mikemodeler

X2! Some other recent trades include: Outragis Cobra98 Wheels Turbokitty Austin T And there have been a few others, just cannot recall all of them! Getting that "sometimers"!

Sorry to hear that Alberto, did any neighbors see anyone or anything ? I would think they would need help to clean out your house so unless you live in the sticks, someone had to see something. Did you have any appraisals or certificates for the football stuff? Chances are the thieves will be dumb enough to sell it somewhere and if you have some way of identifying it, it could make it easier to recover. Never had to go through what you are and hope I never have to. Best of luck to you and thankfully most of it can be replaced!

Now we are talking ! Please tell me when you do get to these there will be a 4WD option!!!!!!!!!!

Andy- hang in there, I am sure they will call you! Nice pick by the wife! Gunnar- if you can't find a use for that Dodge pickup, I know I can! Nice scores you have there.

I never knew what that kit looked like until I traded it to Casey! I want to see it built! The one I have will be built as a 4WD.

Considering Roger consolidated his racing operations here in NC, I am guessing he will use the facilities and the people from the engine shop to improve his racing teams in some capacity if they are not building Dodge engines. Sad to hear that Dodge will be leaving NASCAR, but the reality is they have been holding on by a thread since RPM went Ford 3 years ago and were down to Penske.

Coming along nicely John, didn't know those wheels could look so nice! Glad to help with the project. Take your time and do it right!

Sent Danny an email and order last night and he responded within an hour! Had a few questions later in the evening and he got back to me early this morning! Needless to say I am anxious to get my order, and with service like this is why I keep ordering from him! The quality and prompt service is among the top 3 resin casters in my book!

Just a question- shouldn't the side door on a van style ambulance be 2 "barn doors" instead of a sliding door? Nice conversion piece Dave! When will you have that IH pickup done??

Word here in Charlotte is that Penske has a racing engine shop for sale! Penske was building the Dodge engines for NASCAR but with them switching to Ford for next year, they have to get rid of that business. In the end it all probably came down to factory support and money. With only 1 or 2 teams, I am sure Dodge did not feel the return on their investment made much financial sense.

That could work too! Give it a try and see. Maybe paint one side with silver paint and compare.

Looks good Nick! Like Marty said, your builds keep getting better, you are definitely improving your skills and eye for details!

RK has some nice cars, but they also have their share of "drivers" that are not like the Willy's pictured above. It does provide some inspiration for Donn.........are you out there??????/////

Not sure Bob Downie appreciates that Pat!

Almost sounds like some of the political ads we are being bombarded with! John, the truth is if enough profit is not made, a company cannot continue production. If it only came down to "the machines are already paid for, therefore it is cheaper to make the next model" then we would still have MPC, Johan, etc giving us new kits all day long! Let's take a look at the recently re-issued GMC pickup from Revell. They basically gave us the same pickup truck they produced years ago with an added snow plow. Judging by the looks of the kit, they had to tool up 2 new trees for the snowplow and design some new artwork for the decals. By using an already existing tool for the truck, the investment by Revell was minimized but I would guess that they still have $40,000 in tooling for the plow. Add in the research and time spent verifying that the first run is correct and the costs add up quickly. There are many people who work for Revell who might not play a part in the development of the kit but yet rely on kits being sold to make a living. Assume for a minute that Revell makes $5 per kit (they might make more, not sure), so if they sell 10,000 kits, they make $50,000 and in the above scenario, they have begun to cover their costs, let alone make a profit. The profits are what makes it possible to get those new tools we all clamor for (50 Olds, 57 Ford) which will cost alot more than a snow plow! The re-issues of existing kits and modifying an existing tool into a new kit generates profits without incurring great expense for the model company. A good example is the Yenko Camaro tooling has probably been used to create parts for many different kits (think of all of the recent Revell kits with a big block Chevy!) and look at simple things like wheels and tires that can be shared across many kits. Despite what some might claim, this is still a relatively cheap hobby. How much you spend is up to you, and you alone. We all know of places where we can get models cheap, use household items for detailing, large cans of spray paint to get the job done cheaper, and trade parts and kits for those we want. Much like the 1:1 world, this hobby has folks who can build outstanding vehicles with very little expense while others will spend what most would consider an extreme amount to achieve the same result. Yes, I do spend a decent amount on my hobby but at the end of the day, I have few other outlets that I spend money on and I always use my spare "lunch money" before I would consider using family funds.

ANDY! Did you get the job at Model Empire??????? That would be a cool thing to get today! We are anxiously awaiting word!

Did not see anything at Missing Link but then they tend to have more available at shows or on eBay. I did see where VCG Resins had a 6 cylinder Chevy engine listed, although it did not say what all came with the engine (manifolds, pulleys, carb etc).

VCG Resins offers a Dana 60 center section in resin, you have to supply the axle tubes but this would be ideal to build your own front axle. They also offer a Ford resin transfer case. Great guy, nice stuff and quick service! He is one of us and offers some neat items. www.vcgresins.com

Pretty much the same story here for me too Rob. I am getting anxious for the iHobby show announcements, recent years have been pretty good for us!

Time for another order for me, I need some of those wheels and a couple of trailer hitches. Great stuff and service!

This would be nice to start with kits that are issued today, but what about the last 60 years of model kits? There are many parts from kits 10,20,30 even 40 years ago that are readily available as those kits have been re-issued and or updated over the years. Add in those old rare kits where some resin casters have taken some of the parts and offered them and you have more information for your data base. Then, you would have to format in such a manner that it could be filtered and sorted in a multitude of ways to appease many different people. The only sensible solution I see is for everyone to buy one each of every kit they run across and then they will have all of the parts they will need!

Great idea in concept but not certain how one would classify which part is the best? What if a long out of production kit had the best small block Chevy engine but it routinely went for $60 or more on eBay? Would you want to pay that amount just for an engine? I might be willing to accept a lower standard than you and therefore I could say "x-kit" had the best "part" while you may dispute that. Sorta along the lines of a movie or music review. In the end, I think just knowing what extra parts or certain parts that are in each kit helps YOU determine whether or not to purchase that kit or look for parts from it.

Thanks for the link Greg, they mention 60 years of Matchbox, it doesn't seem like it has been that long since they came out. Looks like some cool releases, kinds wish some of the model manufacturers could issue some of the same models!

There is a 6 cylinder Chevy engine available from MCW Automotive Finishes. It has a generator and alternator depending on which years you are depicting.

Replicas and Minatures of Maryland show a Dana 60 rear end in their catalog, and I believe that Ma's Resins has one as well. Not sure if Alan is taking orders again, give Norm a call at RMoM- 410-768-3648.