pepperdrumstix

I remember going to the world's largest antique mall in central Ohio a few times in 2006 and not finding any kits, just a few promos that were real expensive and most were wrapped. What I did find were a couple 10 year old 1/18th diecasts, a '58 Edsel and a '53 Ford F100 custom pickup. Not antiques by any measure but something I bought anyway. Years ago at a nearby antique mall in Phx AZ I found a booth that had lots of old kits. Not rare or real old kits but some that were nice and in good condition, not started or missing important parts and I stepped up and bought them. Eventually I bought every kit they had as I wanted the parts in some of the started kits or kits with missing parts. As time went on and I went back I found many nice older kits and bought them. That mall closed and I miss it. I rarely find old kits or kits at all in the antique malls but when I do I buy them. Now I have heard they re-opened about 5 miles away and I will check it out. Hope that booth is still part of the mall and has old kits. Patrick, "antique himself" old things hunter.

I don't like these "things" either, a waste of plastic and molds. I dislike the Tom Daniels stuff too. If the hobby had only these things to build, I would be in another hobby. I just don't like and never did like these Weird-Os, and other stuff like this. Sorry but I wouldn't waste my money or my time on these. Patrick

Hello Doctor, I have been photographing old cars, trucks, buildings and anything that caught my attention since 1967, when I was studying photography in a local JR college, in and around Phx AZ and throughout the entire state. I have 1000s of slides and photos of interesting things in AZ, drag races in '73 in southern CA and old tractors up in Ohio in 2006. Lots of old cars and trucks in the weeds. I would like someone to see these photos but I don't know how to post them or scan them, I have a new scanner but I don't know how to connect it to my old computer. If I can figure something out I will contact you. I want to order one of your books too, but I don't have an on-line account. You take money orders? Your fan, Patrick Mitchell.

My grandson was 9 and my grand daughter was 7, when I bought them each a snap-tite kit and we built them on my bench. They enjoyed the building and my grand daughter liked the stickers the best. I have the models displayed on my shelf and they want to build more kits. But their school time is more important now. I will take them to the local hobby shop and let them pick another snap-tite kit some weekend. They are still too young for glues and paints and sharp X-actos. Who knows if they continue to build as they get older, but I will try to encourage them as much as I can. But the best part of this kit building was spending time with them. That is, to steal a phrase, Priceless. I started building when I was 9 with my dad's help--ships, planes, amour and then AMT cars. Still building and enjoying it. Patrick

Just when you think you have finished the best model you ever built and detailed the motor and interior and the paint is nice and all 4 tires touch the ground and you lean back and mentally pat yourself on the back thinking you just built a contest winner, along comes a hand- built, one of a kind model like this that you can hardly believe. And it's made of WOOD!! Oh well, I know there are builders out there that can devote the time to a project like this and I say "great, more power to them." Keep up the fine work. Stunned and reeling by by this truck, but still building. Patrick

Real. So many things about this vehicle say real. Glass, paint, hinges, window fittings, tires, lights, wind shield washers, grille, etc. So I say it is real.

I have that issue right next to me. That '57 is perfect for a street freak look-alike gasser. The pie crust slicks, the straight front axle, the colors and the wheels. The thing that makes this real car so cool and drivable is the SBC with a single 4 barrel carb. This could be built from the new Revell '57 Chevy Black Widow Kit. I built an AMT '57 Chevy model way back in the early '60s that looked something like this but with solid black paint, straight axle, slicks, kit mags, a blown 409 motor and lots of decals under the hood on the firewall like we used to do with the real cars. I still have it although it is in pieces, but this '57 cover car has made me want to rebuild that old AMT build and get that "barn fresh" look of a just discovered old street-strip gasser '57. I am still recovering from more leg surgeries in Dec. so this might be a perfect project for me now when I can't go outside to paint. The original black Western Auto rattle can black paint is still good and all the parts are still with the car. Yes I am going to re-build this old '64 '57 Chevy build. Patrick

I like it. Looks like one that was parked down the street from my house when I was a kid. Sat next to a '53 Hudson Hornet and an old Dodge salesman car. Nice job Dave. Looks real. Patrick

Who ever had the deep pockets to do this in the real world would make it a show stopper with shiny paint and nice graphics and a powerful motor, maybe even a trailer with a matching paint hot rod on the back. Just my 3 cents, inflation you know. Patrick

Looks fine so far to me. Those kits can be a bit tough to build but you can do it. Have fun and keep us posted, Patrick

I think Global Warming turned into Climate Change which explains all weird weather now. Hang in there friends, we have a whole new year to deal with. Watching my temp gauges and building and planing the next builds, good weather or not. I can't change the weather but I can change the builds I am working on. Having fun in the sun in Phx AZ. Patrick

Phx AZ has had record heat in the last few days. Last year at this time we were in the middle of our first freeze of the year. I did lose some plants then but I remembered to cover my outdoor facets. Good times, both, to hit the bench and build. I almost did some painting outside yesterday. Phx has had hot temps in the colder months in the past, 95 on Nov 3rd in 1932. I wasn't here then, wasn't even born till '50, but I read about those high temps in the past. Take care and be glad you don't live in the real cold places in the world. I can't imagine trying to build a plastic model in 30 or more degrees below zero. Even indoors it would be cold. Keep building. Patrick

Real. Look at the fine mesh in the grill openings. The glass headlights look real too. Tire wear. It's real.

I am with the other forum members wishing you a successful surgery. I have had 46 leg vein surgeries, 23 on each leg, in the last 3 years because of my circulation problems. The procedures I had are called EVLTs when they cut a small hole in your ankle and shove a fiber optic up that vein, some times as far as the groin, and "zap" it with a laser for about 12-15 seconds. Every one in the room has to wear thick sunglasses during the laser use. They remove the fiber optic and bandage you up and send you home with a pain med script. I can walk after the procedure but 1 to 2 days later it feels like I was kicked by a horse in the leg. Then I am down for a while. But the up-side is better circulation in my legs. Follow the doc's orders and you will be pleased with the results. You may be "down" for a while but the end result is worth it. Just think what it would be like if you didn't have these surgical procedures. I need to have 8 more starting Dec. 1st. My Dec. will be busy going to the doc's, painful and most of the month I will be "down" not able to move much or walk far. I can sit at my bench and build though. At least until my legs fall asleep from the reduced circulation in my veins till my body re-builds them to replace the destroyed ones. My original problem was I was born with a mild form of polio, yes I am that old, and had surgery at one month of age and had full length casts on for a year. We all have our own medical problems but I can say these procedures worked for me. There will be some pain for a few days but they have nice pain meds now. Take care and don't get stressed out by the doc's busy schedule. They have emergencies too with other patients. I have had 5 procedures cancelled- rescheduled because my doc also does cardio-thoracic surgery. Hang in there and try to enjoy the time you can now spend relaxing- building. Just some advice from a fellow builder, since 1958, that has gone through something similar, over 45 times and soon to be over 50 times, and survived and got better. Patrick M

Fine work so far. Did you have trouble with mold lines around the back window area? Especially around the lower window position above the rear trunk area. I had heard the original mold was damaged in that area after the trophy series of kits and that's why it was not re-issued for a long time. I like this hot rod old school style build a lot. The flat head is perfect with the 2 carb manifold. Keep us posted please. I've always wondered why the body was molded like that with the lower section job. Maybe so it could be built as a channelled east coast style rod back in the day. But it was so the body would fit the fenders better with the frame molded to the fenders was what I always thought was the reason. Looks nice corrected. Patrick

I vote REAL. The chrome around the wheel wells is nearly perfect, the thin white walls are perfect, the drivers' door is hanging a touch low out of alignment, the see through grille, the interior in the back seat area, the hub caps look real, the chrome trim around the windows and the front bumper looks real. But it could be a large 1/18th scale diecast model, or a real nice 1/24-1/25th scale diecast. I can be wrong again, have been many times before. Good one Harry. Bill and other guys see something that tells them this is a model but I can't see what they see. I haven't seen one of these cars in decades so I am not very familiar with the car. I still say REAL Maybe I need to flip that coin again. Patrick M

I just put some money away for this event. Looking for a couple kits a friend in Canada is looking for and some for me. I will do my best to make it there.

I should be back on my feet by then so I am planing to be there. More leg procedures ahead for early next year. But that keeps me inside and at my bench when I am not walking. Thanks guys for the reminder. Patrick

This is so cool. It would be ear -splitting loud and scary fast out on those drag strips and farm roads in PA. Great detailing on the motor. Good tip on the carb painting. Love your work. Saw the "Shorty Ford" and it was another one of a kind build with neat detailing. Keep up the fine building and these real looking cars. A fan way out in Phx that has family in central PA. P.S. Did you ever see the ABC movie "Hot Rod" also known as "The Rebel of The Road"? It has a Hemi powered '40 Willys in primer and it reminds me some what of this one. Patrick

I have always liked the looks of the stock front end with full fenders and bumpers on a '32 Ford. This one in "sear your eyes" yellow is nearly perfect. Patrick

Love this build of the '39 coupe. Not over the top. Just what the Government would build to be out there with the weirdness in Area 51. Maybe a matching '39 sedan delivery to carry UFO parts back to the Lab to examine and retro-engineer. Or as an ambulance to carry the dead Aliens back for forensic examination. With Area 51 anything is possible. Just saw the movie "Apollo 18" and it was enough to make me think of building a dio of the craft and the "things" that attack the astronauts. Or a crash site on earth that have the creatures escaping the craft onto the desert. If you have seen the movie you know how scary that would be. Watching the rocks now forever---Patrick

This is so cool. I know you can complete this and it will be a work of modeling art. Can't wait to see it in person someday. Brad won the Desert Classic Diorama award this last contest. His work is fantastic and super detailed. Have to see his work in person to appreciate all the work involved. Keep up the great work-- your friend Patrick

It looks real but I think it is a very well done model because the wheel rims have something on them that looks like trimmed sprue on the edges next to the tires. Don't know how many E jag kits there were but this could be the 1/8th Monogram kit converted to a convertible racer. I had one, sold it un-built, and it had some nice wire wheels like these. Also no visible valve stems. I say Model.

The supercharger in the AMT '57 Chevy kit looks almost like a SCoTT blower. You may check to see if you have one of those. Patrick M

Too many reasons pointing to real on this one so I say Real.