vamach1

I got into third gear so it was a fantastic ride and of course not long enough. My neighbors were probably not thrilled about it but can you imagine that call to the police - there someone driving a race car on my street. I took some more pictures today and was so bummed I did not realize my cell phone memory was maxed out and I did not get any video while I was driving it yesterday . I did get some video following the owner driving while driving my Cobra one handed. The same guy owns a Porsche 911, Ferrari 328 and a McClusky Daytona Coupe.

Great Scott. Someone had to say it.

Took advantage of this photo opportunity thanks to my neighbor just down the street. He even let me take it for a drive.

I'd say the AMT 67 GT350 is the most accurate followed by the Revell/Monogram Boss 302 and 69 Shelbys. The old Monogram 65/66 Shelbys are pretty good too. The not so good are the AMT 66 Coupe, MPC 69 Mach1, MPC/AMT 71/73's and AMT 68 Shelby.

Welcome and build what makes you happy. There are some really talented modelers here and they are willing to share their knowledge - all you have to do is ask.

No love for the 71-73 Mustang? That's ok, the AMT and MPC kits are promos with engines and all the reissues are the same old molds.

Thanks Andy. I'll make an analogy to try to get my point across. If a friend had a car that was getting poor gas mileage and I diagnosed the problem (needed a tune up) would I tell him ? Of course I would. He would not buy a new car and maybe he would ask me for some tools and help but I I'm sure he would realize the value of making a minor change that would improve his mileage and thus save some money. So, I'm asking if people are okay with their current mileage that may not be optimal or are there some new and fairly easy to implements ideas that could be tried out to improve these events. There is nothing wrong with these shows and we are all appreciative of the volunteers efforts but a tune-up once in a while could make them even more enjoyable for all. PS - there is no hope for one of my cars - it gets about 8 mpg tuned up. :-)

He left for that girl next to him. Just kidding - that is my daughter.

The idea about letting people in early was simply to avoid having people wait in line for an hour or more that are not up to that physically. I realize there are shows that have "floor" rights or let people in early to "get the deals" but that was not the intent of the suggestion - it was simply to some entrants or spectators get some more sleep and know that they could close to when the show actually opens and not be sent to the back of a line of 200 or 300 people. As far as offering my "services", the suggestions were to generate some discussion and provoke some thoughts in the of people that put on existing events. I've had my share of working 8 hours on the day of an event and after a few decades it's not fun anymore. Having been on both sides (organizer and participant) i have seen what works well and what could use a couple of very simple changes that would make it easier on everyone. Like many of you I've built models most of my life (since the 1960's) and whatever can be done to make the day of a show go a little smoother should be at least considered.

I started this in the 1990's. Maybe this is the year I complete it.

This guy had some input into the GT program, Who is he?

Somewhere I have a bunch of pictures from the Ford 100th anniversary.

Here is my 50th display at the 2014 NNL East show.

Thanks for the responses everyone. As far as a premium price over the day of show fee, that was to discourage anyone from thinking they could just they were disabled to avoid the long lines. The prepaid folks could sign a statement on the honor system and perhaps get a $5 credit towards food or any vendor plus get an extra raffle ticket, I actually think anyone should be allowed to buy a presale ticket, show it at the door and pick up their goodie bag inside the show - not at the entrance so there is no disruption of the "regular" line, With lines of perhaps upwards of 300 people waiting in line - it is a SLOW process of collecting money at the door no matter how fast the volunteers can shuffle the money. Flash your prepaid ticket and stroll right in, You can do that now for movies, concerts, amusement parks to bypass the long lines. Yes there would be some extra work mailing tickets but some shows send a reminder postcard to all prior attendees every year. Frankly I could do withou the card, I can figure out when the show is from the event website, There should be an opt out option for the reminder - that could save a few hundred bucks in printing costs and postage not to mention saving volunteers time. Spectators should be allowed in anytime and perhaps be charged a lower fee - if they want to wait in line that is their choice. I cannot understand why they would arrive at the crack of dawn unless a vendor with old rare kits was selling them at their original retail prices ;-) As far as calling a two digit number versus one digit - that only weeds out one percent of the total tickets handed out which is almost as pointless as calling five numbers out of five hundred - the odds of someone winning are the same. I would guess most shows have enough prizes for at least ten percent of the entrants/spectators, especially factoring in the ones that bother to hang around to see if they won. The last show I attended I would guess we'll over half of the people won something and it would not surprise me if was closer to 75%. I for one would have gone crazy calling out 75 or more numbers.

My suggestions are to actually to reduce the number of people needed of the volunteer hours needed the day of the show. I expected some responses defending the current processes because it is very difficult to make any changes no matter how much they may make the process more efficient for the organizers and spectators. I've been involved in putting on car shows for 30 years and often encounter the "we have always done it that way" syndrome. Hopefully some other modelers will chime in. I realize the set up time is very time consuming. Whoever came up with the idea to sell the tickets to people in line before the show opens (at NNL East) should be applauded. In the years prior I'd guess it may have taken an hour to get in the door because of the long line of people that had to pay and pick up the goodie bag before entering. It's ideas like this are very simple but make the process so much smoother for the paying customers. As far as the raffle, the organizer would make it clear the drawings will be promptly on the hour and ONLY one number will be drawn. If you have a ticket the ENDS with that number ( a one in ten chance) you get in line to claim a prize. If you are not present it isn't any different than not being around when 50 to 100 numbers are announced throughout the day. No, I have not helped put on a model car show which is why I have a different perspective - I can look beyond how it has always been done and come up iwith some tweaking to the process. Instead of asking for a volunteer to call those 100 raffle numbers only to have half of the people to show up to claim a prize when they are able to get close enough to the board to actually read those tiny numbers you call one number and you're done. Lastly, if letting some physically disabled people in the door a few minutes before the rest of the general public comes in then I recommend you revisit how the show is being managed. How much extra manpower would it take to check a few dozen people with a special ticket in hand over a ten minute span. I assume you're involved in these types of shows based upon your response and these suggestions should not be taken as saying anyone does not work very hard to put on these shows and is not appreciated. I've encountered people in the workplace that will not implement changes or consider any recommendation because they do not come up with it themselves and are too close to the process. As the participants at these shows get even older - your perspective will hopefully change.

After attending two recent NNL shows, I've made a few observations. Like full size cars shows, attendees like to line up at the door waiting for the show to start. The tables fill up quickly with models and votes start to be cast within an hour or two. The cameras come out and many pictures are taken and later posted on line. So, with 3-4 hours left to go, all that is left is to wait for the raffle tickets to be called and awards given out. Speaking of raffle tickets, the usual process of giving out tickets and calling them one by one is a waste of everyone's time. Why not just put the numbers zero through nine in a box, cup, jar or whatever. Draw the first single number. EVERYONE with a ticket with that last digit of their ticket is a winner. That means 10% of the ticket holders would be a winner. After the initial rush, wait a half hour and pull and call the next number and give out more prizes if there are any left. Repeat the process until the prizes are gone. You don't need a white board, people constantly checking a ticket board, and someone calling number after number after number after number. The idea is so simple I cannot think of any reason it would not work. If you saw the whiteboard at the most recent NNL show you would know exactly what I mean - they almost ran out of room for dozens of numbers. My second idea is to presell entrant tickets and have priority entry. If the show costs $15 at the door, presell tickets for $20. Anyone buying a pre sale ticket would be allowed to enter fifteen minutes before people other people paying the day of the show. This would benefit the handicapped or anyone that has the desire to be there when the door opens but perhaps in physically unable to stand in line for an hour or more. The people without presale tickets but may not like it but no one makes them stand outside for an hour - they do it because so many others do the same thing. If some of those same people would show up a half hour after the doors open - there would be NO line and they would not really miss anything. NNL showpromoters - are you listening? What are people's thought about what is the rush to get into a show and set up right away and also please comment of my raffle idea.

Very nice. I'll post some of my builds.

I've built a bunch of Cobra and GT40 1/43 kits. I know Marsh models is still in business - I've gotten replacement parts from them. I guess Starter is lone gone though :-(

This one is about 80% done. I'm working on the engine compartment. I "stole" the interior from a diecast model.

HRM or R&M of Maryland should have them.

Did he do the song before or after the Dictators version?

Fred Cady did decals which you can still find on EBay. Sadly except for the Tope Mustang (which was raced after Ford lost interest in the TA series in 1971) you have convert a street car into a race car (e.g. A resin 68 Coupe, 69/70 fastback Mustang in a Boss 302 racer). The same probably goes for the Big Three brands (Mercury, Chevy Camaro, Dodge, Pontiac and Chrysler).

Do a favor for the next person in need. Pay it forward.

For the Mustang lovers.

Here's an updated picture with the Zoomies added. Thanks Cobraman.