bobss396

Nice work! Those kits build up nicely. I have one of the Monte Carlo kits started. That had a lot of extra parts in the box for different versions.

I just painted an AWB Mustang last week, used Extreme Lacquer dark blue and their clear coat. I should do a build post on it. No polishing required, the finish is good as is.

I have one shelf unit that I found on trash night, it looks good and needed a couple of things fixed on it.

I was talking to my sister last night, she's a pricer for a big box store and I asked why they don't use bar codes. She says that HL does that for religious reasons. I recall a while ago that their health plans do not cover birth control. They also are closed on Sundays.

I stopped using DC primers for bodies. I use Hobby Lobby primers, also says to be a scratch-filler on the can. It goes on thinner than DC and has less orange peel. Sometimes I heat it up first and almost anything goes into the dehydrator.

Thanks, I'll post more pix later today. I've been working on it steadily for a few days. I have the interior painted and the body color selected.

They follow a proven formula. I have seen some new things however. I noticed they use the old SKU (stock keeping unit) system, no barcode readers, aka the UPC (universal product code) system.

One of the 1st MPC kits I bought was a Pontiac, maybe a '66 or '67 full size. I was instantly impressed at how crisp the detail was and the bodies were not as thick as the AMT kits.

Nice work. I see lots of modelers who paint and foil the body FIRST... good luck if something goes sideways and there are fit issues.

My store has nothing on clearance, but run the 40% off kit sale often enough. Yeah, they could use some fresh stock. Other items like CA glue, some Evergreen stock, K&S metals they have good pickings. Plus the paint is not locked up.

Michael's is looking bleak. I tell the help (when I can find anyone...) to start looking for another job.. soon. Bed Bath and Beyond used to be a hopping place, long check out lines even. Then they rolled in the self checkouts. The kiss of death in these cases. The Staples by me closed in November, they said that the rent had doubled. The same strip mall, Modells is long gone, Radio Shack too. Little Caesars in West Babylon... gone. Burger King by our model meetings... gone. The entire Sunrise Mall in Massapequa is on the way out too. For the general hobby, there are really 4 shops on the Island. One close to me that was just done over, no aftermarket stuff. 2 others that are 25 miles each way and Nassau Hobby (close to our Freeport show venue), I have to venture out that way soon.

Dragged this out again. I was waiting on a VCG Resins BBC engine. Way better than the kit piece which I will salt away. I have to use the kit transfer case and transmission. No more slice and dice on this one. So I have to get the pieces to play well together. The engine came with a 5 speed option, I'm using the bellhousing.

I just picked up a nice BBC from VCG resins for my '77 GMC wrecker project, not cheap but very nice. 3D printed, very crisp details.

My late wife's brother has an early onset form that started when he was around 55. He has money and his wife keeps him REAL busy. My wife was showing signs before she had cancer. My stepmother (nobody liked her...) had a bad case, she was a classic sun-downer. Eventually she fried her brain with rampant diabetes and lasted maybe 3 months after that. My dad died 10 years ago at 96, he had most of his marbles to the end. BUT... like with a lot of elderly, move him out of familiar surroundings and he would go full looney-tunes until he adjusted. I'm not the same following my near fatal heart attack of 2016. Just a little off, plus I take a bunch of medications that contribute to it.

The '57 grille looks great in 1:1 trucks I have seen.

Close but no cigar... check with Mike at Mike's Decals. PPP might make them if anyone does.

IMO, Michael's is in a decline. The kit area of the one by me, a scant number of kits and less paint and supplies. Also vast open areas in the store floor, the shelves in general are sparse. The self-checkout is not a good sign either. We have been in the store at times, really no other shoppers. The help has been thinned out too.

Very cool, I had a '65 C30 years ago. I have a stalled '60 Chevy wrecker in the works, used the Revell Midnite Cowboy wrecker back. I'm looking for a 3D printed source, most are sold out quickly.

Extra points given for tackling a JF resin body. I'm digging this one.

eBay to the rescue: I cannot vouch for how good they are or aren't. This is otherwise a good seller I have used in the past. https://www.ebay.com/itm/401578856848?itmmeta=01HQX09HRG0ZT75RD1PBF836W9&hash=item5d7ff71190:g:48IAAOSwq5FfX2b~&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4LZa5UOJeU2OdTxsU%2Bzw8CGmG0xocs%2B9aOLHwyKAf44Vc0AmsI%2Fm%2FZZeY3pfBe9cl%2FMbAhCEoxHLx91Tn6hwkfepBPijIpFBiYxFEvL4mPvcHPNRgO0A3gBQqwEvg3PdeZ1ZlEAZTu8J19lmc8m6XJcFUh%2BN8G2dZXOS168xAvtaQTwy2Lf5FZmDSff3rfrS2z8oue7lf2st6yG02l7D1zs3fnrzOuQHKhMsibW1k55UmhbTB3nJbIzCH8CA9sMYxXwWCam6NTQMAuwHKAfQ2LwAhgAeU1iOz4vlOUoqDLzN|tkp%3ABk9SR6icpqC_Yw

The AMT '60 Chevy truck kit has a real nice 6 in it....

I had thought about that, then I have to lift the whole thing straight up. Then get it down straight down again. The lid as it exists takes a little fiddling to get it back on. The surround is not 100% round. I did better with my aluminum one. I'll see if I have some 8" flashing around. Back when I worked and we has a sheetmetal shop, I would have had someone make me a surround from .040" or .062" aluminum with a door in the side. Those guys could make anything.

Like an idiot, I bought a resin '64 Fairlane stock car body at a show... a weak moment. I would have been much better off using the kit body I had around. Man did that require a ton of sanding on the inside to make it workable. The new thinner white resins are the way to go. Mold design is also a key part to making them thin.

Looking good, nicely done. The story with the winning car, he wrecked the main car and the backup car too. What to do? Across the street from the track is the Volusia County Mall, they always have show cars inside the mall on display for Speed Week. The team grabs the Pontiac, goes back to the garage and combines all 3 cars into what was the winning car that year.

I have some old resin bodies and parts, I keep the bodies in the boxes they come in. Most are tan-ish in color. Still, after 20+ years they reek of fuel oil when I sand them. IIRC, we have lost a resin caster or more due to resin processing toxicity and one was very sick for a while. The guys that use the thin-cast white resin seem to be doing a lot better health-wise.