BigGary

Looking back at the original cars imported from Japanese manufacturers you will find them very basic. The first 4,000 Hondas imported were scrapped because it didn't have an efficient heater. The engine was 600 cc and air cooled. Rather than repair them, they all went to a scrap yard. They were very small, underpowered, and most people only know of the next edition. The next interation was larger and had a water-cooled engine. A friend had one and found it unreliable and uncomfortable to drive. At 6'6" I couldn't even get into the thing. The first Subarus and Toyota were much the same. A lot of time and development went into creating a car for the US market. Nissan did a lttle better with the Datsun 1200 roadster. It was a small sports car. Not many were sold but created a better reputation than the others enjoyed in the beginning. Japanese companies were about 20 years from the end of WWII when there cars began showing up in the US. It takes time for a war torn nation to rebuild. VW had the advantage of having a functioning car plant through most of WWII and at the end. The British took control of VW and built cars to provide jobs in Germany. The first VW's came here in the late 40's. They weren't very successful at first, but the rest is history. The VW Beetle reached its peak sales here in 1969, about the time that the Japanese were just getting a good start selling cars and pickups in the US. As for the fuel cell vehicle, the only real advantage from the pollution standpoint is that the hydrocarbons are at the production site rather than the individual vehicle. Gary

So, what's the hottest selling car right now, so hot they can't make 'em fast enough? The new Camaro. (Just goes to show Americans take style over substance) This is the first car in some time from Chevy that is not cookie cutter copy of the same thing in Buick, Pontiac (soon R.I.P.), and earlier, Oldsmobile (R.I.P.) It probably won't last long because, as someone noted, its a niche market. Neither the price, styling, number of doors, gas mileage, etc. will make it a one-in-every-driveway kind of car. It will be interesting to see what the future holds. The long touted electric cars like the Chevy Volt are a lot farther off than predicted. Remember the GM EVA. They weren't sold, but leased to drivers. They had a hard time finding people willing to take them. A monumental DUD! Millions of your tax dollars blown to smithereens. The closest thing to a truly desirable "green" car would be fueled by natural gas, but its some sort of environmental crime to drill for natural gas. 130 octane, no pollution are good for me. Just filter it, put stinky stuff in it, create a system of fueling stations besides your house. (Yes, you can fill it at home with the right equipment) And, the speculation of it is that we have 500 years of it between our shores. Works for me. This is not new technology, its already there, in use, in major cities. Gary

This is a problem that many others have dealt with. It usually has to do with incompatible paints being used on top of each other. The usual fix is to strip and wash the parts and re-paint with primer and paint from the same manufacturer to insure compatibility. Do a search on this topic and I'm sure you'll find good help. Gary

The hippie is right. The definition of "domestic" cars is kind of clouded with Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, Mercaedes, etc. making cars in the U.S. that would be considered "foreign". Toyota in NASCAR? Who woulda thunk it?. Who's next? Since Obama's boys and the Unions have there hands in the GM pie, how long before they say "No more racing involvement"? Jimmy Johnson was at the White House a while back, but you can't tell what those arrogant bast**** are going to do next. Gary

Let me take you back to the earlier part of this decade. When Daimler bought Chrysler they treated it like a red-headed step child that couldn't make enough of those vans and pickups. About '05 the Chrysler 300C and Charger/Magnum came out and sold like crazy, before $4 gas. By '07 Chrysler Division was the only one keeping Daimler from going under. Daimler was skimming off the profits to keep Mercedes going and calling Chrysler unprofitable. Arrogance at Mercedes was incredible. There's a reason 300C's and Chargers were selling like hotcakes. They were stylish cars, RWD, fairly fast, comfortable, good handling, and plenty of room for you and all your buds. In the fall of '06 I rented a 300C and drove it around Central & Coastal California. Man it was hard to give that car back! Its not in the budget, but I hope one day. At 6'6" and 320 lbs. Big Gary was very comfortable in that ride. Gary P.S. For the most part, Ford and GM (new, old or otherwise) make rubber stamp, boring cars. It appears that government interference in the auto industry is going to reduce us down to driving the 21st century version of Yugo & Trabant.

I got back into cars after being out for 10 years and in and out for many years before. The biggest surprise for me was the details that were not molded in and the absence of metal axles. I didn't slow me down because I'm so slow anyway. I'm delighted with current generation kits and the invention of BMF after spending so much time with silver paint and brush trying to paint chrome trim and always messing it up. I read a lot of complaints about BMF but it must be people who didn't build models before BMF> Gary

There are some diecasts of late model trucks, but nothing in plastic that I've seen. There is a Ford F-350 from the late 90's but I haven't seen it for awhile. If there was a viable market maybe a resin caster would take on making the wide fenders, wheels, and axles for duallies or kits for some imports. I have a 1:1 Dodge Ram Quad cab made in '03, but except for the Revell Dodge VTS, there don't seem to be many kits of Dodge trucks. Gary

Now you're making me wish I hadn't sold that kit to you! Sounds like fun. However, since I'm one of those perrenial non-finishers, I probably would never finish it. Right now I'm painting bodies for building over the winter when I can't paint in the garage. Gary

You just GOTTA Chop the TOP! Gary

I think he must leave it home and stake it down if the wind is over 20 mph. Gary

I'm pretty sure some of those first pictures are from a computer graphics geek with too much time on their hands. The Mustang with the huge tailpipe should have a curve at the end of the shadow instead of being straight at teh end. Look closely. The rest are just atrocious! Gary

We're at all levels here, from "just getting started" to "been building models for 50 years", and everything in between. Case in point, Big Gary started building models at age 8, went to 1:1, back to models, then to R/C models, back to airplane models, back to R/C, etc., etc., etc. Gary

8 models in 3 months!!! I've been back to building cars for 2 years and I haven't finished one yet! I guess I'm not as addicted as ponyexpress! I have started that many however. Gary

Ever heard the term "Overkill"? There it is. the car is beautiful except for wa-a-ay too much grille. Gary

Few of us would disagree that we were disappointed in this generation charger, mostly that it was a 4 door. That said, there's little doubt that it is a great car. Take a look around, you won't find any large cars that are 2 doors. The concept of the "sports sedan" has kind of taken the large 2-door-squeeze-into-the-back-seat thing away. If Chrysler had taken the same approach with the Charger that they did with the Challenger, it would be a different car. As far as I'm concerned, they should have rolled a '69 Charger into the design studio and said"This is what we want". Gary

Someone once said "There is no accounting for taste". It seems to fit here. Someone also said "a camel is a horse designed by a committee." I think that it looks like something designed by a committee and they used everybody's ideas. By the way, this thing was dated the moment it was finished. Gary

Today a good friend of 25 years, who is 1500 miles away, sent me that tacky gift that no one turns down, everyone is always glad to get, and is never returned, namely cash, which will go for a Little Red Express Truck. I haven't been keeping up with this thread, so here goes. Since July 1st I've gotten Little Red Wagon, Model King '64 Plymouth Belverdere, Lindbergh '64 Dodge 330, and Dodge Ram VTS. I think I need to get to work and finish something. Plans are for the '64 Dodge and Plymouth to swap roofs, so the Dodge 330 becomes a Polara 2 dr. hardtop and the Plymouth becomes a Savoy 2 dr sedan. Just include me as a perpetual non-finisher? Gary

I picked up Tenax before I ever heard anything about it. I wondered about it while it was sitting unused on the workbench. I tried it and really like it, especially for assembling engines, because I can hold the parts together, apply a little Tenax, hold another part of the engine halves together, add Tenax, and its done with a nice tight, seamless fit. I use either a cheap Testors paint brush or a Q-tip to apply. Tenax saves me a lot of time, but parts have to fit together tightly. I also use tube glue and Super Glue on occasion. Gary

I am grateful you could build "old Skool" without falling into the Rat Rod trap. Old Skoolers would call this a "project in the works" or a driveable project waiting for that super paint job. You have captured the look of the postwar rodders very well. This is a model to be proud of. Gary

Here's a guy I buy stuff from in the little town of Childress, TX. He charges a lot less for shipping and probably has the kit you want. I contact him by e-mail, he tells me the price including shipping, I send him a money order, my kit arrives a few days later. Reliable as sunrise and reasonable prices. Give him a try. e-mail: samshobbies@hotmail.com Stocks 800 plastic kits, cars, planes, etc. Gary

On TuesdaY I found plastic and diecast 30% off at Hobby Lobby. Gary

Maybe there should be a new adage: "Don't judge a book by its cover or a model kit by its box art". There's more than one kit I've ignored because of bad box art. Reviews in MCM are a lot more reliable. Gary

When i'm doing BMF I keep a piece of 1500 grit sandpaper nearby. I sharpen the blade on a FLAT surface and keep a good edge for BMF. At a buck apeice or so for a #11 blade it can get pricey. That's why I sharpen. Gary

The nail polish remover you buy in the store is nothing more than acetone with a little oil added to tone it down for use on hands. Its nasty stuff. A few days in the freezer will loosen up most parts. I've been working on a '51 Chevy glue bomb and a weekend in the freezer loosened everything to where it popped loose. It worked especially well for loosening small stuff like headlight, tail lights, etc. Gary

The thing implied but never stated in your lengthy treatise is that we build these kits for our own personal pleasure, and the collectors you so distain also do it for the same reason. Yes, there are some who are in it strictly for the money. I have a friend who collects kits, in his case airplanes, as a hedge for his retirement. He's buys 3 of each new release. More power to him I buy for the pleasure of building, although I haven't actually finished anything in the last 3 years!? I know I'm not alone in that. It seems to be a disease among some modelers. None the less, when time and motivation align themselves, things happen. I taught one of my sons to model, and now his models are medal and he hopes to soon have one that runs on gas. Gary