Junkman

Of course what I wrote only works when both, the seller and the buyer are honest people. Hence I tend to only shop with certain vendors I can trust and they know that they can trust me. This is not only the case with vendors in America, but many other countries I buy from. I had my share of bad experience too when sending abroad, predominantly with specific countries. I do not believe that there is such a thing as 'lost in the mail' and impute foul play. Since, as you say, there is zero seller protection on Ebay otherwise, I send stuff overseas exclusively tracked now, unless it is a repeat client I have a mutual agreement with. But I don't use the expensive services of Royal Mail to send tracked. There are loads of cheaper international courier services and you can get the cheapest rate via certain internet portals that broker your parcel to the cheapest carrier. What annoys me much more though, than Ebay being such a legal minefield for sellers, is the mentality of many buyers. If you can't get the 40 year old kit they wanted so bad for the past 20 years and finally won after a ten day auction to their door halfways across the world within 24 hours after the auction end, they'll see fit that your seller rating is smashed. Bloody idiots.

It's about the telephone and machine gun that came in the AMT Get Smart Sunbeam kit.

Same with us Europeans. They list a kit for $11.00 and $27.00 shipping, it's even more disproportional with diecasts. However, I read several times lately, that Ebay only allows them to list a pre-fab flat rate which is a lot higher than the actual shipping cost and that international bidders should enquire despite a fee is listed. It turned out that the actual shipping cost then was a lot lower than what was stated in the listing. Also, for new kits, simply stick with a vendor you got a good deal at. They love repeat customers and will go to great lengths to keep you happy.

Can you get the MPC-based flip-front 53 Ford Pickup down there?

Now THIS for a change is a Rat Rod even I like. Just add a few surfboards.

Every time I suggest something like this, I get shouted down. I even made a fake box art for it.

OK, I understood the summer bit. Now why should I burn my food in the garden despite I have a fitted kitchen?

What. On earth. Is 'Summer'?

Or the Dr. Cranky version:

I had a 1983 Ford Fairmont Futura with a 6 cyl and 3OTT.

I have a cellar full with 'whydidibuythises'.

Cafe Kroppenberg, 1958. The exchange rate was ca. 4.20 Deutschmarks to the Dollar.

It would be interesting to know the tax proportion per average wage over the decades.

For me it's windscreen wipers and pulley/fanbelt assemblies. I don't so much mind the hovering alternators, because a bracket is quickly fabricated. I find the lack of ancillaries much more annoying. Many of the older kits come with just that - a hovering alternator. There is rarely a hovering power steering pump, or a hovering A/C compressor, despite those things were very commonplace on real cars at the time, albeit not hovering of course.

I think I just was lucky for a change. The car was listed for 220 pounds, which is roughly what you'd get from the scrapyard if you weigh it in. But nobody except me bid on it, and there was no reserve.

Thanks! I like it too, and it's fully loaded, including A/C. We needed something to cope with almost $7.65/US-Gallon, so I thought this makes perfect sense.

I have no idea. Nobody else bid on it on Ebay. I drove it home all the way from Bristol (170mi) - the car didn't miss a beat. Had it MOTed the next day - no advisories, nothing. It does need new front tyres though.

Got this for the wifey - for 220 quid: Don't laugh. It may not look like much, but when the French stick a GTX badge on something, they put it inside, too. The thing goes like stink!

Yeah, I think something like 100 bucks a week was a very decent salary back then.

5 on the tree: To the best of my knowledge, the only European car ever with this feature.

It is full detail. Chassis, interior, engine, everything. And all doors and lids open. I'd say it is on par with the old IMC kits.

It is 1:24 scale and to my best knowlege it is the only kit ever been made by a company called Verneuil.

You can actually make a truck out of the trailer: