Mark

The main killer of paint brushes IMO, is dipping them too far into the paint. No more than the first 1/3 of the bristle makes them much easier to keep clean.

I believe that roadster chassis is in there because one piece is needed for the dragster. What was originally a tow bar was reworked to create a radius rod for the dragster's front suspension. If that is the case, then between the rest of that pack and the leftover parts on the other trees, you should be able to build a complete roadster chassis, minus engine, tires, and body of course.

Strange that the unplated parts are bagged while the plated trees are not.

There are signs tacked onto the shelves.

Haven't had to try it lately, but I'd either press "0" at every opportunity, or not speak when a voice prompt occurs, and eventually I'd get an actual person. Not necessarily a sentient one, but at least someone to irritate until the desired result was achieved.

IF Round 2 were to do a new '71 Demon kit, it would likely involve new parts (body, etc) for the existing Duster kit. The original MPC kit was flawed; besides the incorrect front wheel openings, the hood is WAY too flat. It looks as though it is sagging in the center. That is owing to only the upper surface of the hood being unique tooling: it had to be made that way to fit with the underside of the (then) existing Duster hood tooling.

If I had paid for it with a credit card, I'd file a dispute. The item was claimed to be the correct replacement part, but was not. Worst case is that you might get dinged for a restock charge after opening the package. If the packaging did not give you a clear view of the part without having to crack it open, I wouldn't even tolerate that. If you had purchased a set of 18" tires for your car, and received 17" tires instead, they wouldn't fit, and you'd expect either the correct items or a refund. I don't see this as being any different.

Actually, what happened isn't how Sears usually operated. Their normal MO was to make service parts obsolete for a particular item (like a range), then just try to sell you a new range. Like with batteries for a battery powered drill or saw. They'd move the contacts to one side or another by 1/4" or 1/2" so new batteries wouldn't fit the old tools, then when you found that out they actually expected you to buy new tools from Sears. Or, they'd stop making pre-wound trimmer line spools and try to sell you a new trimmer. Sears? Good riddance...

Then they should not have taken his money....

I take it the buses are automatics nowadays. Back in the olden days, every missed shift or clashed gear met with a chorus of "grind me a pound"...

If the seller has told you that the part they sold you is the correct replacement part, then it should fit. Period, paragraph, exclamation point. If you have to cut off a plug and connect individual wires, then there should be instructions included that tell you what connects where. No excuses. No way should there be guesswork with a $200 part. I'd make it my life's mission to make someone there miserable until I either got correct information, or a full refund.

I'd contact their customer service. Whenever I have bought appliance parts, the seller always requires the serial number of the unit, and supplies a replacement part that will fit exactly, and without guesswork.

Pretty tough to find drivers without any sort of violations, as every area has at least one locality with a Barney that's got pen and ticket pad at the ready. When I did HR for a roofing company, more often than not the incoming employee didn't even have a drivers' license. Roofer-ese "Oh, I don't have it with me" usually translated to the English "I haven't got one". But they got hired anyway. The drug testing there was very short-lived...

They will apparently find out with the first complete example (Nova wagon) and partial examples ('64 Cutlasses).

With Duplicolor, it's a good idea to wipe the nozzle with a clean rag dipped in lacquer thinner right after you finish spraying. If you have multiple cans of the same, or similar color (or clear, or primer) I'll take the known to be good nozzle from the empty can and switch it to the "next" can. The unused nozzle then gets set aside, in case I run across a bad one later.

My last employer cut back on staff in 2019 (including me) because they had sold all of their properties. I was given a year or so notice (turned out to be a year and a half), was allowed to pile up paid time off, and I got a generous package for staying as long as needed (which I intended to do anyway). I decided not to try landing a position with the new owners of the property. Towards the end of my time there, I caught part of a conversation between two of the incoming managers. Their employer had just announced pay raises...ten cents an hour, across the board. Why even bother...

Some stores might still be putting out stock from Ollie's last buyout. But with the shipping bottleneck that exists right now, I wouldn't count on seeing anything newer hitting the shelves there. Round 2 and the hobby distributors can probably sell everything they can bring in through hobby shops and online sellers.

HL has never carried Mo(e)bius kits.

Revell did a few Corvette promos (then current year items), a Chrysler PT Cruiser, a Ford Expedition, maybe a couple others. They did some retro promos also, like '63 Corvettes and '57 Chevies.

Special Interest Autos ran a couple of articles on those "snake oil" mileage and performance improvement devices. Some of them were sold for decades with no changes (except for price). Even the advertising didn't change much. They theorized that most of these things were priced low enough that buyers wouldn't bother with recourse when they (inevitably) figured out the things didn't work. The scam artists made a bunch of money by scamming a large number of people for a small amount per person, then vanishing for a time and resurfacing a few years later to repeat the process. The people who didn't fall for the scams probably just thought that, if picking up so much of an improvement was so cheap and easy, why weren't the manufacturers putting that junk on the car on the assembly line?

Only one company made a promo in a given year. For 1969, Impala promos were AMT only. MPC made kits on their own dime because there was enough of a market for Impala kits for them to be profitable without the promo contract to help pay for the tooling.

The MPC Pacer hatchback kits ('76-'78) also have a six. I'd give the MPC engine a bit of an edge (more parts) but you could go with whichever is easier/less costly.

It is broke...they've been doing their level best to break it over the last fifteen years or so. Every time they try to "fix" it, the remedy always seems to involve taking it further away from its origins, and alienating the very people who helped them build it in the first place.

If stuff gets delivered to the correct house number on the wrong street, then yes, it is an issue. When I get mail like that, I drop it off at the house on the correct street. But not everyone else does that...some will simply toss the item in the trash, to others it might be a free gift.

Anyone else notice that eBay has eliminated the "promo" sub-category in model kits? Looks like another lame attempt to conceal withering numbers of listings...