iamsuperdan

One of our local stores just closed up shop last week. Hobby Alley here in Edmonton was mainly RC but over the past few years had been stocking more and more model kits. The serivce was great, and they were always willing to bring in anything that wasn't on the shelf. Pricing was a little more than online, but when you factor in shipping, they were cheaper. Plus they were convenient. In speaking with them, on of the big reasons for there closure is similar to what Rusty alluded to above. THe RC guys were big money makers. Big margins. However, online shopping killed their sales. Guys would come in, pick their brains, check out the inventory, figure out what they wanted, then go home and order online. And then once it arrived, they would come back to the store for help in assembly or setup. And if the shop didn't help, they'd be out there slamming the "horrible service." At the end of they day, he says it just wasn't worth it anymore. Model kits and slot cars weren't enough to pay the bills. Now in Edmonton, a city of over 1 million people, we have only a couple of options for hobby shops. None of which are in the west end, so if I want to go get kits or supplies, it's an adventure. *sigh*

Checked out my credit card statement today online. Discovered 5 fraudulent charges. I'm in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Five transactions through a couple of Casey's General Store locations in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I guess that's a convenience store chain? So I spoke with the guy at VISA, and it turns out the charges were all swiped, not online or phone orders. So somehow, someone in a different country has cloned my card. Now I have a cancelled credit card, and have to wait a week for a new card to arrive. Good times.

Another movie we almost wore out was Tugger. It's about a Jeep that works at an airport and dreams of flying. I thought it was better than Cars. But maybe that's because I have a soft spot for Jeeps.

It's always an interesting mix, and there's no rhyme nor reason to the prices people pay. I remember wa coupel of years ago when that VW 23 window bus went for almost $300k. You find those two guys that want something and get out of the way. A few vehicles that I found odd. The main one being one of the Thursday night ones; an early 90s bright red Chev crewcab duallie. Not customized, just a clean example of a truck that is commonplace around here. Beauty truck, but not something I would have deemed Barrett Jackson worthy. Not yet anyway. I've been talking with wifey, and within the next couple of years we'd like to go down, get the bidders pass, and see if we can find something interesting on a Thursday night. When the cars are still affordable, and we could take home something I wouldn't be afraid to drive. The ultra restored cars on Saturday night are beautiful, but they're so over done, you'd feel bad driving it for fear of scratching the inner rails of the frame, because they're finsihed just as nicely as the body. We had a BJ car here in our showroom last year. It was a Chevelle SS clone. The guy bought it for $66k US. Once it got back here, it needed almost $20k worth of work to make it a good car. Good from far, far from good. The car was very obviously thrown together and given a quick paint and polish to look good on tv. Needed a lot of mechanical work, and nothing in the interior worked. Panel fit was horrendous. Like anything, buyer beware.

I thought the first one was really good. The boy must have watched that DVD thousands of times. And we were sucked in with the merchandising. Had all the diecast cars, the racetracks, bedsheets, books, desklamp, etc. It's all boxed and put into storage now except for his stuffed Lightning McQueen. That's like the one thing that wasn't boxed up and put in the closet, and he still takes that whenever we travel; leans on it in the truck, and keeps it in hotel rooms with him. None of us were impressed with the second movie. We may watch the thrid one when it comes out for free on the movie channels.

So it was the annual Racing For The Cure weekend here. Some downtown roads closed off, and people pay $50 to go for a rip in the passenger seat of an exotic car. Downtown full of Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus, Maserati, Audi, and tons more. Dozens or exotics, all allowed to drive fast. ANd raise a ton of money for cancer research. Needless to say, saw some amazing stuff. THe cops brought their car out. That's an Ultima GTR behind it. Surprisingly, the Saturn was NOT part of the event. Go figure. A Felina CB7. Was shocked to see one of these. Look at the bodykit on this Maserati. I drool.

Don't forget to leave a little something on the dash. Christine is one of my all time fav movies. Have this kit in the stash, but need to get better at BMF before I start it.

So I showed her this thread. Now her inflated ego is looking at my stash thinking she can pick just anything for her next project! lolz In typical 9 year old fashion, she has a message for all of you... "Thanks, I guess." I could tell though, that despite her enthuiastic repsonse, she was pretty stoked about the kudos she read here, so I thank all of you for the kind words. I guess. We've picked her next project. It will be a little more ambitious, and will still be a Chev.

I'm using photobucket, and no fees for me? Working just fine.

That is just about perfect!

I'd never have considered paint splatter for a kit! But the more I think about it, the more I think, "why not?" The whole point of the hobby is to enjoy it, to have fun. Why do I fret over small details, when I could just build what I want and have fun with it? Time to start thinking a little more like a kid. I'm going to consult with her on some of my future builds. See what she comes up with for me.

Looks great! I have this one on the bench right now. Haven't started body work yet, but will watch for the front valence issue.

So my 9 year old daughter is the only other one in the household that has taken any sort of interest in dad's hobby. So heck yeah I'm going to encourage that! This is her latest. Other than the BMF (which I decided to use for practice. Obviously I need more practice) this is entirely her. All the paint and assembly. Zero direction from me regarding colours or ideas. Needless to say, she's a fan of colour and custom paint. No factory stock for her! She sprayed the Tamiya fine primer, the Duplicolour flat black, did the paint splatter, and hit it with Tamiya clear. Interior is a few shades of black, except for the roll bar and dash which she wanted red. Wheels are Tamiya's Coral Blue. The kit itself is one of the Revell snap kits. I found it and a few others in the series for $2 each, many years ago at a toy liquidator shop we used to have here. Other than my BMF job, I think it turned out pretty good. Now she wants to tackle something with glue. Sounds good to me.

Saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers a couple of weeks ago. GReat show! But I was just as impressed with their openers. A group called Irontom. Goofy name, but the band was really good. I've been listening on Spotify quite regularly over the past couple of weeks.

It happens everywhere. THe problem is what the new owners choose to do with the land they've bought up. Whether they leave it as is or whether they tear down and put up something awful, that's the bigger issue. Regardless of where the new owner comes from. I think more communities should enforce architechtural guidelines. You want to tear down existing buildings and put up new ones? No problem. They just have to fit the character of the neighbourhood. We have some issues in the small town I live in. Half the town council are realtors, so all kinds of ugly and awful buildings get approved, because tax dollars and realty sales are more important I guess. Anyway, the bigger concern here is that you, dieseldawg, need to post more pics of that square body! Looks BA in that photo above!

Great jobs all around. Especially the Roadrunner!

Darn you! I looked, I saw it, and now it's all I see! lolz Despite the fronwy face, I think you did a perfect job. and I love that it's not red.

Awesome built of my fav generation of Golf/Jetta.

So I found out last week that Edmonton is losing one of it's hobby stores. Hobby Alley in west Edmonton is shutting the doors this Saturday. That leaves one decent hobby store in a city of about a million people. Yeah there's that other store with two mall locations, but they specialize in anime and Japanese culture things, and have very few supplies, and even fewer knowledgeable staff members. In talking with the owner of Hobby Alley, it's due to online shopping. The major part of his business is RC. Yes, online is eating into his sales, but there's another factor too. He's tired of RC people coming in, figuring out what they want, then going home and ordering online, then coming back and asking for technical help on how to install/use it once it arrives. Then they freak out when he says he wants to charge for technical assistance on products he didn't sell. Can't say I disagree with his thought. So now, if I want supplies or kits, I have to do an inconvenient drive across the city to hit up Hobby Wholesale. Good stroe, great inventory, but inconvenient. No more whipping out at lunch to the store that's 5 minutes away.

I second Wings & Wheels. Even though I'm on the other side of the country, I order from these guys quite a bit. Service is excellent, and they always have what the stores here are missing.

THank you for not painting it red! I love a red Ferrari, but it's refreshing to see something else! And it's nicely done too!

Whoa. That wheel score. If you need to get rid of those 18" RUF wheels, let me know! lolz

The reasoning for the shape is to get it as close to a "box" as possible, maximizing interior space, while keep it a compact package, and retaining aerodynamics. I just spent time with one of these at a GM Fleet event. I'm 6'6", and not a tiny 6'66", and I actually fit quite comfortably. The back seat behind me became useless, but I fit. If they kept the pricing reasonable, this would be a great commuter car. I spent a month with a 2015 Chevy Volt, and it was fantastic. Cost me $3 CDN in fuel over that month long period. Comfortable, fast, room for stuff, lots of features, and I thought it looked good. I wish these manufacturers would start applying hybrid and electric tech to vehicles that really need it. Like my truck. It's easy to take an already economical car and make it more economical. Let's see this tech trickle down to a truck that can tow a 30ft trailer.

It goes both ways. I run the leasing division for one of Canada's larger vehicle suppliers. We have clients that run Chevrolet and will not run GMC trucks for any reason. And we have GMC customers that will never run a Chev. I have Chev guys that insist the GMC trucks are junk and not as reliable as their Chevs, and vice versa. Now, there are significant differences between the two, in terms of standard equipment, packages, and how these things can be equipped and priced. But at the end of the day, they're basically identical. I still don't understand why GM bothers with two truck divisions.

Definitely one of the better builds I've seen of this kit. The Challenger wheels are a great touch.