peteski

Matt, the original question was about the roadster, so I figured Revell would be the best kit. And yes, Revell's coupe does seem to have a bit of a problem with the windscreen.

Back in the '80s my musician friend has a Fostex multitrack cassette tape deck. It was a 4-track recorder. I don't remember the model, but it looked like this one. Looks Fostex is still around, and even the vintage recorders are still popular.

To follow up, I'm quoting my own post. I contacted Revell customer service (they are in Germany), supplying them photos of the problem. I received an email confirmation with a case number. The web page stated that the response from them might take some time. I waited for about a month with no updates from Revell. At that time I contacted them by email asking for update. But instead of replying to the original email which will not work, I had to find a "real" address. I did receive a prompt reply from the Service Manager at Revell in Germany stating that they never received my original request. He asked me to email the problem description and photos (including a copy of the receipt) directly to him. Once he received those he replied to let me know that he will be sending me the body and the bonnet (not just the bonnet). Why both? I'll explain later. The parts arrived after couple weeks, and the fit of those is perfect. But the body is the one with the odd swirls on the inside of the molding, and there is also a small sink home at the edge of the cowl, near the right side windshield washer nozzle. I tried to use the new bonnet with the old body, but even the new bonnet is still too wide for the body. It seems that when the original bonnet is slipped over the cowl that causes the bonnet to spread out, while also pressing the sides of the cowl inwards,making the cowl narrower. So both, the body and the bonnet end up deformed. Instead of fixing the sink mark on the new body I might still try to place the original body in hot water and spread out the cowl sides to match the new bonnet. As I mentioned before, a small modification of the packing process (not slipping the bonnet over the cowl) would have prevented this problem from occurring. And yes, the replacement bonnet was not slipped over the cowl.

To me there is no comparison: the new Revell kit is the best. I have the coupe (unbuilt yet), but looking at the kit's parts, instructions, and decals, plus the online reviews, it is a winner. The roadster is basically the same kit with a different body.

Yeah, that is a fine example of the period BMW (or was it EMW)?

As I see it, eBay is rife with buy-it-now items with many, many professional sellers selling cheap stuff. Basically a clone of amazon. It has not been a "large flea market" for a very long time.

A sure sign that you are getting old Tom! Ask him about 3 Stooges, or Little Rascals.

Tape made by Bell & Howell? Funny thing is that after they went out of business (along with many other American companies) the Bell & Howell name has been bought by some Chinese entity, which now uses the name (as they tout now "quality product name that has been trusted for years" ) to sell cheap stuff in TV ads

Isn't it about eating grilled food, and watching a fireworks show?

Clicking on the blurred photo - nothing. Clicking on the link - blank page. But I have NoScript plugin installed so it is blocking Instagram. Thanks anyway.

Wow! Very well done unique model.

The photo you posted is blurred - probably because I'm not on Instagram (or FB, or Twitter, or Tik-Tok).

True, but not just that. Just look how far the technology has advanced from the '60 to now. Rotary-dial phones and calling long distance collect, to smart phones that are more powerful than all the computers from the '60s combined. Payphones - when was the last time you have seen one of those? Who needs printed maps? GPS is built-in into many cars. Who needs cash? Just wave your credit card or even smart-phone at the checkout. Interactive CATV where you select what you want to watch on-demand. Self-driving cars (well, almost here). Electric cars that have a decent range and all the luxuries of IC powered cars. Self flying drones capable of taking video or delivering payloads. Remote controlled military drones capable of striking remote targets. Libraries and encyclopedias? Who needs that with the Internet and Google. Computer storage, from Kilobytes in the '60s, to very inexpensive Terabytes now Air travel which was considered a big thing back then is more like a tightly-packed cattle-drive nowadays. Social media networks allowing your ideas (political, or otherwise) to be instantly broadcast to millions of people. Music distributed online as files, instead vinyl records with cool artwork and on the sleeve. Not everything is for the better . . . This is just a small selection of things that changed from the '60s to now.

. . . but it is a very useful communication tool when used properly . . . No thanks. And just wait until their virtual world is released. Who wants to live in the real world anymore? Too boring.

NIce! Several years ago they issued a set of muscle car stamps. used them for mail, but I also kept couple of sheets.

I live in Northeast USA, where snow and ice is plentiful. I have owned cars with recessed and exposed wipers. Leaving the recessed wipers in deployed position (on the windshield) was a way to make the snow cleanup easier, but those wipers were not designed to flip them up off the windshield. On exposed wipers, flipping them up is a also very common around here. Many people here do that before the snow storm.

That's because back in the day the analog recordings (vinyl and tapes) were heavily equalized and compressed to make them sound better on the equipment that has limited dynamic range and uneven frequency response. But the end result is that those recordings often sound better than the accurate (but sterile) CD sound. Then now things get even more complicated with the MP3 stuff. Those recordings are processed in all sorts of ways to reduce the file size. I still have my 2 old Akai cassette decks with the ferrite GX heads. While not top of the line, those were quite good back in the '80s. But they need new rubber belts. and changing them is a real pain.

In the early to mid-20th Century windshield wipers were fully exposed. Either mounted above the windshields, or later mounted on the cowl, under the windshield. But I believe around mid-60s the manufacturers started hiding the wipers by lowering the cowling and leaving the back edge of the hood over the cowl. That way, when in the parked position, the wipers were totally hidden, giving the windshield a clean look. At first this feature was limited to upper-end cars, but as the time went on, most non-compact cars received recessed wipers. This lasted into mid '80s (My 1985 Cadillac has those). However most foreign-made cars (like Japanese or German) still had exposed wipers on the cowl. Also in the '80s more and more American (soap-bar style bodies) cars reverted to exposed wipers. I recently started noticing that more and more contemporary cars have recessed wipers. Well, it has probably been going on for some years, but I just recently started paying more attention to this. More expensive cars often have fully hidden wipers, wile most other cars have them exposed but still recessed, with the wipers and the recessed area painted black to "hide" them. I just found it interesting that what was once old is new again.

I think I have (MPC?) AMC Pacer model which includes a pair of Good Year tires that look like snow tires (along with 4 regular tires). But that was an original issue kit (not the more recent reruns). Not sure of the newer runs include those tires.

Now, she's a beaut! One of those "coyote dates"

But those are all oddball automotive scales and far from being mainstream. If people already fight about about size difference in 1:24/25 scale, how will they look at 1:34/35/36 scales? Granted, the scale difference between 34/35/36 scales is less pronounced than in 24/25, but I still just don't see those becoming popular automotive scales. The proverbial money *IS* in 1:35 scale, but in military vehicles. Plus, military modelers don't have the tight pockets of automotive modelers. They are willing to dish out the cash for their Shermans, Hummers, or Ducks.

This question sounds like something the Plum Crazy David guy would ask. And the answer is (which would be to the dismay to the Plum Crazy guy) . . . it depends. I don't have a fixed formula. There is no fixed formula. Every paint job is different. You need to learn for yourself what painting technique to use, and when to stop. How thinned out is the paint? How heavy of a coat do you spray? Those are the two main variables. I like to apply as heavy, and as few coats as I can. That way I minimize both, the orange peel, and the excessive paint thickens. I see so many models which have spotless mirror like finish, because they have a clear coat so heavy they look like they were dipped in honey, then polished to death. Sorry, that is not for me. I go for more natural looks. Just like with women -- I prefer the natural look (maybe with very,very minimal makeup augmentation) than the ones using crusty foundation, heavily shaded cheek bones, shiny ruby red lipstick, dark eye makeup, painted-on eyebrows, and 1" long eyelashes. I'll take a Mary-Ann any day!

Since the decals are intact when applied (they are not disintegrating when you put them in water), then the blotting seems to be your problem. Normally you apply the setting solutions over the decal and they will soften the decal film, and as the liquid (water and/or setting solution) evaporates the decal is supposed to snuggle over the surface all by itself. Sometimes using a hair dryer to warm up and shrink the decal film can help (Scale Motorsports recommends that technique for their carbon fiber decals which are applied to large surfaces with complex curves, but I haven't had a chance to try that). You should not have to do any blotting. If you really need to, use Q-tips, not paper towel, to gently soak up liquid. If you are fairly new to applying waterside decals, I recommend that you practice on models which have simpler decals to get the feel of how to do it.

That is absolutely correct Jim (as far as the armor models go), but seeing how there are automotive subject modelers who find even the 1:24 to 1:25 difference unacceptable. I don't think that they will embrace a new automotive modeling scale (1:35). As I see it, 1:35 will continue to be military model scale. Compared the the 1:24/25 scale even 1:43 scale is not very popular for automotive model kits, but there is a large contingent of collectors collecting pre-built 1:43 scale models. Then the 1:32 scale is almost non-existent. I doubt that 1:35 scale has any chances becoming popular in the automotive modeling circles. Personally I'm not tied to any scale. If I like model, I will buy and build it, regardless of scale, but I'm in a very small minority.

Most model companies? Is that in a reference to 1:32 vs. 1:35? Most model companies making automotive models make them in 1:24/25 scale, and also 1:43. There compared to those scales, there aren't really that many 1:32 or 1:35 automotive models. But if by "land vehicles" you also mean tanks, then yes, most are in 1:35 scale.