Vince Nemanic

I vaguely remember reading that the Revell models are molded in Poland since the German takeover. Would shipping from Europe be less expensive than from China?

The military guys put on coat of gloss clear, apply the decals and then put on a coat of flat clear. This prevents decal silvering.

Any guesses bout the "glaringly missing" TV/Movie car? My guess is the Norm Grabowski "Kookie Car" from 77 Sunset Strip. I have no onside information, just a blind guess.

I think it was in response to the Jaguar XKE 2+2.

I use a hot glue gun to attach a drinking straw to the paint nozzle then spray the paint into an airbrush bottle. You need to let the propellant gas out for a couple of hours afterward. I then mix in a little thinner and spray. I do this with Tamiya primer and paint and have had great results. Tamiya is about the best spray Pint around. It also works with other brands of spray paint. I polish my primer with 000000 steel wool and wash before shooting the color coats.

Hello! Do you know about the NNL Western Nationals at the Santa Clara Convention Center next to Levi's Stadium? It was a virtual show this year but in February it is supposed to be back in person. There are usually over 1000 cars on display with around 500 people attending. It was founded in the early 1980s by Roy Sorenson who also founded Plastic Fanatic magazine (which evolved into Model Cars Magazine when Gregg took over the reins). Hope to meet you there. There is a pretty active model car community in Northern California mostly centered in the Bay Area and Sacramento.

There is a difference in the fender units. Aside from the difference to allow the different year grilles on the sedan, there are openings in the rear inner fenders to make room for the rear seat of the sedan. The Coupe inner fenders are like wheel tubs. I think one of them has an Olds engine and the other has a Buick. The kits are basically the same, though.

About 10 years ago, Dave Burkett came to a friend's house here in California. Another friend and I went to see them and talked models for a couple of hours. I asked Dave how he came up with an offer on a collection and he said it was very simple- he would count the kits and offer $5 per kit, But that meant he also took junk kits, partial kits, broken built ups and all that , along with the scarce sealed 50 year old treasures. One of my friends passed away about a year ago and another friend bought his stash. My late friend had a habit of cutting up parts trees so he can get two kits in one box- and not necessarily two of the same kit, either. How many of us are guilty of that? The buyer now has to sort out all the loose parts and separate the kits. He has been at it for more than a year. Sure cuts into the model building time. I know a person who sold a collection of 1200 kits last November to a dealer for $15,000- an average of $12.50 each. So if a dealer buys 1300 kits at $12.50 a kit, that is $16,250, and the seller probably wants cash or a cashier's check. How many of you can come up with that much money on short notice? A dealer probably had to take out a loan for it. And then have the time for transporting, storing, and reselling all of the kits. The dealers are often enthusiasts, but also are in this to make a living. I think they should not be harassed for that. I don't recall Model Roundup, Spotlight Hobbies, or any other dealer sharing such a video, so thanks to Andy for that.

The casual builder would never spot errors in the box art. And probably half the production run will go to Mooneyes stores and be marked up to $50.

I think the engine & transaxle from this kit are in the Depth Charger and similar kits.

Put a drop of liquid glue in the sink mark, then top it with a small piece of plastic flash on the glue and let it dry. Put a drop of glue on top of that and let it dry again. Sand and repeat as needed. if the original kit had some flash, the repair will even match the body. Often I don't even need to use putty, or the layer of putty is VERY thin. Yes, there IS a use for the dreaded plastic flash!

Thanks. You have to protect your position, but you still gave hope. Quite the tightrope walk! And your builds are fantastic!

Mike, are the original custom parts in the kit? If so, how do they fit the new body?

I always stretch sprue outside or in the garage. It has quite an odor, plus sometimes the sprue will catch on fire (easily blown out) and produce black smoke which can stain the walls and the ceiling. But it is very useful for filling seams and holes, using liquid glue. It is also great for reinforcing joints where body parts like custom noses and tails are installed- the joints are much stronger than parts attached with super glue. I still use putty, but many times it is not needed.

Try stretching some sprue and installing it with liquid glue. It will melt into the styrene and it sands well. You may still need a tiny amount of putty.