Casey

I've been to neither place you mentioned, but there's a "Hobby Time" on the east side of Kenosha I've been wanting to visit. They sell on eBay and list discontinued kits there, so that place seems to have potential to me. There is a Hobby Lobby in both Racine and Kenosha, and the Kenosha store is huge. There's also one NW of Milwaukee in West Bend if you're headed up that way. You can even stop at the Brat Stop in Kenosha if you get that far south.

That's whay I asked. If it's logical to have a separate category for big scale, is it not logical to have one for small scale, too? I have nothing against the Big Scale section-- I post there myself. I'm just trying to understand why it exists as a category when it's the only one segregated by scale.

Can you add sub-forums on this board? If so you could add a Community Build sub-forum to the "On the Workbench"-type category.

What other factors? What makes TDR more important than all of the other aftermarket companies? I'm not the conspiracy theorist type and I'm not about to play the favoritism card, but I'm curious as to why you'd cite them as a reason a category exists. Maybe the Resin section could be expanded to include RP work, too?

What is the thinking behind having a Large Scale section (and why not call it Large Scale or Big Scale instead of "Big Boyz"?) but no small scale section? A model is a model, regardless of scale, so if it falls into one of the three sections (Cars/Trucks/Other), why have redundancy with a Large Scale section? Ask Model Cars should be eliminated and a Question & Answer section added, IMHO. I think the New Kit Reviews should be changed to "Kit Reviews, News, and Notes", which would allow for anything specifically kit-related to be posted there. If you have a specific question about a part in a kit, General Discussion is not the place for it, just like you wouldn't post a question about XYZ Resin's '00 Thnigmobile resin trans-kit in General Discussion- you'd post it in the resin section. I think more categories are better than fewer, even if there are only a few posts in one or a few categories. Not only does having more well-defined categories cut down on the overlap/redundancy, but it also keeps more posts visible on the first page for a longer period of time. I'd rather see more categories and eventually have some of them eliminated for lack of posts than see fewer categories where things get lumped together and posts bumped to page two in a few hours. I'd also like to see the "Name Required" requirement enforced. If it's not an existing rule, make it one. If it's a case of "it wasn't a requirement when I signed up", make it a requirement to continue using the forum. All forums make changes to their user agreements and rules, and I know Gregg wants to keep the feeling here laid back and easy, but I don't think it's too much to ask that every user be required to list their first name. Ditto for the cussing. It's getting old seeing "######" from the same members every few posts they make and it reflects poorly upon the MCM Forum IMHO. If you can't get your point across without cussing, you probably shouldn't be typing it. It's a sign of disrespect when a member chooses not to follow the rules they agree to when they are a member here, and Gregg has been more than patient on this issue, posting multiple warnings about using foul language.

That's an intersting way of eliminating the need for casting multi-part molds, but with a plastic master, you must be incredibly careful when cutting the molds into sections and freeing the masters. The clear rubber for the molds is a great idea. Why didn't I think of that?

A pessimist would look at revised or modified tooling such as the Tri-Fives, Cutlass Supreme, and '48 Ford custom and think Hobbico is being thrifty by partially using exiting tooling and saving on R&D costs, instead of spending that money on all-new tooling for an all-new kit. Same thing for the Midget kits- it sounds like some (maybe most?) of the development and design for these kits was already complete (per Dean Milano's comments), so Hobbico saved money by "finishing" a kit which was in limbo. I'm not a pessimist and I agree with Ken's comment (might've been in the other thread) that these are good times indeed. To see an all-new midget kit (not to mention two) announced is a huge surprise, but also is a good sign for those who wish Revell would produce something out of the ordinary. It may not be exactly what you or I want, but it's a good sign nonetheless.

I prefer the older tires when they still had raised lettering on them versus the newere "blanked out" tires. 1:1 tires have raised letters, so if you want realism, decals and dry transfers aren't the answer IMO. I know it's a pain to detail paint the raised letters, but it's worth it. I'll be interested to see how well some of these tire decals are still adhering to the rubber tires ten years from now. You can clearly see that some material was removed from the sidewalls of the blanked out tires, rendering them even more unrealistic. You are limited to which specific tires you can use if you use the older style tires, so that is one drawback. With blank ires and decals, you can replicate any tire they make a decal for.

Hemi Orange and Tor-Red are both EV2 and are the exact same color. Plymouth and Dodge used different names for marketing and advertising reasons, but the color is the same for both. One source of info: http://www.highimpactperformance.org/

For spark plug wires, 7mm was a common plug wire diameter for '70s cars, so converting that into scale inches, you get .0172", or 17 gauge wire.

I don't know, but there are categories here which overlap, and a few categories which don't exist that would be helpful to have. I think the Scale Auto Forum is a bit better organized with regards to categories, since almost everyone know what goes into the "Race Cars" category, but if you're not building a Drag and NASCAR model, it gets lumped into the On the Workbench (OtW) section here. Ditto if you're building a 1/16 scale big rig- it fits into the OtW, Big Boyz, and Truck categories. I don't understand why there's a separate section here for big scale kits, but why no section for small scale kits then, either. I don't see the need for segregating based on scale, but there must be some reason Gregg chose to do that. Is the "Ask Model Cars" section for asking about the magazine, for asking writers and editors of MCM, for asking about mailing of your copy of the latest issue, or??? Are ALL model related questions supposed to be asked there? Seriously, I'm asking. If someone has a specific question about some part from a kit or they want to know which wheels came in the original MPC '69 Camaro annual kit, where is the proper place to ask? It shouldn't be in the General section since it's a specific, not general, question, and it's kit related, but not a review, so it doesn't belong in the New Kit Reviews section. Maybe the New Kit Reviews section could be expanded/changed to include kit-specific questions, older kit reviews (or maybe just drop the "New"?), and kit-specific discussion and comments? I would love to see the categories better organized, a few more categories added, and better definition of each category in the sub-category line. Whew. I'm outta breath.

I have three truck kits, all started. I lose. To answer your question, yes, you can have too many kits.

What are you looking for, specifically? Old, long out of producion kits, lots of supplies, aftermarket stuff? Model Empire should be your first stop, period: http://www.modelempireusa.com/ There are three Happy Hobby shops, too- one a few block west of Model Empire, and two further north which are worth visitng if you're looking for older, out of production kits. One store is on 76th & Good Hope (NW side), one is on 81st & Burleigh, and the one near Model empire is on National Ave & 82nd(?) St. The Burleigh store is the best IMO, with the Natioanl Ave store #2, and the 76th & GH store #3...#3 is a bit dumpy and if you're afraid of big German Shepherds don't even go in. Greenfield News & Hobby has a good current selection with some 2-5 year old re-issues (SSP, AMT Buyer's Choice, Model King) and a great selection of hobby-related anything and everything, so that's probably worth a stop if you're looking for sanding tools, odd brand paints, etc. The owner is super nice and super helpful, too, so it's a nice place to shop. PM me if I can help you out any further.

Were Revell and AMT once partners, at least in '55?

It appears someone at Revell is listening. Is that a convertable up-top I see on the Cutlass? Note how it says neither hartop nor convertable. The SVO Mustang is nice to see again, and I'm sure the new Mustang will be a huge seller and will probably be available at Hobby Lobby and Michael's, too, adding to the sales potential. The '48 Ford is a nice surprise, too. I give Revell credit for going out on a limb and offering another "pre-customized" kit like the '49 Mercury.

I agree. I think the recent "harryh8r" posts are a clear example of why the ability to ban abusive users would be very handy for moderators, and in that case, would've been particularly effective at cutting said poster off for good.

It's scheduled to be re-issued in early October, Chris. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29865

I just remembered the SAE '97 F-150 comparison article from '96, and it appears the tires are indeed AMT sourced, as the '97 F-150 kit included them.

I love seeing authentic vintage builds like these. Thanks for sharing them with us. You can check out all the kits Tom Daniel designed for Monogram in the '70's by visiting his 'site at www.tomdaniel.com The Poison Pinto and Rat Vega are two of his better, more streetable designs IMHO.

Thanks for the pics and info, Matthew.

I want to know how Wallpaper Wally became the life of the party. $510.00 for this kit seems excessive, but it does appear to be in very good shape, so who knows.

Any help identifying which kit(s) these Goodyear Wrangler AT tires were originally included with is appreciated. I want to say they were used in the AMT 1/25 Snap Fast Dodge Ram Pickup, but I can't say for sure and would like to I.D. them for the Off-Road Tire Database.

Hmmm, lemme guess....Super Stock wheels, Rocket steering wheel, aluminum diff. cover, integral hood & header panel with a "widow maker" at the leading edge, and a small block Olds 350 underhood?