Junkman

The Jo-Han Heavenly Hearse, the Fujimi Daihatsu Midget, the Munster Koach/Dragula pack...

I may have overlooked them, but did we already mention the James Bond Aston Martins and the Toyota 2000 GT? Also, Purdey's TR7 and Gambit's XJS from The New Avengers. Then there is the Seibu Keisatsu series by Aoshima, a Nissan Patrol with a tank trailer and several undercover police Skylines and Gazelles. The Cyber Formula race cars, the WAVE Nemo's car from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the Bandai 1/20 Dekotoras from this Japanese trucker series, the Aurora Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I also suggest to open two new threads: - Kits which CAN be built into TV/Movie cars/trucks - TV/Movie cars/trucks which SHOULD be kitted

Are you absolutely positive you spoke to Chrome Tech USA? I'm dealing with Bob Shebilske for almost three decades now and I neither find him not personable, nor is he a middle man, and he is anything but adversed to plating resin parts. In fact, he is an avid and accomplished car modeler himself. I have yet to experience a lost part or anything I wasn't completely satisfied with.

They sell here for roughly half that money.

Errr...you've been in this hobby for a while.

Generaly I'm not a fan of them, but that thing shouts DONK.

Those people at the cash registers must think I'm either a total lunatic, or a suicide bomber. Today I bought at the DIY: A tin of plastikote chrome effect spray, a tin of blackboard paint, a box of steel wool, two round 9mm wood rods, two 2-Litre bottles of thick bleach, flints, a sheet of 4mm plywood, and a bag with 32 Swarovski 5mm crystal beads in jonquil, which were on sale for 35p. I was wearing sunglasses and my black suit for work. Hey, I can explain it all, constable...

Re-shelling a car is common practice in motorsport, hence also in historic motorsport. I completely agree with you and find it dubious as to the originality of a car. In my opinion, if a car is re-shelled, it took on the identity of the car the shell of which was used. Hardcore collectors will not settle for re-shelled cars. They are purely for people who want to drive their cars and drive them hard, or in competition. I once re-shelled a Escort MK1 RS 2000, which was totalled in a rally. Now, the RS 2000 shell is different from the regular Escort shell from the cowl forward. I used a regular 1300 shell, and grafted on a factory fresh front clip of an RS 2000. Technically, the shell was then authentic for an RS 2000, but I retained the chassis number and registration of the 1300 and hence made no secret out of the fact, that the car was a modified 1300 resembling a RS 2000. I could have grafted in the chassis number of the RS 2000 and claimed it is genuine and nobody would have been able to prove me wrong. People with lesser ethics would have done just that. The car was bought by a guy who then again prepared it for motorsport, which in this case is perfectly acceptable imo.

I use a cigarette lighter to burn it off. Whatever is left afterwards can be wiped of with a Kleenex.

All 51 Chevy frames I ever had were warped. They need to be straightened. Dennis Doty described a procedure in his book for model builder beginners about 30 years ago. You tie them bent the opposite way thay are warped (makes sense?) onto a board of wood and apply heat. He used a lamp, I a hairdryer. Then you let it cool downand untie it. It will be straight.

Green metallic with green metalflake, all from the rattle can:

It is easy to fake European cars, since they weren't "painted by numbers". The only documented number always was the chassis number and this is easy to fake. I give you an example. You find a rotten Jag MKII 3.8. You then buy a 2.4, fit it with a 3.8, switch the chassis number over from the rotten 3.8 and hey presto. If done properly, nobody can prove what you did. In the same fashion, a BMW 1602 becomes a 2002tii, a Triumph Dolomite a Dolomite Sprint, a Fiat 131 a Supermirafiori, a Capri 1600 a 2600 RS, and so on, and so forth. I'm not saying this is the rule, but it has been done. These are extreme examples. It is yet easier to fit an executive interior into a basic Zodiac, a base Cortina becomes a GXL, a Granada GL a Ghia X, you get the picture. Ironically, quite a few collectors now flock to the base models, since it became quite obvious that their survival rate is much lower than the one of the glitzier models. A trend which isn't lost on me either. Owning a well optioned Rover P6 3500 V8, I carefully eyed over a plane jane, no frills 2200TC the other day. Not too long ago, I would have considered it a parts donor, but now I can envision it parked alongside my bling bling mobile.

Charlie, your models sure don't look like you are on a budget.

The "Baby Boomer" syndrome is alive and well in Blighty, thank you. They buy Morris Minors, of all things rotten. The cars I mentioned of course wouldn't sell in mainstream America, with the average person having never even heard of them. But quite a few of them left the country westbound lately. There are a few individualists left even in America after all. However, I merely mentioned them to illustrate with a few examples the development of the collectors market I see in Europe, which follows quite similar mechanisms as elsewhere in the world. These examples should not be taken at face value from an American point of view. They will need to be translated, or better interpreted, into American cars. I give you one example: 59 Caddy down, 59 Imperial up. There is also an increasing interest in AMC products, something unthinkable just ten years ago. Furthermore, there may be a temporary stagnation in interest in American muscle or 50s chrome-laden glitter cars for the reasons I stated. Market saturation, the asking prices vs. the buying power of the people who haven't got one yet, and the fear of fakes.

I even use gloss enamel paint on bodies, especially for classics. The gloss is definitely more vintage than with laquers. And the risk of crazing the plastic is nil, nada, zilch, nemo, rien, nix. Can use them on annuals without risking bugger off. Same with enamel clear.

I am in the old car business and I cannot see a general decline in prices for good cars, to the contrary. What I can see is a certain market saturation for selected 'blue chip' cars. Here in Europe, the focus is currently more on the - how should I call them? - non mainstream cars. For example, while the prices for Jaguar MKIIs actually went down, the sister model Daimler 250 picked up significantly. So did the Mark 10, which wouldn't have got a second glance from a self respected Jaguar collector just five or so years ago. Thanks god I stocked up on those while others weighed them in at the scrappy's. There are other examples numerous enough to make me believe there is a trend towards the 'overlooked' cars. Jaguar XKE down, XJS up. Triumph 2500 down, Rover P6 up. Ford Zephyr/Zodiac down, Wolseley 6/110 up. Escort MKII down, Hillman Avenger up. Contributing to this is also the fear of fakes. Of the 3000 or so Lotus Cortinas ever built, the surviving 5000 meanwhile all found buyers, which means there is no demand for decades to come. I can imagine a similar trend is forming in the States. Exactly how may Camaro RS/SSes, Boss Mustangs, Hemi Cudas or Tri Chevies do you want to sell? There is a point, when everybody who wants one, and can afford one, has one. These people will then look for other (read 'lesser') cars, so do people who simply aren't in the money for the top of the market. Consequently, prices for the mainstream stuff stays put or even goes down in some cases, while cars which hitherto weren't 'en vogue' with the mainstream collector world take hikes.

They weren't really that hard to find until not too long ago. I remember them being regularily offered by Hobby Heaven and this is where I got mine from. I guess it's a matter of putting a few want ads out, going t swap meets and checking Feebay on regular basis. As a rule of thumb, whatever you look for will turn up eventually. All you have to do is stay patient, which I know is not a virtue we modellers are overly blessed with.

Over here this would be Humbrol enamels, which makes paints since 1919 and started catering to the plastic model builders somewhen in the 50s. Their legendary 14ml tins are still available. Interestingly, George Shaw uses them exclusivly for his paintings on canvas. Actually, this brings me to the question I wanted to ask: Is nay one using enamels anymore over there?

They are beautifully retro-futuristic. I love them.

I dissolve old sprue pieces in cellulose thinners or aceton. The result is a superb putty and gap filler.

I once started a thread on it: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=30395&st=0&p=299223&fromsearch=1&#entry299223 Wasn't overly popular.

The boxes I toss. But if there are little glue tubes included, like in many old Japanese kits, I keep those and put them into my vintage glue museum.

'Joe', the "main" Pharaoh, was played by Bo Hopkins. Granted, there is a resemblance between him and Jerry Reed.

Actually, for stuff like this all you have to do is keep your eyes open at the next boot sale.

Man, I just ate...