StevenGuthmiller

Funny, but whether your interested in the subject matter or not, the kit manufacturers in America are slowly becoming extinct. If we have nothing left but the Japanese producers in the next decade, the hobby will be all but dead in the US, & that will be the beginning of the end for the rest of the world. Steve

That's not that bad if you don't plan on turning the model over. What's worse in my mind is spending hours detailing, wiring & plumbing an engine & engine compartment & then leaving something like the seam down the middle of the radiator! Steve

I think that it might be a good time for all of us to start throwing all of the support we can muster behind companies like Moebius. The way it's beginning to look, they may be the only ones producing new & interesting kits in the not too distant future! Steve

I think that's an optimistic prospect! The chances of me winning the Powerball jack pot are probably much, much higher! Steve

Recently, I was on a bit of a rant on the Lindberg '64 Dodge kits. Exactly the same contrast between that kit & the Johan kits. Although they are not the exact same body style, there is no comparison between the two. Give me the slab chassis Johan kit! Steve

I don't think that it was incorrect to ask either. This forum is all about discussion after all. I offered my opinion on the matter, but I feel that the OP would get a more relevant explanation to his question if he asks the people who know the answers. Steve

I couldn't agree more. Besides, we all have seen how inconsistent some of the proportions have been on the bodies of a lot of the newly tooled kits. I'll take a correctly proportioned old body over a detailed new chassis all day long!!! Steve

If the magazine in question sees fit to show the diversity of the other participants, that's fabulous! But, that should be left up to the editor and photographers for the magazine. The readers will determine whether or not it meets their expectations. I believe that the OP's statement would have been better posed directly to the editor of said magazine. Steve

I will sometimes do the same if a suitable donor of those parts exists. Many times they do not. That's not going to stop me from building a great old kit that would otherwise have to be ignored. Steve

This was an NNL event that the OP was referencing. As far as I know, they are not even traditionally "judged" events, so there are no rules regarding "sweeps" that I'm aware of. Any awards offered are either given by individual clubs at their discretion or "peoples choice awards". At least that is how our local event is set up. As far as your statement about "more inclusiveness as to magazine coverage" goes, I read that as the thought that someone needs to inject more "diversity" into the selection process for what will & what will not be photographed for a magazine. If Bob has the 5 best builds at the show, Joe does not deserve to have his model featured in the name of diversity. That mentality spells "everybody gets a trophy" to me. In my mind, exemplary builders should dominate. Steve

Ok, so we could say this about how many "hundreds" of kits produced before the 80s? Nearly every kit produced in the late 50s and 60s, with a few exceptions, had very rudimentary chassis, and a good majority of them had very simple engines, (if any at all) & most, up until the mid 60s had a basic 3 piece interior. (dash, steering wheel & tub with the seats molded in) Does this mean that the kit manufacturers are derelict because they are not re-visiting & retooling all of these old kits? We're very lucky that there are any American kit manufacturers left anymore! Johan is extinct and AMT, Lindberg & MPC have all been rolled into round 2, a company which is basically as their name implies. A company that re-pops old kits & produces nothing new. We are left today with Revell/Monogram & Moebius for the most part. Exactly which of these hundreds of "sub-par" kits should be re-tooled & who will do it? I think that we need to consider ourselves lucky that there is any subject matter available to us at all these days! I for one am more than happy to deal with those bad chassis plates as long as I can still find the subject matter that interests me. If I had to stick with only kits with modern detailed tooling, I would have quit the hobby long ago! Steve

That's quite alright Paul. I sent the e-mail to both addresses to be sure. Steve

We should all give homage to the lowly promo. It was basically the precursor to the model car kit. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that people might like to "build their own" and the model car kit was born. Steve

Maybe a little bit of "everybody gets a trophy" mentality here? I don't pretend to know how builds are chosen for photographing at these shows, nor do I care. I had a couple photographed a couple of years ago, but they never appeared in a magazine. I really don't care. Last year, I received 2 trophies & peoples choice plaque for a pair of models & was never chosen to be photographed. I really don't care. The recognition by my peers was much more important to me than what some magazine photographer or editor thinks. Steve

Is that e-mail address tihggho1, or tihggh01 ? o, as in "oh", or 0, as in "zero"? I believe that the address that I used was the "zero". Steve

These kits are easy to find replacement chassis for. Try finding a good replacement for a Johan '66 Chrysler 300! As others have said, I don't have much of an issue anymore with these simple chassis plates. A lot of the simplicity of these kits can be rectified with a few modifications & some updating under the hood. Eliminating the screw posts on these promo type, screw chassis kits is a much more important mod in my opinion than worrying about the chassis. That's job 1 for me when I start building one of these old kits. Steve

Thanks Ellen. I don't have Facebook or Twitter accounts & I don't really want them. I just e-mailed him last Friday, so it hasn't been too long yet. I just wanted to be sure about any changes since he took over the operation from Bob, & of course, I need to know where to send the parts. I hope to hear from him soon. I really don't want to go back to using Chrome Tech! Steve

Has anybody had any contact with George from Kustom Khrome lately. I sent him an e-mail last week to get some information & I have yet to hear back. Has there been an e-mail address change or anything? Steve

Well, to each his own I guess. I have one model T in my stash of probably 200-300 kits. I won that one in a raffle. Steve

Me neither. Aren't there already enough early Ford kits? Steve

Absolutely not Bill! I always try very hard not to take anything said on the forum personally. I figure that this is a "forum" and is here for the sole purpose of discussion.......so, let's discuss. Well guys, I guess I've said my piece. If nothing else, I suppose that this discussion has served to enlighten a few more people to another badly proportioned model kit foisted upon us. Like that is some sort of surprise! Happy modeling all!! Steve

I am by no means a stickler for 100% accuracy either. I know that nearly every model kit, whether old or new, probably has some issues, and I am not a crusader for perfect replicas. I, like you, will usually figure that if a model is an acceptable "recreation" of a particular car, I will settle & live with it. Even a kit like the AMT '58 Plymouth's obvious problems are not particularly noticeable to someone who is not hugely familiar with the body design, and even knowing what I know about it now, I would still purchase & build another one. I could very likely overlook nearly all of the inconsistencies with this '64 Dodge kit, but that front fender trim that bows upward making the front end of the car look like a banana is just one step too far for me. Even though I have almost zero familiarity with this particular car, that mistake was so obvious to me when I first saw it that I would never be able to live with it. I guess that we all have different thresholds when it comes to this sort of thing, but this is just one that I wouldn't be able to abide. Steve

There are few kits that I would not buy or build because of egregious issues with proportion. Most of them I can overlook. This is not one of them. The front fender trim alone is enough to kill it for me. Especially since there are other '64 Dodge options. Steve

I'm not the type of guy who generally gives much attention to accuracy claims. If I like the subject matter, I'll build it as a rule. What puzzled me more than the inaccuracy of the kit itself was the absence of any acknowledgement of the inaccuracies. I surely cannot be among the first to notice these issues, especially in light of the fact that I don't even own one. Steve

I did do a search there to see if there were any reviews of this kit, but I must have missed the thread that you mention. The more I look at this kit, the more I see that looks off. Not only is the front fender trim & c-pillar wonky, but I still believe that every other body panel on the car looks too short, except possibly the hood & front fenders. Steve