mikemodeler

Me too Rich, got some stuff when they announced their retirement as well as when they had a last chance sale earlier this year. Great people, well deserved retirement and anxious to see what Don creates now that he isn't running the casting business full time.

As near as I can read, the tires were 7.00 x 17. Modelhaus tires (www.modelhaustires.com) has them in a set for $17.00 including the wheels. Part number is 800.

Very nice, looks quite sinister in all black!

I would go to Fireball Modelworks for the Suburbanite tires. They are a bit small if you are using them on a pickup truck, they look more at home on a Jeep, speaking of which many of the recent Jeep kits had them included. Danny at Scenes Unlimited has dually wheel and tire kits along with 4x4 hubs. He is closed until after the holidays but great stuff and service. Finally, check out Modelhaus Tires. Chris Holthaus is casting the tires that were part of The Modelhaus for years, he might have some vintage wheels/tires that could help your build. Chris does offer the Suburbanite tires.

Just did a trade with Matt T. Waiting for USPS to do their thing and with it being the holidays I am always a bit shy about shipping but the three trades I have done in the last 2 weeks have been easy and flawless, expecting the same with this one. Matt and I were able to agree on trade quickly and I am certain we have traded before.

The 300 L6 was the base motor across the E and F series lines for years. It makes sense that the airlines would not spec an optional motor as it would cost more and not really give them much advantage considering their intended use. Those trucks tended to be in service for a long period of time ( I see some 80's models still in use today) so as long as they were durable, that's all that mattered.

A lot of trains and military models there.

Lotsa torque in those old 300's!

I should have clarified my statement to say that the 300 cubic inch L6 was available, but might not have been very popular and definitely would not be in a truck like a Camper Special. Back in the day, one could order a truck with a bunch of different options and IIRC the L6 was the base engine, but many opted for the V-8s, especially if they were doing any towing or set up with a dump bed, wrecker bed or wanted more horsepower.

I have seen NASCAR kits at model shows here in the middle of NASCAR country for $10 that don't sell! I enjoy watching NASCAR and even back in the day when it's popularity was extremely high, I could not bring myself to build a kit. And the same guys who can't sell a kit for $10 are trying to get the same amount for a diecast and they drag them home too.

According to Rock Auto the 4.9 liter/ 300 cubic inch L6 could be had in the F350 pickups up until the 1996 model year. This would hold true for the F150 & F250 models as well.

The Firestones F series pickup has a F150 front end, so I guess it could. The 300 ci L6 was used in every Ford pickup and van and IIRC was in E/F 100 - 350 series through the 90's.I think the Moebius L6 is the 240 ci. which would mean it was used in E100 vans & F100 pickups.

Has anyone considered swapping the L6 from the Moebius kits into the AMT Fords, just to be different?

Kenny has been injured and not able to get stuff done. He has great stuff, just have to be patient. MCW Resin is really nice, I have a couple of pieces to finish. Not having the paint side of his business has helped Dave with getting stuff shipped much more quickly.

Take the Revell F-350 duallie and stretch the frame a little bit and use a standard 2 door cab and it should do the trick. Is the suspension period correct? Depends on what year cab you use. The chrome wheels could be stripped and painted, engine could be back dated. I have a set of resin side panels to build a ramp bed truck from a F-350 frame, haven't decided on using the 65/66 or 67-72 Ford truck for the cab.

The journey that God takes us on sometimes tests our strength but with faith and prayer, we get through it. So happy that your son has made the wonderful progress to date and will continue to with all of the support he has. May you all have a joyous Christmas and the best gift you will get is your son's healing.

Well, with The Modelhaus gone, not sure how many other resin casters are out there offering a complete kit. Even their kits left something out, for example I bought their 64 Dodge Crew Cab pickup kit. It has ALMOST everything needed to build, minus the engine, but didn't consider that to be a deal breaker.I paid $105 for the kit and knew that I would have to source an engine and do some cleanup work on the body. The chassis is promo-like and I will have to cut some clear plastic for the side and rear windows. Would love to see more complete kits, but given the life expectancy of a resin mold and the cost to develop them, I can see why resin casters make "trans kits" using an existing kit to save on costs. I doubt The Modelhaus made a lot of money on my $105 kit when all the costs are added up.

I thought Camry's were two door models, or is that only in NASCAR? Nice kit, should build up great and nice to have some modern vehicles to be able to build. Harry would be happy, it has wipers AND mirrors!

Thanks for posting those pictures Mike, I think the Fireball conversion kit will work on the 2wd frame no problem.

This was the most intriguing of all of the videos you posted Bill, for the reasons you state here. Model kits will still be produced, but it's the conversion kits and bits and pieces that will flourish with this technology. The future of modeling is quite bright, it just has a new look to it.

I think these videos might encourage a few people to consider getting into the model business Bill. As you highlighted above, it won't take a lot of people, just those that are sufficiently talented and motivated. The biggest downfall I see is that time is still the enemy. Fireball had to stop taking orders on his 4x4 conversion kits to catch up with demand. If these companies can figure out how to produce the high quality pieces and not have long order fill times, they will have a steady stream of business, much like The Modelhaus did before their retirement notice. We have all read the posts here about companies who start out with a bang, only to wilt under pressure of demand. All three of these videos are interesting to watch. As someone who has worked for various auto parts manufacturers over the last 35 years, it is eye opening for me to see the advances in prototyping parts. What used to take weeks or months now takes hours or days, very impressive. Thanks for sharing them!

I think there will be a market for someone to create parts for those of us that do not want to invest in the technology or have that many unique items to reproduce. I bought stuff from Fireball Modelworks that he created using 3D technology for less money than I could have done on my own. I would rather pay someone to master the art of using 3D tech and creating some parts for me than to spend precious modeling learning by trial and error how to do it myself. Call me lazy, but there are many like me out here in that same boat. If time was not an issue for me, then maybe I would feel differently. Over time I think we will see new companies emerge that will take on that Borgward Hansa 1500 project that Bill mentioned and produce it. Like a Modelhaus kit, it will be in the $100 + range, but given what it will take to produce, it will sell, just like Modelhaus kits did.

Ironically, we have traded several times and have used the same box every time! Kevin and I have yet another trade going on, didn't realize he had what I was looking for ! LOL!

Oldcarfan 27, great trade and prompt. Would do it again.