Richard Bartrop

It's always interesting to see where it al started. Thanks for sharing!

Brian I'm with you on '60s sports cars, and I'd still like to see someone release a Cheetah kit. Mind you, I think those classics from the '30s are pretty sweet too, and the cars from the dawn of the automobile age have their own funky charm. That said, those new Aston Martins look pretty nice. I like some of the Japanese scifi kits. I'm not always familiar with the series they come from, but some of the designs are really cool. I have this one the build pile right now. The hobby is changing, and not all of the change is bad.

That's okay, I get tired the continuous drone that everything new is crapp, and everything old is wonderful. Yes, there were some nice kits back then, and I've enthused more than a few times about the quality of the Jo-han classic kits, but I'll take I'll take AMT's 2000 version of the '66 Riviera over their '66 release any day of the week. Revell's '40 Ford simply blows the AMT kit out of the water, especially if you're looking for a source of vintage running gear. Even Lindberg managed to produce some gems around the turn of the century. Sure, we have fond memories of the "good old days" but progress does happen. Believe me, I have been paying attention. I was paying back during the days of the first Energy Crisis, and before, when learned men were solemnly pronouncing the end of America's love affair with the automobile. People have been saying it's been dying for over 50 years, much like how the Jehovah's Witnesses have been saying that we are the last generation. You'll forgive me if I take both those pronouncements with just the tiniest grain of salt. Soulless transportation modules has been the auto industry's bread and butter pretty much since day one, and that's fine. Most people want a tool, not a toy. Thankfully, every so often you get these flashes of genius, or madness, and that's what makes things interesting. That we saw so many plain vanilla cars kitted in the past had more to do with Detroit's demands than the merits of the subject or the demands of the modeling market, but exciting cars still get made. Look at all the chatter over the new Corvette. I want one too.

There is a community devoted to old computer games, and some have gone so far as to write emulators so that they can run old games. If it comes to that, I can see future car enthusiasts programming existing chips to perform the function of ones they can no longer obtain.

That is a really neat find.

I've been a big fan of the 1/32 scales planes as well. Mostly between the wars fighters and racers. Even at 1/32 they don't take up inordinate amounts of space, the colour schemes are more eye catching, and I'm interested in how aircraft evolved into the more familiar shapes of WW2. On that subject, I remember my first experience with the IPMS in the early '80s. The sentiment was very much that if it didn't have wings or treads, it wasn't "real" modeling, and more than a few members weren't shy about expressing their opinions about what they thought of car models stinking up their very serious modeling club. Needless to say, I didn't stay long. Now, the Rocky Mountain Model Club has been heavily skewed towards aircraft models, but they've been fine with modelers of all sorts. At the last display and build session we did for Family Day, there were plenty of people doing Gundam and and Star Wars models. One member has been collecting and building these robot teddy bears that are apparently a spinoff of the Gundams. What's funny is how more and more members are building these. The club has made a conscious effort to be accepting and inclusive, and it works. Now I the words "accepting" and "inclusive" may trigger some people who worry that modeling won't be taken as seriously, the club still boasts some of the best military modelers in the country, if not on the continent. The hobby isn't dying, it's evolving, and it has no problem with evolving without you.

Just to put things in perspective, when this kit first hit the stands in 1963, this car was not even 30 years old. A Model A would have been about as old as that Honda is now. That '67 Camaro? Here's what a 52 year old American performance car looked like back then. Now personally, I think it's good to take an interest in the world that existed before we were born, but if you're looking at these and thinking, "Why should i be interested in this weird old stuff?", maybe you can see why half century old muscle cars might be a tough sell to some people.

That is pretty nifty.

A cover of a famous song, but in this case, it's the cover version that's the best known one. Nick Lowe did this song first, but Elvis Costello did it better. On the other hand, most people are familiar with Happy Mondays' version of this song, but John Kongos did it first, and best.

That is some amazing craftsmanship.

It depends on the red and the green. If they are the same intensity, they find for dominance, This is just the way the eye is wired up. However, a dark green can make a bright red pop.

Judging by some of their recent offerings, Round2 figures their market isn't that demanding. It's more about reliving their childhood than creating a detailed model.

I'm kind of biased toward the silver and black one, mostly because of the red wheels. As far as authenticity goes, it's not unusual for a classic to go through several colour schemes over it's lifetime. If there is a trend with L-29s is that they are not subtle cars, and E. L. Cord seemed to be a big fan of flambouyant paint schemes, like this screaming orange and cream L-29 at the Gasoline Alley museum here in Calgary.

Love it, or hate it, he built his car that way he wanted, and you have to admire that.

No doubt moaning about how the new cars all looked the same, and how nobody built anything with any style anymore. I'm looking at that yellow Ford pickup. Too bad there were no modern "experts" around back then to set him right about his choices, huh? Looking at those photos, it's pretty obvious that none of these guys gave a hang about tradition.

PM Hobbycraft has the T, so I'm definitely going to pick one up.

Nice paint. It definitely looks better without the trim rings.

That Imperial is beautiful.

That Avanti is pretty sweet, and so is the Lincoln. That 540K replica actually does a pretty decent job of capturing the style of the original.

Both the first and second generation Corvairs were handsome machines.

MG TC Jaguar XK-120 Datsun 240Z

For every single year? Lamborghini Miura. Lamborghini Espada Cadillac Vi16

I didn't see any shots of the engine of chassis parts. Should I be concerned?

Got it in one! But if your taste runs to Fad Ts, and late 60s customs, the ICM kits would seem to be a good source of kitbashing material.