Peter Lombardo

Man that thing is a wreak! It needs some love and care.......ok, maybe not. That is a very convincing derelict beater. Very well executed. Great job!

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to your bride, lets all prey she healthy for another 50.

Neat fat fendered Ford....I love the base paint and dare I say it, but I think I would prefer it without the very busy tribal flames. I just find them too distracting, and I agree with many of the guys here...what is so new about this?

Hey Marcos, great job on the video. This is a real nice way to show off the cars and explain a little about them. I really love the Crown Vic Ford...you are right, the paint job is beautiful. Sweet stuff!

You need to remember something about Chrysler, which is substantially different than Ford or GM. Ford and GM, even though there has been changes in top level management, have always been solid autonomous car companies with a long line and heritage to draw upon. Chrysler on the other hand has had many owners, management teams and design philosophies to deal with. The "long-line" of heritage that Ford and GM have, has been cut, smashed and forever destroyed at Chrysler. There was Chrysler Corporation up through the 1970's with the heritage of names, brands and model types. It changed over in the mid-70's with the gas crunch, Japanese made econo-box models and the loss of their "Muscle Car" bravado that nearly lead to their death. Lee Iaccoca, fresh from his firing at Ford after repeated "run-ins" with Henry Ford II, came aboard and changed Chrysler's direction , yet again, to American made front wheel drive platform cars and introduced the Mini-van to America. His successes lead to the much publicized, repayment of the Government loan guarantee before it was due. Then the purchase of and the amalgamation of AMC into Chrysler had a profound change in the entire philosophy at Chrysler bring the Jeep product line under the Chrysler banner. Many of the lead designers and engineers of Renault, who were part of the AMC team came over to Chrysler. These were the guys who spearheaded the LH platform which, not only saved Chrysler, but propelled them to the top of the pile back in the mid 90's. The "New" Chrysler was on the cover of Forbes magazine being lauded as the star of the American auto industry. Flush with cash and solid sales winners in every class of auto, Chrysler was a perfect target for financial rape.....and Bob Eaton, the new top guy who replaced Iaccoca, saw Daimler as just the guys to pull off the heist. Eaton, prior to this, was the head of GM Europe and was chosen over Bob Lutz, the President of Chrysler at the time, to replace Iaccoca as the Chairman of the Board. Of course, Lutz, a "car guys, car guy", was furious and left the company, later to resurface at GM as the main guy directing their future product development. Eaton's contacts were all over Europe and it was no surprise, at least to me, that he worked out a deal with Daimler. Of course the deal rewarded him with GREAT personal financial gain, and after it was done, he dropped way out of sight, which was to be expected. After all, he had just orchestrated the rape of 5 Billion in cash from Chrysler and perpetrated a huge ruse on the automotive world claiming to everyone that the deal with Daimler was a "merger of equals" when nothing could have been further from the truth. That deal was a clear and unmistakeable raid on the finances that Chrysler had accumulated over the previous few successful years that served to prop up Daimler at a time when they were cash poor, producing less than exciting autos and under sales attack by a surging BMW and Audi in the home and American market and Acura, Infiniti and Lexus mostly in the US market. During this time, the America automobile press was anxiously waiting to see what new product would be forth coming from the new DaimlerChrysler, as it was being called. Almost without exception, the wait produced nothing but mediocre and lackluster products. The 300 and Charger were pretty well received, but the Caliper, Sebring, Avenger, Compass, Nitro, Pacifica, and Magum were all met with "ho-hum" reactions. The revised Grand Cherokee, Ram pickups and Minivans were thought to be fine automobiles, but considering the revered status that Daimler had in the automotive world, the expectations for the new product, with the infusion of the Daimler worldclass engineering and design, had set the imaginary bar so high that anything less than a "Grand Slam" product was deemed a failure. The Daimler stock at this time had plummeted, and the major stockholders of Daimler, like Deutsche Bank were losing Billions in net worth so they began to apply so much pressure on the management of Daimler, that they had no choice but to dump the ailing automaker at a bargain basement price just to save their jobs. But no matter, they had gotten what they came for, the cash, and if they could get out of the Chrysler at little or no net loss, they would be well ahead of the game. Enter Cerberus financial, a private equity group that had a track record of buying troubled companies, chopping them up, selling off the valuable pieces at a profit and then moving on to the next acquisition. When Cerberus bought the gutted remains of Chrysler, we (I was running a large Chrysler store at the time) thought for sure the company would get broken up. The Jeep brand was far and away the most valuable piece of the Chrysler organization and we thought it would be sold off.....we expected to see the Dodge brand taken mainly for the truck business and most likely the Chrysler piece would be just unceremoniously tossed into the dust bin along with Oldsmobile, Mercury, Pontiac and Plymouth, to name a few. But before that could be done, if in fact that was the plan, Chrysler was thrust into bankruptcy along with GM during the huge auto sales down turn of a few years ago. Now enter Fiat into the picture. Fiat, at this time, coincidentally, was debating whether or not to reenter the US market. They were eyeballing the success of Scion, Mini and to a lesser extent Smart. Everyone was watching the rise in World Oil prices and anticipating the fickle American auto buyer would again abandon their beloved Pickups and SUV's and embrace the fuel efficient micro-mini auto. Further Fiat was banking on the short memory of the American auto buying public, as Fiat abandoned the US market before running back to Europe to escape the horror stories of poor quality auto's that required constant attention. Ah, but to build the necessary infrastructure and distribution network for a new auto here in the US is a massive and prohibitively expensive proposition. But if Fiat could "piggyback" onto someone else's network, the cost comes down to a manageable figure and it becomes attractive. Just at this time, the Chrysler bankrupt erupts and the US Government, contrary to some thinking, really doesn't want to be in the car business, so the marriage of Chrysler and Fiat serves all the players best interest. The auto workers, the auto workers union, our Government, Fiat's desire to renter this market and the American auto buyer all benefit and get want they want. Hopefully we will get some exciting and unique products coming from this new union, and if we do, it will insure that the other manufactures will have to step up their game to keep up. It is a win, win, win, win, win situation. So the point of this little history is to drive home the fact that the integrity and the continuity of Chrysler has been interrupted countless times. It is surprising, at least to me, that Chrysler has any sense of heritage or history at all. Every few years there were new directives, new people bringing new ideas and demands to the company. Front wheel 6 cylinder drive cab forward designs give way to V8 rear drive platforms, the minivan, once the backbone of the product line is being cutback as others now dominate that market. The Viper comes, goes and comes again, most likely. There has been profound and fundamental changes at Chrysler over the past few years and loss or retention of names from the past, is the least of their worries. After running a Chrysler store during this period of Chrysler turbulence and watching everything unfold from a front row seat, I think it is a testament to the people at Chrysler, the guys who actually did the design and engineering on the grassroots level, that they have any continuity at all.

Like it or hate it.............it can't be worse than the Caliber. That poor thing was a "stillbirth". This Dart is falling into a very crowded market with tough competition from every direction. I commend Chrysler for at least making what appears to be a modern looking stylish compact car. Many of you guys are jumping all over the Charger...but Chrysler did not want to vacate the Police car market since the Ford Crown Vic was as old as Model A, and GM had no rear drive vehicle so it was a good choice, in my opinion, to produce a vehicle that fit the law enforcement community could embrace. I know, many cops decried the shortcomings of the vehicle, but it did find a home in many police forces. Here in NJ, many towns use them and they are holding up well. I agree that the last version (the 1st 4 door version) was pretty "dogish" looking but it was forced to look like it did because it was forced to share the 300's chassis and interior dimensions. I think the new one is actually a respectable looking vehicle. I don't want one, but I think they look better than their predecessor.

Some of the kids around our neck of the woods have such big sub-woofers and powerful amps installed in their cars that I can hear and feel the sound in my house in the winter with the windows and doors shut...I guess they belong to the "future hearing aids" club of America. I guess PA speakers is just the next evolution in this trend.

I haven't completed that many gassers,but here is one I did a few years ago.....a Competition Resin body, scratch built frame, parts box Hemi, HOK paint and Slixx decals...and a few other parts box items thrown in. I have a Fiat coupe in the works and a few SWC variations working too.....So yeah, I enjoy gassers, how could you enjoy cars and not love these beasts? Ok, so it is really an Altered, but in my mind it is lumped under the "Gasser" heading.

Interesting take on the much modeled '62 Bel Air. You can put a Corvette interior in any Chevy and I'm on board with it. The matching trailer is something I never would have thought of. Nice job on both on the hood insulation and the headliner.....and the color works very well too, good old "black 'n blue".

Classy look custom.....smooth and not too much of anything, just a tastefully done Riv. I like it. a lot.

As for the concerns, I think this is where "responsible" parenting comes into the picture. I certainly would not buy my son, and now my grandson, anything that was either dangerous to him or the people around him. Seriously, progress marches on and advances will be made, just deal with it. It is not like I am advocating for a child to get an automatic weapon for Christmas.....last time I looked, although it is currently under assault, we have the personal freedom to choose to get these items if we want. The issue should be that we, for ourselves and our children, make wise informed well thought out decisions.

Very nice...extremely nice...in fact superb. Regardless of the scale, the detailing is first rate. I always loved that car in white with the blue trim....I like this better than the "Smokey" black version. Looks great.

Very simple looking in white and red, but man, it looks great. I remember seeing hundreds of Impala's in that color scheme back in the day....it was a very popular combo then, and it looks great today. Nice job.

Looks really period correct. I love the two-tone green......if I may, just one small point that you could fix real easy......the insignias on the nose and continental spare on the tail could use a little bare metal foiling. I think that little bit would finish it off just fine. But with or without that, it is a really nice build.

Super clean. Great job, the engine looks especially well done.

I really like that, nice replica of the little guy, the side paint marbling looks great.

That tip from Chris, from the model railroading guys, is a great tip. As an old HO railroad modeler, I use that technique often and it works great. If you haven't tried it, consider giving it a try...it takes a little longer because the paint has to dry before the second color can go down, but the "bleed" problem is eliminated. And it compensates for most flaws in the tape, so you can use the lower stick tapes which leave less residue behind.

I don't understand the concern here....isn't it our nature (humans, that is) to make....bigger, smaller, faster, slower, more expensive, less expensive, taller, shorter.....you get what I mean here, it is our nature to always push the envelope. We are always looking to reach just beyond our reach.........I know I do, and thankfully our various industries and engineers do too. Keep watching, if this sells, even moderately well, other companies will follow with faster RC cars....there will be apps for droids and blackberry's. Besides, the industry cross-over from this could produce many medical and industrial advances. The robotic industry and prostheses applications could be huge. I say go for it...push the envelope....reach for the stars, we all benefit from it. This how we evolve and grow as a technical society. NASA in the 1960's wasn't just about taking man to the moon......many of the technological advances we take for granted today grew from that endevour, As a side note, it is just bureaucratic ignorance that has killed our space program and the technological advances it can bring us.

Sorry Ed, but better late than never....Happy Birthday......hope you celebrate many more buddy!

impossible to fault. Just beautiful on every level. I love it.

Maybe I am getting too old for this kind of stuff, but this entire thread made my head spin. I guess i just don't get it....what really happened? Too much glue....too much paint......too much easy off........too much sugar......too much Bourbon......not enough Bourbon? Sorry, I am a bit confused by all of this.

Great job on a rather difficult kit. I love the pastel blue and white. I have one somewhere in the stash molded in that nasty red plastic. One of these days I may get to it. Still, yours looks great.

This car is a true classic which deserves the utmost care and detailing.......and you are just the guy to bring it to life. I am sure it will be a real masterpiece once complete.......have fun with it!

Excellent as usual. I haven't done a bike yet, maybe one of these days I will try one because you sure make it look easy and fun to do. I love the paint job, you sure nailed it. Very impressive.

I have always been a fan of F1 models..I enjoyed the sport back in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s But after Senna’s untimely death and the resulting rule changes, I lost all interest in the sport, but still enjoy the models. I have a complete collection of the Tamiya, Fujimi and Hasegawa kits, some built, many to be built. Here are a few of the finished one. The Williams is 1/24th scale, the rest are 1/20th scale. The 1977 Tyrrell has a custom body I built…the 1976 P34 Tyrrell is the earlier body. Lotus Ferrari Williams 1977 Tyrrell 1976 Tyrrell