Eshaver

Daniel and Bluesman, believe it or not I have owned my own company. I owned a manufacturing business in Houston where I made custom van accessories . I also had a taxi cab I kept that I kept leased out to a friend Also I did Fiberglass molds for a couple of different companies. With the gasoline shortage in 1979, I was forced to sell off my assets I moved to Dallas where I did some sub contracting for one of the wrecker manufacturers and managed a small towing towing company that towed "junk and abandoned automobiles" Today I'm a contract driver for a couple of haulers where I deliver goods and services Ocasionaly, I also sub contract musem work as they will have me make models for them. Still I warned you that me thinking was dangerous and thanks for your historical and realistic input gentlemen. Ed Shaver

Ken I don't know if this company still exists but I recall an ad in Hemmings Motor News called Just dashes. They did domestic cars but seems to me they could do asian cars too. Also Action Crash Parts here in the Richmond Virginia area could help you with some of your needs too I dont have their phone handy but I do know they send pretty much any thing anywhere

Chris this is what would have happened if goverment han't gotten into the business of dictating to the automobile manufacturers how and what thy could use for headlights in this country back in 1938. Ed Shaver

Hey kids, just got off work and between the cereal box drivers and the heat, 103 degrees, I got to thinking........... Now for me thats sometimes dangerous as I'm not paying full attention to my driving, why I could hit some one. What would happen if we all sent in two dollars to an escrow account and formed a licenced limmited corperation The company we the people formed would go over to A M T first then Revell and possibly Linberg. Then we go through every too and die in their warehouses and inject plastic into any thing and everything that will take molten plastic. Look , a former illistrator for A M T told me to my face two years ago that no one at A M T has a clue as to what is in some of the tools they have. I was also told that employees were throwing out dies when Lesney/Matchbox had A M T in the late 1980's. With that said, I beleive most of his story has a degree of credibility.Sure Dave Model King has spent a lot of his own money to restore missing tools, but thats my point. If he is willing to invest his future in this hobby why aren't we? You can't tell me we couldn' t elect a board of directors sell stock amongst ourselves and quite possibly manufacture the product here in the U S < the greatest country on the face of the planet. The big box stores wouldn't touch us because realistically the prices of a limited run kit would be too high.How ever , Real hobby shops would take a chance on us right? In fact I see them as investors! Ed Shaver

Im very curous folks, considering the weight of a truck thaat size would the six have the torque to pull it self around? wouldn't a 318 motor seem more approperate? Ed Shaver

Rick, I drove an Astro 95 in Houston years ago that mirrors what you built. From the pictures you sent, I don't see any thing wrong with your work. As for weathering , well using acrylic paint washes, flour mixed with oil paints to make clay or mud pastells. Look hang around the armour buildes, railroad buffs stuff like that . Still you can go overboard and remember in scale a little can go a long way. Ed Shaver

Look I'm kool with it, just do it

Bryan , they are truly works of art. I once had a 78 Coronet as a Taxi cab , very reliable an 81 Diplomat, trunk could have been bigger. and a 70 Coronet with a 318n Now Ive got a Chrysler mini van I"ts my last as Chrysler's electrical systems on these vans is real spotty. Drive trains though are good. But as soon as I can put the motor back together in my 78 Ford Van , well the Chrysler is BYE-BYE. Ed Shaver

Harold I agree with you completely Years ago "The Greenie Weenies" were bemoaning a former battery manufacturing plant that was in houston near where the Hardy Street toll road is toiday. I asked on of them where the heck people would send spent lead or other hazardous materals that comprise batteries in the future? Since the charicter had no answer, I calmly lit yet another cigarette and went on my way, that was in 1978 . Ed Shaver

Since I deliver to wall- world, I'm constantly over in automotive. They carry the 3-M sand papers 320- 220- 600- 800 - 1200- and 3200 sometimes. Regular chrome polish will work on hobby enamels that have cured out for at least two weeks. Also Game Stop game stores carry a polish thats the Novus polish for cleaning C. D 's . It runs 8.00 like Novus's Hope this helps Ed Shaver

Bill, Looks outstanding . It reminds me of one where my cousins and I would go in their 1961 Impala,Ermine White with a red interior, oh yeah it had a 348 under the hood too they all lived in Beckley at the time cept for me , I just visited. Ed Shaver

Uncle Mike , you keep telling those stories . People see me with my gasoline pump models and they say Ed aher you get youre information? I tell them man when youv'e been driving as long as I have lived in so many places, worked for the scum bags i've worked for... hey ya'll get the picture. As to Chevrolets I beleive back in the day , the "Early A M T " company did some 1928 Chevrolets as a promotion to the dealer net work I 'm probably wrong but I beleive Dennis Doty did a story on these cars once. I too was a fan of the M P C company especially since they stole the most talented employees when they started as a model company. Any one who built the A M T 1928 Ford Model A sedan eas building a M P C kit I'd like to have that one back. M P C 's Mako- Shark was a memorable piece for me too. Either way, the combined inventory that I believe that exsists in some form would bring a lot of joy to all of us, Hey I want a 61 Buick Special Station wagon A M T!

Mr, six, if that is your real name, uhmm dents well hold the piece over a candle. in my former days as a chain smoker my trusty japanise repair kit made in Bradford Pennsylvania did well as a heating element, When the plastic softens quickly take a pencil eraser and push the plastic in or out as for making tires appear semi inflated, try heat as well When they are soft, you can then distort them to appear flat I"ve had a degree of sucess on both Monogram before Revell's buy out and A M T 's tires. For what its worth I used to replicate mud with flour mixed with Testors Model Master paints on a couple of wreckers I built They turned out so well I took them to work .My boss who was always negative about me even said it looked like real dirt.

Please forgive me but I seem to remember wher not too long ago in another magazine wherein the "letters colum where a reader wrote in with a similar dilemma . The article editor wrote in the magazine where vynil compounds were changed since the 1960's kits had been produced, yes I will agree with that statement as I have a bag of those tires. Now personally I have not noticed what you're seeing. Ed Shaver

You may not realize this guys, but do you know that the tourquose that Tamya has is a pretty close match for the colos Studebaker offered in 63. I was in body work for years and I wanted such a car when it was shown at Mc George Studebaker at Belvedere and Broad street here in Richmond Virginia Ed Shaver

[cCONTINUE ON SIR olor=#FF00FF]Ed Shaver

In 1983, I was the manager for A-Abandoned Towing co. in Arlington Texas. I hauled several of those Datsuns over to Sniders Wrecking yard on the Fort worth line, used to get 65.00 apeice for them took the money and spent it on my 53 Ford Panel delivery yeah, it's gotta Flat head in it just cant keep transmissions in the dang thing. Ed Shaver,

O K everyone, here is my list of kits; mostly A M T stuff, but ....61 Buick Special wagon with it's little trailer. 61 or 62 Chevrolet Apachie Pick- up, sorry the re-issued 60 isn't worth building 61-63 Ford F-100 The oddly scaled Ford Leva car A M T's origional 63 Corvette Sting-ray convertible, yeah the one with the lights that you could rotate. The 61 Ford Ranchero with ALLLLLLLLLL the Styline parts put back, A M T's 62 Styline Thunderbird any of A M T's Craftsman kits including their 60 Pontiac 60 Chevrolet wagon Hey the 59 Mercury convertable can you say "gook-wagon" kids ? Any thing Jo-Han did from 63 on he really had his act together then. The early days of M P C yeah; their 64 corvette with working suspension, the Mako- Shark 2 the 32-3 Chevrolet Roadster and Sedan Delivery 66 Pontiac Bonniville. Lastly Revell PLEASE READ THIS : WHAT HAPPENED TO DARYL STARBIRD's FUTURESTA, hey get a copy of Car Craft magazine june 1963 right on the cover folks, uh huh there it is....NOTE TO MODEL KING

Dear Randy, thank you for such a prompt reply. Heres what I can tell you and all you kit kolectors out there east of Cycolac and south of "Estar". The Cab over hauler we were disussing was and stiil a "Prototype" . You see a certain Truck modeler who wrote for another magazine told me that there was never such a model ever produced. Loook this was in Dallas several years ago, I was at a contest with Joe Cavorley, may he rest in peace, and even he faintly recalled seeing the kit. Mean while the certain know it all modeler who will remain un named, still the "Big-Boys know who he is. Any how, a couple of years back right before Bud Anderson left A M T he wrote me and asked me for my opinion on doing some construction kits. Well I wanted a Steam Shovel. Next thing I know theres this Curbside Tractor trailer combo at the drug store where I bought a lot of kits. That was 1965 Now around 1970, I heard rumors of a Peterbuilt 359 comming out. Never heard about a re-issue of the moving trailer, in fact until you showed a picture of the truck, it's been the only one I have seen since 65. I probably don't get to too many shows, politics being what they are and I build gasoline pumps primarily. I did a good deal of the pictures in the book Check The Oil by Scott Anderson. Never was credited properly in the bibliography, but thats o k cause he either couldn' t idenify the pumps properly most of the time or the were mislabeled. I moved on, Iv'e earned several trophies for my work, ill build more and continue to share what I do with any one who will listen. Hey it's been great mabye we'll see one another some day..... happy trails to you

Randy in Minnisota, would you be so kind and tell me where you found the A M T North American Van line kit? The reason I ask is simple, I once had one when it came out in 1965. Hurricane Agness came through Richmond Virginia in 1972. I was living right in the path of the James river then. Uh for you "Hitorical' folks it was down the street from Edgar Allen Poe's house and not too far from where ships laden with tobacco would shove off for England. Needless to say, my entire collection was swept down the river in the flood, never to be seen again.

I think only folks that either live in the Dallas metoplex would possibly agree with me on this, years ago when Vans were Kool Rag heads were.....well, all attending U T Dallas two things come to mind, The "late " Dallas Times Hearald news paper and Bloom County, hey God bless em both.

Hey kids, I built a stucco building that was to replicate a gasoline station built here in Richmond Va a couple of years ago. Any way, to make a long story short, I knew that Plastikote's "Textured" or Stone finishes as they refer to them will work really well. You can also cover these finishes with Testors paints as well. I usually shop at Michiel's art stores to buy this product. I have also used "Bondo" thats about ready to Kick too., however, this ios iffy at best and your results wont be consistant. For what its worth, about all I do any more is "Petrolina' related projects. The I P M S club in Richmond can attest to this as any one who has attended an Old Dominion Open show can concer. Currently I am trying to build the "Shell' shaped building in Winston Salem North Carolinia I wish I had the capacity to share pictures with every one, sadly you will have to come to the N N L show there Aug 15th . I'll answer any of your questions there. Ed