Junkman

Good one, cheers! I was going to buy a set off Ebay. Thing is I only need the casting stuff. I got the moulds already.

Yeah, and I made absolutely sure it stays where he made it.

Here are the reasons why I'm looking forward to the Revell 62 Corvette: - The old AMT 62 Corvette is rubbish - My attempt to fit a Revell 1960 Corvette front clip to an AMT 62 Corvette is even bigger rubbish - I owned and restored a real 62 Corvette - I like 62 Corvettes - Now I need two, because I also like the Heavy Vette Darin posted

The overwhelming majority of European subjects was/is made in Japan and America, with Japan having the lion's share. If you set out to only collect car kits that were born and bred in Europe, you would be surprised how quickly your collection is complete.

Aye-up! I say. Absobloodylutely, old pally, no toss and what not? Toodle!

The 55 bird came with a very nice set of Kelsey Hayes wires. Those I would love to use on a Bullhorn made into a track roadster. Gosh, I need at least three Bullhorns what with the plans I have.

Project? It looks like a darn minter in the pics.

What's all this beautiful 70s stuff lurking in teh background? Kewl colour btw.

...the diecast guys have snatched it already because the kit producers are snoozers.

Oh don't we know. Them kit producers are convinced there is only money to be made by not producing kits. Someone should remind them occasionally what the purpose of a model kit producing enterprise is. The reason I couldn't throw my money at them last time the 1:16 dragsters and funnycars were out, was because they were extremely limited and immediately sold out. I'm not the only one who was left out when I look at the prices they already command. The thing repeatedly saving the model kit industry is the loyalty and devotedness of their clientele. It's certainly not the business acumen. The only resin parts in 1:16 I know are made by a company called Resin Motor Replicas. They do have some intersting stuff though. Among other bodies for Willyses, alternative bodies for the Minicraft Fords, engines, gearboxes, a 32 grille shell, etc. and a Dodge Daytona conversion kit for the General. You can see their range here: http://rmrresin.webs.com/nf116.htm Then there is a guy who sells a whole range of resin wheels, which look very nice indeed. And you can use some 1:18 scale wheels as well. I hope others know more.

The opposite is true. The big three added the first computerized engine management systems to carryover early Eighties cars with already indifferent build quality. It ended in a total desaster. It was not before the late Eighties until the situation was halfways under control. Which raises another question: When will we get model kits of the Eighties cars? LeBaron, Bustleback Seville, Plodge Granfifthlomat (another 1-0 for the diecasters so far), AMC Eagle, the last Hurst Olds...

There you nailed it! I see the Seventies cars as the last ones where the manufacturers spent a huge effort on making them truly distinctive and they probably succeeded more than in any other decade in automotive history. I just wasn't able to express it as good as you did. You may not like my beloved 73 Monaco, but it is impossible to mistake it for anything else, including it's stable-mates. Indirectly, the opponents of the Seventies cars confirm this, without realizing it. It was said repeatedly, that model kits of those cars wouldn't allow for a lot spin-offs, i.e. milking a tool. See how unique they were? And since the all-out performance days were over, it was all about looks. The cars may not have been as 'good' as the ones preceding them (which isn't true btw, they get butchered for components to upgrade earlier models, like breaker-point-less distributors, dual circuit power disc brakes, etc.), but they looked good. The Seventies were all about looks. And that's what I'm interested in, not the oily bits. So even curbsides would do for me, which would again facilitate things for the makers. Man, would a mid to late Seventies Marquis rock my boat. As a model and as a real car.

That's why I'm hoping round2 reissues the 55/57 Chevies and birds and stangs. It would give us a much larger wheel/tyre choice.

No, it was meant in a humorous way. They are called fridge in England too, despite it took some doing until people here realized that one can use them for chilling beer. I have a knack for using ancient terms for stuff. Or deliberately wrong ones. Hence my white goods (which no longer come in white for a good 20 years) and Hoover are powered with electrickery and I call people with my telling bone. I am also a motorist, using my motor for motoring around.

X2. Also, I find the echo we get from the industry on this rather mixed. On one hand, they say "modern" CAD design and tooling technologies led to significantly reduced costs to create a new kit, on the other hand they want to play it safe and only do what sold well in the past. Well. How long do they think things sold well in the past will continue to sell well? They will have to take some risks. Where there is no risk, there is no gain. And yes, even if people for some odd reason don't find 70s cars particularly exciting (with which I wholeheartedly disagree, but that's personal), the kits are needed just to enable us to continue modelling automotive history. A 1976 car is a 35 year old machine by now and if you think they aren't collectible, just think again. Now, at least a Continental Mark III and a '71 Riv, please. Or is America ashamed of those, too?

What time periods are you talking?

What a shame. A car must have character.

Yep. He even invented taxing air.

I'd rather buy five Studebaker Pickups than one of those early fifties hippos on wheels.

I started that ancient Lindberg T and I would say you could easily add a pickup bed. Out of the box Model T trucks have been made by Bandai long, long ago. I have a stakebed and a C-cab. There may have been others.

I am planning to have a go at casting a few small items for an upcoming project. I have never done this before, but read up on the basics. Now, the smallest batch of casting resin I can buy is half a litre. This is way more than I need now. The resin is not pre-mixed. Can the rest just be stored over a lengthy period of time, or does it become unuseable after a few weeks? And if it can be stored, what are the best storage conditions? Does it have to be kept in the Kelvinator?

Hey, look, model kit makers: They sell!

I have all the quirky Motor Max eighties Mopars (yes, the Horizon too) and Pintos, Vegas, Mavericks and yes, the Gremlin. Since the plastic kitters seemed to have all the time in the world for the re-release of the latter, and didn't bother about the other stuff at all, the zinc melters got my doh meanwhile. It happens awfully often lately. I only wonder why the diecasters can do it and the plastic kitters not. More examples: - The Presidential Series: Diecasters 1 - Plastic kitters NIL - The fire engines: Diecasters 1 - Plastic kitters NIL - 1937 Studebaker Coupe Express: Diecasters 1 - Plastic kitters NIL - A whole bunch of Ford BB and Chevy 1-ton Trucks with beautiful bodies: Diecasters 1 - Plastic kitters NIL - 1:24/25 Motorbikes: Diecasters 1 - Plastic kitters NIL I could go on, and on, and on, and on... The proportion of diecasts is getting ever bigger in my collection. Not because I really collect diecasts. Because the kit industry doesn't leave me an alternative.