Mark

Did Chevrolet offer a V8/manual transmission in the '88 Silverado? I shopped trucks in early '88, the Chevy dealer told me you had to take an automatic (another $1,000 or so) to get a V8, even a 305. I drove a V6/stick but it was on the pokey side. I probably still have the brochure, as I remember it did not contradict what I was told at the time. They knew they'd lose the sale over that, so if they were fibbing just to sell the automatic they'd have changed their minds and just sold me what I wanted.

Is that Dremel drill press the type that holds the drill in one position, and moves the table up and down? I had one of those, just couldn't get used to it. I was lucky to sell it for about what I paid for it.

No different from the supermarkets, where at the checkouts the candy is at eye level for kids in shopping carts...

What's the big deal about the area looking the same in all of the stores? I'd call it smart...an employee splits his/her time between two stores, they know where everything is. K-Mart used to be that way too: for the most part, you could walk into any store in the country and be able to find what you were there for without walking all over the store. It was when they dumped that and tried to go "upscale" that caused them to lose their way...

There won't be a convertible option because Studebaker didn't build one. They didn't build any convertibles from 1953 until about 1960, when they added one to the Lark lineup. The Hawks based on the '53 coupe never did get a convertible. Studebaker started their downslide around 1955, and weren't selling enough of those cars to justify a convertible.

Be wary of eBay listings that say it hasn't been tested, so the seller doesn't know whether or not it heats up. In all probability that means they did test it and it doesn't work. It only takes a minute or two, and an electrical outlet, to figure that out. Knowing it heats up would add to the value of the unit, so it's only logical to take a minute or two and plug it in. Sometimes the (hand operated) vacuum doesn't work. There are (or at least were) eBay sellers that offered an "upgrade kit" that included some grease to regain the seal needed to get vacuum. You don't get a lot, but you need all of what you can get. Don't pay stupid money for one, even if you stumble into a never-used one. The accessories and plastic included won't be of any use for model building anyway. Most of these didn't get much use, they only got used until the plastic sheets supplied with it ran out. The eBay upgrade kit cost about twenty bucks as I remember, and that was a while back. For about $100 you can get a dental lab machine (used to make trays for impressions) that will outperform the Mattel unit.

Exhibit A, "what happens when eBay dishes out free listings in order to inflate the number of listings..."

Premier made a few other interesting car kits. Their Studebaker Lark is a two-door sedan, unfortunately it is just a bit under 1/25 scale. I've got an unbuilt one, and have been looking for another one, to piece them together into one that measures out to 1/25 scale.

I've got a couple of built ones. Haven't measured one, but I'd bet it is very close to 1/25 scale. Besides the long quarter panels, the shapes of things like window openings and wheel openings are quite crude. But the overall shape of the body looks close. With builtups, the hood is usually missing (I think I have one hood between the two cars, might have one each front and rear bumpers, and one too-small headlight).

But, after widening the street, will they likewise have to move the sidewalks on both sides also? Otherwise they may end up closer to the street than allowed for a residential area...

(A) are Edsel station wagon taillights, a bit oversize. That set is from an AMT '63 Thunderbird kit. (D) might be fender skirts from the Bird. (B) and (E) are from a Lincoln Continental kit. Not sure what (B) is or where it goes, (E) is a custom rear grille. (C) might be a custom front end piece from the Lincoln. Not sure about (F).

Because (in most cases, possibly not all) the slowest speed available with the internal control is still faster than what you want. I think mine has a "slow" speed of 5,000 rpm. In fact, with that tool, I seldom go beyond the minimum. With the external speed control and cheapie Harbor Freight rotary tool, I can slow it down to near nothing. Better for resin (no flying dust to inhale) or for removing molded-in detail like exhaust pipes.

The scanning produces the data needed to create masters from which the kit will be designed. It replaces creating the masters by hand, from measurements and drawings. The kit still has to be designed: assemblies like the engine, chassis, and interior still have to be broken down into individual parts that can be molded like any other car kit.

Does the Black & Decker grinder have a speed control built in, or is it a single-speed unit? I'm thinking that the ability to use a speed control attachment will depend on whether or not the tool already has one built in; that is, if one is already part of the tool, then an external one should not be used with that tool.

I remember them being in the Vega annual kits from '74 on. Maybe see if you can scare one up in a box of leftover parts from someone who built the kit without it.

I have also used it with an X-Acto soldering iron with the "hot knife" attachment, to keep the blade temperature down. It'll never do precision cutting, but it has come in handy on occasion.

I've got an old Dremel speed control device that I picked up on eBay years ago. It might be the same as a dimmer, you plug the Dremel into the speed control then plug that into an outlet. The instructions warn against using it with a Dremel that has built-in speed control. I figure they (Dremel) know what they are talking about where their products are concerned, and didn't see the value in risking the variable-speed tool. I've had this one about thirty years and it's as good as new. I instead bought a cheapie single-speed Harbor Freight rotary tool to use with the speed control. It takes the same bits as the Dremel (albeit only one shaft size; no extra collets) and I can slow it down to nothing when needed.

Is that one of those deals where they spray ionized water onto the parts? From what I have heard, those products do give a bright finish, but it doesn't last long under even the best conditions.

Companies don't usually decide to produce/not produce an item based strictly on one buyer's say so. With model kits, they used to take the proposal to a trade show and float it before the buyers who went to those. These days, there are fewer big buyers like store chains and wholesalers. But it would still probably take thumbs down from more than one of those to kill off a particular kit. Too, if you as a manufacturer are overly dependent on one outlet for your product (like Wal-Mart) that's a problem unto itself. I've heard about investment firms downgrading the stock value for companies doing too high a percentage of their business with one customer, as they are too dependent on that customer making them subject to unreasonable demands by said customer down the road.

The Continental was based on the Zephyr. You'd be able to use the chassis and interior as starting points, but the Continental was sectioned and rebodied for the most part. Depending on the chosen body style, you might be able to piece a Zephyr body together from sections of Ford bodies. Though the Zephyr is pre-war, I'd probably look at '48 Ford body panels (the '48 has origins in the '41 Ford, and is larger/wider/closer to Lincoln styling than the '40 Ford). Lots of work any way you look at it, but can probably be done with enough determination.

X2 on losing the plating. The wheels without plating should be a lot sharper.

The store in my area has the big Lindberg kits, also the Revell '48 Ford coupe (stock/police) and '66 Suburbans. Already picked up one of the latter when HL blew them out, grabbed a '48 though.

I too bought one of the $3 tubes of red spot putty, even though I've already got the 2-part stuff. I later got a big tube of 3M white spot putty. Much more expensive, but I find the Bondo spot putty a bit on the watery side. The two-part stuff is great though.

There are two different Bondo products. One is the regular red spot putty, you can snag a tube of that for $3/something in the automotive department at Wal-Mart. The other is the catalyzed spot putty, the package includes a little tube of hardener tucked in behind the big tube. The last one of those I bought was about ten bucks, at Auto Zone. Don't think Wally World carries that stuff.

Never heard of the stuff, but who knows, maybe it will work. If you are starting out, I'd begin with known good materials, get the hang of it, then experiment with other materials or methods.