Richard Bartrop

I'm guessing the number of people who are willing to shell out that kind of coin to get a model built is petty small, and it would have to be something you can't already get built up, but if you can make that work, my hat is off to you.

The Blower Bentley didn't have a great record either, and it's probably one of the most iconic British cars ever. Car nuts have a soft spot for magnificent failures.

And then you get the people who build everything from scratch, and their work is in the five figure range.

Born a year after Sputnik, so there were plenty of chrome rockets on the streets when I was growing up, but I never got this idea that you should limit your interests to the span of your lifetime. I love the prewar classics, and the machines from the dawn of the automotive age have always been fascinating. Yes, the 70s were not a great time for cars, or for anything else, but even the biggest mountain of dross will yield a few flecks of gold, and you would get the occaisional flash of brilliance, or at least, competence.

When you're talking about doing it as an actual pay the bills kind of job as opposed to doing it for fun and pizza money. labour, especially skilled labour, gets expensive. That would be an interesting exercise. The next model you build, keep track of how long it actually takes you, and then figure out what you think would be a reasonable wage to live on. I suspect even at minimum wage, that would work out to a very expensive model.

Which is exactly what they thought about 50s cars until some time in the 70s. Nostalgia is a heck of a drug.

I remember those days well, and in the following decades, Monogram brought out new tools for their '59 Cadillac and Chevy, AMT released brand new kits of the Edsel and Chrysler, and of course, you may have heard of a little company called Moebius. So yes, if people can demonstrate a demand for 70s cars, a few new kits are not out of the question.

I remember when if you wanted a model of a 1950's car that hadn't already been kitted, the consensus was, "Never gonna happen" and then the '90s happened. 70s cars are also entering that magic 40-50 year old window when people decide something is collectible, so if ever there was a time to push for your favourite 70s car, this is probably it. I do love those fuselage styled Chryslers, but if I had to pick one American car from the 70s it would be the 1971 Buick Riviera. I still think the first gen FWD Eldorados are the best looking of the bunch, but the 1976 is iconic of a certain 70s style. the same way the 1959 Cadillac was the poster child of 50s style. For Ford products, their early 70s models were the best looking of the bunch, before they start going fully on Superfly, but even those are interesting in their one overblown fashion. For them, I'd have to go with the 1970 Mercury Marauder, followed by the Lincoln Continental Mk III and Mk IV. I really liked the 1974 Matador coupe, and a kit already exists, so if Round2 ever felt like reissuing it, I would be okay with that

There went my afternoon....

I like that Chevy a lot. It looks a little like what you might get if Virgil Exner worked at GM.

The top thing on my Buick wish would be a '71 Riviera, followed by giving AMT's '65 Riviera an upgrade along the lines of what they did with their '66 Riviera kit. I think the '59 Buick is the best looking of GM's '59s, so I would be good with them bringing that one back, especially with an engine and a decent chassis.

One crafts thing I've been finding extremely useful are those googly eyes for dolls. A couple of bucks will get you a bagful in any size you want. Remove the backs (sanding works if you don't want to fiddle around with an X-acto knife on the tiny ones), and you have a clear plastic dome that can be used in so many different ways.

I could get behind that too. Toss in the go faster bits from the roadster kit to keep the hot rodders happy.

That is a pretty sweet looking ride.

Mystery Cars is probably my favourite right now, because they focus on 1950s dream cars, and for its complete lack of contrived drama. They show the car, an off camera announcer lists off some background, and that's it. It's all the stuff I want, and none f the stuff I don't.

And of course 3D modeling software keeps getting cheaper and more powerful. There's a very basic 3D program bundled with the latest version of Windows. Making an accurate hyperdetailed model still won't be easy, but it will be within the realm of possibility for more people.

Of those two, the Model A for sure.

When you don't have to sell thousands of identical kts to break even, a lot of subjects start looking viable. Never mind a '58 Chevy, what if your special itch is say, a 1905 Pungs-Finch?

All the more reason to make models based on orphan makes.

The Michael's here in Calgary has a pretty dismal model collection, but it is an arts and crafts store, so I go there for artsy craftsy stuff. It's just a few blocks from P M Hobbycraft where I go for model stuff..

From the HAMB. The Grabowski rod with the Watson paint, and without the later geegaws. This version doesn't actually look too bad.

Their Cadillac V-16 and Mercedes 500k kits are still some of the best ever made, even today, and what happened is a shame. It's like hearing someone used a Stradivarius for kindling.

That version wasn't actually too bad.

Still painting mine white. The Moebius 300 got a coat of red, and the 300B will be black.

The 300 Club website confirms this, and mentions at least one was done in blue http://www.chrysler300club.com/stories/cgil/c.html