Ramcharger

Another one! I started with a R&R Vacumcraft resin body and the Lindberg 64 Dodge for the chassis and motor, again. Originally it was painted the correct Candy Apple Red for the stripes, but it looked wrong with all of my other Ramchargers cars on the shelf, so I redid it recently with the Lindberg kit decals. I originally built this one about 7 years ago.

I'm cleaning up the old project stash with another Ramchargers car, this time the 62. I used a Johan 62 Dodge body and a Lindberg 64 Dodge chassis & motor. The decals are custom made and the slicks are resins from Modelhuas. I used a soda can and wire to build the throttle linkage. I weathered the chassis because most tracks back in the day had dirt and gravel pit areas. I started this project several year ago and couldn't get the decals right so I boxed it up. Comments welcome!

Spoiler alert! This is not an accurate representation of the Ramchargers 67 Dart! I built this using the Polar Lights Funny Car chassis an a resin body. I didn't know when I started this build about 10 years ago that the Ramchargers Dart was a horse of a different color. Anyway, I decided to go ahead and finish it as a F/C so here it is after years of getting it out and putting it away unfinished. The blower belt was put on after these photos. Comments welcome! Thanks for looking!

I like it!

I just finished the flyer for the 2013 Buckeye Classic so I thought I would share, even though it's a little early. Same place as last year, Ramada Plaza Hotel at I-71 and Morse Rd in Cowlumbus, Ohia! Same date (almost) March 24. Same categories, same participant voting. This year will be the first Ohio Challenge, Ohio clubs will have a build off of the Round 2 Gremlin kit. See the builders from Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus go head to head in a model building cage match! OK, maybe not a cage match, but almost as exciting. We feature the best vendor room on the Scioto, and as always, the finest weather Ohio has to offer! So mark your calendar, put in for vacation, tell all your friends, and bring your best models to the Buckeye Classic Model Car Spectacular! Now for the flyer you were waiting for: ContestFlyer13-1.pdfContestFlyer13-2.pdf

Thanks , Drew! Sometimes you just have to lighten the mood a little. BTW, I forgot a Mr. Burns style Eggcellent at the begining.

Thank God, it's about time! I wish the rest of you would quit forever also, then I could be the greatest modeler EVER! (insert maniacal laugh here) My evil plan is coming together, soon I will RULE THE WORLD! (repeat maniacal laugh)

Guilty as charged! I stayed home and didn't bring my models up there to the show because I thought the cost was too much after the report that the show sucked. I guess I should have manned up and gone to show my support for the hobby. I'm now afraid this show will not return to Ohio. I guess I was part of the problem rather than the solution.

I passed on going at the last minute, I even had a bunch of models to display. I talked to my local hobby shop owner on Friday night and he said it sucked, so I stayed home. Too bad, I was really looking forward to it. I thought about just going up to hang out with you Cleveland guys, but I decided the trip from Columbus was too far to justify. I'm heading up the the IPMS show next month.

Don't ignore the piston return springs, those are major bucks to replace!

To be considered a "Pro" or professional builder, you must first must complete the 12 year apprenticeship program, then submit 4 models for review to the National Model Builders and Rivet Counters board, then fill out the 50 page application (assuming you have passed the board), write a 500 page thesis on your particular area of modeling expertise, complete the "Quest", answer the 5 riddles, and bring the still beating heart of a novice modeler to the acceptance ceremony. You will then receive your secret decoder ring and photocopied membership card in the mail in 4 to 6 weeks. Good luck! OR, you could just sell a model for money and add pro to your Ebay description to make more money. Either way, you're a pro!

As someone once asked me about a model car I built, "Why would you spend so much time putting all of those little details, getting the paint just so, and all that other stuff? It's just a little plastic car!" So I guess the question could be asked of you by someone who likes Zingers!, Tom Daniel, and Snap Draggins, "Why do you like to go so far with replica stock? Lighten up and just build them out of the box." I guess if we all liked the same thing the model companies would have an easier time making money,

I've met AJ a couple of times and he is a great guy. He'll talk your ear off about Zeke, but ask him about "The Big Animal" 58 Merc and he really gets going. If you ever get to see it, he raced it, parked it, and has never touched it except to keep it clean. This THE car that made him "Animal" Jim. Not that Zeke is a slouch by any means. http://youtu.be/PjI_zg6xl4Y

I was talking to the local hobby shop owner the other day about sales and stuff, he mentioned how the trend has become the hot new kit is released, it sell like crazy, then after a few guys buy the one or two they want, sales drop to almost zero. Not a good sales model as far as keeping kits in stock and not a great way to have R. O. I. for kit manufacturers. Reissues are just cheaper to do. If you tool up for 5000 kits and sell 1000 in the first week of release and then sell nothing after that, why on earth would you spend money on a new tool with the same result? (Moebius Hudsons come to mind) The hobby is dying out because we are getting older and our society is not as car centered as it once was. Cars are just transportation, with a few guys that are car nuts. I my opinion, I need to build what I have in the basement, not buy more.

Good job, Rom! I hope you do well at shows with it, just not in my neck of the woods! I'm really enjoying the resurgeance of the hard core over the top builds among you pro mod guys, they look great. Much more entertaining to follow the build than some guy just throwing aftermarket wheels & tires and an LS-1 in something and then never finishing it. Keep up the great work!

We picked the theme for next year's show: Cars that didn't out last their payments! That's right, pull out those 70's & 80's kits and build 'em up. Exploding Pintos, Novas you could see the whole side of the car while it went down the road because it was dog-tracking so bad, Chrysler products that started rusting on the dealer's lot, those Buick Regals, Chevy Monte Carlos, Olds Cutlass', and Pontiac Gran Prix that the bumpers rusted off after you made the first payment, any AMC, the Granda/Monarch debacle of a car, the Caddy that "zigs" the Cimmeron (read Cavailer), or any of Detroit's sub par attempts at carmaking during the dark ages of the automobile. So build 'em up and have fun with it! I'll have a date as soon as we get it confirmed. See you next March!

Steve Goldman with his 68 Firebird! Man, what a tough pick! I had several in my sights and his paint was just flawless.

Nice pics, Tom!

You're welcome Karl! We're glad you came and had a good day. Here's photos of the event! http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v720/Ramcharger/Model%20Car%20Shows/Our%20Show%202012/

The Buckeye Classic was another success! Thanks for all of you who showed up to compete, sell, and buy. The competition was fierce! Club members mentioned several times that they didn't want to have to judge the extremely high quality of models on the tables. I can tell you models that would have been 1st place or best of show at most other places were either mid pack or 2nds and 3rds. Great stuff, I'll post photos later.

Aw, dude! I thought it was today! I wondered where you guys were! Just kidding ! See y'all tomorrow! Be there or be a rhombus with equal angles!

We have a couple of tables left on a first come first served basis at $30 a shot. This is a limited deal and there are no guarantees, we will try to make space if we can. We decided to do this because we had a lot of calls from people wanting tables at the last minute.

Hey Tom! Great to hear the Cleveland guys are coming down for the show. We always enjoy your company and your awsome builds! Make sure you stop by and say Hi! Dan (mopar1), you'll figure out who I am pretty quick. BTW, we heard the local newspaper is going to cover our event also. Maybe the tv news will stop by, we could be famous!

Bump... -n-Grind!

Thanks Guys! Up next is the 62 Dodge of the Ramcharger! Max Wedge Madness!