ZTony8

As a note of trivia not only are the fender vents unique to the '71 Firebird but that's the only year that the engine size digits are larger than the "Firebird" script. I know this because I had a '71 455 H.O. Firebird and the kid down the street had a '73 Formula 350;his engine size and name script were the same size.

Went to Hobby Lobby the other night to use my 40% off coupon and initially didn't see anything that interested me in the kit aisle. Then I turned around, looked up, and saw a Revell 2017 Ford GT on the "overstock" shelf. None on the regular shelf so I grabbed it. Makes we wonder if an employee stashed it there for themself or a buddy.

The spring 2021 Detroit Area Auto Modelers show was cancelled by the college where we hold our shows. Yes, due to the pandemic. So we're hoping that the fall show happens next November.

It pays to be a sharp shopper because sometimes you can beat the overseas price. Earlier this year I bought two of the Tamiya Mustang GT4 kits from a local hobby shop for $33.29 each plus 6 per cent sales tax.

I can't remember where I scored my first '88 Regal but I got another one and a Reatta at a national Buick meet in Flint ( I think it was in 2003). The promos were being sold as fund raisers for, I believe, the Sloan Museum. The models were donated by GM and I think I got them for five or ten dollars each.

Update- The Detroit Autorama has been moved to April 30- May 2 , 2020. Let's hope it happens.

I never knew that they came as kits. I only ever saw them( and have them) as promos.

Mine would be a 30/31 Model A body with a mild chop on Deuce rails with a 50s era Olds or Caddy engine. I'd use a modern 5 or 6 speed trans. It would be a dark green with a black chassis. Rolling stock would be big and littles, probably on steel wheels.

Believe it or not, I had good luck with good old Testor putty! I used it to fill some voids in some 1/43 scale resin bodies years ago and it still holds and hasn't shrunk. It even smells like the resin bodies, for what that's worth. Similar chemical composition, perhaps?

I recall reading an article about the restoration of one of these pre war Audi race cars( don't know if it was a type C or a D) and there was analysis of the metal frame. The results showed that the frame was equivalent to lawn chair tubing!

Today I went to another LHS in the area that was discounting items for Small Business Saturday. Picked up a Revell Porsche Panamera, an Aoshima Galant A ( sold here as the Plymouth Sapporo and Dodge Charger in the late 70s/ early 80s), a Tamiya Suzuki Katana bike, and the reissue of the MPC '32 Imperial Roadster along with a couple cans of paint.

Stopped by the LHS to pick up issue #207 and saw that they were giving 20% off their regular prices. I managed to find a Revell Germany Valliant Porsche 934. I've seen them at a regular retail of $39.95 and have gotten them for anywhere from 27 to 30 dollars. This was marked with a regular price of $28.95 so with the discount I got it for $23.15.

Shades of the Delta Wing racing car!

The '65 GTO and the '69 Torino were returned to regular bodies after being altered to the racing versions. So why not the '65 Olds, the '69 Falcon, and the '66 Skylark? The first two showed that it CAN be done ( with varying success).

Stop? Me? NAH! I'm investing in styrene futures.?

Looking Good. I've never understood why the 956 kit didn't include the rear brake ducting but the 962 kit without the removeable rear deck has them.

I have them both, too, along with another set from ( I think) RMR.

I got word this morning that ,as of now, the Detroit Autorama is on for March 5th through March 7th, 2021 including the model car contest. It's a judged contest. Admission to Autorama lets you bring as many models for the contest as you like for no additional charge. Help support our hobby and see some cool real cars, too!

In the current issue of Vintage Motorsport magazine there is an article about the Slot Car Museum in Los Angeles. Good reading.

Subject matter is why I buy a kit( why else would I buy a 1/18 scale Heller Formula 1 Renault kit?) Box art isn't a factor for me unless it shows the built up model being a badly appearing lump like the Monogram '69 Camaro or '56 Chevy hardtop). Brand isn't my top consideration for kit purchase unless the maker has had a bad reputation( Palmer, Premier). I do recognize that because of advances in kit molding you can't compare a 60s AMT kit to a late Tamiya kit. I like the sense of accomplishment a completed kit gives me but I hate to have to file, sand, and putty to make pieces fit acceptably well. High parts content doesn't bother me but having pieces that can't be seen in the finished model is senseless( like the separate crankshafts in some 60s Revell kits).The type of kit doesn't matter as long as it's done well. Yes, I like options! What kind depends on the kit subject. My suggestions would two: Better discern what goes into a kit. Do we REALLY need two colors of windows or a mini replica of the kit box? And make sure the parts aren't crammed into the box so as to minimize the possibility of damage( this is you, Moebius). My seven cars( in no special order): 1) A Chrysler Airflow 2) A '41 Packard LeBaron Sport Brougham 3) A '48 or '49 Packard Custom Super Eight 4) A '71 Pontiac Formula 455 H.O. 5) A Gordon-Keeble 6) My '27 Chevy Woodie finally restored 7)The HHR I have now or an HHR SS to replace it

I wonder what was meant by "best"? Most influential? Successful? Nicest looking? Something else?

I was at my local Ollies yesterday and got a Kenworth, a Diamond Reo, and a flatbed trailer. The store had plenty of the snap Camaro "concept car", the unassembled Corvette promos, the Escalade EXT, the pumper and the Kenworths. They were cleaned out of the Gremlins, T- Birds, '55 Vettes and Cutlasses. My buddy stopped at an Ollies near his workplace and got me another Kenworth, another flatbed, a tanker, a Cutlass and a T-Bird. No, mine are not destined for Facebook Marketplace or Ebay.

The prices on that site are a bit "ambitious".

Another part in the white version kit ( and maybe that blue version, too)and isn't mentioned in the instructions is a fuel line that the later kits don't have. It is shown on the box art model on the bottom of the box. But be careful when assembling the front suspension. There have been reports of alignment difficulties which were apparently remedied in the later versions by more precise parts location.

I got my copy yesterday from Pasteiner's. I've been glancing through it but will read it in depth later.