HotRodaSaurus

Thanks guys, having worked as a maintenance engineer in an injection moulding shop I did think that that there would be more than one set of tools as we made car componants and at least 3 operatives would be cranking out the componants to supply the motor industry as quickly as possible. Thinking on, a model kit of any kind must be the most complex mould tooling made. I knew that the tools went together in block form as some issues of our kits have componants missing from issue to issue such as custom parts etc and also the transition from multi piece bodies to one piece must be a major factor in cost. It is interesting that most other models such as aircraft, military and ship models still retain the multi piece format for the fuselages,hulls etc. 75000 kits just to break even eh! no wonder there are a lot of unbuilt vintage kits out there, I imagine then that a lot of the 'RARE' kits were not that popular at the time rather than the supply and demand option. Oh, and I thought 20 000 for a limited run was a bit on the high side Thanks again, real interesting stuff, John

With all the talk of lost and altered manufacturing tooling, I was wondering how many moulding tool sets would be made for each kit run? A run of 20 000 kits is surley not made on one set of tooling, also Revell made kits here in the UK,also Argentina, 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham for example and as this item had a quite long shelf run in the stores what would happen when the tooling wore out?. Is there not a production line, (say, 6 machines) all set up the same popping out kit after kit? Were all the tools stored together and when altered the whole lot done at the same time? What prompted this thought was I emailed JoHan some years back when the wanted some input into what builders wanted, I replied 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood, they replied the tooling was beyond further use. TIA, John

Hi All, I have one of these kits(built) , unpainted in a blue tourqoiscolour plastic. Is this the original plastic colour? Just wonderin' J

Well I have had the usual ups and downs in life, not built a model for probably 5 years or more, but I keep in touch with magazines and forums like this, hope to get building again soon. I have a stack for finished models I cannot wait to show here, we don't have many shows here in the UK so if I post something one day and get a few views then WoW. Just stick in here, contribute a question or answer to a thread, at least your interest is still there like mine. I have just been pouring over an R&M of Maryland catalogue for what I need when I pick up the old glue tube in the not too distant future. John

Hi all, just before Christmas I did a straight trade with EdShaver. No great value was involved but he got mine and I got his item. No problems except the holiday postage times. I think we are both happy so thanks Ed. Cheers, John.

I only have 7 but thought there were more than 8, Oh well that is one less to search for. John

Hi, there are lots of these in the UK, I am not 100% but I think they are made by Nissan, though they are not marketed under the Nissan name. Also they may have a retro look but they were made in the 1990s thats for sure. These cars often appear in vintage vehicle shows over here as some kind of cult car, trying to fool people into thinking they are old. I can see the attraction as there is an old look about them, thin steering wheel, small lights, painted metal dash with minimal instuments etc. The centre section of the roof usually slides back as a sort of cabriolet. Different but you do not see many men driving them, certainly not around here as most are owned by women. There is a dealer a few miles up the road in Leigh on Sea, I will check out a few details unless someone beats me to it then it will save me a trip. I also see this one is a right hand drive car, are you in the UK as well? Hope that is a bit of help, John

Hi Kevin, saw this li'l fella having a stroll down a busy road ne Nerja, Spain a few years back. We pointed him in a safer direction so he might have a better chance in life. Can you tell me what he/she is? a Chamelian(spelling ) Cheers's, John

Hi all, I know this was only a short run mag but does any member know how many issues were printed? I thought it was 9 but have been told it could be more. Tia, John

Hey Tom! leave it as it is. At least you know where everything is

Ok, nice and easy question for a not so easy subject. I want to lay some flames on the side of an AMT 49 Ford, I have never painted flames succesfully before and there are so many different styles also. Has anyone written a 'how to' on this subject and can direct me to the feature? I know like most trends the styles change so what I am after is late 50s early 60s style. I had a go many years back and noticed that this is indeed an art, getting the form and patten correct. You may be great at applying the paint but the finished thing doesn't look right it probably isn't right(does that make sense.??) Thanks, John

Have you ever seen National Lampoons Christmas vacation? I dont know about the US but in the UK excessive exterior decoration went into overdrive once this film came out. John

With Tamiya kits it can differentiate between similar releases of the same model Back in the 1960s & 70s the Japanese seemed to want to motorize everything, in particular Tamiya with their large scale kits of F1 and some sports cars such as the Lola T70 MkIII. Many of these kits have since been re-issued but without the motorization the old box would have 'Motorized' in the description of the original issue where as the last release had 'Static model' As the others have pointed out, the model does not move using motors etc. Many of these old kits had some interesting additions such as lighting and working suspension, but to be honest how many builders would want to run their beautifully put together Lola or Porsche 910 across the floor and straight into an unforgiving chair leg John

Hi, I'm in a similar situation but have just moved. No modeling for quite a few years for me but hop to get started in the new year. First thing to do will be to pull sme cars out of storage and post a few pics in the 'under glass' section. Good luck, sounds like a heavenly place, My place looks out onto lock ups

Has anyone read the Book 'Monogram Models' by Thoma Graham. What's in it, what does it cover, how is the car model part of the hobby covered, how about the price guie etc, is it paperback or hard back. The book in by the Schiffer series for collectors so I would think the quality is ok. Thanks, J

What a great link! Thanks, I have been looking for something like this for ages. John

It's the same in the UK, in my county Essex, we only have a chain store called Model Zone,. Sure they have a handfull of kits and a wall full of diecasts but none of the assistants are real modelers, just kids left school etc. The managers are more the same, more buisnessmen than hobbyists, though some do seem to be into R/C if anything. No time to talk unless you are ordering something and only stock what kits they are sent. I think it is just the state of the market today, when I was a boy every kid had the latest diecast car or wanted a kit for Christmas. Now the modeling scene is held together by the adult maket, children are not interested in toy cars, planes, ships tanks etc in the same way we were. Adults think with their wallets as well, if it can be bought cheaper on the net they will buy it from the net. Personally like most of us here i like to walk into a store and look at the models etc, but thats life now. John

Many thanks to all those who offered advice, especially the links and the PMs. The Model Car Garage looks to sell neat stuff but it is a shame RMCoM don't have a web address Cheers all, John

Hi all, I have heard a lot about this company, all good but I cannot find a WWW address, do they have one? Hopefully I will start building again after Christmas and there are so many projects to finish and, start! OK, so what is the best way to contact them, I am in the UK so would like to see a catalogue or list of what they make, do they ship out of the USA? etc etc. The sort of thing I am after are: Cadillac sombrero hubcaps, La Salel grills, Desoto bumpers, banjo steering wheels, bee hive filters and that sort of thing. I often see other model part websites selling there stuff so was wondering whats the score. Any help would be greatfull, thanks , John

Would be great to see one of you guys build a killer model of one of our classic show cars J

Ha Haa! the link worked! Just thought I would add , I think this car has a fully chromed Jag independant rear end. J

This is Nick Butlers Revenge, one of the great UK rod of the 1970s. I'm not sure what has happened to it but I think it is being restored or something. Here is a copy of Custom Car Magazine from 1977 Mar 77 CUSTOM CAR MAG-REVENGE/TRANSIT/ESCORT ISSUE Item number: 270309676534 eBay item http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=270309676534 2 Days to go, might be worth a look even if you are not building an exact replica. I had this magazine in the past and Revenge is a colour centre spread. lots of pics, sometimes obscured by a semi naked young lady Sorry but I don't know how to post a direct link so you may have to cut and paste it to your browser. John.

Hi, what a great build I also have this kit, it was one of my early builds in what I shall call my modern era after a modeling layoff. Very basic it though, I was told the body was a 1/24 slot car item, any truth in that? Not as nice as yours though. Cheers, John.

When I split with my long time partner I was told by text to get all my stuff out. I'm not going to elaborate on the reasons but I think it was only my sons involvement in making some of my cars that prevented her from destroying them. I do not think rebuilding the stuff I had made, even a few rare kits would have been a problem as that was in my past life,but destroying something between me and my son would have hurt more. The other stuff is just plastic parts glued together in my spare time. Don't get me wrong please, to have stuff destroyed by a stranger is like a personal invasion like any break in, but thieves destroy all sorts of things out of frustration sometimes. If I was in your position and caught whoever destroyed your stuff, forgiveness? I dont know but think I would like to see them pay in some way though, and make sure they remember it. J