peteski

Oh man, that brings back some memories! I built one back in the '80s. I even installed light bulbs in the headlights. That was a nice looking model! The black plastic was so shiny and flawless that I didn't even paint it. Just applied the decals (just like on the real car). But is was a very large model - I tossed it when I moved in early '90s. I wish I had it now (the kit or the 1:1 car).

I do - I used to buy lots of toys and models there. Then Woolworth in Boston had a very nice selection of models and paints around the same timeframe.

I have seen full-detail models entered in the curbside class at my club's contest. There is not rule against it (as long as the hood and doors are closed). As far as slammers class goes, for many years MassCar club had an interesting version of that class: It took place in the contest venue's parking lot. You would put your "slammer" model on the pavement and climb a ladder next to the model. Then they would give you a sledge hammer which you would drop on your model. You would be judged on how far the parts scattered. That was a fun class!

If you look at my club's rules in the contest flyer http://classicplastic.org/CPMC-flyer-2017.pdf , we judge most categories using a point system. While not perfect, or totally bias-free, we do not hear many complaints of unfair judging.

Just this morning I reported another scam Revell Can-Do wrecker listing. This is about a 6th one I have reported. eBay removes them pretty quickly.

From our club's contest flyer, here is a definition of "curbside": 26. CURBSIDE: Any automobile model displayed as it would sit curbside. (Hood/doors closed) Not judged using points system. 7. SMALL SCALE, DIORAMAS, SHELF MODELS, MISCELLANEOUS, CURBSIDE AND MILITARY (Class 9, 11, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 29): Will be judged using only the construction and degree-of-difficulty criteria associated with the Points System method explained in Rule 1 as well as the visual attributes and presentation aesthetics of the entry. Additionally, Dioramas will be judged on the quality of composition and strength of theme that is presented with scale equivalence of figures, buildings, etc. weighing heavily in judging decisions. We request your Diorama base size be limited to 36” x 36” maximum. We do not disqualify someone who wants to enter a fully detailed model in the curbside category (but they need to keep the hood and doors closed). I don't think that engine poking through the closed hood would disqualify the model from entering.

Yes, that series has lots of cars from the Eastern Bloc countries. There had couple of Polonez models. That series also incldes several German, French, and British car models. The models are not super-detailed, but have decent under-body details and full interiors. Not bad for 1:43 scale and not very expensive. I have most of that collection (for nostalgic reasons). If any of you are interested in buying some of those cars I recommend eBay seller "arviol" He has a store where all he sells are these models. I have bought at least couple of dozen models from him. He often lists the same model using different currencies, so look for the best price. He is a great guy to deal with - I'm a very happy customer.

Interesting info - several choices - thanks guys! As for the MV lenses, the small blue ones are often hard to find. I suppose that one could buy the clear ones then use a blue Sharpie to tint them blue.

I enjoyed the original thread, I love this one too. I just watched one of the episodes last night. The one where he was being chased by a small plane with bad guys wielding a machine gun. Jim shot them down using his gun. It was one of the early episodes as Rocky was played by another actor.

Sounds like you are familiar with Alps printing. As an Alps MicroDry printer owner/user (for over 15 years), for decals and other projects, I have to disagree with your statements. While Ink jet decals have their place, Alps-printed decals are hard to beat. And the colors are solid and fade-proof. They do have some limitations and quirks but those can be usually solved. Yes there can be slight banding, but that can usually be taken care of by the LF adjustment. They are fragile (since the ink can be scratched off) but generally that is also not a problem. Being waterproof is the big benefit of Alps-printed decals. And of course the main benefit is that they can put down a layer of white ink under color graphics. And the capability for printing metallic colors is nice too.

LOL - Alps head is actually pressing very hard against the ribbon which then presses against the paper. If the head was not touching then nothing would be printed. Alps MicroDry printer is not an ink jet printer - it is a thermal transfer printer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_transfer_printing If there were thin horizontal lines in the graphics than could indicate that the print head went bad or something in the head path scratch the waxy ink off.

I agree, and since the quality of those kit's parts is the same as original kits those aren't really knock offs.

Yeah, the Polish nickname for these cars was "skarpeta" which means a "sock". As in "stinky sock", because the exhaust from its 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine was really nasty. Sort of like the Greman's Trabant exhaust, but even worse. I grew up in Poland in the '70s and at that time there were lots of Syrenas and Trabants put-putting around stinking up the air (already filled with heavy coal smoke). If someone would like a 1:43 scale model of it (and of the other variants) - they are available in the Kultowe Auta PRLu series at http://kultoweauta.pl/. While I dont' think that company takes orders outside Poland, there are eBay sellers selling these models worldwide.

Does Keith use the Alps printer to print decals? If he does, the ink is very fragile. Maybe they did get damaged during shipping? If that's not the case then I'm surprised he didn't see the defects when packing them for shipping. But the bottom line is that he took care of the problem.

Good to hear. What was wrong with those garbage decals? Were they not printer cleanly, or did they get damaged in shipping?

Here is what my window looks like. My screen resolution is 1920x1080. No "view source" button.

Kit sharing between companies happens all the time. One example was Testors selling Fujimi-molded kits in Testors boxes. But those aren't knockoffs - those ware real Fujimi kits reboxed. It was done legally. What is shown in this thread is a true knockoff. This is the first time I've seen those Mercedes knockoffs. This thread kind of reminds me of the other thread about resin casters re-casting other caster's work.

Actually . . . I thought that there was a recent update. While I don't recall when the "view source" button disappeared but I'm pretty sure it was less than a year ago. Now this brings up another question: since there were no forum software updates, how did that button (or functionality) disappear? I doubt it disappeared by itself. Some admin must have changed some setting, right?

Michael, I don't see anything like that on the left. The leftmost thing I see in the post editing window is for bold text. That <> thing not the same at all - it is for adding HTML code, not for editing the post using HTML format. Oh well, like you said, new and "improved". I wonder if that button I'm looking for is still there in the newer version of the forum code, but it got turned off by the update and just needs to be re-enabled?

If you click on the thumbnail in your post it shows up larger like this:

That one is really easy for me - I remember their very distinct engine sound.

Yeah, lawsuits seem to be really popular nowadays. many are frivolous. But let's be realistic here. If some caster's original part (regardless whether it was 100% original or he used parts of existing model kits) is copied and resold by someone, he could sue. But lawyers cost money and most casters are home-based operations running on a shoestring budget. There is no money for lawsuits. The individual that copied the original casting is also most likely some schmuck living in his parent's home - he has no funds to be sued for either. The only people who would make out on this deal would be the lawyers.

So Mark, what are you going to do with that "giant" Philips-head screw in the center of the hub? All kidding aside, the level of this model's detail is amazing!

Isn't it the PayPal that emails you when a seller requests money or sends you an invoice. The emails I get come directly from PayPal.

To the left of each post is the info about the member who posted it. This is what I see on the left side of Bob's posts: Zoom Zoom MCM Ohana Members 3,391 posts Location:Tucker, Georgia Full Name:Bob Downie There, on the last line is the name of the person. You don't' see that either on your the iPad?