Junkman

I strongly disagree. Firstly, a modern car does not necessarily have to outperform a 40 year old car just because it is a newer car. The world has changed, so have traffic conditions and the outlook of most people generally on life. Heck, if I'd drive today like I did only 20 years ago, I'd be a poor man behind bars quicker than I drove back then. Secondly, many modern cars will outperform the majority of 68-70 Chargers, save for the few which are equipped with the monster engines. And even they would only have the edge in straight line performance. Actually, I easily outran a 383-powered Charger in Spa-Francorchamps with a bone stock 78 Caprice Classic. Thirdly, I find, it is much more fun to drive a slow car fast, than it is to drive a fast car fast. BTT: IMHO trying to restyle the new Charger is futile, you can't polish a turd. The show car looks nice. It isn't to my taste, but at least it looks like it was styled by people who cared. Would it have been produced though, I bet it would be festooned with all the usual gimmicks you find in most modern cars and which make me believe the car makers have completely lost the concept of what the car was initially invented for. The latter is the reason why I refuse to drive modern cars. Add to this some of this ridiculous retro styling nonsense, and I will as certainly as the 'amen' in church walk away, no matter how good the car underneath may be. As for the 68-70 Charger, I never understood the hype. Again imho, they were cheap cars, had no class, the build quality was even more atrocious than the handling, the styling comparatively bland compared with the stunningly beautiful looks of their predecessors, and when I see one in real life, I find it oddly soulless. Had Chrysler not seen fit to sell a miniscule proportion of the production run with those King-Kong engines, they would have gone under as lemons in automotive history. Chrysler knew how to build fast and stylish cars. They called them 'Imperial'. I owned eleven of them, so you can't accuse me of not being a Mopar man. Still, if I would be in the market for a ca. 1970 American muscle car, it would certainly not be a Charger. In fact, it wouldn't be a Mopar at all. I'd go for a 442. However, my bottom line is, why can't Chrysler Corp today just do, what it did in 1957? Launch cars which look fresh, new, eye-pleasing, and send the others running for their drawing bo... errr CAD-programs? You know why? Because it can't.

Yes, but not through the Chevrolet (nee Daewoo) dealerships. Those guys hardly know what a Corvette is. You can buy pretty any current US-Car, SUV or light truck here in the UK though, but, apart from a few 'official' models sold through selected GM/Vauxhall or Chrysler Dealerships, most are sold by independent importers. Even the Mustangs aren't sold by Ford UK.

Wow, do you have pics? Please ask him whether he needs parts for them. I can get anything here in England.

No, thanks. I have a fitted kitchen.

Entirely btw, could you please crate up that Holden shown in your Avatar and ship it to Southampton? Cheers, m8!

Interestingly, I obtained quite a few kits lately from - Australia! Granted, they all were obsolete, but when it comes to vintage Japanese stuff, Oz is a goldmine. There are also a few resin casters down under, who make intersting bit s and pieces if you are into Australian or British stuff. Check out The Parts Box, Resin Down Under and Cavalier. As for plastic kits, there is http://www.modelkitsonline.com.au for European and Asian stuff, http://www.hobbyplace.com.au for the former plus Revellogram and http://www.earlymodelkits.com.au for US stuff including obsolete kits. Then there is always Ebay. I think Australia is a modellers paradise.

Not 100% sure, but I think the Impala is built in Canada. Anyway, none of the North American vehicles are even marketed over here. It's a Daewoo you can drive to the Levee, or walk, but now you must call it a Chef roulais.

ROFL! What is sold in this here other country as Chevrolets are in fact Daewoos. Confuses the friggin hell out of us all for a second or two, alright.

Michele Conti. To my knowledge, he is the only car modeller whose models made it into the Museum of Modern Art. Henri Baigent. Louis Chenot. Ingvar Dahlberg. Joe Enriquez. George Ronald Guttu. Will Neely. Francisco Pulido. Pere Tarragó. Roger Zimmermann.

Oh man, what is it now? Can I please, please, please continue driving my Chevy? Oh, and drink the odd Coke or Bud? Without some dimwit from GM or their ad agency telling me how to call things?

Albeit I must be somewhat younger than you are, I can relate to your Godzilla. For me it was Gerry Anderson, who first triggered my interest in modelling in what must have been my formative years. And my father, who is an excellent modeller, got me started. I remember us sitting at the kitchen table doing models - he his railways, I my cars. My love affair with cars and modelling was already well established, when I saw my first Godzilla movie during his comeback in the 'Space Age' around 1970. Like with Gerry Anderson before, I got a kick out of these movies when it comes to modelling and shifted into second gear, so to say. Anyway, my Godzilla is - like yours - a Japanese guy in a rubber suit trampling model cars and railways in a model Tokyo, and not a newfangled computer generated monster trampling a computer generated New York City.

I'm only glad I don't have to identify it. No idea which Ferrari it is.

Nope, it's Pierre Scerri: http://mps-sportproto.com/en/historique.php

There are quite a few late modellers who have impressed me enormously with their work. Has Augie Hiscano been mentioned yet? And back to the living - what is the name of the Frenchman who built a working model of a Ferrari in 1/3 scale?

I second that. Martin was in a class of his own. Look what he could make out of very tough to build kits and I am speaking from experience here.

And they say the Eighties is the decade that taste forgot?

Gerald A. Wingrove. Manuel Olivê Sans.

Gosh would this be nice. I know this kit and it is a gem. There were more 1/16 scale show rods by Pyro, I wish they would bring them all back. Not sure whether they are related, but I seem to remember the Gee-T, Sno-Skeeter, Serpent and of course the Laramie Stage Ghost. If all these were reissued, kitbashing them with all the Model Ts, As and Revell 34s out there would yield endless opportunities to build proper 1/16th scale hot rods. Am I a dreamer, or what?

I think anybody with half a brain can see that the Revell quality has generally improved over the past two decades. Revell AG cannot be taken into comparison, since despite the same name, it is a totally independent legal entity with entirely different business objectives than Revell INC. Fujimi does have its share of rubbish and not to a small degree. In fact, there is hardly another kit company where total disaster and utter brilliance are so close together. Tamiya has maintained a consistent level of quality and detailing, but not significantly improved. And blime, not all that glitters is gold at Tamiya. Also, how many non-motorsport-related car kits have they released over the past two decades? And most of them are curbsides. They are probably the best curbsides ever made, but they are still curbsides. Imho the second best curbsides are the Aoshima models and if I look at what this company has released over the past two decades, I think we have a winner and not by a narrow margin. As for well detailed, expensive kits, how many Hasegawas have you guys bought lately?

I came across Martin's website only very recently and of course had no idea he had passed away. I am impressed by his building skills and find his wire wheel conversions most inspiring. So inspiring in fact, that I started to collect the kits of the models he built. Have a look at the 'what did you get today' thread and you see with your very eyes that I tell the truth. I recently got me a Jag SS100, Morgan Three Wheeler, and MG TC. I always wanted these, but never really dug into them, because I found the wheels let them down and I had no idea how to tackle this. Thanks to Martin, I now know what can be done. It hence can be said, that despite I never met Martin in person, he managed to influence me even after he had died. What a man! See what I mean when I say nobody ever really leaves?

Todays haul:

I think it is a perfect example of the insanity this hobby can cause with some people. Total loss of reality due to too much glue sniffing. Then again, I read elswhere in this thread, that Lindberg owns the tool for a kit which can well command this kind of money - the Laramie Stage Ghost - and that they plan to reissue it. That alone makes me want Lindberg to stay in business.

Obviously: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1964-NIB-Lindberg-Future-GT200-Motorized-car-kit-/260613105244?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cadc0665c

Not a problem m8, you are very welcome. When it comes to race car colours it's always worthwhile to check the RAL chart. Teams often use standard colours to make repaints or touch ups between meetings as easy as possible.

They are charming little models and I'm glad that I have the entire collection still from the old Pyro days.