charlie8575

I'm 38 and hardly an "old fogey." I just think brass/early cars are really cool. And very interesting to look at and study- how the rudiments of what we now drive started out. In many cases, even the mechanical parts are works of art. Charlie Larkin

I'll look forward to more pictures. Nice job on this. Charlie Larkin

Very nice, Harry. I would love to see more brass in production- either reissues or new kits, or both. Charlie Larkin

Very nice job on this, Stan. Charlie Larkin

Blues and a lot of pastels and light colors seem to go on my builds, but I'm starting to expand to browns, greys, maroon/red, and green. I'm also going to do some turquoise and aqua cars, too. I like color, and sometimes it's very hard to pick, especially 1950s-70s models, because so many wonderful colors and combinations were available, unlike today's black, white, five shades of grey/silver, and maybe a gold/metallic beige and red or blue of some kind. I always liked blue, though, and tend to gravitate towards it rather heavily. Charlie Larkin

At MassCar, at least, our general rule has been if the builder asks us not to touch, or only to pick up a model in a certain manner, the judges do their best to honor the builder's request. While it might make judging a little more difficult, we want people to be happy, so we do our best to honor their requests. Charlie Larkin

Very nice interior. The buckets weren't available from the factory, at least as a regular order, but I suspect they could be done, as Pontiac offered buckets on their full-size 4-doors and wagons on special-order. Charlie Larkin

True. Parents spend so little time with their kids now, that this is absolutely critical. I hope they (and you) have fun with it, and that they stick with it. Show us your son's work, too when he gets something ready to show! Charlie Larkin

Very nice, Chris. My first car was a 1977 Estate Wagon. Might be wise to consider grabbing a winter car and putting that into storage for the bad weather. Charlie Larkin

Very nice job on that conversion. Any chance we might be able to talk you into trying a master of the sport sedan, and perhaps seeing if one of the resin casters might be interested? I think either Missing Link or Motor City might be takers. Charlie Larkin

Perfection. Very pretty, and a great re-style. The Mk. II looks very nice as a hardtop- too bad Jag didn't do one like that. Charlie Larkin

Looking real good, Mike. Charlie Larkin

Impressive achievements, Matt. Where in Connecticut are you? If you're free next week, please consider yourself welcomed to MassCar's show, March 16 at the Holiday Inn in Taunton, Ma. www.masscar.com for flyer and information. Charlie Larkin

Welcome, Tucker. Always good to see a younger modeler around. There are a fair number here in your age bracket and many of them are excellent builders. Speaking as someone who used to teach high school- and may be doing it again as a long-term sub for the rest of the school year, it's refreshing to see a high school kid doing something besides playing with a mobile phone or video game. It gives hope to the world. Charlie Larkin

Different. Different is good. Charlie Larkin

Interesting look with the blackwalls, unless you plan to add WWs later, Dan. That's really shaping up nicely- nice addition to your MoPar collection. Charlie Larkin

Really nice, Brad. I think this will be a big hit next weekend. Charlie Larkin

Wow, I should say not. Nitrocelluose can be somewhat unstable, but for it to actually change color? Isn't Channel Green the color that's almost, if not totally impossible to get correct today? I remember reading someplace that one of the late T colors cannot be replicated accurately at any cost or with any paint system. Charlie Larkin

Very nice job on this. I've seen a couple of 3000s, very nice-looking trucks, I think. Charlie Larkin

How'd I miss this? Another winner, Tulio. Charlie Larkin

Interesting idea to use the vinyl dye, Chuck. Nice model, too. I didn't really realize those WWWs are a bit narrower. They still look good, though. Charlie Larkin

One more reason I refuse to not have a home phone. I remember in 2011 that we had the "Halloween storm," with several inches of snow and a fair amount of ice. And no power for two or three days. All around my area for one or two days, no mobile phones would work because the mobile towers are powered by regular electric lines, no backups. Our regular phone, though, worked just fine. Charlie Larkin

When one of my friends moved out to Skokie, and I was going up to Milwaukee, I took US 41, which got me around all the tolls. I will agree the traffic there was rather amazing. Neat city, though. I'd love to go back and visit- but in the spring or summer when it's not so cold. Charlie Larkin

This story has been making the rounds in New England the last couple of days. Tyler is a seven-year-old boy in a small town in Rhode Island called Burrillville, who is going through his second battle with leukemia. His wish when he gets older is to be a first responder. His mother went online and asked if some of the police and fire departments in Massachusetts and Rhode Island would be willing to send some cards to her son as a way to cheer him up a little. Well...a lot more happened. Over a thousand police, fire and emergency medical personnel from as far away as Pennsylvania (!) came to little speck-on-the-map Burrillville to wish Tyler a happy birthday. Just watch the video and look at the pictures. You'll tear a little. And it's perfectly okay. I will openly admit, there are times I really wonder about some of the people who wear the uniform of law enforcement, I've run into a lot of these guys are on power trips and don't seem to quite understand things from their oath of office to simple courtesy. But, stuff like this reminds me, and all of us, that generally speaking, there are a lot of great people in emergency services, and we should be appreciative of the ones that make their profession shine. http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/03/06/thousands-of-police-fire-officials-help-ri-boy-celebrate-birthday/ http://boston.cbslocal.com/follow-the-tylers-troops-convoy/ Charlie Larkin

Brad, we'll be quite pleased to host your exquisite craftsmanship, as witnessed by some of your builds I've seen over the years. MassCar is honored to have the presence of your work, and Terry safe-guarding it. Charlie Larkin