John1955

LOL, that is very well stated. As I've previously posted, I believe there's a real future for electric vehicles, but they won't work just anywhere and for everything. But I also think it's possible that day could come when they would be able to. But it must be consumers who decide of their own free will, and not some government forcing them to. Some people think government is the solution for problems when government often IS the problem. Frankly, I can not foresee the day when NHRA drivers and fans will ever accept electric drag racing. And nor can I see where the money is supposed to come from to erect thousands and thousands of charging stations all over the country for electric vehicles. No, not from the government and how much will privately owned charging stations charge customers to recharge their vehicles? Those advocating a sudden and quick transition always avoid answering such questions. I sincerely hope that the future includes lots of electric vehicles, and plenty of solar and wind generated electricity. But, what about areas that don't get much sunlight or wind? In my area, an elaborate, large array of solar panels is in place at an industrial park and after five years, it has failed to pay the dividends they had hoped for. Long periods with little or no sunlight activated the automatic switch back to the traditional power lines. Rain, snow and ice also caused the solar array to fail as well. According to CSE Solar Solutions, to install an average solar panel array on a home costs $15,000 to $25,000, that cost is before any tax credits and incentives. Keep in mind that "tax credits and incentives" also cost you money through higher income taxes and sales taxes to pay for them. And many solar panel installers and those making them in factories are paid near what some fast food workers are paid and are eligible for food stamps and other government assistance programs if they have dependents. That is not the case for current workers in the coal, oil and natural gas industries, they are well paid and don't want or need government assistance to pay their bills and feed their families.

I completely agree. In fact, there have already been several electric vehicles deliver packages to my home, not USPS though, but Amazon delivery vans. I assume that Amazon has charging stations at their hub which is near me.

I also think it would be more attractive, and I also think the day will come when electric powered farm equipment will be made that can do what today's gasoline and diesel powered equipment can. But I also know what will happen once many switch over to electric, the cost of electricity will soar. Profit mongers will be like, "we gotcha now"! I don't mean to be cynical, but I do know about corporate greed and human nature. Today (as it has always been), using natural gas appliances in your home costs MUCH LESS than using electric ones. So, in my home, my kitchen stove/oven, furnace, clothes dryer and hot water heater are all natural gas. I know a friend just three blocks away who has all those appliances that are electric, he pays three times more than I do on his utility bills. Since natural gas is a fossil fuel, some want to eliminate it's use. Watch out, a sudden increase in electric rates would follow. I'm also concerned about the energy grid, in some parts of the country, it's already fragile.

With all due respect, I consider your tone and your remarks offensive. There was no need to start labeling people like that. Your analysis is completely off base and misses the point entirely. I am not a naysayer railing against their very existence and I am not scoffing at anything. I was perfectly clear in stating that I am all for electric vehicles, and I have no need to read your link since I was not promoting any "myth" at all, I was merely stating facts. No one is saying "get a horse" either. I will remind you that no one forced people to switch from horses to cars, trucks and farm tractors. People made that choice without coercion from the government. If millions of Americans decide that they still prefer internal combustion vehicles, that is their right.

Yes, that is very true. The '58 T-Bird sales were more than double the sales of '57 T-Birds even though 1958 was a recession year. That decision also saved the Chevy Corvette, GM was thinking about cancelling production of the Corvette. That's hard to imagine today, but true. The '53 and '54 Corvettes dates were dismal, GM actually lost money. 1955 brought the new Chevy V-8 to the Corvette, and GM hoped to make big profits, but 1955 also when Ford's T-Bird arrived and the T-Bird demolished Corvette in sales in '55, '56 and '57. But GM did make a tiny profit though. When news came that Ford was ending the 2 seater T-Bird, GM was like, oh okay, we'll have the market to ourselves, we'll keep boosting the HP and see what happens. The rest is history as they say. However, I think this is comparing apples to oranges. I truly think Ford is screwing up here. Personally, I think they should bring back an old respected name for this 4 door 'Mustang' -- TORINO.

I was taught the same thing and I did work for money when I was a kid. I am very frugal today and own my own home, I am probably more frugal than you are. I don't own a smartphone or ANY mobile phone or device, and I refuse to pay for cable TV or satellite TV and watch FREE over the air TV and listen to FREE over the air radio on actual RADIOS. I still use the same Corelle dishes that I bought 40 years ago. My brothers and I received ZERO allowances unless we worked for them. We cut grass, we shoveled snow from sidewalks, washed cars, anything to get money. We knew about Auto World and had a few catalogs, but they charged full retail price for kits and we were too frugal to pay that much, instead we bought heavily discounted kits at Kmart, Grant's and other stores. As kids, we were also taught how to handle our own money. We were a blue collar moderate income family, my father was a truck driver and mom was a full time wife and mom. I did not mean to imply that we kids routinely blew up models daily but we did do that sometimes for fun. And it WAS fun (as long as our parents didn't find out). As an adult, I've even gone over the speed limit a few times on the highway.

LOL, yes I know! We used those little ones sometimes, but also M-80's a couple times.

Once completely dried, a thick coat of Fix-all is a bit flexible, but not much and thin coats are very hard. I have even painted over it and water based or oil based paints will adhere to it, no primer needed. This morning, thinking about this thread, I put a glob of Fix-all on a piece of scrap metal and then lit a match to it. It would not catch fire but smelled awful. I tried again using a cigarette lighter until it finally caught fire, but it burned only a couple seconds and went out. Testor's cement has a similar warning label. Such labels are simply safety precautions that companies use to protect themselves and are often required by law. "Use in well ventilated area" and "avoid smoking when using this product" - same thing. And of course, according to the state of California, everything is known to cause cancer. Any product is unsafe if not used properly and if such labels scared me off, I would never have gotten into this great hobby in the first place. Testor's (in the orange tube) can get you high and could be "fatal" says the label. Beginning at age four, I've used Testor's and never got high and I'm not dead either. A friend of mine chain smokes when using Testor's and Fix-all, and he has yet to blow himself up or burn down his house.

Excellent comment, I agree 100%. I once read an article in the newspaper about gluten, it was written by a group of doctors. According to them, about .2% of people are actually allergic to gluten. One fifth of one percent. But the publicity about BAD gluten has caused millions to THINK they're allergic and they stated that imaginary symptoms can seem just as real as actual symptoms are. But, that's how people are. They also stated that the "sodium scare" (their words) is way over rated as well. The average person does consume many times the sodium your body needs, but the body simply disposes of the excess in your waste with no harm done. Exceptions are people with pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure, etc. And there's the "sugar scare" (again, their words) that caused companies to stop using pure cane sugar and substitute high fructose corn syrup, which IS harmful in large quantities. But I digress, sorry. As far as fossil fuels go, Richard Bartrop, misterNNL and Ace-Garageguy all hit the nail on the head. And since it is completely impossible to do without fossil fuels entirely, I suggest that the high tech scientists and highly educated engineers refocus their efforts on cleaner ways to extract and use them. This 'emergency' has been overblown, this planet has seen many climate changes in the past (research Greenland's history) and managed to adjust. The tremendous amount of electricity needed to keep charging electric vehicle batteries and the toxic nature of worn out batteries are also things to think about. But I am all for electric vehicles in situations where they are plausible and I'm all for solar and wind energy as well, in addition to fossil fuels. Let the free market decide.

This is my Pip.

I use it on plastic a lot, as I said, it glues anything. It doesn't craze, melt or soften styrene. Testor's model cement also has a flammable solvent and it certainly is great for styrene. Super glues have flammable solvent, yet can be used on styrene. They don't mention glass on the package either, but it works on glass. Fix-all adhesive is the strongest glue I have ever used, it can even help hide the severe warping on old dealer promo models. Using strong clamps, I force the warped body back to where it was when new (being careful not to break it), then apply Fix-all and allow to dry for days before removing the clamps. I'm always amazed when it works, it can eliminate the "Jo-Han smile" on old promos. It's stronger than epoxy is and no need for mixing like you have to do with epoxy, use it straight from the tube. I use it to assemble resin kits and it's great.

Admit it, you blew up models a few times using firecrackers when you were a kid, didn't you? My brothers and I sure did, they used to sell these at the Grant's store here and amazingly, anyone could buy them. Usually the ones we blew up were cheap ones from not so good brands (Pyro, Palmer, etc) and we hated the way they turned out after building them. I recall Palmer models - 1963 Corvette, 1966 Mustang, 1965 Galaxie. And Pyro models - 1937 Cord, a VW bus and I forget what else. Unfortunately, I also recall my older brother blowing up a Jo-Han 1964 Chrysler 300 and an AMT 1962 Galaxie because he had messed up the paint job on them. Can you remember any models you blew up when you were a kid?

Well, I'm no expert, I'm just going on what they said in the documentary, something about bio mass can be carbon neutral. And according to what they said, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted was practically zero. We will never eliminate carbon emissions, there are natural sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide, such as outgassing from the ocean, decomposing vegetation and other biomass, venting volcanoes, naturally occurring wildfires, and even belches from animals.

I feel the same way, but I can't bring myself to finish any unfinished models they left behind. All three of my brothers built kits and all three are long deceased now (they all died young) , I've never been able to bring myself to finish their works in progress or restore any of their older glue bombs. My most cherished models are the few that my brothers built when they were just boys, none display well but I love them anyway.

With due respect, I slammed no one and have no idea what would make you say that to me. By the way, I have been building kits for over 60 years and can match anyone on detailing and accuracy when I take the time to do so. I was merely pointing out that we need to get more young kids into our hobby and the best way to do that is lower cost, and higher production does lower the cost per unit. That is basic Economics 101 and I fail to see why you seem upset about anything I said. I really don't. And I don't know what "killjoy rivet counter meanie pants camp" means, I have never heard that term before. Please be friendly to fellow modelers.

I was concerned about that when I first started using the Sharpie paint pen, but I've been very pleased that it is very durable and permanent and doesn't rub off, crack or even turn yellow with age. I first did it this way back in the 1990's and well over 25 years later, the whitewalls still look good. Before that, I'd tried oil based white paint pens, but they never dried and even weeks later were still sticky.

Well, like I said, it doesn't concern me what they do with electric vehicles, I'll never own one. But I do believe they will solve some of the safety issues and the charging issue as well. But it will more time than they think because they want to shove the costs down taxpayer's throats and many taxpayers won't tolerate that. I certainly will not, I'm not paying for something I'll never have. And besides, many regions are like mine, blue collar employment fuels the economy, and that means fossil fuels, good or bad. Frankly, I don't see the point anyway since they have reduced carbon emissions from internal combustion engines by 90% in the last 50 years. I saw a documentary last year about internal combustion cars running on fuel made mostly from trash, including sewage. That would be interesting.

With all due respect, every flaw that you mentioned can be easily corrected with minimal skill level. A skilled modeler can make this into a prize winner if they want to. And you are forgetting that if we want to get young people interested in our hobby, this is the way to start out. No kit is perfect, including Aoshima's MGB or Hasegawa's Miura, they have flaws as well. The body on this kit is excellent with crisp detail and accurate proportions. The main reason that today's kits are so expensive is low production, once upon a time, MILLIONS of kits were sold every year and high production meant low prices. Any kid or any adult with a busy work schedule could get into the hobby and enjoy it, not worried about winning some contest at a hobby show. And no matter how much detail one puts into building a plastic kit, the thing still won't start up and drive anywhere.

Hi, has anyone here ever attempted to detail any factory assembled 1/25th promo type big rigs by Emek and PMC? Or the PMC 1/25th Trailways buses? If so, I would love to see your work. Emek (Finland) makes 1/25th plastic trucks with cab bodies as realistic as any authentic kit has, but they have toy like chassis and no engines. PMC made International Harvester rigs back in the 1950's that were 1/25th scale, but no window glass and also toy like chassis and no engines. They are found regularly on ebay. And they made Trailways 1/25th scale buses, again, no windows, toy chassis and lacked engines. These would make great projects.

I don't intend to ever buy an electric vehicle, I'm not interested and will stick with internal combustion. Despite claims to the contrary, internal combustion engines will be around for a long time because so many people prefer them. I can't hardly believe that Ford's new electric Mustang is a 4 door! OMG, isn't it bad enough that the Dodge Charger is a 4 door? It's sacrilege, LOL! In any case, I'm on a not so high fixed income so I'll just keep my old pickup trucks.

What I so much wish is that they'd make Willys kits with an option to build them stock and the same for Kaiser Henry J kits. I did finally find some stock Kaiser Henry J's in 1/25th scale, but they are original dealer promos that I bought on ebay and although the body is surprisingly accurate and no warp at all, no interiors and just metal plates for the chassis.

Yep, that's the one I bought as well. The original one I have is a pale yellow.

Me too, and the plain jane models outsold the SS and fancy ones as well in the 1:1 world. And 4 door cars often outsold the 2 door versions. But back in the day, the major customers of kits were young boys and that's why AMT, MPC, Jo-Han and others made the sportier versions as kits. Even the Jo-Han '70 AMC Hornet kit came with dual exhaust! Now really, how many Hornets actually were equipped that way?