Richard Bartrop

I can`t answer for everyone, but for me, I started building 1/32 Pyro and Aurora, so I tend to associate styrene wheels with being a cheap and inferior kit. In the days before your could get semigloss finished, black paint never looked sufficiently `tire like`. Sidewall and tread detail can and have been incorporated into vinyl and rubber tires. My personal favourites are the neoprene tires that the Japanese kitmakers love. The lack of proper logos and such nowadays has more to do with licensing issues than choice of material. If anything. molding tires in a flexible material means that you can get away with making a mould with undercuts like tread. Making a hard tire with realistic would mean a multipiece mould, and aside from the extra cost, it would also mean lots of mould lines to clean off all that intricate tread. In fact, looking at the hard tires on the Italeri kits I have in my stash, and their lack of tread, I`m not sure where you`re getting this idea that styrene is a superior choice for representing tread. You`re the first person I`ve ever seem make a fuss about tire bulges in cars, so I guess I`re just not that big a deal with modelers. It could very well be related to why all model car kits still have provision for rotating wheels. If it really bugs you, you could always follow the example of the model airplane crowd, and make a prebulged aftermarket tire in resin for all those who share your concern.

And wouldn't it be even more boring if we all liked the same things, and all built the same models? Personally, I also like building science fiction models, and one of the rereleases from Round 2 that got me especially excited was the Lief Ericsson/UFO Mystery Ship not just because I'd lusted over it since I was a kid, but because it was one I didn't even dear to dream would come back. It too bombed when it first came out, and I figured a rerelease would be right up there with telling Ford how they need to bring back the Edsel. So, longshots do sometimes happen. On the other hand it's easy to talk about taking risks with other people's money, so if you really think there's gold to be had in model bulldozers or whatever, maybe you should take the initiative. Talk the the folks at Round 2, and find out what it would take to haul their moulds out of storage and run off a couple of thousand. It should be no problem to find enough like minded individuals willing to chip in to cover the cost. Sell them to eager hobby stores, and use the profits to order additional runs as those fly off the shelves. If it doesn't work out, then you've got your Christmas shopping taken care of, forever.

I thought I gave you a fairly proper one. Like the promo cars, they were probably originally commissioned as display pieces for their respective companies, and having a set of moulds already paid for, someone thought they could make some extra cash offering them in kit form. If anyone has some hard data confirming or denying this, I know I'd be interested.

I agree. There's already a very healthy interest in making and modifying models for games. The youngsters haven't given up on modeling, they've just gone to a different medium. 3D printing is also a very good thing for the older set because, as has been mentioned many times before, while the unit cost on injection moulding is very low, the setup costs are very high, so if you want a model, a lot of other people have to want one too. 3D printing is just the thing for all those subjects that we may really want, but maybe nobody else does.

The only TV ad I can think of for model kits of any sort were for Bandai's Gundam kits.

Seeing as how AMT used to be in the promotional business, things like the Gremlin and Pinto probably got kitted not because they thought there was a burning demand for kits of either, but because AMC and Ford wanted something to promote their new cars in the dealers, and once they had the moulds, AMT figured they might as well sell some kits. It's entirely possible the power plant and excavator had a similar genesis. So it would seem the your best bet for a bulldozer model would be to somehow convince someone like Caterpillar that they want to get into the toy business.

I remember getting the Astro-Vette when it first came out, and canniblizing the chassis for a hot rod. Dare I ask what that one went for?

Depends. Stuff that's at the resolution of current 3D printers? We're already there. Being able to scan a person, and create a living breathing duplicte of that person at the other end? I think yhou're looking at centuries there, and defintely not in anybody's lifetime.

I had a 1907 Mercedes-Benz from Bandai that got lost in a move before I summoned up the nerve to tackle it. and it wasn't particularly accurate either. The fact that it was a "Mercedes-Benz" should be your first clue as to how much attention they were paying to accuracy. I think the colour scheme works great, and is certainly period correct. There have been some pretty wild colour schemes applied to Rolls-Royces, and some make that look downright restrained. All in all, I think a very nicely done build of an Edwardian classic.

Maybe not a great moment, but a significant one was when the car companies stopped wanting promotional models. I don't think enough attention has been given to the fact that the model companies could crank out so many different kits because the promo contracts subsidized the cost of a set of moulds. I've seen lots of theories tossed about why the model industry took a downturn in the 70's, but I think the real answer is that Detroit was no longer covering the costs.

Well said. Seriously, is anyone actually going to go, "Gee, I'd better not build one, or the Internet might not like me anymore!" ?

Actual fins? No doubt about it. Doors, and other components that need to remain firmly closed during the normal operation of the vehicle don't really count.

Depends on what you can "normail". If he's as big a Porsche nut as you say, he's probably going to have a pretty good idea about what a Porsche is supposed to look like.

When done right, I think they look great.

I don't know, the 300SL never really struck me as swoopy, especially compared to the prewar K models. There's enough modelling there to keep it from looking like a bar of soap, but there's nothing really extravegant there. I think what makes it work is that it's a very solid, no-nonsense look. Not really an art object so much as a well crafted tool for moving two people at high speed.

The wheels on the actual car, like most during that era, were painted, and there was an optional trim ring like you see on later model Fords, and 70's muscle cars. Some companies, like Cadillac, offered wheels with stainless steel spokes on a painted rim. A few did have fully chromed wire wheels, but there weren't nearly as common as you see on models, or even newer restorations.

Simone also owes more than a little to this Labourdette bodies Rolls Royce, not to mention a generous helping of both Figoni and Falaschi

Alas, there never was a real Simone. It was an original creation for the Franklin Mint. Still a neat story, and a cool design.

Nicely done. Good colour choice, and good research on the engine. I am thinking that convertible boot should be a flat colour instead of semigloss. The ridges on the tire colour and on the front of the rear fender could probably use some foil. The door hinges have already been address, but when you're dealing withcustom bodies, there's always some variation in trim, and some 32 Imperials don't have them, so that's not always a hard and fast rule. Depends on how picky you want to be about these things.

Nifty, but I keep thinking they have to release a Cadillac at some point.

Anti-swoop:

I agree. I have the Hot Wheels version sitting on my monitor, and I'd love to see a 1/24-25th scale kit.

'Tis a thing of beauty. Great job!

You and me both. Heller already makes a stock Delahaye, but a resin Figoni & Falaschi body would be very nice

Tom Meade's Thomassima III