Richard Bartrop

Factoring in exchange rates and everything, as much as I like SMs, I don't like them that much. Now if someone like Ebbro were able to keep it south of three figures, I would be a customer.

The Radwood thing is just starting. Give it time. Gen Xers and younger just love their '80s nostalgia. Hollywood already throws billions at scratching that particular itch. People still love other cars, and that's great. Even the article said that any lapse of interest was mostly due to practical issues. And if Brass era cars can make a comeback, why not other eras? I know you're expressing an opinion. I in turn am just offering up evidence as to why that opinion may not supported by reality.

Even if some precautions are in order, it's kind of boggling what some people think a two week supply of toilet paper looks like. Then again, if you're burning through this much TP in two weeks, it's probably best that you keep whatever you've got to yourself.

Already happening. https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/03/28/radwood-rocks-at-hooptiecon-2018 https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g23799645/radwood-philadelphia-2018-car-show/ https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/09/23/radwood-detroit-2019-show-report/ When '50s cars were new, enthusiasts dismissed the idea that anyone would collect that gaudy junk.

These people don't seem to agree: Radwood, an event dedicated to cars from the '80s and '90s. That modern cars will never be as desirable as old cars is a constant refrain, and it continues to be wrong.

Mock all you want, but it'll still happen.

Article on the Hemmings blog about the changing face of car collecting, which I imagine would also affect what people want in the way of car models. https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/changing-demographics/ Most of it seems to follow conventional wisdom. Less interest in classics and fifties cars, and more interest in eighties cars and Japanese imports, but there is apparently a growing interest in Brass era cars among MIllenials. So maybe the real way to get young people back in the hobby isn't in making kits of the latest from Detroit, but to offer a decent Pungs-Finch.

Lots of good stuff in this thread!, I really love that Studebaker. Not only is the workmanship incredible, it actually looks plausible, and even more noteworthy, the styling is great. Let's be honest, like a lot of 1:1 customs, there are builds where in their zeal to show off their modding skills, the builders don't always devote as much thought as they should to how it's all going to look. This is just beautiful. Everything looks like it belongs there, and there's not a wrong line on it. Where you consider how many full size builders have tried and failed to improve on the original '53 coupe, this is no small feat. I'm going to say that this is the best looking custom Stude I've seen in any scale.

I used to put stuff in the World of Wheels show here in Calgary when they still had a model show. The one time I walked away with the big trophy, it was for doing pretty much what they were saying at the beginning. The model we pretty much out of the box, but the assembly was clean, and it had a decent coat of candy red.

This one right here. Built totally from scratch, and the engine even runs. This one sets the bar so high, we can't even see the bar. At best, we can dimly grasp the theoretical existence of a bar. https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2011/01/20/keep-repeating-this-isnt-real/ EDIT: And here's a shot of the engine in action.

I'm in total agreement there.

You got that right. I once brought a Boer War vintage armoured steam tractor model to an armour show. I didn't win anything, but I did have a lot of interesting conversations that afternoon.

THat is beautiful work.

And I'm sure the guy collecting Duesenbergs wonders what you're complaining about. It's great that people can afford expensive hobbies, but the comparisons to modeling are about as useful as Marie Antoinette's views on childhood nutrition.

If you're really serious about the hobby, you'll invest in a set of quality stacking rocks. Those imported rocks from Finland are pricey, but worth it. I draw a lot for fun and profit. and most of the time, a $5 mechanical pencil and a block of printer paper from Staples will do me just fine. Once in a while, something is worth breaking out the fancy media, or scanning it into the computer. How much time you spend on a model does make a difference. I don't spend nearly that much on models, but I also build slow. I'm looking long and hard at that 1886 Patent Motorwagen from ICM when it comes out, but that will probably take out my model budget for the year.

Yes, I know some people think the measure of a "serious modeler" is how much money you burn through. In fact, it starts looking a lot like what most people would call "more money than brains". The hobby can be expensive, but how you approach it can make a big difference. Instead of buying the aftermarket part, can you modify an existing part, or even make it from scratch? Are there materials you can get from some place other than the hobby store, or that online supplier? Keeping an eye out for sales is good, and if you insist on hunting eBay, see if you can find someone in your own country who is selling what you want. You can model on a budget, it just means applying a little ingenuity. In other words, using brains instead of money.

If you want a Tamiya kit, but Japanese cars aren't your thing, or you like engine and chassis detail, there is their excellent 1/24 Lotus 7 kit. Their 1/12 Lotus 72 John Player Special is hard to beat when it comes to detail, but for all its apparent complexity, it goes together surprisingly easily. Even the finish of the body is nice enough that you can skip the paint if you want.

I haven't built the Monogram V-16 kit, but if it's anything like the other Monogram classics I've built, I'd guess the Jo-han kit is better, but the Monogram is still pretty good.

Smooth fits the whole '60s future vibe of the car. Go with those.

Most kitmakers do tend to skew heavily towards the local product. As for the original question. I do like Jo-Han's V-16 Cadillac a lot. For a 50+ year old kit with lots of tiny parts, assembly is surprisingly painless. Monogram's '59 Cadillac is good too, and I really like Revell's '40 and '48 Ford kits.

Thanks, Bernard. Coming from the master of the vintage rod, that is high praise indeed. I was originally going to go with the swoopy headers from the Double T kit, but they didn't really have the look I wanted, so I did some rummaging, and found a set from the Revell '32 Ford that when mounted upside down, bent in just the right way to clear everything. It doesn't really show in the photo. but I gave the ends a light spray of Tamiya Clear Orange and Clear blue so it looks like the engine has actually been fired up. I scratched up a set of caps out of styrene, with some slices of thin Plastruct hex rod for the bolt detail, and touched up with a Molotow pen. The fan is from a 2002 issue AMT '29 roadster with some Molotow chrome.

Mistake no mistake, Round 2 has released some things that are worth the price. Those ones from AMT and Lindberg's "golden age" of the late 90's are especially nice, and have only been abused for about 20 years, as opposed to the nearly 60 of some of the other stuff.

Looks like I got the ones I wanted, except for the 300C, and I already have one of the original issue on my build pile.

Nicely done!

I like being able to get old favourites at my LHS, and I'm even okay with having to trim off some flash, and fill in the occaissional sink mark, but when I'm asked to pay a premium price for something that looks for a bar of soap, there is a limit to my gratitude. Instead of fancy boxes, or useless knicknacks, how about putting some of that money into freshening up the moulds?