mikemodeler

That truck is a nice kit, begs to be done as glue kit with engine and full chassis detail. Lots of great examples here to get inspiration from.

The frame isn't a deal breaker, but that interior tub would be nice to have a bench seat. Thanks!

Another question- Is the interior tub part of the plan for this resin kit? I ask because the MPC Deserter kit has bucket seats and most of these trucks came with bench seats. Would be cool if the resin caster offered this with a bench seat tub and possibly a frame.

That truck looks great Tom, I am assuming the MPC Deserter kit is the donor, along with stretching the frame? Keep them coming!

Sent another email, no response. Hopefully he is building inventory.

That is a really sharp build- excellent clean details and looks spot on. I have those wheels and tires from Fireball to use myself, you have given me some inspiration. Nice job!

Yeah, Long Beach is a mess and ain't gonna get better for awhile. My employer brings our stuff from Japan through there to our LA warehouse and we are running 3-4 weeks behind getting shipments. Hang in there, it's coming, just not as fast as we hoped.

I traded with Scott8950, waiting for our boxes to ship. He communicated clearly and was flexible in our trade. The best part though was he contacted me after I shipped my end and said he forgot to tell me about some decals missing from the box. He apologized and offered to send my kit back along with refunding me the cost to ship the kit. The decals are not important to me, the kit is, but I wanted to mention that he is a stand up guy for following up and offering to make it right. Will trade again without hesitation.

The problem with the cab from this tow truck version is the visor is molded to the cab, which is not stock. It also has the cut out in the roof that earlier versions had for a sunroof, this has a plastic piece that fills in the sunroof and serves as a mount for the air horns and marker lights. The engine bay is also very crude. As Brian mentioned, there are other cabs from MPC out there that are better representations if you insist on 1/25 scale.

I think you are correct that having some communication from vendor to customer goes a long way towards good service. With the pandemic hitting the one year mark and a resurgence in the hobby, it is safe to say many online businesses have been overwhelmed with interest and orders from around the world. I know I have spoken personally to two different resin casters who have been working much longer hours trying to keep up with the increase in size and number of orders. For one of them, they retired, started up the resin business as a means to share what they developed and it has mushroomed into a full time job, much more than they planned on. While they haven't given up, they have scaled back what they are offering and it's hampered their ability to create new stuff and lengthened the time it takes them to process and ship orders. Unlike a model kit, a resin mold has a limited life and many times they are rebuilding molds while casting simultaneously, so that contributes to the amount of time to get orders done. I remember back when I placed my first order with The Modelhaus. They stated upfront that there was a 6-8 week lead time on your order and it was processed in the order it was received, even if the parts were in stock. This allowed them to get orders done without getting behind and assured customers of consistent service. The resin caster I spoke with recently was lamenting the fact that his turnaround time on orders had grown to three weeks. I reminded him of The Modelhaus and he said he didn't want to do that to his customers as he felt that it shouldn't take as long. I hope it doesn't burn him out because his product is very nice and he has filled a niche in our hobby. Speaking for myself, I have spent more money online shopping in the last 12 months than I have in the last 5 years combined. Much of it has to do with being home all day and access to the internet, the rest of it has to do with stockpiling stuff for when I have time. I would hope that all businesses did a great job at updating customers on orders but the reality is they don't. Some are overwhelmed and trying to do so much with limited help, others just don't view it as important as the next guy. My point is that if you are ordering from someone for the first time, maybe ask the questions upfront before placing the order so you have an idea of how long before you see the order. And remember that even if this is a full time business, things happen that are unforeseen.

The number in the stash versus the number in display cases is probably 10:1. If I could focus for a solid weekend I could almost double my completed build count as I have at least 20 WIPs that are thisclose to being done!

Maybe with new owners Michaels' can improve a lot of things in their stores. I would shop for models there is they had a better selection and their prices weren't all over the place.

I was pointing out that in mid-January you mentioned the magazine was in the process of being finalized and being sent to the printer, and nearly two months later it was actually being sent to the printer. Given the history of the magazine and the delays, I wasn't sure which was accurate and was slightly confused. I guess my expectations were that with a new team in place, the magazine would be appearing in a more timely fashion than before; 3 months between issues seems a bit long and makes it hard to stick to the schedule of 6 issues per year. Having worked in print production in the past, I know from experience that once you get behind, getting caught up is extremely difficult.

Kris's stuff is awesome and the bed you reference is a nice piece, I have one to use on a build. He's like most resin guys- a one man band who is swamped with orders so it might take him an extra day or two to respond.

Coming from one of the best I have seen on here, that is saying a LOT!

Back when Ollie's had these for $7.99, I grabbed all that I could! Still have several in the stash, built a couple of them. I hate the sunroof is molded into them, Here's one of them with tires from Scenes Unlimited

Not sure which tires you are looking for, but Fireball Modelworks and Scenes Unlimited have some great tires, as does Modelhaus Tires. All have great service and excellent product.

He said that back in January, which is it?

Yeah, don't need another Bronco kit and I already have the half cabs from Olson Bros, so the Bronco might be traded off. Surprised they went with the stock body and not the Baja with the rear wheel openings cut.

I have some resin wheels that I want to chrome, some just the rim and others the whole wheel. My question is what is the best way to do this? Should I .. A. Send them out for plating? B. Spray chrome paint from a rattle can? C. Airbrush Molotow or Alcad? D. Chrome BMF? E. Brush paint them with Testors Gloss Chrome enamel? Really want to do a good job so all comments are welcome, if you have a video or pix to share, even better!

Had never seen that before, very interesting. I do have a Jimmy Flintstone Dodge SUV based off the Dodge truck that is his version of a Suburban. Need to drag it out and build it one day soon.

Yes, the Bronco used the 170 & 200 CI L6 motor. The truck motor started out as a 240 and was later a 300 CI and used into the late 80's/mid 90's.

They are about the same price. If you buy the wedge, you can always trade off the wedge body for something you need. Same way with the Coke version, trade off the Coke machine if you don't want/need it.

Having hundreds of tires I will likely find something to replace them with, not too worried. Thanks for the picture and update Casey.

Makes sense, about the only new thing in this offering is the half cab. Wonder if that buggy will have the plastic tires?