Richard Bartrop

Maybe you're heard the expression, "You don't have to be a chicken to judge an egg"

I guess this is that time when cars had real style that we keep hearing about?

I've loved it ever since I first laid eyes on it way back when.

From the want ads in the August '67 issue of Hot Rod, via The Jalopy Journal.

They were first and foremost performance cars. In the 20s, they were to racing what Porsche and Ferarri were in modern times. They were the fastest street legal cars you could buy. The Royale was their one and only pure luxury car, and that was a distaster.

R&C articles on the restoration of the Hirohata Merc detailing just what sort of "craftsmanship" was underneath those sleek curves http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/barris-1/hirohata_mercury-1/hirohata-merc-rc-ar/hirohata-r-c-89-12.html#media Another Barris custom, and what it was made of https://www.customcarchronicle.com/cc-builders/barris-kustom-shop/inside-a-barris-kustom/

For 1/24-25th, the Monogram kit is the only real choice.

Some of that is changing fashion. The custom scene went from "less is more" to "more is more" to "too much isn't nearly enough", though the kindest thing you can say about the Modern Grecian is that it probably took a lot of work to make it look that way. However, let's check out this Ferarri Barris had built for his own use: The outside's not bad, and I think he actually managed to improve the front. I like the colour, though it could do without the stripe. Now the interior... Again, I could live without the stripes, but does this strike anyone else as really sloppy work for someone who called himself King of the Customizers? Now this.... This is just nasty. I know it's from the early days of dashboard electronices, but you would think he'd be able to scrounge up some lights and switches that didn't look like he scrounged them from Radio Shack.

I noticed that too, but there are far worse things to resemble.

Proof that elegant design isn't a lost art. A recent one off from Ferrari, but I won't be too upset if people start copying this.

Looking good so far!

Not an exclusively modelling thing, and not so much a peeve, as it's amusing when people decide to HIGHLIGHT certain words and phrases in their posts, like the REASON your aren't COMPREHENDING their BRILLIANT ideas is that maybe you can't SEE them because they aren't BIG and BOLD enough, or they aren't using enough COLOUR! I suppose you're supposed to be swayed by the forcefulness of their words, but nonsense shouted at the top of your lungs is still nonsense. In any case, the effect is not so much forceful as "The voices in my head think you're wrong too!"

Do you honestly think the folks at Revell aren't going to look at the pile of moulds they just acquired from Revell USA, look at the US market and think, "Y'know, we should really do something with these..." Way back when, AMT was owned for a while by the English company Lesney, and universe still kept going, and let's not forget that Round 2 and Moebius aren't dead yet. We've seen the Japanese put out their share of American iron, and what did Trumpeter make when it decided to get into model cars? That's right, big ol' American cars. If the American model companies shut their doors, don't be surprised if foreign companies fill the void.

And it still takes more skill that gluing a bunch of pre formed parts together. In any case, the whole point of tools is to make things easier, and where the computer really shines is in making nice, precise geometric objects, and making lots of identical objects, things that humans tend not to be as good at. personally, when I want to do something like sculpt a figure, I'd just as soon get some Milliput, and do it the old fashioned way. In both 2D and 3D, being able to do this stuff without a computer definitely gives you an advantage when you do decide to tackle it. And making it easier for people to model from scratch is surely a good thing, right?

Fortunately, the great thing about skills is that they can be learned. Knowing how to use a computer is already an essential skill if you're a 2D artist. I can't see the day being far off when the same holds true in the 3D realm.

Even if you can't afford the fancier printers, there are services like Shapeways that will do it for you. The technology isn't ready to replace injection moulding, but when it comes to resin, especially detail parts, it's getting close, if it isn't there already.

The idea that modelers might not share the same interests continues to be a difficult concept for some. Kudos to the folks at AMT for being willing to make the effort on this kit.

Teenage girls worry about what's fashionable. What we embrace as traditional used to be considered horribly unfashionable until people came to their senses, and there seems to be growing interest in the later 60's style of rod. Give it a few more years, and people will be grumbling about the lack of decent billet parts. I think every era manages to produce something good. Some just produce more than others.

If you want a stock early T, I keep hearing good things about ICM's 1913 roadster, even if it is a little pricey. It might even be a good starting point for someone wanting try and recreate the King T.

The vintage go faster parts are a very nice thing. I'm building the '27 T stock, and I figured I'd use the Frotenac head with the '25 T roadster to make a 20s style gow job. Just as a heads up to others who might want to try this, the engine in the 25 T is noticeably larger than the one in the '27 T kit.

That's okay, my interest in generic 60s sedans is effectively zero. It's like we all had different interests or something.

I'm a little more interested in the King T, and I think it could be a good starting point for any number of T based projects, but I wouldn't turn up my nose at either one.

Nope.

Though if we're talking miraculous resurrections, if AMT could somehow bring this back from the dead, I would be happy.

i already have one in my stash, but it's one i'd like to see come back. Even if the XR-6 part is lost to history, I thik there are people who would like to see the '27 touring come back with some of the custom parts from the original issue.