FloridaBoy

Geeashhhh, guys, please forgive me on this one, and I hate to be critical, but every surfboard I have ever seen made, all of which are described above (except the epoxy ones mentioned) are not even close to a real surfboard. I started surfing in 1961 at 14 and surfed actively until I was 50, then sporadically until I was 55 when severe back problems set in. From 1968, I shaped and glassed custom surfboards for local surf shops. I learned from California pros visiting the East Coast, and when one went back he left me his templates. So, I have a pretty discerning eye, and I am not bragging because the 3 fin beauties you see in surf shops are nothing but art, and now way out of my league, or should I say way beyond my league. I still have 2 boards I shaped left, although I will probably never be able to surf again. The last time I surfed was 2005 at 58. There were even surfboards contained in the Monogram Garbage Truck, and I paid 50c each for about 5 klits with crushed boxes at Model Expo, but ended up throwing away the boards and salvaged the wheels. My critique is not aimed an anyone's work, but the factories who seem to spend so much time on scaling out the model, use a surf theme and what they produce tells me they have never seen a real surfboard. The boards are "pig" shaped boards with very old fashioned fins, which ended in 1962, and from then noseriders with speed fins took over. Today the boards are pointy, blunt on the back, have 3 very small tri-fins and all boards since 1971 have a noticeable nose rocker *tilted upwards" downturned rails, and a little more streamlined. They are usually clear coated then trimmed with color decals flames et al, and have a stringer thin wood piece going down the center to maintain the camber of the board. I am almost finished with my "Inside Woody" which is a 40 Ford Sedan Delivery which I dreamed of one night, woke up and made notes, then went back to sleep. I cut the roof off to make it look like a phaeton, put in some Corvette bucket seats, made it a 4 door, and am painting it two tone turquoise metallic fenders and upper trim with a pearl white body. On the body, I am practicing using a pencil tip silver Sharpie to make ocean foam bubbles where flames would be, and on the back, airbrushing a wave breaking. The inside was made to look like the outside of a woodie, and they begged for neat surfboards. So, I took some Plastruct sheeting, and doubled them so I could put some thickness here and thinness there. I fabricated fins, used a piece of black thread to simulate the stringer, and then painted it flat texture white then clear coated it. Hopefully the entire model will look good enough to enter a contest out of state this fall, and if I can get some badwith, I will take some pix and post them. All of my MB is used up on pictures I posted a few months ago. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I have judged my share of contest throughout my modeling career, and have been considered a tough judge, and Mattis's topic and tips are so right on. There are two things contest entrants must know. Do not expect to enter if you just spray paint an interior flat black, and justify it as a black interior, and seceond, when a judge lifts a car to inspect it closer, and the body detaches unexpectedly from the chassis, the entrant will probably pay dearly in pointsl for the heart attack the judge has. I have been to contests where they look at the firing order of the spark plug wires, but those are rare. As for me, if one details, do it well. I have seen way too many neat carb systems wired to the hilt, and the connections are poor, or the stacks are not mounted fair. It just takes a little diligence. I am no different from any other modeler, as time get closer to the end of a build, or the entry date of a contest, it is time to rush it up a bit and those detailed errors are what cost. As for black interiors, Testors makes a pearl black metallic which to me goes on a little flat and looks great as a black vinyl or leather, yet is not flat black dust catcher. Testors will amplify details. If you look in any black interior, there are many hues of black, gray, silver, chrome, and even woodgrain. If you decide to go all black, and go contest, detail down to the painted knobs on the radio. Sorry that is the way it is. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Ed, Here I is, all of me, and this is one entertaining thread. Ed is right. I wrote the entire story from my perspective a few months ago, but it was the legendary TCSAS (Treasure Coast Scale Auto Society) who helped Murphy restore this beautiful car. I originally saw it in pieces and with my experience from seeing body work customs taking a couple of years, I estimated this one to take at least a year. Six months later, thanks to the model club members doing supervised "dog" work, sanding, fetching, cleaning, etc, the Matador was done in just a few months. One of my happiest moments was visiting Murphy after the build and my wife took many pictures of me posing next to the finished car. One of my best memories. This is my all time favorite car, hands down, bar none. I can remember in Miami keeping my parents watiing for hours while I just walked around the display of this car at the custom show they used to have. I must have built 50 sectioned 40 Fords, and the model featured on this thread seems to be right on. What a challenge, as when I started to duplicate it, I always went off to another tangent and created something a little different. To the best of my knowledge, only one other car came close to duplicating this car. It was built for the Pactra 63 (second contest) and was a regional winner and was featured in one picture in the results book by CarModel. It was built by a preacher in Oklahoma so I would guess he had divine intervention in paying attention to the details. Congratulations to such a great car builder, and enjoy it for years to come. My hats are off to you. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

lilsquirt Don't dismay. From my reading your stuff, you sound like an accomplished modeler, and even though you and I may or may not be excellent modelers, I and am sure you have the confidence of what I term "mastery of plastic" which gives you the ability to restore any damage. With the miracles of modern technology and materials, you can take any damaged build and put it back, most of the time better that it was originally. This is not to brag, but to inspire you. As long as there is CA, Plastruct Plastic, body putty (in my cast Bondo) and epoxy any damage can be addressed. From what I see on this board, in the finished builds, and in progress builds, as well as the signatures on the pages, I am far from being among the best, but over the years by trial and error, I developed this attitude, albeit arrogance, but it is contained mostly within myself until this moment. I realized this in 1997 when I was building a sectioned and highly modified Lindberg Pink 40 Ford which I did some real experimenting with body sculpturing. Midway before primer, I am watching tv while doing mild sanding on my little portable workbench for on the couch. All of a sudden the entire rear section of the body disintegrates into small pieces - weirdest thing I ever saw. It was if it were built of table salt. I gathered up all of the pieces, and put it back together jigsaw puzzle style, and used CA for the oriignal fit. Then took plastruct glue and painted it underside to reinforce the CA joints. As that dried and cured, I mixed some epoxy and with Plastruct pieces and strips, I glued reinforcement strips under the trunk area on the break joints, then coated it with epoxy. Then rough sanded it on the surface, added bondo then fine sanded it and primered it, and 12 years later, it is perfect and strong. It has survived its original paint, and I am now painting it and remodeling it, as I came up with a new theme for it. I will call it Alien. So, lilsquirt, take the worst and make it to the best. I have confidence in you. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I have heard a similar rant about Extreme Trains too on the Model Railroad Forums. Regarding Overhaulin' sure maybe Chip pushes his wheels, and you can be sure that even Coddington pushed his wheels on his old show, and lo and behold, after a few years on the air, Orange County Choppes has a big bike dealer in Ft. Lauderdale. This world is about commercialism and making money, while keeping us occupied with entertainment. Personally, I have gained a ton of modeling knowledge from these shows, as now I mock up every model with a light gluing if my cars have major mods, which I never did beore and a million other things. Second, Overhaulin has also through commercialism given us exposure to Roush motors, parts sources, services and other valuable information. Third, to appeal to those who are not the purists we are, they have to have an angle, for there are not enough of us "purists" to make a rating, so they make it appealing to others, hence the pranks. Overhaulin' is my favorite show. Anyone who disses it, should have lived when I was in my prime. There were absolutely zero car television shows, although the desire was there. Even as far back as 59, we all clamored to have the T bucket that Kookie drove on 77 Sunset Strip, the rods on Hollywood Knights, and American Graffiti. I am very thankful to have a show which features one of my favorite customizers of all time, and still watch my recorded tapes of Jesse James, Jimmy Hines, Barry White, Hot Rod TV as Overhaulin' was one of the oriignals that put the present shows on the map. Without the soap operas, the shows would not last. Look at Barry White's show which appealed to the basic instinct rodder by advertising a complete build to get it to auction. No drama, no mamma, and it lasted barely the year. These shows are on cable, fight for every rating point and share, and live on squalid budgets. I say Yeah!!! to those who are inventive enough to be able to come up with shills and hypes and ads to make a build better. Just think of the overtime to pay guys who work 24/7 as well as the camera and production crews. Think of the end credits and every one of those people expect to be paid. I for one, am very thankful and grateful. You can state your opinion of this show all you want, but I hated American Hot Rod and Duane with a purple passion, but I watched it every week without fail, putting up with the drama but watching every weld of the build. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

lilsquirt, I think our chances of being offered up to have our cars "Overhauled" are two -- slim and none. First, I too, dreamed of Chip, Chris and team ganging up on my 97 Taurus SHO to make it a Foose masterpiece. But we are on the left coast of the US. I listen intently and tune in for endless reruns of both oriignals, and my tapes. They pretty much stick close to Huntington Beach area, as once they made a big deal about a car in Las Vegas and during nonSEMA times. They actually brought the vehicle back to SoCal, if I remember correctly. Second, Chip is a very busy man, and it would take a monumental effort to establish work points on foreign soil for a one-week build. The other thing I noticed evolving throughout the series was at first, they concentrated on the practical joke, and really working up the "mark", and secondarily the work done on the car. Now so many people are aware of the joke potential, they only prank those who don't watch the show, and now concentrate on the design development, the marks life, and the finished product of the car, at least in my opinion. A little joke I watched last Thursday night. The Learning Channel wanted to revive a custom car show, and in the absence of Coddington's Shop, evidently now out of business since his passing, West Coast Customs previously of "Pimp MY Ride" fame, hired Duane from American Hot Rodding to build a car commemorating Boyd Coddington. Thanks to Duane the Dysfunctional Arrogant Idiot, this car became the object of another Boyd-type feud within an otherwise placid Custom Car Shop. And they hired Duane full time, as they reported. Only difference is that if Duane crosses one of those guys, he just might end up in the Dumpster with a 40 Ford Bumper up his......er, nose. These guys at WCC are not the same as the Coddington crew. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I am retired and like all retired people, I develop little routines and rituals which comprise of my daily regimen. I take a coffe break from building cars or working on my trains at 11am. I normally watch DVD's or listen to the news while I enjoy my coffee. While channel flipping I go past Discovery Channel and there are Chip Foose and Chris Jacobs working on a car, which was recognizable because it was a aged rerun of Overhaulin' before it switched to The Learning Channel. So, get out your recorders and go for it!!!! Some of those early builds are incredible. This week featured the first Overhaulin' episode with Foose, which was a beautiful Chevelle, and later this week a '50 Ford Coupe for a guy with the Petersen Museum. These are quite novel because we have all evolved a little since the original airings, and it is quite interesting to watch with a newer perspective. It was interesting on the Chevelle and Ford builds the original engines were retained because of stated "Budget Reaons", but as the show gained in popularity, the cars became diverse, the sketches in color, but Chip and Chris to me remained the same great guys. The original girl has since moved to her own shows on Speed Channel and Spike TV. Try it out. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

YEOOOUCH!!!! This guy was hit with an accident, and hit hard. Wish him well and a full recovery. It reminded me of this guy who was a brilliant military modeler when I was in the IPMS. He looked like a biker, and brought his wife to every meeting, which we didn't mind as she was a fox. She came alone to advise us one meeting night her fiance' was in the hospital after a "modeling accident". She came because she didn't know who to call. It turned out he was building this F-something American Fighter jet and was using very radical means to built it perfectly. He weathered the aluminum panel sides by cooking egg shells in a white hot pot and running the plastic fuselage over the fumes. Radical. But his accident happened when he made up some filler using CA and baking soda. According to the story, and I sure don't know how true it is, this mixture produces a form of cyanide which if inhaled is poisonous. even more radical. When he won Regional Grand Prize at the IPMS Florida contest, we weren't only overjoyed for this brave guy, but relieved he was alive to hold the trophy. As for me, I have never suffered more than xacto knife cuts, a little ca to the eyes once, and that is fine with me. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

What makes me tick????? First, I love models and miniatures, but have focused my passion to plastic model cars and N scale model trains, for the sake of finances and room in my place. I think who we are and what we are is pretty well defined of what influenced us in our very early formulative years, like for me, age 3 through 8. As an only child with a peak & valley financial situation with my parents, I grew up with the knowledge I was my parents first priority. I wasn't spoiled, but as both of my parents worked to make a buck, I was put into the care of my grandma and my aunts and uncles. I was brought up near the downtown railroad tracks and right next door to a Chevy dealership, and several of my uncles were mechanics. My earliest car influences were my Dad and my Uncle Bob, the former driving new hot flashy cars of the forties, and the latter being an avid model builder aspiring to be a mechanic. We built AMT dealer promo's of GM cars which were cast off by the Chevy dealer, using masking tape for skirts and so on. I also learned that my good behavior and carrying on like a wild kid would reap benefits, like attention, and gifts, like trains and model cars. Parents rarely hired a sitter because they could drag me to friends' houses and I would station myself somewhere and go into my little daydream world. Never bothered anyone, but grew to accommodate grown-ups early. Very happy. Then at age 8 we moved from Pennsylvania to Florida, and couldn't build or buy until 1958 when I saw the first run of AMT 3in1 kits. I was hooked right there, and built a car every weekend, never destroying it with firecrackers just building a display shelf. My parents inspired me to participate in outdoor sports and to have an inside hobby, which I responded. We lived near several hobby shops and I improved with every model, and got pretty darn good, winning four local Pactra constests had a car in CarModel, newspaper articles and such. I even won the Master Hobby Award in the Hobby Exposition in Ft. Lauderdale. I can remember at a critical contest one night I asked my parents to drive me at midnight to see the results of a judging which took place earlier, and I won totally unexpectedly. My dad and mom told me right on the spot how proud they were of me. I was sectioning cars, painting candies and pearls, detailing undercarriages, upholstering interiors, kitbashing and opening doors as early as 1961, and until 1970 basically went undefeated in model car contests. I got loads of free stuff in return for displaying my cars in the hobby shops. I was really given a lot of positive reinforcements. As I got older and the hobby waned, I became a tennis player because of the competition and fire inside me, and then college, marriage and settling down. I wanted to stick around home when not playing tennis, so I built to keep my hands and mind occupied while watching TV with my wife. I built on and off but mostly on since 82 when the hobby took off again, and here I am. I am struggling with the incredible level of detail and accuracy put into models today, but I concentrate still on my body work. Foose, Coddington, Cushenberry, Roth and many others are major influences. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I have a "how to" section on how to section a 49-50 Ford, which was originally learned from a 1963 article in Rod&Custom, but I enhanced and updated it, and took my own photos. I got it down pat, and the last 49 I sectioned, it took less than one hour. Would that be of any interest to MCM readers? My latest sectioned 49 is in primer, and would like to finish it and submit the finished copy with my article, if interested. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

At the age of 62, and living in a Super Bowl experienced town as well as an NCAA Champ town (U of M) and attending the University of Florida, I pretty much had my fill of football since I was a kid. I sometimes think I have seen it all. I normally watch casually the first three quarters of some games, those which include off field drama or personalities, and then pay real attention in the fourth quarter if the game is close. I sure don't mean to sound jaded or condescending, but wait until you are my age, and having going through that much football you might be too. But this time, the "stars" have come together and piqued my interest in the entire game. First, I am from the Pittsburgh area, second, my daughter is engaged to the owner of a chain of Sports Bar & Grilles down here, with huge Plasma tv's, and one of them is just down the street from me. On SuperBowl Sunday, they are charging $64.13 tax and tip included for one seat in the restaurant, six seats to a booth, which means you share with a stranger. But the menu includes all you can eat for the entire game, open bar, party favors, and Pittsburgh and Arizona mementos. My daughter gave me tickets to sit with her and her fiancee with some City and County Officials. This one sounds real good. Plus a company car will pick me up at home and drop what is left of me home. No DUI's for FloridaBoy. The only downside is that I had a gastric bypass a couple of years back and can't eat more than one ice cream scoop of food within each hour. But the food isn't important, it is being with my daughter having some real fun. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Frankly I am torn between my two Pennsylvania fans. I am a Dolphin Fan since I have attended games since they were formed. And I was brought up near Pittsburgh, and all of my relatives "up north" are Steelers fans, I also would like to see Philly go all the way, if for any other reason but to see Donovan McNabb stick it to all of the undeserved flak he got this season and last, and in that time set every available performance record available to a quarterback. The "City of Brotherly Love" AIN'T. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willama.n

To me the perfect custom is to alter and clean the lines of a very classic automobile and enhance the design without losing the identity of the original car. Ricky Couch made his best stuff from scratch, and his stuff was uniquely beautiful, but many of us subscribe to the approach not to come up with anything spacey, which detracts from the original identity and design of the car. This 59 and the 58 are sterling examples of how far you can take a custom out there, without damaging the original integrity of the 59 Chevy lines. Way to go, customsrus. I applaud you. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Clay and guys, Glad you all made it. Very scary. I never had any problem with chicken, but a piece of roast beef that was the well done end, and I too, was in the habit of eating quickly, as I somehow felt stress when eating, that I was going to be called out somewhere, and I wouldn't be able to finish my meal. I used to drive too fast, tailgate, switch lanes, toss the finger at slower drivers, and generally drive aggressively. Now I am older, I have thought some things through, and now I chew food not twenty times, or count or anything like that, but make darn sure it is well gooed up before I send it down. Amazingly I always used to be the first done at any meal, and now I am the one who is slowest. It just took thinking things through. Second, I heard from my favorite shock talk jock on the radio that he tried comparing going to work at the speed limit, versus, speeding and driving aggressively. He said in a 10 mile drive, the difference between the two was about 5 minutes considering the same lights. He also said which I proved to myself later, that no matter how fast you go, or how you try to make up time with the gas pedal, if you get caught by redlights that is the difference, not your driving. I used to drive 30 miles to work via turnpike and local traffic, and judged taht no matter what it took me 45 minutres each way. One time I hit every light red, and it took an hour, and another time, I drove liesurely according to law, but hit every light green and took 35 minutes. So, I figured why put extra wear and tear on the car if it makes no difference? Maybe I am getting older, and more softer, but I will tell you that as you get older, you get much more cautious. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Tom, Listen to the others......Don't Clean it!!!!! If you clean it up, then MINE will be the worst, and I will have to clean mine. Just kidding. I can tell just by the workshop how busy and creative you are. The last time I cleaned my shop, I put things away in their "right place" and now I have no clue as to where they are. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Mark, Until I read this thread, I knew nothing about what happened, and right now I don't know, except that you are vacating this forum for awhile. I personally hate to see you go, as I look forward to seeing what you write, as I consider you a brilliant colleage and fellow modeler, as well as a person who has gone through the ditches and trenches in this hobby back from the old days. You have given me a lot of history of this hobby I love so much and filled a lot of gaps and opened my eyes a lot. Plus, this forum has widened my horizon of building, and very very soon I will be showing off some completed work. I participate in many forums and like you, I devote some thought, emotion, effort and length to make sure my point is completely articulated, and often people react in ways that I feel is totally unproductive. Even on this forum, I stated my point of view straight off and was called an idiot and a nothing old man with nothing to do. Years ago I participated in family counseling of some relatives who just couldn't get along with anyone, and the therapist said the problem was that people never stuck to arguing the issue, they took the issue and personalized it by attacking the spirit of the character and nature of the person, and ignored the issue. How dare someone disagree I'll show them!!! That observation changed my life - I learned to respect the opinion of others, and their right to have it, even though I think their opinion is pure poppycock. It is not acceptable human behavior to attack a person or their character just because they have a differing opinion. Mark, if you want to take your hiatus from this forum, that is your perogative, but you will be missed. In my opinion, your differing opinions strengthen me - first your stuff is lengthy, well articulated, backed up and the point it strong - you are a definite asset to this forum, second, as such, you will generate some emotional response, and even from me, and I revel in it as your stuff is always provocative and informative, and if I disagree with you somewhere, I revel in my own personal strength to not personalize it, but to keep in on a disagreement of opinions and issues. Lesson to be learned here, guys, and I can do this because I have stuck with this hobby through good times and bad, and been through it all. Calling names, etc kills the hobby, ruins contests, and if you have a personal issue, and I do now with some people in my hobby, address it directly without calling a name or saying something you will regret later. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Back in the early sixties, Styline kits were the rage. For a while, AMT just about made every model a "Styline" or had styline model parts, like totally redone front ends & grilles, taillights and rear quarters, and fins and such. Many of the kits were curbside models with no engines, but later on the 57 Ford, 57 Chev (first tool), and 50 Ford Convertible were "styline" kits with detailed engines, compartments, improved interiors and then even working doors and trunks. All just to stay ahead. You can see the remnants of this age with the latest reissue of the 50 Ford Convertible. Frankly, I totally forgot about the Corvair. I would have appreciated one, as I owned a 67 coupe I must have put 100,000 miles and a 100,000 quarts of oil. When I traded it in, it was a beater extraordinaire, including a broken clutch cable. But that motor kept spitting and running. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Jim, I have some stuff. First, I have my Pegasus trophies from the early sixties Revell/Pactra contest, and the cars still in perfect condition which won them. I also have some old Rod & Custom mags with model car contest coverage. All of my bandwith is used up on this forum, as I am now unable to post any photo I have, and I have lots. Email me and I will forward my photos of old work, and new work in progress attached to the email. You have my permission in advance to publish any of the photos on this board if you see fit. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I bought my lifetime supply of 1/24 1/25 wheels and tires from Radio Shack last summer. I am not sure if they still carry the line, but they were marketing and stocking slot cars and they had interchangeable parts, er, tires and wheels. They had the large rims with low profile tires in all sizes, black spoked tires, and tires and wheels for street rods. If they are still carrying them check out the spare parts and go for it!!!! Ke "FloridaBoy" Willaman

This theme seems to recur in both of my hobbies, model railroading and scale model car kits. Today's builders mostly those of us who are young, ask why the technology and accuracy of today just didn't appear back then. Model technology is a metamorphosis - then often spiked by some stimulants - like Trophy Series Kits, the Revell 32 Ford 3 window coupe, the AMT Double Kit, aftermarket supplies, new tools, paints, etc, what we had back then isn't even close to what you have today, from the opening of the box. I view a lot of resin kits as similar to the old annual AMT and Johan series, few parts, curbside, streetside, tub interiors, less than stellar details, but we accept them, and pay a lot more for them. I celebrate everyday the variety of models available, as over the years, my AMT, Revell, Lindberg, Johann, and other wish lists evaporated by these fine people actualloy making the car kit. my wish list today isn't even remotely like those of old. A 38 Lincoln 3 window couple!!! A 52 Merc, a 54 Lincoln, a 50 Stude, a 38 Packard 5 window, and those are pretty obtuse from that pimply faced 12 year old 50 years ago asking AMT in a letter for a 40 Ford. The other thing that we should note is that we are more prolific and better modelers. I have taken the old chasses and cut out all of the molded in details, like rear axles, suspensions, front axles, engine bottoms, exhaust systems, using modern tech I didn't have back then, and with the use of Plastruct, putty and spare parts, or cannibalizing a donor kit, I was able to build a new chassis, had I wanted to. Even the guys in my club showed me how to convert the old 32 Ford frame with the molded in details into a more accurate and realistic frame. This is how far we have come along. I can remember when IMC came out with a Mustang, a Ford GT, and some other ktis, which most of my fellow club members back then complained as "too hard to assemble". They were like today, and soon IMC bit the dust. Eldon, another company made some great street rods, but again were true to scale and detail, and they were too delicate and the parts just wouldn't stay together with the tube glue, but I endeavored to build three of their fabulous "Milk Wagons'. But they were ahead of their time. I do not know what is coming in the years ahead, but I am real thankful I am still able to put a model car kit together. I don't bemoan or belittle AMT for the axles through the engines or the poor axle details, I was darn thankful to see a stack of kits at my hobby shop, or even in Kmart, WalMart, Sears, etc. We had to evolve to get where we are today. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I can tell you that it is amazing that so many of us who "were there" are here. There was this guy featured in an old Rod & Custom Model magazine - remember how great a mag that was? - named Bob Wingate or something, who had an enormous collection of promo's dating back to the first one, and some built up kits, which numbered back then around 600. If he is still active, can you imagine how much that collection has grown since the '63 article? I found another guy named Bob Sieferd who is a prolific modeler who my eroding memory said he was a regional winner in an old Pactra and he had a large collection. Help me look........ http://www.geocities.com/dreamrod2/science.html Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I didn't want to include this in my former memory moment, but I did want to address the scale issue on early AMT cars. Granted they were curbside models with tub interior and no engines. But to me they seemed to be very accurate. I knew Revell was pretty accurate with their tooling as I had built their 56 Buick, but didn't like the multipiece body. AMT to me was right on, but that was memory. I am working on an original AMT 59 Ford 3 in 1, first deconstructing it, then customizing it and converting it into a full detail model. I am using a 57 Ford as a donor kit and that came out in 62 so the scales weren't too far off. I have purchased over 400 kits since the mid eighties and looked through them from all manufacturers, and this 59 still holds up in my book. I will discard the interior and chassis, and the only difference is the styrene body is thicker than AMT and other kits of today. The only issue I have is the AMT 40 Willys, which to me looks smaller and thinner than the original Revell 41 Willys (Stone Woods & Cook) but watching a history of the Willys, they alluded that the 40 Willys and 41 were different, larger wider and more stable--was that true? Revell's latest Willys were 41's and still different than the AMT mold. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Guys, If I were elected President, I would hire you to be my speechwriters because you articulate exactly what I wanted to say on this subject. Although I love the manufacturers today, AMT is and always will be my sentimental favorite because I was there from the very beginning. No, I didn't have the aluminum 48 Ford like Bluesman Mark has, but my first absolute 1/25 model was the 52 Pontiac 4 door sedan. It makes one feel old when they write history books about what made me tick when I was young. I read tennis books about Laver and Rosewall, surfing books about Dora and Edwards, model railroad books about Ellison, and now model cars about the glory days of old AMT. Hey, I was there, and those memories are like yesterday. I want to share something with you guys about the modeling experience back in the late fifties and early sixties. I am writing mostly about my geographical perspective - South Florida, er, Ft. Lauderdale. Back then Ft. Laud was a cultural youth market because it was young and vibrant, and reflected current cultural tastes more than the traditional communities surrounding it. Back then, model cars were THE RAGE. Sears, Burdines K-mart, Zayre, and every department store were stocked full of them particularly at Christmas, then add in drug stores, gift shops, sundry stores, "five and dimes" and bicycle/surf shops, and they sold. There was a hobby shop handling model cars virtually at every major shopping center. When a new model came out, I heard about it because the scuttlebutt made its way through the clubs, as every real car club had a model auxiliary, hobby shops had model car clubs, and each shop held several contests each year. At the War Memorial Convention Center in Ft. Laud, there was an annual "Hobbyrama" which was the size of a boat show today, which handled everyone including clubs, schools, groups, and individuals. One year I entered the model car contest, my train layout in the model train contest, and my school work in Mechanical Drawing - plans and a model of a house I designed. That is how involved it got around here. Of all of my favorite memories was my original hobby store which no longer exists. Cap'n Jacks in the West Gate Shopping Center. I would bike there or my parents would take me on Friday nights for the club meeting. Walk in and planes were hanging from the ceiling, there were counters of new stuff, and on to the back where they assigned the model kits and Pactra paint. I can remember like yesterday, my pleasant surprise when I saw the 32 Ford 5 window coupe!!! not expected. The owners knew I earned my money mowing yards, so they "saved" one for me for the following Saturday afternon when they knew I would be done. Those were the days. The excitement, the anticipation, the joy of finding, the joy of finished work, and hearing the compliments and support from club members. I sure wish those days were back, but thanks to God I don't have Alzheimer's yet, so the memories are rich and vivid, and hopefully permanent. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Marcos, and others, You guys are absolutely right!!!! Ever since the sixties when AMT Primer in the tall cans came out, I primered everything I was going to paint. I had it up to HERE with running bubbling paint up until then because I painted my base coat directly over plastic. It brought or bled out everything underneath including sanding imperfections, putty, feathering, ridges, and whatever else could happen to plastic. Then I started primering everything, and every paint related issue I had before went away, and my cars had the best finishes back then. No bragging was intended, because now I am struggling with making a perfect finish for a car, not too thick or shiny, but not dull either, but attention getting if it were entered into a contest. To me "too shiny" cars resemble die cast cars, and I see way too often a shiny clear coat put over a wavy car. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

While I was listing some of my old fifties dealer promos to sell on eBay, I always scroll through a week of the listings to see what is happening, and see if my price estimates are out of whack. I am listing my cars in Model Cars - Vintage and came up to see three kits up for sale, that were topics of a recent Johan discussion a couple of weeks ago. I have Zero interest in the buyers, sellers, and anyone involved, but I do want to alert my fellow forum people of the following, and possibly more: Johan 62 Plymouth HT Johan 64 Caddy Coupe de Ville 62 Dart The Caddy at the time I saw it was already over 40 bucks, and by the time you are reading this maybe even more, but the others already have stirred up bid activity, but still reasonable. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman