clovis

Why am I here on this forum? 1. I like cars. 2. I like to build models. 3. I want to improve my model building skill set, and have learned a great deal from the other builders here.

How about the new Foose Camaro? Or a 50's era T-bird in 16th? I have both of those kits, and would love to see you build both of those, with threads for both!!!!

Glad to hear that I'm not the only builder with fitment issues!

I think that they are missing a gold mine by not producing a current IndyCar kit for the DW-12. I don't think it would be a kit that would sell well on LHS selves. This would be a kit that would need to be marketed and sold at IndyCar races and events. For those not familiar with IndyCar, every driver uses the same body, much like the taxi cabs, commonly known as Nascar. This is a no-brainer for the model companies. Licensing would be tricky due to all of the sponsorships. All in all, the beauty of this idea is that it is one kit for 33+ entrants. One kit builds a car for either Helio or Ryan Hunter Raye...only paint and decals are different.

I think you are right about the Tucker. I have wondered for years why a decent kit wasn't issued.

This is why I believe that every employee, from the top CEO, down to the lowliest secretary and the lowest paid dock worker, should be required to build every kit that they manufacture and sell. Most importantly, all of the upper management and every last employee on the manufacturing lines, including the tool and die shop, should have to compete. Each company that manufactures and/or distributes models should have a mandatory build time, totaling at least two hours a week. To make things more interesting, each model should be judged by national standards, at a meet, and the employees with the worst model should be fired, on the spot. If we had a scenario like this, they would stop building and selling the trash that they box up that they pawn off on us.

My goodness. That is simply unbelievable work!! Reading a thread like this, and seeing such an amazing build, well, it makes me depressed. I am hoping to build the new Revell Foose Camaro, and am hoping to create spark plug wires for the first time in my life. I am also hoping not to get glue on the windshield, LOL. This is simply an astonishing build, and I am thankful that you shared it, but it also makes me realize how much I suck at building.

I got to thinking about this thread again today. I really, really wish someone would give us a WWII Willys Jeep in 16th scale. Like I mentioned before, there are so many versions that could be issued with the basic kit. The kit could be issued in a vast array of military versions. While all are still basically the exact same Jeep, it could be offered with USAAF, Army, USMC or Navy versions. It could be issued as a WWII wartime Jeep, a post-war Jeep, or a Korean War Jeep. It could be issued as a kit for any Allied country that used the Jeep. Heck, they could even issue a kit "as captured by the Germans" with decal sheet as the Germans would have marked the captured vehicle. It would also be fun to build as a postwar civilian model. I wish that I had $500,000 to blow on a new kit...the world market would see one of the nicest new kits to hit store shelves in years.

Hang in there, James. Praying for you. Praying that you have peace in this very difficult time.

Interesting read about brass on Wiki, if you are interested.

I am certainly no metallurgist, but I wonder if the K & S brass has a higher copper content, allowing it to bend easier than the Pocher kit brass?

I am like Harry...one and done, for the most part. I have watched the Band of Brothers series so much that, at one time, I could almost say the words along with the actors as they said them, LOL. I also have watched Saving Private Ryan a million times, and the original Red Dawn. I own all of the above movies, so it is easy to pop those in as background noise, or something to watch as I doze off on a Sunday afternoon. There are things, sometimes, that I can watch over and over, as time permits, like past Indianapolis 500 races. I'll watch them on YouTube. Most of the time, I am watching these in 15 to 20 minute increments, as I have the time, and will fast forward to where I left off the last time. I haven't sat down with the sole plans to watch any movie in so long that I don't remember ever doing it. Who has time for that???

When you purchased the item, did you buy it through ebay's Global Shipping Program??? If so, the seller might have gotten a discount from ebay and USPS on their shipping if they click and pay for their postage online. I just sold a coat that shipped to France from the US. My online shipping cost was $24, but the buyer paid $33. Much to my dismay, the actual shipping cost that I paid ($24 after my discount)was printed on the customs form...not the $33. The buyers think that we are ripping them off when this happens, but we are not. We type in the weight of the package, and everything is figured for us. I am happy to get the USPS discount...I really am...our profit margins are tight on most items....but I hate it that the buyers think we are stealing from them.

Not a car kit, but I want to build the vintage 1/32 Bf-109 that I built as a teenager. I understand that there are tons of better Me-109 kits on the market, but I LOVED that build.

Another one that I'd love to see is a 16th scale Willy's Jeep, WWII era, please. Don't forget all the add-on features, like the .50 cal machine gun, the medic version with stretchers for wounded soldiers, etc.

FWIW, 1 of every 10 items we've sold in the past few months was through the GSP program.

Hakan, I agree with you. GSP is very expensive for the buyer. Don't forget though, that international shipping has gone up tremendously. It has gone up so much that I really can't believe it! I sold a set of 1/16 wheels and tires to a guy in New Zealand. I think they weighed 6 ounces, and the cost was almost $15 US. I used to ship a printed manual to Canada from the US for 2.80, and now the price is over $6 US. (Both items were shipped outside of the GSP.) Shipping from the US to Sweden has always been high, even 30 years ago. I have a friend who lives in the Uppsala area. One option is to ask the seller to remove the GSP option from their listings. Many are going to be reluctant because they are going to have to get a price for shipping from the post office, and they are going to give up some of the seller protection they got with the GSP program, but it might help save you some money.

I have a good friend in the tool and die industry. He owned a company that made molds for tail light lenses for the Big 3. He says that many companies rushed to the Republic Of China for their cheap tool and die, but in the end, after such poor quality, unsatisfactory workmanship, and so many problems, that the US companies should have paid the prices that US T & D shops were charging. He told me that the Chinese are improving, but have a long way to go. He added that it is becoming the norm that US manufacturers outsource tooling to China, and fully expect to have "rework" done to the tooling once it returns to the US. It makes me wonder how much Revell has to spend on reworking the tooling made in China.

I've spent the majority of my life in the printing business. Even though comparing the printing trade to model development may be a bit simplistic, no matter how hard you try, sometimes those mistakes do creep into projects. I've had jobs that were proofread 100 times, signed off on by the customer, sent to print, and came back with glaring problems. I once had an order for 300 t-shirts for a flooring company. I was thrilled to have this order from a flooring company. The art was created and proofed, and just before it went to print, some second shift dude wanting to make a name for himself decided that the art was totally wrong, and believed the company was deed and title company, so he took the liberty of changing the artwork from "Tile" to "Title", without consulting anyone, and printed the entire order that way. You might be surprised how many production people in the printing trades feel like they have the right to change work orders to their suiting, even though the customer has signed off on a job for the final time. It is like they fully believe that they should have full creative control over a job, even though their job is to print the job...it really is amazing!!!!!! In 20 years, I think that I've heard it all at some time or another. "I thought it would look better that way." "No one said, so I made it darker." "Yeah. I couldn't get it to print that way, so I changed it." "I could have done it that way, but it would have taken me a lot longer to do it." "I got it done. The customer won't care how it is done." "That is just too much work. I changed the job so it would be easier." I have heard all of those things from production employees, all of them working 2nd and 3rd shifts (when management was away) for $7 an hour. I can't even imagine what it must be like in the model business...

Thank you for the replies!!! When I started this thread, there was a kit that sold for $9 with free shipping, IIRC. That was the one I was looking at bidding on. I am the weird modeler. I have sworn myself not to build any stash other than what I have going, but when I saw the Stutz so cheaply, I thought I could make an exception to my rule. I will put the Stutz on my build wish list. I love the early Indy racers.

Thank you, Harry. I actually bought the same kit, with hopes of following your build to make mine look a little more professional, like yours. The kit has become the 'test kit' for paint and weathering techniques that my little one and I wanted to try. Some areas already have 6 coats of paint!!!!

Thank you for the replies!!! I am going to keep the Stutz model on my watch list. I think that I will buy one if I find one at a cheap price. I am kind of kicking myself now...the kit I was looking at on ebay went cheap, and it would have been fun to have at least tried to build a pseudo early Indy 500 entrant out of it.

I like the Elio concept, and while I probably won't buy one, I think it would be great as a good option for getting around town. There are so many times that I run errands, but hate having to fire up my V6 powered sedan. If they can get production going on the Elio, I think there is a tremendous market out there...if people accept the vehicle for what it is. I think they might sell a blue million of them if they are of decent quality and they can keep the price within reason.

I am a full time seller on ebay. I haven't sold but a few models since I started in 1998. The GSP is expensive for the buyer. As a seller, I only pay shipping to a location in KY, and a third party forwarder, Pitney Bowes ships it from KY to it's final destination. There is a HUGE mark up on the shipping by eBay/Pitney Bowes in the GSP. I sold a car brochure to a guy in Canada, and the GSP was going to charge him over $14. We worked outside of the GSP, and actual shipping was $4.28. That is a pretty significant margin on a 7 ounce package, IMO. The big upside with the GSP as a seller is that our sales are now really, really strong with overseas sales. Sometimes, I am quite shocked how much is purchased by overseas buyers. Another positive is the supposed global tracking, which helps protect the seller. Lastly, with the GSP, I no longer have to make 84 trips to the post office for someone in Europe, just to see what the price for shipping is.

I finally made it to Hobby Lobby, and was surprised to find that they had both the 2015 Mustang and the Revell snap Camaroin stock. A bit of a dilemma: The 2015 Mustang is cool because it would serve as a toy when completed, but the kit is ultra simple. It appears to be 4 wheels with two axles, an undercarriage, seats, and a body. If I were guessing, I'd say that I could have the kit assembled, without paint, in about 3 minutes, maybe faster. I am really leaning towards the snap Camaro. One of the two boys is truly gifted...I think he would be disappointed with the simplicity of the 'stang. Thoughts, anyone?????