Richard Bartrop

Jelly beans? Seriously? If anything, the trend has been random creases and contrived surfaces, like some failed attempt at an origami car. I think it's butt ugly, but thankfully, fashions change. Imagine telling someone in the 60s that people would someday pay 6 figures for a VW bus. Give it time. Hasegawa apparently thinks a lot of people want an Isuzu Gemini, so who knows? There are at least three Ford Focus kits on the market.

Just turned 60 here. Being a Grumpy Old Man is as much attitude as age. You'd be amazed at how young some Grumpy Old Men are. Hobby shops? Maybe Calgary in an anomaly, but there's at least 5 here I can think of. In fact, I'm heading to one today. Round2 has decided to focus on reissues, so they're probably not the best example. On the other hand we have seen announcements for totally new kits from both Revell and Tamiya. The Ford GT is boring? The Demon is boring? This is why I wonder if the people who parrot the "modern cars are boring" line actually look at what's being built. Are most cars boring appliances? Yes, they are, but here's a news flash for you, it's always been that way, and people have been moaning about it since before you and I were born. It's the passage of time that makes them interesting.

As you say, nobody was getting rich with resin either. What services like Shapeways do is take care of the setup costs and shipping, so at least your labour of love isn't as likely to bankrupt you. Yes the resin casters aren't long for this world, but how on earth does the end of resin mean the end of the hobby? Did the hobby end with balsa wood kits? Hardly anyone sells vac form kits anymore because everyone went to resin, and the hobby is still here. It's not dying, it's changing. And yes, I know that some people people here have managed to convince each other that they are the sole representatives of the hobby. True, there aren't a lot of young people in this forum, but seeing how the last one foolish enough to poke his head in was practically chased out, I have my own thoughts on why that may be. If people here would take a break from reciting the Grumpy Old Man mantra and actually take a look at what's going on, it's pretty obvious that young people are buying model kits, and building them, but they're building what they're interested in, and the same goes with the aftermarket. Someone on the forum was showing off his Shapeways store full of modern performance parts, stuff the traditional resin casters weren't doing. Don't like this forum? It's easy enough to set up one for people who do share your interest, and for all the old man rage about the name, Discord is probably the easiest way yet to set up a discussion group. You don't need resin to make a model, you don't need styrene, and you sure don't need a kit. People were making models long before you were born, and I'm pretty sure they'll be doing it long after you're gone.

I have no idea about Acme's model kits, but I keep hearing bad things about their rocket powered roller skates.

Yes. It would probably bother me the most if Evergreen were ever to shut its doors.

I got a set of wide whites from Eric Macleod for my Jo_Han Cadillac project, and got enough extra to do another car. Thanks again, Eric!

It's annoying to be sure, and inconvenient, but that doesn't make it an obligation. This sort of thing is a labour of love, and it's great that they were able to supply these parts for as long as they were. For all the talk about what people should do, it's significant that nobody was able to step up. I still think the long term future of the hobby is good as 3D printing improves, and th knowledge base grows. One way ot another, you're still going to be able to get that '65 Rambler hubcap.

I knew it was oneof the little Euro-Fords right off the bat, but I spent a lot of time looking in the wrong country.

Someone missed an opportunity releasing kits of the cars from The Great Race. If older cars are your thing, British period dramas are great for lots of vintage iron. Downton Abbey had an episode set at Brooklands, though the actual racing was at Goodwood. More from that episode https://jalopnik.com/all-the-great-old-race-cars-from-that-downton-abbey-rac-1760172539

That would be Genevieve

People have posted European racers in Under Glass before, and nobody seems to mind.

Watching the 1946 noir thriller Crack-Up on TCM. Not a whole lot to do with cars, but there's a scene where an old man is asked to identify a car, and he snaps back that he can't identify anything made after 1925 because they all look the same. Just goes to show how long people have been singing that particular tune.

Okay, sticking to movies where a car plays a major role in the story, here's the Lincoln Futura in "It Started With a Kiss". It's been on TCM at least once. More about what people do with cars, I suppose, but Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez in The Long, Long Trailer The Big Bus from the disaster movie spoof of the same name.

I have to wonder, just how "see thru" is it with all those ridges? Considering the skill level of your typical modeler back then, maybe that's why it was "The perfect see thru display case for your model cars"

If we're talking movies that just happen to have some neat cars in them, there's Written on the Wind, where a Woodill Wildfire, and an Allard figure prominently

There's some good stuff on that list, though any list that doesn't include "Gran Prix" has to be viewed with suspicion. I enjoyed "Rush" immensely, and if you like car chases with a sci-fi twist, there's "THX-1138" Car movies don't always have to be about chases and crashes. Here's some favourites for the classic car crowd. Genevieve: British comedy about the London-Brighton Run. The Airfix Darracq is based on the title vehicle, if you're looking to do something a little different int he way of movie cars. The Fast Lady: Another British comedy that revolves around a vintage Bentley. The Yellow Rolls Royce: Guess what this one's about?

Trucks and bikes, so I'm going to say, close enough. Terminator 2

I have absolutely no problem with models based on resit or diecast sharing space with styrene. Prebuilt stuff can still keep its own category.

As far as different scales go, people post 1/32 and 1/43 models in the regular forum, and it doesn't seem to be causing any problems.

There are also people who think talking abojut model cars in a model car forum, or that buying them in a hobby shop is goofy, or that everyone whould stop talking about subject that they aren't interested in. These are opinions that are best ignored.

Basically, "goofy niche category" means, "Stuff I'm not interested in" Personally, I'm not sure there's a burning need for more categories. I think the tag system works well for sorting out different interests. Even the "goofy niche" ones. If anything, I think the categories could stand a little consolidation, because what we do have is kind of arbitrary. Cars are divided up into Drag racing, NASCAR and....everything else? Cars and trucks each have their own track, because we wouldn't want those touching for some reason. If you build anything bigger than 1/20, that goes into its own category wayyyy over in left field. And if you make something that fits more than one category, invariably the admins will decide you put in the wrong one and move it. I'm almost tempted to build a 1/16 drag truck, just to see how many times it gets cycled around the forum.

Hey, I'd love nothing more than a 1959 Imperial kit built to modern standards, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.

Ah yes, the good old day, before the meddling government decided we couldn't have rotating blades on our hubcaps anymore. Going back to the '49 Merc convertible idea for a moment, it would also allow another movie tie-in. From the 1949 movie serial Batman and Robin, where a '49 Merc served as the Batmobile.

I thought the Maverick and Comet were handsome little machines. Ford's styling department was definitely on a roll in the late '60s and early '70s

I don't know if it was this particular model, but I remember seeing a white Facel Vega parked on a Vancouver street many years ago.