Dave Ambrose

Sadly, my Dad's no longer with us. He and my grandfather encouraged my model building efforts. Hard not to miss them on a day like today.

Don't get me started about Canada Post. My paychecks get mailed out of Edmonton for the exotic destination of San Diego, CA. The first one never arrived and was returned 4 weeks later. The second one is now MIA for two weeks. Express mail comes through within a few days and they don't get lost, presumably due ti the tracking number. But, this is ridiculous. Contrastingly, the US postal service is the consumate "theory X" organization. They monitor their employees to an extent that would make a hawk look like a slacker. But the mail does get through and quickly. Unfortunately, the USPS is going bankrupt; victims of email and online payments. They're left delivering mostly no-profit junk mail.

AMT sold an Ernie Irvan hauler that sound like just what you need. I saw several at the Lower Left Coast NNL, so they have to be reasonably available. I have one that I swear I'm going to build some day. Cheers, Dave Ambrose

I'm not thrilled with the look of the stock wheels. Chariot wheels were either solid or more akin to a 19th century wagon wheel. I think I'd go solid, but tint the chrome with something contrasting. Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will look awesome. It's a good thing that building even a mediocre model is fun. Otherwise I've hung up my files and tweezers years ago.

I'm not living in Canada, but I'm working in Toronto. Spending about half time here until Feb of next year. Great hobby shops compared with San Diego. Harry, they still have to old fashioned streetcars. Cheers, Dave Ambrose

I think the right term here is "aspirational clutter". For the most part, we all intend to build all the kits we buy. Some people do that with books too. It makes them look smart. Models, not so much. But, it's important to make the distinction with hoarding. Here's a question for everyone: How would you feel if your model kit collection caught fire and burned?

I might be an oddity in this group. I think I have about 35 kits in my stash. I feel guilty about it; both because I'm not spending nearly enough time modeling, and I don't want to accumulate more than I can reasonably build. I know I have a few kits that are going to be a major commitment to build, and I don't really want to start them until I feel ready to tackle them. My Ernie Irvan cars, tractor, and hauler fall into this category. Otherwise, they're mostly run of the mill kits. I do have to say that when I went through them, there were only a couple that I really didn't want to build any more. But, I feel the pull. We're like kids in the hobby shop and a big(ger) wallet. And, don't ask me about my to-read pile.

That, my friend, is spiffariffic.

I use Popsicle sticks for all sorts of things; shims, risers for setting your stance, mixing epoxy, holding parts for painting, and making a tacky jewelry box for your mother-in-law. One box lasts me about 15 years or so. I like the coffee stirrers better for paint. This is one instance where Starbucks is truly your friend. You can help yourself to some extras and they don't seem to mind.

Actually, I think it looks like something Godzilla would step on.

Harry, that looks great. Maybe you should put it in a diorama on the side of a road with an annoyed soldier wondering how to fix the chain?

If you can find a "spoon" burnisher at an art supply store, you'll be able to press the edges down tightly enough to keep the paint out. You'll also have something to rub out dry transfers on tires too. I've used frisket film in place of masking tape for critical or delicate masking. You can also use Micro Mask to either seal the tape edges, or work as the masking agent.

I found a burnisher, like the ones used for dry transfer letters, will get the masking tape to lay down tightly. The burnisher works especially well on interior upholstery seams.

I like where you're going with this. That body caught my eye a while back. What are you using for a chassis?

Nice build. I have one in my WIP queue now. What wheels did you use?

Unfortunately, you can't fix it. We (the admins) are still working on bringing it back online.

I might be confused, but the '62 Morris Traveler in the carport has a separate frame and body. The Mini had the monocoque chassis. You should be able to modify sprite running gear if you can find them. The wheels are 4x14, and use 165/14 tires. They are not the same as the mini's, but would be the same size as a VW beetle. I have seen a few injection molded Morris Minors, but they are very few and far between. You might be best off to find something like a stock Anglia, and modify that well enough to pass. Alternatively, you could just go curbside. Let me know if you need any pictures. Just promise not to laugh at its condition.

I think we're in violent agreement here. I have a different definition of serious. It's serious if it's life-critical. I also SCUBA dive. That's an activity where if you don't take it seriously, someone (possibly you) dies. So far as I know, there's nothing life-critical about car modeling. If there is, I'm sure someone will enlighten me.

My apologies. This didn't come out in quite the way I meant it. I meant that we need to realize that while there are a few people who take this hobby very seriously, most people build model cars for fun. The writing style doesn't need to draw straight from the Corporate Auditing Report style manual. On the other hand, we don't need to recreate Saturday Night Live or Firesign Theater either. Using the occasional Hawai'ian word is an example of personality. Mark, your other examples are just obnoxious.I wouldn't like them either.

I just realized something. The Economist has more personality than SAE. If you doubt me, look at their current cover. Sounds like KSJO in the late '60s. That's the difference, and that's what'll make this hobby fly. Not that I've met a large sample of car modelers, but there seems to be a big, wide, streak of twisted humour running through this hobby. We need to capture that in print. Cheers, Dave

Wow. I go away for a few days, and look what happens. I used to subscribe to both SA and MCM. Now, I just subscribe to MCM. One simple reason; it has personality. Kalmbach is a very professional publishing company, but their corporate writing style makes The Economist look downright edgy. I don't know about the other MCM readers, but I do read the magazine for fun. For more serious times, I read the Economist. Sadly, the future of print is not good. Production costs, and postage are rising, while advertising dollars are falling. That's one reason the page counts are dropping. It's happening across all publications and all fields. As of now, there aren't any known-good business models to help us along. The publications that will go first are the niche magazines like SA and MCM. So, which ever magazine you like, subscribe. That helps in a whole bunch of ways, not the least of which is a little cash in the bank to cover the future issues. Larger subscriber populations also helps boost their advertising rates. There's very little income from magazines in distribution. By the time you get through with wholesale discounts and returns, it's probably a loss, but you have to be there to get exposure and hopefully gain subscribers. Electronic distribution is a lot cheaper, but the economics are still dodgy there too. So, where does that leave us? Sooner or later, we'll get the economics figured out. In the meantime, we need more modelers. Talk up your friends. Did we mention that you get to be creative with these models? Expose your nieces and nephews to model cars. There aren't many activities that give you the kind of fun per hour that we get. Just to be perfectly clear, I don't speak for MCM or anyone else.

What an awesome concept. I'd buy at least several. So, maybe not AMT or Revell, but what about Moebius? They're a very cool model company.

OK, I see what's happening. We're not being hacked, but we are running up against some preset limits. It's transient. You should try it again until it works..

Can you tell me the time and date of when this happened? Thanks,

Peter, you have a very odd definition of less stressful build. I'd be totally freaking out here. It looks awesome. I think the top, headlights, and the way everything works together are going to make this a head-turning build. I don't suppose you'd like to come vacation in San Diego right about the time of the NNL?