Jim N

Great job Curt! Let us know what Sue thinks of it.

The kids that don't want to drive are the minority of this age group. Our oldest graduated from high school 10 years ago and our youngest 5. Both of them and everyone they knew wanted to get a driver's license as soon as they could. The single biggest reason was so that they didn't have to ride in a school bus anymore. Parents are on board with this as well so they don't have to taxi the kids around anymore. It was true in our day and it is still true today. Getting a car is the single biggest increase in personal freedom they will know at that point in their lives. The biggest problem for the model car companies is generational. The cars that really turn the kids' heads are models we will not touch. In turn, they cannot relate to the cars that make our heads turn and they will not build these models. The model car companies know what we will buy and cater to us. They right now cannot justify the cost of production for kits that cater to the younger crowd because they know we will not buy them and second they know there are not enough kids that will buy these models to make it profitable. This is not all doom and gloom and things go boom. 3D printing is growing exponentially and at some point the costs will go down to a point that the model companies can look at this as their primary source of production. When this happens, "Katy bar the door". The model companies will get the electronic files from the 1:1 manufacturer as part of the licensing agreement, they will scale them down and then use their 3D production methods to bring the kits to market. This should bring production costs down dramatically. They will be able to market kits to the young modeler without all of the legacy costs of production molds. I am very optimistic for the hobby because of this. The biggest problem I see is that we see the people participating in the model car segment as getting older by the day. We also tend to think that the way model cars are produced now will be the same 20 - 30 years from now. The model kits will be produced differently and the young people at that time will benefit from this greatly.

I bought a three box Craftsman set a number of years ago and finally out grew them. I work around the house and do some work on our cars, so I am not a professional by any means. A neighbor of mine suggested Harbor Freight when I mentioned I was going to buy another tool box. I looked at them and then a Craftsman box at Lowe's . I bought the Craftsman because it was made here in the States. As I have seen all of the manufacturing jobs go over seas, I will support our own citizens any chance I get.

Wow, that looks great Steve!

The Impala in the lower series' were Monte Carlos with Impala stickers for the headlights, taillights and the grill area. The last year the Monte Carlo was made (2007 I think), it had a striking resemblance to the street Impala.

Mine would be the Olds Cutlass. I liked every model of that car from the 60's through the 90's. The Cutlass Ciera is a stretch, but we owned one and that thing was a tank. My wife drove our two kids all over creation in that car and it never missed a beat.

Flippin migraines. Been battling them for over a week. I get them from time to time and deal with them. Then there are times like now when they cluster and this is an awful form of Hades.

And many literary works. John Milton supposedly wrote Paradise Lost under the effects of an opium high. He wrote the poem in the 1600's.

Looks great Steve! Superb paint and decal work.

Looks very nice! You did a great job.

Another nice one. At one time, most every race car looks this good. Then it goes to the track and never looks this good again.

Looks very nice. You did a great job persevering.

Well "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll" was the mantra for many a rocker back in the day. An acquaintance of mine a number of years ago said that it wasn't the model year but the number of miles when discussing people who looked older than their years. I have a feeling this may be why a number of these rockers are not making it to their full years.

You are off to a great start!

Looks amazing Tim! Great work.

Looks great Mike! I like it a lot.

Great work Tom. You did a great job making it look old and worn.

Looks great Pat!

What was eerie in my part of the country was that the sky was filled with contrails. All commercial air traffic was grounded so those were military aircraft. It was a very peculiar feeling seeing how many military aircraft were actively flying. My wife, kids and I were looking at this. The kids were 10 and 6 and were a bit rattled. When they were out of earshot, I whispered to my wife "I wonder what they know that we don't".

These are memories your grandson will always cherish Nick.

Really superb work Marcin! The different shading of paint adds a level of realism that is outstanding.

This is what I do except I use a hobby knife. If the wheel is not white, I will paint it a flat white. The trick that I have found is to use the blade at a very shallow angle to the wheel - like about 60 degrees. The more vertical the blade is to the wheel, the more likely it will dig in or gouge the paint. The last thing is to wait until the black paint has thoroughly dried. If the paint is not thoroughly dry, it will likely chip in places and you no longer have a clean line. As another board member writes from time to time - "don't ask me how I know".

That's a gorgeous looking Oldsmobile Randy. I like it a lot.

Couple of very nice looking Chevys.

Great work! Looks really stellar.