mikemodeler

I can only imagine what something like that cost. I would think the operating costs would be up there too! Nice truck .

Norm at Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland had one in his catalog, might be worth a phone call to see if he still has em!

I don't recall those wheels and tires being that great, might have to wait and see. It's a shame the body is not right in this kit.

In looking over his newest price sheet I am concerned that a few items that were in his old catalog might not be available any more. I will be calling Norm tomorrow to find out for sure.

Looking nice, like the colors! I hope to get mine in paint this weekend, weather is supposed to cooperate finally!

Nice start to a great looking ride. If you are looking for stock style dually wheels, check out Scenes Unlimited. If you want something more custom, a trip down the toy aisle at WalMart might yield something to your liking. There was a company that used to resin cast a crew cab dually, but they are long out of business and have yet to see anyone offer this since.

Very nice, you did a great job on it! I sure wish we would see this kit again!

Tops were metal, rusting out was a common problem for the body and top on these trucks. Most vehicles from the mid 70's seemed to be plagued with the problem. Nice job on this build, excellent weathering !

He is one of the finest gentlemen this hobby has and is great to deal with. You can rest assured what ever you order from him will be top notch and worth the money.

And Keith Richards is the last to go!

Sure wish I could make this show, sounds like a great one!

^^^^^^^ What he said! Looks great!

Looks great, where did you get the tires?

Saving my lunch money for this one, have a couple of ideas kicking around in my head.

Modelroundup shows it available Tuesday, get em while you can! I would guess the usual places got theirs. Casey, have you checked Model Empire? I remember they always had the early shipments.

Revell produced a series of 1/24 Chevy vans that some have used the front suspension to convert these trucks into 2WD. What you don't want is try to use the Revell 2wd pickup kit that has been around for decades as it has a totally incorrect front suspension.

I do not have a source, but maybe checking with the Japanese kit suppliers will turn something up.

This is what I was getting at. Offering critique and tips is what this hobby is about, not participation trophies. Yes, we need to encourage new builders and bring new blood into the hobby, but helping them improve their skills will bode well for the future of our hobby. And thank you for your service Marine! Semper Fi!

Thank you for sharing Bill, I think your post captures what I was trying to say. I am sure there were some who felt like they couldn't possibly mention that to you, afterall you are a well known, well respected builder and how dare ANYONE tell you that something was amiss! But yet, a member did, you saw it and fixed it and now have that stored in your memory for the next build. If someone can point out something to the likes of Bill Geary, who is to say that the same can't be done for others? Bill took the comments to heart, fixed the problem and made a great model even better. The point was to improve the model and it was accomplished easily and without offending anyone.

I think you would be surprised how many people look at their models and think "Dang, that looks good" and they are not wrong, because to them, it DOES look good. My point is that when someone posts a model with sloppy paint and body work, wheels that are crooked and not all touching the ground and has other flaws, what message is sent when all the comments are "Great job! Looks Great! Nice model!"? I am not insinuating that we need to go into hyper critical mode, but maybe mentioning how to fix those obvious flaws will help them build the next model a little bit better.

Not sure what your price range is, but keep in mind when Modelhaus was casting these and offering them for sale they went for $100. I have one to build, and will soon, but would love to see these in kit form so I can build more!

Lots of great comments and thoughts expressed here and I don't think anyone is right or wrong for stating what they did. As is our hobby, we will not all agree on things or hold the same views and that is what this hobby should be about. What I view as being a poorly built model and not worthy of a comment may be perfectly acceptable to the next member. As I stated, I have yet to post pics of any of my builds so in a way I shouldn't say someone else's is good or bad, but when I do post mine, I would welcome critique of them as I want to get better. Thanks to all who have taken the time to post and state their position, I have enjoyed reading them.

So lately I have seen some models posted in the Finished section that were obviously flawed but were given praise as though they could win at a model contest. I am the first to admit my models are built for me and by me and have yet to share them with this forum, so I will tread lightly here. However, I look at many of the posts throughout this forum and try to pick up tips to improve my modeling. I can honestly say that I have seen a marked improvement in my skills and the finished product to the point that I could entertain showing them at a model show someday soon. The point I am trying to make is that if we praise every model that is posted, whether it is worthy or not, are we doing the builders any favors? I would like to know that a polishing kit or not spraying on a humid day could give me a smoother, glossier finish. Using the right products, spending more time on prep work, using online resources to accurately detail and capture the correct look for a model can really help improve our results and I think being honest with people without coming off as arrogant can help all that are here. Lord knows there is a bunch of great builders here who offer their help, but I wonder sometimes if they hold back on some of the stuff they see because of the fear of sounding overly critical? This hobby is aging and we need younger people to pass the baton to at some point, and I think if we mentor them in a way that will get them excited about building like we did so many years ago, the future could be very bright. Telling everyone who posts a model, regardless of how well it is painted/assembled/detailed "Great job!" without offering some tips isn't in the best interest of them or the hobby.

While one can appreciate saving and rebuilding an model, I would like to politely point out that maybe you should take some time in the painting and prep department. That car could look so much better if you worked on fitting the hood and body working the scoop some more. I would also suggest working on the paint application as that paint has a bit of "orange peel" to it. Getting high quality paint jobs takes work and practice and I think you are capable of it. Most of us have to practice, practice , practice and then re-shoot some of our models. It gets frustrating at times but it's how we get better.

That is very nice, love the stance and the paint is perfect. Those wheels with the hubcaps are just right for that truck.