StevenGuthmiller

I'm guessing somewhere along this line? Steve

Stock hub caps are generally not very high on the list of most after market suppliers. The vast majority of after market parts are geared towards custom and racing subjects. There are a few suppliers offering stock parts for muscle cars, but cars from the 50s?.......not so much. You may have to contact a 3-D printing operation to have them custom made. Get out your check book! Steve

Nice Mark! I built mine in black, but I used the Chestnut interior combo. I think it made for a nice color combo. Built a Chestnut hard top for a buddy of mine some time ago. His dad had a 1:1 '62 Galaxie XL hard top in Chestnut when he was young, so he wanted something similar. I added the black top because his dad had added that "spray on" stuff to the top that was pretty popular in the day. Steve

The original MPC 1965 Dodge Monaco kit. Steve

Nice work Mark! These kits are particularly difficult to restore due to the severe "brittleness" of the metallic gold plastic that they were molded in. The interior of this kit is particularly fun with the folding front seats and separate gauge faces. The "rattan" door panel and seat back trim is a little difficult to recreate with the fine engraving on them, but it can look pretty realistic with a light wash. Beautiful restoration! Steve

Hmmm. It seems to me that I remember reading on another thread that the Trumpeter convertible interior had an incorrect seat pattern. This might possibly be what you have there. The seats in my hard top kit are correct. Steve

You will when I build the '66. Steve

No doubt that there were promos produced. I was referring to the kit only. As far as I know, this was the only 1965 Dodge Monaco kit ever produced. Steve

Yeah, I don't believe it! You're just a young pup! Sooner or later you will get too old to race anymore and you'll be back to building. Modeling gets into your blood just like racing! Steve

Thanks so much everybody! This is a circumstance where AMT did quite a nice job. The body was very nicely done. The interior was not horrible, (although I did quite a bit of modifying on it). And even the chassis had a fair amount of detail. The engine of course was stolen from a newer kit, but even the original piece didn't look too bad. Steve

Yes. My understanding is that this kit only came in one form, a single issue, was never re-popped and they were all molded in gold plastic. I have never seen anything to suggest otherwise. Steve

Thanks a bunch everyone! For the record, this kit came from the box with the vinyl top texture molded in. I did nothing more than paint it black. Steve

Well, if that's the only issue with the finished product, I'm happy! If I get really bored some day, I might even fix it. Steve

I couldn't agree more! Save the big ugly *ss wheels for your Escalade! Steve

I suppose that could be said Bill, but is volume the ultimate goal for Paul? "More" means more work for him. Maybe I'm just a capitalist pig, but my thought is why sell more for less, when you can sell less for more? I could be wrong but something makes me think that Paul is doing this more for the love of "creating" than a business opportunity. Maximize your profit on one piece with the minimum amount of fuss and then move on to the next. Steve

Let's check back with Paul in a year and see how many unsold '77 T-birds he has sitting around. There is no doubt in my mind that he will sell all that he cares to produce, regardless of where he sells them. He will miss out on nothing. But those who refuse to give ebay a chance on some later casts of these, might be missing out on some pretty good deals in the end. Steve

I think that's all pretty well stated, all be it a little lengthy! Seriously Bill, that pretty much sums up the situation. I was merely voicing my support for what Paul does, and I feel that his method of selling is completely irrelevant. Either you buy, or not. Your decision. But if you're afraid of auctions, you will likely be missing out in this particular instance. Also your decision. Personally, I don't even have a dog in this hunt. The late 70s T-bird holds no interest for me and I won't be pursuing one at all. Steve

I could care less if people buy kits at Hobby Lobby and then sell them on ebay. Doesn't bother me in the least. I suppose SOME people get mad. Nobody is bad here. Including Paul for trying to get what he can for his creations with the least amount of hassle possible. Anyone here who feels that they should be able to buy a '77-'78 T-bird kit under their conditions is surely free to go ahead and create their own and sell them for whatever they see fit. You can give them away if you choose. Steve

I know what a set price is Rob, and I'm not insinuating that you are a cheap skate. But after spending hundreds of hours creating a master and making molds, why would you volenteer to sell 10 times the number of units for a tenth of the price that you MIGHT get if you just let the consumer decide the value. It just makes perfect economic sense to let the buyer make that determination in a circumstance like this. There's a reason why you don't see Barrett Jackson selling cars on a set price basis. Steve

I have bought a ton of vintage kits on ebay, and I have never once engaged in a bidding war. You can only become involved in a bidding war if YOU choose to. Before I bid on any item on an auction site, I decide at the very beginning what the top dollar that I am willing to pay for that item is, place the bid, and walk away. If I win, terrific. If not, there's always next time. Nobody can force you to "play bidding games with people". That's up to you. I'm quite confident that Paul will have no issues selling everyone of these kits that he chooses to cast. Whether they sell for $1.00, or $1,000.00. I wouldn't worry Dale, he's not going to miss out on any sales. Steve

It's funny, but I never noticed that until after I had shot these photos and started looking at them. I'm not sure if I just started moving the model around too soon after I glued it on and it sagged, or if it happened at some point during transport and display at a couple of shows this spring. Steve

Agreed! Absolutely!! Steve

No need for an apology at all Paul! This is a work of art that you created and it's your property to do with as you please. I get the impression that you do this more for the fun of it than as a business, so you have no obligation to anyone to offer them your work for a bargain. I think of it along the same lines as a vintage kit. They are out there but rare, ( in this case, much more rare than most vintage kits) and if you want one you're probably going to have to compete to get one with fellow enthusiasts who want it as much, or more, than you. You can buy vintage kits at a "set price" as well, but we all know what kinds of prices we're talking about there! People complain that they don't want to "get into a bidding war" which is code for "I want it cheap". The market will dictate the value, and I can't see any better way to determine the value than to offer them up for auction. Steve

I understand. But this is not Modelhaus. Paul has decided that he is going to produce a limited number of his kits and for obvious reasons he does not want to spend the time, money and effort to put together a website, so he sells them on the most obvious place, ebay. Granted, he could set a price and sell them all in 18 seconds, or he can put them up for auction and let them go to the highest bidder. Nothing wrong with that. This is still America, at least for the time being. I don't begrudge Paul making whatever profit he can from his labor. Steve

Dynamite makes holes. Steve