Howard Cohen

These arrived in my mailbox today, the usual excellent quality Bob always exhibits. They are: AMT 37 Chevy; Galaxie 48 Chevy; Trumpeter 63 Nova. These are scans but believe me, the quality is great! Just scan down the page to 'Aluminum' and have a look. http://public.fotki.com/howardcohen/models-2009/

Although you think the MG would be a good model, maybe no one else does. The basic cost to make a 1/24th or 1/25th model kit can be as much as $250,000, including research, making a master, engineering, tools and dies, instructions, packaging, etc. They would have to sell a lot of models of your MG to break even, much less make any money. Even the reissues from Round2 or Revell have a minimum run of 5000 units. Asking a company to make one is not realistic. If you want to have a model of your car, you may have to scratch build one by yourself. I have not seen a model of a late model MG in plastic, resin or any other material, so maybe there is not enough interest.

I have been watching the race here in Canada on Speed from the start to the end of the 3rd hour. There was a break for the afternoon and it came back on at hour 9 and has been on constant since. Apparently there is a 'world feed' and all the stations have to draw from that. I guess that is to keep the number of cameras and people to a minimum for safety reasons. They mentioned that there are 500 spaces in the pits for the press and they received over 5000 requests for passes! The pits look busy now, can you imagine them with an extra 4500 people! The race started at 3PM France time, so you can figure out the time in your country easily. I have not watched the entire race. I took some time out for things like a baseball game, the F1 practice, a nap... The Guelph Model Club, based in Guelph, Ontario, holds their annual 24 Hour Le Mans build the same time as the race. They start with a fresh kit at the start of the race and have to have it finished by the checkered flag. The main stipulation is that it must be a Le Mans car! The decals would kill most of us

I know one of the guys from Round2 and he watches the forums as best he can, depending on his schedule. I have even seen him respond to questions. There is a good chance he reads this forum even though he may not be registered. I would think that Gregg and a few others here have contact with all the model kit manufacturers as well.

Welcome, eh! Do you know there is a model car club in Kingston? No, not in the penitentiary They had a show there recently as well. If you want a contact, send me a PM and I'll send you Brian's email.

I spent about 15 months working for a towing company in Toronto and there were a few companies with 'Camel Towing', or some other derivative, in the area, all having a fight over who had the name first. I don't know what happened in the end but I laughed at the name calling...camel brain, camel spit, camel butt..etc. Since you have a certain flag as your avatar, how about 'Rebel Towing' 'We treat you with southern hospitality' 'Moonshine cars our specialty' 'No revenuers allowed' 'We always have banjo music' Your drivers could be Jethro and Elly May.

That is coming along great! I have so many ideas, I may need more than one

The middle of Texas is better because Bernie found someone there with a big bank account wiling to give him money. Hot days? Race at night

You can use the Monogram Street T kit, or any of it's variants, to get the parts you need. I restored a Little T a few years ago and that was the kit I used for a few small bits. I did mine with the turtle deck as it was glued on with so much glue that it was beyond removal. The kits are fairly cheap and easy to find.

Guys...I think Bob is referring to the more common 6 cylinder valve covers like the Chrysler Slant 6; Chevy 250 6; Ford 6; etc. There are a lot of Trumpeter 63 Novas kicking around that could use a nice aluminum cover..how about the rest of your projects?

DOPE is not the name of the paint, it is the type of paint and it is used on R/C cars, planes, etc., mostly to go over a wooden surface. I tried it years ago and it went on very streaky and would not cover the plastic. There is a special stripper for plastic called, I think, Poly Strip and it should be available at your hobby shop. I stopped using brake fluid when I had a few cars go soft as the brake fluid can damage some plastics. If the Super Clean isn't working, try a fresh bottle just in case yours has grown old and weak.

Tim and Al are the same guy...ever hear of 'split personality'? The next time you see Tim at a show, hand him a microphone and watch him go into his Weird Al routine (I think I'll hear about this at Toledo)

In every book, magazine, online article and live demonstration, people always forget the most important rule of modelling is 'Murphy's Law' always wins The only part you don't have as a spare, the scratch built whatever, the custom painted bit...they all seem to disappear into thin air...can't be that thin, it swallows up model parts I spent about 2 hours today looking for the photoetched 60 Chevy sheet I got at NNL East only to find it stuck to another bag in my detail box. I was sure I had put it in with my 60 Chevy! It's not senility, it's Murphy's Law

I don't know about the Deuce but right now the Ultra Truck (original name before Monogram) / Orange Hauler is being restored and should be finished this summer.

Peter - I'm in! Like you, I am also a fan of the art deco styling of cars. I have tried to restyle the AMT Blackforce in that manner and I am about to re-build it. When you mention similar styles, take a look at the cars from France in the mid30s. The Bugatti, Delahaye, Talbot-Lago all have the same style with their 2 seat coupes. As for a deadline, whatever you decide is fine with me. I'll add in that those who attend NNL East every year should bring their creations along to show next year. Thanks for the great idea. Let me know when you are ready and I'll send you a money order.

Or...go to the trophy store and buy your own trophy, then have it engraved to say what you want it to say. That saves the judges even more time and effort You can buy a really nice trophy for about $20, more if you want a larger trophy Or...hold your own contest. Be the organizer, host, setup person, registrant, judge and sole entry. That way you can't lose...unless the judge is a complete idio...never mind Or...sell all your models, better yet give them away, and collect stamps Or...ask your wife for a larger 'honey-do' list that will take up all your time and leave you no time or money for modelling Or...just stop complaining and build for fun...what a concept

Well, we're at it again, another 12 Hour Build A group of us are getting together west of Toronto to build models, start to finish, in only 12 hours. For those who have done this before, you know how much fun it is and what it takes to get it done. If you have never tried this approach to modelling, you should try it some day. The basic idea is to start with a fresh kit at 8AM (hangovers don't help) and have the kit painted and completely assembled by 8PM. The kit can be opened but not started, not washed nor painted nor sanded, nothing Painting may seem like the hardest part but it's not. It's the fitting and fiddling that goes on before and after the painting. I'll be taking photos throughout the day and I'll put in a link sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. FYI...my kit is an original JoHan 1970 Olds Toronado. Have a fun Saturday!

Do you care or have any preferences as to whether a model car show is on a Saturday or Sunday? NO flaming, just curious, Thanks.

Does that use the standard Mini engine or the more powerful 1275CC ?

If you have a slot car club in southern Ontario or the GTA, please let me know. Our club would like to have a showing of slot cars at our contest in September. We would like to set aside a table just for slot cars as a non-competitive display.

I have attached the link to my photos from some of our club meetings over the past couple of years. There are also several photos from last year's International Slot Car Championship that was held just north of Toronto and featured one of our past members. Most of our meetings are held every month, usually the 2nd Saturday, at a rec center in Toronto and visitors are always welcome. Some of our meetings are held at member's homes outside of Toronto. If you are going to be in the Toronto area, let me know and maybe you can attend one of our meetings or we can always do a tour of hobby shops. Remember, we run our annual model car contest the last Sunday in September and I have a flyer posted in the contest section. http://public.fotki.com/howardcohen/group-25-model-car-/

I have had a few brief chats with Morgan at NNL East and Toledo, a very easy going guy with great imagination and the ability to convert a useless toy into a work of art. Of course, Peter, you do the same with wood, body filler and vacuum formed plastic.

Yup, that's the guy...hey, did I finish my beer?

'I love the smell of model cars in the morning!' Another perfect weekend! Just when you think a model car show can't get any better, it does! Friday nights eats was great (and some 'man in black' actually got to finish his dessert all by himself) meeting so many people and visiting and eating too much food Saturday morning started with excellent weather, a fun time standing in line (yes, it was fun) and then the doors to manna opened! You know, if this was a judged event, the judges would still be there deciding What a great weekend! THANKS to everyone, especially Tom and the Gang! http://public.fotki.com/HowardCohen/nnl-east-2010/

I put a link on 2 of the yahoo groups I frequent and I hope others will add the link to their groups. More people are needed to make the site a success. I listed some custom printed 8.5x11 colour photos I am selling and if they sell, I will add more photos in the future.