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GaryR

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Everything posted by GaryR

  1. This hobby is totally rooted and and is a product of the 1960's. The first promos were in the 1950's, but the 3 in 1 and much of the kits we still buy are straight out of the 60's. The 1960's were the height of popularity for drag racing, hot rodding and car craziness in general, it's just a fact, that's where modeling came from. And it's NEVER going to be like that again, the only constant in life is change. That was FIFTY years ago now, a long time. The hobby has gone from kids to adults, it will likley die with the boomers. Anybody going to build models of driverless Googlemobiles cars? Public transportation. Millenials, from what I read, simply don't CARE about driving or cars. so be it. Times change, it doesn't really effect the hobby or me personally.Times change. It's an archaic hobby, but so what? We have way more quality and quantity than ever before, ENJOY it while you can! I LIKE today's state of the hobby!
  2. I'm sure that's true. My point is simple, cars are no longer a focal point for todays kids, it's very different than say,1965. That's it. As I said umpteen times in my other posts, kids are entitled to their own interests AND THE WORLD CHANGES! Simple eh? I think I made it very clear I get why kids aren't interested.lease READ ALL my posts. Being a car guy isn't cool anymore, I get it, Don't care. Different times!
  3. I'm not trying to belittle anyone. I don't hate kids or think they are all stupid. The media driven, money driven world they have inherited is what I think is stupid. Not belittling scouts either, simply saying Scouting, like modeling and hot rodding isn't what it once was. WHY feel the need to motivate kids to build models? don't get it. I helped a kid in our apartments with his car models and his project 32 Chrysler 1;1. I'd help anyone that asked. I'm NOT a hell in a handbasket guy at all. Sorry if that what you get from my comments. Ok, I don't like trollish negative comments, so if that's how I'm being perceived, I'll bow out. Don't wish to derail anything. No problem.
  4. Tom ,realistically how many kids even CARE about scouting anymore?
  5. From what I read most millenials don't care about driving or cars. They use Uber ( LOL) to get somewhere and seem to think a perfect world is never leaving their living space for much of anything. This goes back to the LHS vs the inernet thing. Why this seems so cool is beyond me! like driverless cars, woo woo. Give me a break. I think it's dumb and pathetic, BUT it's irrelevant what I think. Tell a kid they are missing out and you get a blank stare and are written off immediately as a know nothing old coot. I don't CARE anyway. So why belabor the point. Jeeezz! Last night after my wife and I went to dinner I was behind some kid in a Mazda3. He sits, turn signal on staring at his stupid phone ( That's what traffic lights are for ya know), not turning right. Finally I tap the horn, he freaks out, turns, then TRIES TO RACE US IN OUR MUSTANG GT! Hilarious. He's driving a Mazda3! Wife and I both laugh at his frenzy'd shifting, then I leave him behind. How STUPID is that? The point is....this kid is clueless about cars! The Mazda3 is a fine car, I also own a Mazda6, but it ain't fast! The kids SO CLUELESS he doesn't get he might as well be walking against a Mustang, Challenger, Camaro etc. I get this all the time, kids in Hondas ( har har) and, get this... Toyota corollas that want to drag. Their own "special" world! I get "challenged" because the Mustang stands out.
  6. " The way things are going, there'll be a time in the not too distant future when the average human in a "developed" country lacks the physical skills to do much beyond operating a smart phone, a zipper, and a roll of toilet paper. If that's the kind of future-world we want, fine. If not, teaching kids to build ANYTHING just might be a good idea." WE WANT? It's not up to me what kind of world the future holds! What are you going to do, force kids to build things? Why? aren't they free to decide what they want to do? Look, I 'm GLAD i grew up when I did, I'm GLAD I won't have to live in the coming idiocracy, I don't care about 99% of what millennials care about and vice versa. Such is life. But the fact is, times change. People don't give a rip about much other than celebrities, sex, money, phones and narcissism these days, SO BE IT! They will get the world the want and deserve. I cannot change that and building car models won't change a thing.
  7. I worked with young people around 30 years old, to them 50's and 60's cars are quaint antiques. And why not? A 65 Mustang is FIFTY Years old! The equivalent in 1965 was a 1915 model T!!! It's not anything in their frame of reference, SOME enjoy it, but I get why most aren't interested. It's not too hard to understand really. They like stuff from their world, not the past.
  8. I'm apathetic on this one, I'm not sure what difference it makes. Times change, kids don't play with barrel hoops anymore either. The hobby is geared to adults, since I'm 63 that's fine with me. I don't see the problem here, it's just gone from a kids hobby to an adult one. REAL hot rodding will be gone in 30-50 years, it just life. ENJOY it while you can!
  9. I'm hoping we'll get the Mercury factory drag cars out of this one!
  10. All the manufacturers have been inconsistent. Revell put out super accurate and detailed cars in the 60's, the tooled up that awful 427 SOHC they put in everything. They blew the Henry J and Austin gasser kits with not much detail and that cammer! They ALL did ( and still do ) similar things.
  11. I don't see rust, looks like dirt and grimy stuff. Adding a tail light was a popular owner mod in those days. Listen to "Dead Mans Curve", -"my six tail lights". I wish I had a barn!
  12. True! But they were relatively up to date. There were still lots of real race cars similar to those kits running. Just the non pie crust 11 inch slicks were worth the buy! It's true the MPC Logghe chassis cars were the first of their kind, notably the Cougar and Color Me Gone kits. Drag racing changed so fast there was no way for model companies to keep up.
  13. WHOA!!! Nice, VERY nice! That color is beautiful and great craftsmanship. VERY COOL!!!
  14. "There was a time I could walk to four hobby shops or stationery stores in the neighborhood that carried models and supplies" Don't get me started! I grew up in Milwaukie Oregon, a suburb of Portland. EVERYPLACE sold model kits. I rode my brothers hand me down Schwinn Corvette ( NOT Sting Ray) 3 speed all over the place, much farther than officially allowed. The Milwaukie Hobby Shop sold models, parts packs plus was the only place that carried AMT paints. The Safeway on Woodstock had an entire row of models, the biggest anywhere local. The bike shop next to it also sold models AND Derringers Variety that was also next door had a model section. The OTHER Derringers 5 minutes away sold models and the sporting goods store in the same shopping center did as well. They also sold the Revell,Custom Car Parts packs. The variety at the South Gate Center sold models as did a small drug store on 52nd Street. And of course, good ol' Fred Meyers all had huge model sections. All these stores had a complete line of Testors and Pactra paints! 10 cents for bottles, 69 cents for spray. There were even more, but I'll not list them all. It was kid / model paradise. I had a small fleet of ship models and a raging WW2 battle of 1/72nd aircraft hanging from my bedroom ceiling. I am proud to say that much of the reason I still build is to recapture those wonderful days. Here's a pic of Derringers and one of Toyland lloyd Center. I bought my first 1/25th scale cars at Toyland in 1964. The AMT Olds and the 64 Chevy. Yes I AM a thousand years old!
  15. Not sure if this fits your topic, but my favorites are the old, completely inaccurate AMT funny car kits. I remember when they came out, I was totally shocked and elated to see them on the shelves of the local Safeway. They had up to date slicks, cool engines and great choice of bodies! Also that era (65-66) was a great one in real drag racing, arguably the best. It certainly was for funny cars. They went from modified stockers to crazy nitro burners very quickly with ET's dropping almost weekly and speeds climbing. Those kits brought that excitement to me! To my basement model room! They are just as I remember them. Simple yet intense and cool!
  16. Laid off and sort of involuntarily retired after 30 years of managing law offices In Los Angeles. I also worked in Court for a number of years. Had a ton of weird jobs in my youth! I guess I'm a professional old coot now!
  17. My interests are: drag racing. These days it's "nostalgia" ( I HATE that term) racing, home track is Famosa California! I don't follow the NHRA big show at all anymore. Photography. My trusty Canon is busted! I love taking pics. Car shows. I like restored cars as much as hot cars. Love 20's through 60's cars. No use for trucks, NASCAR, low riders or rat rods though I certainly don't have anything against those who like 'em. History. History of ANYTHING, I'll read it. Spent the last eight years or so studying the war in the Pacific, prewar politics, postwar politics and Imperial Japan. Machines of every kind. I absolutly love anything that flies, floats or rolls. Animals. Our sentient brothers and sisters here on planet earth. I hope we someday, take a more intelligent kinder view of our fellow creatures. The world is very interesting place!
  18. That's for people that are into television, NOT into cars. Different people, different subject entirely. MOST modern cars are ugly as hell and have zero personality, cookie cutters. Never watched the show, don't care about it. I'll keep my Mustang thank you! That's show biz!!
  19. I'm not satisfied with simply looking at a picture of something, no matter what it is. I'd rather see it myself. Tom, you are right, Hobby Shops are FUN. As for e bay, I've never used it, not interested. I guess it's partly a function of where you live. Here in Los Angeles there USED to be maybe four times ( or more ) hobby shops than exist now. When you added junk, antique and curio stores it wasn't hard to find long oop kits at reasonable prices. Those stores have also disappeared, largely because of e bay. Everyone who has anything more than a few years old is convinced it's "vintage" and worth a lot of money, no matter what it is. I have over 600 kits, I have only spent in excess of $100 once, and that for an untouched since 1964 AMT Grand Prix from a friend whose deceased brother bought it new in 64. Otherwise none of my kits cost me over 50 bucks! I like wheeling and dealing too! Can't bargain on the internet, plus I like to look in the eyes of who I'm dealing with. Again, you meet fellow modelers. Just my preferences though, to each their own!
  20. I think the market for all models has changed. I seldom see kids in the LHS's. The subject matter has matured in cars, aircraft, armor, ships and other subjects. Things are better than ever subject wise. I DO lament the demise of brick and mortar stores, be they hobby shops, bookstores or whatever. It was WAY more fun to browse the shelves, not knowing what you'd find. It's also better to pick something up and look at it ( think box art) before buying. Not to mention talking to people. PLus the web has driven "auction" prices way too high. It isn't some pain to go out to the LHS, IT'S WAY MORE FUN THAN THE INTERNET!!
  21. Well yeah, for the manufacturer of course. But not for us guys on this board. Re read my posts, I said I was told it would require an extra "pull" on the tools. I don't have any idea wtf that means, but the same person told me that made it too expensive. It sounds hokey to me. The same guy told me the MPC funny car kits were gone forever, that they would require too much tool repair. Seems like there are a bunch of them made recently for being impossible.. AND I was told that parts packs were losers too because they were too hard to display. AMT seems to be doing OK with theirs, maybe because of some ingenuity in packaging. All this was from a guy who makes a living from model cars and has the manufacturers ear. Go figure! If we had proposed an entirely new tool of the restored Chi Town Hustler guys would have said the subject was too obscure and it wouldn't sell. But Revell did one, along with the Hawaiian. What's profitable and whats not is OBVIOUSLY the determining factor, I get basic business. I'm 62 years old and was a professional manager before retiring. I will say that a few years ago if somebody proposed a Hudson Hornet model, the naysayers would have insisted that it wouldn't have broad appeal and it wouldn't sell. Same for the Chrysler 300 kits. But Moebius DID take a chance, made 'em and has been (as far as we know ), successful. Same goes for Galaxy with their Chevy kits. Why worry about bean counting, that isn't our job!
  22. Cool. Bonneville cars are under represented in modeling and are some of the coolest, most amazing cars in racing. Nice scratch-building.
  23. Lots of good suggestions here. I always at least paint the frame or sub frames a glossier black if the floorpan is flat black. There are umpteen different blacks in bottles and rattle cans, the contrast between different shades plus a little pastel weathering can really look good.
  24. They aren't even on the horizon to be released and some of you are already worried about price? I'm going to make a BOLD PREDICTION that if they are re released, they will still be cheaper than the $125-$ 160 the originals go for today!
  25. Let's keep this bumped! EXCELLENT quality and choice of subjects. Replicas and Miniatures, along with Altered States, Competition Resins and others are first rate.
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