well beyond France.Why do I know all this?
I'm a miserable sod, consequently I wrote my doctorate on the history of automotive headlights.
I really should get a life.
Would you like to know more about the history of automotive lighting?
If yes, tell me where to post it. -
The car that started it:
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On 9/3/2020 at 1:17 AM, Ace-Garageguy said:
Pretty cool. I've never seen a Loewy Stude raced anywhere but Bonneville...
Ahem...
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As far as I'm aware based on personal experience, Glencoe is a one man show, run by a guy who traced his roots to Glencoe in Scotland.
I once approached him about reissuing the S.S. France, which is a 1/450 scale model originally made as an assembled shop window display for travel agencies in the early Sixties.
He told me well, that's actually a good idea, all that needs to be done is throw the moulds into the machine, get some plastic dye and order some cartons from the printer.
This made me think, if it's that easy, then what are the likes of Round2 dicking about all the time?
Anyway, not a Month later, brand new S.S. Frances were offered by the usual sources on eBay.Contact him. Not only is he a great conversationalist, but he is very open minded to boot, and a bit on the likeable eccentric side.
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I.
Want.
MOAR.
Craftsman.
Kits. -
5 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:
First of all, I own a 2005 Honda S-2000, so I'm no stranger to twisty roads, and contrary to belief there are plenty of them right out my back door.
Second, I would much rather spend my time driving my '69 Pontiac Grand Prix than fixing a Triumph.
Steve
You are comparing apples with oranges. You wouldn't be able to make a downpayment on a '69 Grand Prix for the price of a Triumph.
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BTT.
This is my current daily.
It's the newest car I've ever owned and it is just now that I begin to realise that it isn't a modern car anymore.
I find that its Pininfarina styling has aged extremely well and there is a number of millennials out there appreciating that even more, going by the increasing number of comments I receive lately whenever I become stationary.
After a little car/garden wall interface I had to replace the front bumper cover. I deliberately chose the one from a saloon, since I find it prettier, and the millennials do recognise that, while the giffers don't even notice it. This alone shows me that while one generation is still ignoring cars like this completely, another is very knowledgeable and appreciative.
I would never have thought it'd ever become collectible, but prices slowly creeping up for the very few remaining examples prove me wrong. In France, they have already acquired some sort of cult status, who would have thought?History doesn't stop. I've been at the launch parties of chod that is now rocking up at the shows and I bet you the next owner of my Peugeot will have it bought to do exactly that with it.
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Well, I do understand that someone living 500 miles from the nearest twisty B road prefers muscle to handling, but I fail to comprehend that standing still while spinning the rear tyres could possibly be considered 'driving'.
British sports cars? Why, assuming I were in that income bracket, given the choice between a muscle car and an Aston Martin DBS Vantage I'd always opt for the latter, is a phenomenon that will never cease to amaze me.
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The article is dead on. The millennials around me drive this newfangled 80s-90s chod every day and long for a brass era car for the weekends, two of them now having bought one.
One a 1904 Wolseley, the other a 1916 Chevrolet. Of course they dressed in what they thought is period garb until my mother, fashion designer and historian, set them straight. They have now thankfully corrected their attire accordingly, but it's in fact even more outlandish.Those young lads have immense fun hooning their old heaps while masquerading for the occasion, all the while attracting the ladettes to join the craig. We, of course, never succumbed to such ridiculous vulgarity while still lad aged, oh no. We were sooooo much better. We drove our Fintail Benzes and '60 Buicks wearing mullets, robot wraps and loud coloured saccos with rolled up sleeves, 100% single proofing ourselves in the process.
Regarding 50s cars, yes, those y00fs like to look at them, but wouldn't want to own one for exactly the stated reasons. And yes, while there will never be a cheap '55 Bel Air hardtop as long as there is a gout ridden boomer still able to limp to the toilet unassisted, look at what happened to the prices of the cars their parents drove in the 50s. The bottom has dropped out of the more door 50s tat market.
What surprises me a bit is the continued interest in muscle cars, because all they ever were is rubbish.
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You'd be surprised. Many of the car savvy millennials I know are well aware of the Corvair and it having been bashed by Nader.
It becomes apparent in sentences like 'ah, bugger off with your NCAP rating, I'd rather swing a Corvair backwards into a tree while giving Nader the two finger salute, because looking cool is much more important than all that safety nonsense'.
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My '13 Revell Camaro largely fits that description, and it even has an engine.
Still, for the young folks it's just a model of a used car at the bottom of its depreciation cycle, rendered with an obsolete technology. -
I have meanwhile largely switched to diecast, because I just can't get model kits of the cars I like anymore.
No big loss, since I'm not really a modeller at heart. I rather view building plastic kits as an ordeal necessary to obtain miniature representations of American cars and actually always preferred to work with metal.
But if you wanted models of American cars in the 70s and 80s, 1/25 scale plastic model kits were the only game in town.
Sadly it was also the time when the American kit industry suffered its first big blow, from which it never really recovered, and obsolete kits began to be traded for big bucks. I still managed to amass a sizeable collection, the stereotypical stash I'd never be able to build before my call to the eternal drive in.
This is largely sold now and I only have a rudimentary kit stash left, comprising only the models I really do not want to part with. Yet. Because the day I received my Sun Star '60 Fury, I took a last look at the content of my Jo Han kit, sighed, and listed it on eBay.Being more diecast oriented of course made me join several forums catering for those and here are the good news: Car modelling is alive and well among the young folks.
It's just happening on a different level. They buy the latest 260 Dollar AutoArt Lamborghini something, rip it apart and modify the living daylights out of it. Of course this is just an example, they do this with all kinds of 1:18 scale models. Another popular thing is to take those OTTO, BoS, or whatever resins and go berserk on them. And you should see what they are doing to those magazine/partwork models.
Them y00fs are not less imaginative, creative, or gifted than we consider ourselves, but they call 90s stuff "retro" and if I mention plastic kits to them, they want to help me across the street to the care home.Seeing all this going on, I think the wrong question is being asked. The question is not what the future of plastic model car kits is, its why are they still struggling for survival.
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You nailed it.
All who think I did something wrong, plesae go ahead and order from them.
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What warrants a bunch of posts all over the internet is that they conveniently left away the bit about replacement of the model being dependent on further purchases.
Imagine you receive a new toaster that doesn't work and the vendor tells you he'll only replace it if you also buy a microwave oven from him.
EU law is automatically ratified into national law of each and every EU member country and won't just disappear from national law of a country if it leaves the EU.
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Holy thread highjackerisation!
May I please have my Kleeware Rubber Cow back then?
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For larger parts, like bumpers, I use a paintbrush and the Molotov out of the refill tube.
This works even better when you paint the parts semi gloss black first.
For this, I use Revell semi gloss black from the tinlet, and also apply it with a paint brush.
If you stir the Revell paint well enough before you use it, it dries without any brush marks.
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Let's clarify a few things.
1. Being inside or outside the EU has the exact square root of bugger all bearing on this. The EU is a political alliance, nothing else.2. I'm not going to invoke a reverse charge, since this would be illegal. I would find myself in possession of a model I haven't paid for.
Model Car World would refund me if I send the model back. But this is not what I want. I want to own a model, not money.
3. The only thing Model-car-world Ltd in the UK and Model Car World GmbH in Germany have in common is that their names sound the same when you say them, but notice that even the spelling is different. They have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.
Model Car World in Germany is affiliated with a company in the USA, American Excellence, but is an independent legal entity incorporated in Germany.
I hope what I am doing here does not negatively affect Model-car-world in the UK, a small stand alone company that has hitherto never done anything to me I could complain about.
I might send them an email suggesting they change their name.
4. The very same customer rights applicable in the UK are also applicable in Germany, since they are EU statutes written into the law of all EU member states (Fernabsatzgesetz/Remote Sales Act). As an interntional trade specialist for over thirty years, I'm well aware of the legal situation and the legal actions I can or can not take. Since MCW would refund the model if I send it back, they act in full compliance with the Remote Sales Act. But to make the delivery of a replacement model dependent on further purchases is just morally wrong, IMO not befitting a respectable business and it could be illegal within German legislation, see point 5.5. I'm currently testing whether them making the replacement of the model only possible if I purchase more from them is legal in the sense of the uniquely German (not EU, not UK) Verbundgeschäftsgesetz (Combined Transaction Act), which is written into the German Handelsgesetzbuch (commercial code).
According to this act, a combined transaction - also known as a coupled transaction - is always present when the conclusion of a transaction (contract) includes the conclusion of a second transaction (contract) and a direct dependency between the transactions or contracts is established. The act contains a number of special legal features, but making the replacement of a defective good directly dependable on a further transaction (contract) could be illegal in Germany. If it is, all I could do is threaten them with it, since any court would dismiss the case because it's below the marginality threshold.I opened this thread merely to warn you of the shady wheelings and dealings of Model Car World Germany, to prevent you from finding yourselves in some similarly frustrating position I am currently in.
I did open threads on other forums and have meanwhile been contacted by numerous people who can tell similar stories about the so called customer service of Model Car World in Germany, such as no longer honouring discounts when replacing defective models, i.e. if the exchange is happening after the sale ended. One guy received a model (purchased when it was on sale), was unhappy with it and wanted to exchange it for a more expensive model of better quality and pay the difference. In his case, they also refused to still honour the discount. The list goes on. Nothing they do seems downright illegal, but it's just dismal customer service and leaves people frustrated who pursue the opposite - happiness by having a hobby.
You have been warned. That's all.
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And in each and every one of these shops you can buy the full assortment of MCG 1/18 scale diecasts?
I don't think there is one in the entire United Kingdom that carries them. Let alone here in the North West.Besides, I have been ordering by mail order and later online from the entire World for the past forty years, but I have never ever encountered the sort of business conduct Model Car World in Germany displays.
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And where would I find such a "Brick and Mortar" store?
I'd be forced to give up the hobby altogether. -
It is like this: When I enter the URL of the model car manufacturer, which is on the box, into my browser, I'm automatically redirected to the Model Car World Germany website!
They are the manufacturer, i.e. the models are manufactured exclusively for them. Hence I am unable to complain to the manufacturer about their practices.
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Model Car World sent me (among other in this shipment) a 1/18 MCG Rolls Royce model with so severe manufacturing defects that it is hard to believe it passed the manufacturer's quality control, and they should have been obvious enough when the model was packed for dispatch. The base plate is so warped, it hangs out half an inch below the sills and the model does not rest on all four wheels. Also, the roof is severely scuffed.
No big deal, I thought, it's a reputed dealer, so they will replace it with no fuss. I mean, this always was the case when I ordered from different dealers in the past and a defective model arrived. So I entered a claim via their website.
To my surprise, MCW had different ideas. After a few days I received an email from their so called Service Team, explaining they wanted me to send the model back (OK) to be either refunded, or a replacement being sent out WITH MY NEXT ORDER (most definitely NOT OK!).
I replied that I don't want a refund, since the model is intended as a Christmas gift for a friend and I find it unacceptable that a replacement is dependent on me making another purchase, which wasn't planned from my side in the foreseeable future, let alone before Christmas, until which the replacement model would be required. I also clearly told them my opinion about their business conduct to make the replacement of a defective model dependent on a new purchase from my side.
After a further few days, I received another eMail from the MCW Service Team repeating this unreasonable offer, to which I replied that I am not agreeing to their demands and asked to please involve a manager. This was on Dec 18th.
Christmas came and passed, so on Dec 27th I decided to post a comment on their Facebook page. They threatened me to report it to the Facebook authorities, since I mentioned the name of the Person of their so called Service Team, so I obliged to their demand, deleted the post and posted another one not mentioning any names. Today they replied to it MENTIONING MY NAME(!) and posted only the part where they offer to refund the model if I send it back, to which I do not agree.
They failed to mention part two, that a replacement would be dependent on further purchases altogether.
Regarding the timeline, I waited for well over a week until I took this into the public domain. I gave them a fair chance to handle this in privacy. I have also been a customer for years.
This is the first time in my life the replacement of a defective new item is made dependent on further purchases.
Since I canno longer trust them, I will not send back the model. I will try to fix it.But I am fuming about their practices and urge everyone to think twice before ordering from them.
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For me it's predominantly the subject matter and how the models are rendered.
In both regards, the diecasts have just taken over. Also, some of those 'lower quality' model brands have come a long way.
I'm particularly impressed with the latest offerings from Welly and Maisto. Also, you can't beat Norev for bang for the buck.
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19 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:
Yeah, but only for 6 months of the year!
That's 6 months more than you have now.
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The Future of Revell...for 2024 at least.
in Car Kit News & Reviews
Posted
The elephant in the room.
