RSchnell

I'd like to snag one of those Mail Trucks!

I might have to get one of these. My family was in the grove equipment business, one of our customers had one of these that he drug out of some barn in the area. You don't realize how well built those trucks were until you look at one up close in person. I'd paint it like his just for the nostalgia factor.

It's in Cocoa Beach at a repair shop. Been sitting there at least a year that I know of. If you take 520 you can hit up the Ollie's on your way!

I suspect that's the case. Last couple model shows I went to buyers were down, lots of people but not many carrying anything. I went to a spaceflight collectibles show today and it was down too. Without going into the political side of things, money's tight for a lot of people right now. Seems up to a couple years ago Ollie's would get cleaned out within 48 hours of kits hitting the shelves.

First car for me was this '77 Chevrolet Caprice. Seen here vending Model A Ford parts at a show in 1995. The Model A pickup belonged to a friend of mine. The 305 died so I built a nice 327 for it with parts donated by a friend of my Dad's. That boat used to give the 5.0 Mustang boys fits back then..... Sold this car when I get my first '55 Ford in 1996.

What's wrong with 4 doors? I've owned a bunch of them from the 30s-60s and had no problem selling them when the time came. What cars do you have?

This forum will go into meltdown if Hobby Lobby does away with model kits. At least we won't have to hear "I hope Hobby Lobby gets this kit" or any other 900 variations of that. (I plan to hit my local one up next 40% off week. There's a couple there I need. )

Hit up the Ollie's in Merritt Island, FL this morning. Still a decent selection. I'm surprised there were any kits left. Maybe the scalpers aren't buying as much?

Hit another Ollie's...First time in months I've seen any Dupli-Color in store. Of course, they only had one color!

Went to a Spaceflight Collectibles show at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station & saw this group of C8 Vettes parked in the grass. Surprised the owners weren't wiping them down and sitting around in lounge chairs(Corvette guys will get the joke). Later went to lunch and saw this Camaro/firebird on a 4wd truck chassis.

It never ceases to amaze me the sheer variety & number of kits fluctuates greatly between stores. The Lakeland store had just a small selection while the Merritt Island store had a very nice well stocked display, one that I intend to raid this weekend(if there's anything left) as I have another model show to attend in Cape Canaveral. One thing can be said about buying these kits at Ollie's- It gets them sold at a price that I think is reasonable for an on average 40-50 yr old kit. I just have a real hard time paying anything close to MSRP on any AMT reissue as the value simply isn't there.

I never understood the whole fascination with Rat Fink so it doesn't surprise me those kits ended up at Ollie's. Some nice hauls in this thread!

I watched that show as a kid with my grandfather! If I remember right they did the show in the basement of a museum. Spraying rattle can paint inside with no booth, etc. The host was a bit dramatic and really played up the part of asking a lot of silly questions. One thing that sticks out in my mind is after one of the episodes where they were building an AMT '32 Vicky, my grandfather said to me- "here let me show you a better way" and he did. I was fortunate that my grandfather was a master modeler and really showed me the ropes. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Ollie's haul. I'm really not trying to buy more kits as I'm in the middle of moving domiciles, but ya know! Stopped in at Hobby Lobby and no car kits on clearance but got a few OT Airfix 1/72 kits for 2.49 ea.

I hit the Lakeland, FL store today. They got a new shipment as they had several new kits compared to my last visit. These were on a rolling display rack in the middle of the store. I'm with Dave, seems like someone(Round 2, a distributor?) is offloading a bunch of old stock. The kits I got today had 2021 & 2022 dates on the boxes.

I will hit up the Merritt Island store this weekend. Looks like a nice supply of kits.

My neighbor had his '60 Corvette out. if you look close you'll see a Pontiac Tri-Power emblem in the cove, he put tri power on this car years ago. The VW was in the Walmart parking lot.

Normally something like this is out of my wheelhouse, but I like it. May have to pick one up!

Going to go look at a '66 Corvette in the morning. I suspect the birdcage is toast, but if I can get the price down a bit....... I need a project car right now like a hole in the head!

There was a '68 Mustang Wagon running around Central FL back in the mid 2000's. It'd pop up at shows here & there. Haven't seen it since! Somewhere I have a pic of it. Conversion but very nicely done.

How's the fit on the '57 T-bird? I need to look into that. I'm in for one of those and the El Camino.

Nice build! I like your choice of color, you can only see so many red, blue & green midyear Corvettes!

McMaster Carr just might have what you need. They're a gold mine of stuff not only for 1:1 stuff but hobby materials as well. I don't know what size you need but you can plunder around there, their search feature is quite good. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/miniature-bolts/thread-size~0000-160/

I've used Dupli-Color and Tamiya primer in the past with great results, but have switched over to Transtar primers. Lays down incredible and sands like butter. a 15 ounce can will last me numerous builds and with my shop discount it works out cheaper than Dupli-color for 3 more ounces of primer. You can get it on Amazon or your local automotive paint supplier.

Interviewed for a position yesterday. The most comprehensive interview I've ever had in my short career of working for others- demonstrated how to read an analog micrometer, machine tool knowledge etc. When asked if I could run a manual lathe and read service manuals and follow instructions, I replied that I had over 400 service manuals in my shop library & had a 14x48 South Bend at my resto shop and would be more than happy to turn something out on one of their lathes if needed. The owner replied "hell no, the fact that you volunteered said enough. We have a hell of a time finding someone who can run the older manual stuff." After a tour of the facility I was offered the position. A 40% pay increase and less than 5 miles from my new place by the beach. Life's good.