SfanGoch

That's a great method, Harry. Now I know what I'll use to tint the clear plastic lower dome on my 1/72 C-57D Space Cruiser. Another method to tint glass with compound curves is to spray smoke, or other transparent colors, onto a sheet of clear decal paper. Once the paint dries, spray some Krylon Super Clear to seal it. You can apply it like window tint film; except, it's a lot thinner and can conform to the curves by using Micro Sol.

Tom, what makes you think that Chris had any better chance of getting his stuff now as opposed to even last year? Or two years ago? Johnson obviously had no intention of sending any goods that Chris, or anyone else for that matter, paid for. Attempting to resolve the situation via private correspondence during the last three years yielded no positive results because Johnson lacked the common courtesy to even respond in kind. Then, there was Johnson's April 28th post on the "Dedicated to the preservation of building 1/16 drag racing models" Facebook page: "....as long as I can prove the date of the order." How about that? Any reasonable person reading that would think that an order placed, and paid for, three years ago should have top priority. An honest vendor would have ensured that this was the case. An honest vendor wouldn't have allowed this situation to have transpired in the first place. Mark Johnson is neither an honest vendor nor an honorable person. If he actually meant what he wrote in that FB post, Chris wouldn't have posted anything here. As a matter of fact, the first mention in this thread of Chris' dilemma wasn't made until July 7th; and, that was done by another member who was familiar with the situation. The period between April 28th and July 7th was more than enough time for Johnson to make things right by sending Chris his order. Any honest vendor would have gone to great pains to preserve and maintain his good reputation. Johnson's actions, or lack of, show that he is not honest and is devoid of any semblance of personal integrity.

Sorta like the Made in Vietnam $450 Nike Air Jordans that cost $12 in material, labor and shipping to the states.

That's one out of the approximately 3,800 who have viewed this thread and possibly alerted folks in other auto modeling fora about this guy's unethical business practices. That could reach an additional 2-5,000 people who could have been potential suc.....customers. Chris most likely lost $125. Mark Johnson lost his reputation and whatever was left of his business because he will be treated like a pariah in the modeling community. He'll never make another dime. I'm doing my part to spread the word about him.

You have three '60's and two '61's to choose from.

You can use Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic, sprayed in very light coats. You will need to cut and trim around the individual decals in order to remove them from the sheet.

It's not difficult to figure out, Chris. To paraphrase Ralph Kramden, "Mark Johnson is a BUM!"

I'm sure Woody will get over losing your patronage. Just wondering, do you boycott decal manufacturers that make Stars and Bars?

The improvisations are interesting. All those pickups with recoilless rifles and and other heavy weapons mounted on the rear are referred to as "technicals".

Get a grip. It's to model vehicles captured by ISIS. Do you go off the deep end when you see models of WW II German equipment depicting swastikas, Soviet models with the hammer and sickle or Japanese stuff with big red meatballs? Jeez....

Since you asked about kits, not specifying type, almost $900 for a Soar Art 1/35 scale Dora Railway gun. I bought it almost two years ago. I haven't even attempted to start it yet. This is what it will look like:

No, you needn't clear anything up, Scott. I understood it perfectly. I didn't even get my name mentioned as a donor. In retrospect, I'd rather have the $16K in my pocket.

Only if those cabs are more than five model years old. The problem with R2's collection of toolings is that the guys who run things don't even know the extent and completeness of what they have. There are a lot of kits people are always mentioning in their wish lists which will never be reissued because the toolings are missing, as in gone forever, or have been irreparably altered. Plus, the odds that any of these "lost kits" will be released from new toolings are almost beyond astronomical. R2's primary mission is to be profitable. It will manufacture whatever the market demands. All of these kits we pine for fall into a niche which won't translate into anything more than marginal sales when viewing the bigger picture, There's more money to be made with Star Trek and Star Wars related products than with 30-50+ year old model car kits. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade; I'm just being realistic in my expectations.

Sure. If it wasn't for They Died With Their Boots On, I would have never known that Gen. Custer had a sidekick named California Joe with him at Little Big Horn to provide comic relief while they were getting scalped. It's always good to insert a bit of levity into a tense situation to lighten up things. Oh no, Mike. That's a result of living within two blocks of the Newtown Creek.

I blame it on James Brolin.

It's a combination of wanting to get your fifteen minutes of fame by making such obviously ludicrous and factually false claims and living in your parents' basement far too long. These "Moon landing hoax" proponents are self hating individuals who also harbor some type hatred for their country and are loathe to give any credit for anything. Well, I feel even crappier knowing how valuable this "priceless piece of history" that cost me five bucks plus postage to Washington, D.C., is worth now.

Mike Collins is a nice guy and a gentleman. When I was 16, I bought an MA-2 flight helmet from a friend of mine for five bucks. It was missing the faceplate. I called Gentex Corporation in Pennsylvania, the primary contractor, to see if they had any extra faceplates laying around. The guy I spoke to told me that they didn't; however, he asked for my name and gave me a number for a friend of his who might be able to help me. So, I called the number. The guy at the other end answered and said, "National Air & Space Museum, this is Michael Collins. How may I help you?" I got really quiet. Then, I asked, "The Columbia Command pilot?!?" "Yes, sir. How can I help you?" seems that his friend gave me the number to his private line. I explained my situation and told him that I really would like to complete this helmet. Mike then told me that it was a coincidence that I called. The NASM had a faceplate but couldn't locate a useable helmet so it could be displayed. He told me that NASM doesn't have funds to purchase one and it would be real nice if someone who had an MA-2 would consider donating it. That way, millions of people could appreciate it. I started thinking about what he said and I asked him if I was a setup. He laughed and said, You might say that." His friend from Gentex called him as soon as he got off the phone with me and told him about our conversation and to expect a call. I started feeling like cr ap and told him that I'll let him have the helmet for nothing. He offered to pay the postage but I told him not to bother. He thanked me and told me to send it directly to him, which I did. A couple of years ago, I checked the net and saw that a complete MA-2 helmet was selling for $16 Grand. OUCH!!!!!

Ditto. Car modelers have a really lousy batting average when it comes to prognosticating. Unlike armor and aircraft kits, almost none of these wishlist items will ever see the light of day in styrene.

I was at a wedding reception with my parents on that day (Sunday). There was a bar in another part of the catering hall and everybody there was glued to the TV screen, including me. When the Eagle touched down at 3:17 EST, the loudest cheer I ever heard erupted through the place. That was topped when Neil Armstrong planted his foot on the surface of the Moon six hours later. Even at nine years of age, I knew this was the greatest event that I would ever experience in my life. No other country could have undertaken and accomplished this incredible feat of engineering and human exploration in so short a period of time. We were then, and still are, the greatest nation in the history of this world.

One giant leap for mankind. Happy anniversary to the greatest technical achievement in history. Proudly made in the U.S.A.

Tartar sauce on lobster is like ketchup on prime rib. You can't account for some people's tastes.

Definitely envy. That's obvious when Montague and Cankleen, who were dining on an organic street weed wrap, kept peeking over to watch me eat, ask me where I got that sandwich and, after they discover that it cost less than the shrubbery they were previously grazing on, walked over and got one for themselves. Aside from being the human equivalent of a pretty banged up, 56 year old car due to the accident I was in nine years ago, my motor runs like new, my fuel lines aren't blocked and I can kick up the horses when needed. Longevity is a family trait. Nobody, WW II related reasons excepted, in my family punched their ticket before age 85. A whole bunch have exceeded that line and are still accumulating high mileage. So, enjoy your healthy organic kale salad with alfalfa sprouts and and rooftop farmed dandelion hearts. I'm planning on making a couple of high calorie, cholesterol-laden, rare 2" thick Porterhouse steaks, seasoned fried potatoes and a Vidalia onion and tomato salad drowned in Peter Luger Steak Sauce for my son and me tonight.

Ahh...the infamous pink stuff! Similar in texture and consistency to the salt water taffy I'm presently munching on. .

Some of the best lines in a movie. Ever.

Breathing in some cities isn't good from a health standpoint either.I've seen more zombie-like, sickly health food adherents coming out of "healthy" food establishments who have envious looks on their faces as I chow down on a Joe's Busy Corner "Godfather" hero stuffed with prosciutto, provolone, pepperoni, mozzarella, soppressata, lettuce, tomato and mayo, while they pick through their locally sourced, cruelty-free, organic shrub salads. One doesn't need to, and shouldn't, live on a diet strictly based on fast food menu offerings. I reaaaaaalllllly want a Quadruple Bypass Burger, though. With a side of fries. And a large Coke. And extra pickles.