mikemodeler

It is a great show and I plan on going to it although if my son gets accepted to the college he wants, I will be a 1,000 miles away and unable to make it. That show is a great one for buying kits and also some great models.

Jon, I have two of those kits I plan to sell and would not think of taking less than $10 for them but I am realistic to know that they are worth probably no more than $15-20 , max. I know of a couple of hobby shops that I could pick up the latest version of the kit (gray car on box) and they sell them for $18-20. Would I rather get $99 for them instead? Sure, but I would be hesitant to sell them at that price as I know I would be ripping someone off. I agree that if he gets $24.95 for that kit and includes shipping, then he is really only getting $15-17 for the kit itself.

Check out The Modelroundup website as they have been getting more of the Tamiya spray paints into stock.

i went with model, seems like it has been awhile since Harry threw us a curve ball.

Having both kits, I don't believe there is a difference Bill, other than the issue date. Like I stated earlier, if these kits are worth that much I may have hit the lottery!

Then your best bet would be to contact the old kit sellers- Fred Sterns, Dean's Hobby Stop, JiminOhio, Modelroundup, Model Empire- i am probably forgetting a few but if buying is your only option, they would be the ones to check with.

Been thinking about that avenue Chuck as it worked for me in the past as well but other than a Hobbytown USA, there is not a LHS for 20 miles around me. Their selection has not changed much over the last year (except what I have bought it seems!) so I am not sure what kind of traffic their model kit aisle sees. I am thinking about contacting a couple of clubs in the surrounding area to see if they have members that might be interested in buying some/all of the kits too. Thanks for the ideas so far!

Post this down in the "wanted" section and you may have more luck. I would also check with some of the OOP and vintage kit sellers and see what they have available. You might want to be more specific in which parts packs you are looking for as there are different ones out there.

I have a couple of those in my stash targeted to sell, at that price I may have a small fortune sitting in my garage! As P.T. Barnum was fond of saying...."There's a sucker born every minute"

Art, Very good points and I would only add that some of the decline has to do with the number of outlets where models could be found back in the day. I live in Charlotte NC and there are few places to find models today- Hobby Lobby, Michaels, a couple of Hobbytown USAs and a couple of LHS that cater to R/C stuff in a 50 mile radius. I have tried to get my kids involved in model building but there are too many other instant gratification sources to compete with and unless it is Facebook, my kids prefer to be involved in group activities. I for one am glad to see some of the subjects that have recently hit the shelves and have been announced. I hope the kit companies are able to continue bringing us the new releases and refreshed old tools for years to come.

Very impressive Mark, looks like a buff job on the paint and some engine degreaser would have that car ready for cruise night! Keep those builds coming!

I know a couple of guys that like to rough people up for fun, you want their phone numbers? I would file a complaint with post office if it was mailed via USPS. If you have copies of the emails and any other supporting documentation, maybe a call to the local police department is in order. If it is a small dollar amount, say under $50, there probably isn't much that can be done but if it is $300 or more, that is a felony in most cases and worth pursuing. It's a shame that someone is pulling this on you but whenever I do a trade, I always do it with the notion that it might be onesided and I may never see the item(s) I am trading for. Best of luck and keep us informed.

Hey guys, I have a question that probably has multiple answers but want to throw it out there to the group. I spent this weekend going through all of my sealed model kits and separating the "keepers" from the "sellers" and came up with a list of about 170 sealed kits I want to get rid of. I have finally realized that I don't have the time to build all of these up and I am better off selling them and using the money for other needed items in my life. The question is to those that have found themselves in the same situation and it is this: How did you get rid of the "excess" models in your collection? I know that there are buyers out there that will look at my list and make me an offer but reality is I am not needing to sell, more like wanting to sell. I am not an eBay guy, I have never bought or sold on there and am not looking to start. I am not sure what the status of eModelcars is and if it gets enough traffic to sell them. I travel with my job and am not home on a regular basis to ship on a schedule if I were to list them on eBay or eModelcars. I don't think I really want to trade any of my kits, the whole idea is to reduce what I have and I can't think of any kits I want that I don't already have. I am not aware of any upcoming shows in my area (Charlotte NC) that would allow me to get a table and sell them there. I will be compiling a spreadsheet of the kits with manufacturer and kit number/description in the coming days and am wondering if grouping them together (ex. '69 Camaro; '32 Ford; Chevy pickup, etc) would be easier to sell them or to just put a list together and send it out to the masses? How should I address shipping? It won't be cheap to send all 170 kits at once but even 4 or 5 at a time might run $20. I really appreciate the feedback that I am expecting and hopefully things will go smoothly in the process. Once all of the sealed kits are gone, then I will go through the open kits and make some decisions on those as well. I am not getting out of the hobby, just looking to make life a little easier and some fellow modellers happy with some kits from my collection. Thanks in advance! Mike

There are many reasons why the designs of the current vehicles tend to look alike to many, some of it is government mandates, some of it is multiple vehicles being built off the same platform, others it is copying a popular model to win over new buyers. When manufacturers step outside the norm, they tend to go overboard and deliver something so ugly they end up not selling well- Edsel, Pacer, Aztec- and are afraid to do that again. American made and American owned are two different things today. The import or foreign nameplate vehicles are built here in large numbers that those manufacturers employ more workers than the big 3 do. It can be argued where the profits go but in the end, it comes down to jobs.

Just like the Cubs! Wait til next year! I have been mowing grass down here in NC for two months, time to change the oil on the mower already!

Happy Birthday Chuck, hope the day is a good one for you and here's to many more!

Nice start and that trailer is very impressive, can't wait to see it done.

"Tell Thelma Lou that I will be late for dinner!"

TJ, MPC issued a 71/72 Chevy pickup, longbed stepside, in 2wd back in the 70's. I haven't seen it re-issued but you might be able to find on eBay or one of the online old kit sellers. You would have to create your own 4wd chassis as the kit chassis is a very simple promo style piece that would be very difficult to modify into a 4wd version. I am surprised that a resin caster has never offered a 4wd chassis for the AMT & MPC pickups from this era.

I think we can stick a fork in this one, it is well done!

I have been a salesman for 16 years and my office is based in my home. That said, my accountant is reluctant to take any deductions for a home office as I do not have a single room dedicated to just my office, I do not have customers visit my home, and I typically spend less than 20% of my work time in my office. I have co-workers who go hog wild with deductions, everything from magazine subscriptions, cable TV, utilities, you name it and they try to deduct it! My theory is that it the little bit I may gain is not worth a sit down with the IRS (been there, done that, ain't fun!) My brother-in-law works for the Federal Government, has for 40 years. 10 years ago they closed his office and sent him home to work from a home based office. He has never taken the home office deduction as he figures it isn't worth the hassle even though he spends 85% of his time in it and can justify it. It does funny things to your capital gains taxes when you sell your home because a certain percentage has been deducted for whatever time period and subject to different taxes. The way I look at it is this- Unless I would be incurring huge expenses and receiving a big paycheck, what are the real advantages of running it like a business? Like Glenn mentioned, the IRS wants you to be profitable at some point.

I almost forgot one other............................ Donn Yost ! He has helped so many of us with his advice and encouragement not to mention his excellent how-to videos!

There are some members here who have dipped their toe into the resin casting business and have some great product. Most do not have a formal website or order form so I will have to dig up past emails to list them out. As far as the other aftermarket guys, I will list them here: MCW - have only bought at shows but great product and nice selection Ma's Resin- excellent product and great person, just overwhelmed at the moment but worth the wait. The Modelhaus- what is there to say except great people and product! Scale Equipement LTD- it's been awhile but great stuff. VCG Resins- Craig is one of us, and he has excellent turnaround time! Bandit Resins- Kenny is another builder/caster and has great stuff. I am sure I am forgetting a few but I have yet to feel cheated by any of the people I have bought from. That being said, I have also paid attention to some of the posts here about others' experiences and have steered clear of the "problem casters and dealers". As a consumer I appreciate the feedback and opinions so I can decide if I want to spend my money with some of these businesses or not!

I hear you Art as I made about 6 attempts at the correct model and year before getting it correct. Ironically enough, I found the very image online that Harry used and it was from that I was finally able to submit the answer. This one was a tough one because of the exact nature of the model and the fact that there were a bunch of other models that looked similar. If I hadn't found that same image online, I don't know if I would have been able to get it right. At least next week we just have to figure out if it is real or model!

Check with The Modelhaus, they have some older truck wheels and they may be what you are looking for. I don't have a picture but maybe someone else does.