charlie8575

One thing I'd like to add in Niko's defense... A lot of the kids I had at school are very much like him taste-wise. They really don't have interest in the new stuff at all...even the fancy exotic machines. I found a lot of my students were more interested in prewar cars and 1950s-60s cars because they had character and style. I introduced several 5th graders to Packards and explained to them all the neat stuff they had, their build quality, their engineering, and what blew them away was not only those things but the style. Those coach-built Packards, however, are one car big-inch wheels DO belong on! Charlie Larkin

I'll take the Jags. And the GTO, Grand Am and 4-4-2. Charlie Larkin

I think both of you have really hit home on these comments. Our younger people need to be exposed to things that will engage their hands and minds besides some piece of electronic junk that generally does nothing but destroy brain cells and blunt creativity. I spent a lot of time in classrooms as a teacher and student over the years. The lack of creativity and ability to express themselves amongst those that are following is truly alarming. Introducing these kids to not just model building, but the act of creation is critical if we're to have any success. I very recently heard a rather scary statistic that I'm now engaged in tracking the source of: the average high school graduate of the present day has a vocabulary of approximately 800-1000 words. When I graduated high school in 1993 (wow...twenty years, where did the time go? ), it was about 1500-2000. The overuse of computers, mobile phones, an acronym-heavy language, and the overall puerility of contemporary popular culture that demotes and demeans intelligence, are squarely placed as the blame. Based on my observations of a year at a community college as a student, sixteen months of graduate school with a substantial number of younger people as classmates, and returning to the classroom for the first half of the 2012-13 school year, empirical observation compels me to agree with this finding. Coming attractions to education such as Common Core (see http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/common-core-a-tocquevillean-education-or-cartel-federalism#axzz2T6VbSCIW) and other brain-numbing exercises in public K-12 education will only serve to worsen the problem. Add in the instant gratification culture, and we have a BIG problem. I commend to all adults here....find a kid, grab a snap-kit of their choice, and walk them through the whole build up. Paint, detail, research details. Teach patience and thoroughness. Teach pride in their work, unlike the social and educational pundits who equate pride with gloating, and have dissuaded us from having that in our work. I think model building, pencil-and-paper drafting, sculpting, anything like that at all, is critical to taking our children back from too many negative influences. It will teach them not only creativity, but the greatest gift we can give them...the ability to think and reason effectively, and independently. Charlie Larkin

Interesting. I'd build one just because. Wonder if anyone can make a figure of Angela Dorian to go along with it? Charlie Larkin (another case of almost anything AMC buyer)

This is another one I wish someone would start making in resin, with an interior, and use the AMT '57 300 chassis for the under-carriage, with your choice of B-series engine. Very nicely done. Charlie Larkin

Mmmm.....now I can build one each from each year. Just gotta figure out which ones I want to do what which way. So, they're thinking a fall release date? Charlie Larkin

I think that's an older kit- sometime around the 1960s or '70s. I vaguely remember seeing a few on shop shelves from when I was a kid in the 1980s. I was very pleased with the molding quality of mine. I'm going to try and build it sometime this year. I grabbed one of those a few months ago because I've been on a real pre-war kick lately. I would probably agree that the WWWs aren't necessarily correct for an SSK, although they do, in my opinion, add a nice bit of dress-up to what is essentially a road-going race car. I was toying with doing mine in as close as I can get to a pearl white that one might've seen in the 1920s or '30s, and a high-end, custom-built, big-bucks car gives me an excuse to play a little. I ran across a nice site with some reference pictures of an SSK that looks very much like this one- even the color scheme is the same. I'm not on my computer right now, but next time I am and if I remember, I'll try to post a link to it. Charlie Larkin

My guess...it IS the better stuff and more durable, and figuring most snap-kits are probably going to get played with at least a little, they need something that'll hold up. Charlie Larkin

Given the number of mentall/reasoning-capacity deficient who fancy themselves in charge (and sadly, in many cases, are in fact in charge), the short bus is going to have to be the length of a city block. Charlie Larkin

Beautiful build, Al. The 1965-66 big Pontiac was one of the most attractive cars of the 1960s and looked good in just about every color. Charlie Larkin

Another fine job, Tullio. You make us all proud to say we know you and your builds. Charlie Larkin

Been a tough couple of weeks around here I've seen. Kevin, there is no easy way to deal with this, other than dealing with it head-on. While it will be very difficult and painful, you and your family will be the stronger for it in the long run. Remember the good things, forgive those that weren't, and always cherish the memories. Having no siblings myself and a very small extended family, while I cannot truly appreciate the agony you're going through, I can and do understand it. You have all our support, and we are all here for you, as you have been for those who have endured difficulties and to cheer on our successes and discoveries. We now stand to render assistance to you. May God grant you and your family peace during this time of loss. Charlie Larkin

Looks better than I had imagined it would, and in my mind's eye, I was seeing a pretty car. Well done, Chris. I'm glad to see your recovery is not interfering with your building one bit. Charlie Larkin

That's coming out very nicely, Bill Ken- thanks for the heads-up. Looks like the quality I've come to expect to see from you. Charlie Larkin

Very nice indeed. Charlie Larkin

For curiosity's sake, whose plastic and what time period seemed to work well with Dupli-Color/Plasti-Kote? I remember the stuff AMT was using in the 1990s was pretty stout, and I never had trouble except for the weird colors. When they went to most white and pastels, it took al manners of paint very nicely from what I remember. Then again, that was American and Mexican production, where quality was expected, not hoped for. Charlie Larkin

That's good for re-painting. Just be sure to prime it thoroughly. Charlie Larkin

Here, here! In addition to that... Cars, trains, photography (real photography with film), architecture, woodworking, drawing, history, my activity with the Masons, cooking, reading, and listening to music (my friends who were in chorus and band in high school will be all too happy to tell you that I should not be allowed to do any performing). Starting a business has become a hobby/obsession, as well as continuing my education, both formal (i.e., school, classes, etc.) and informal (i.e., a student of life, self-directed learning, etc.) Charlie Larkin

I have been told that paint that's been on for a long time is very tough to get to come off. Start with a little sanding in a few spots as suggested. I have found that Purple Power/SuperClean will remove lacquer, but it can take time. I've been able to strip lacquer primer in the stuff with little trouble, but the jobs were generally recent- within a year or so. I've also found that oven cleaner is very effective for removing paint and lacquer in particular because the foaming action works its way into the pores of the paint. Alcohol from the experiencs of others, seems to work best on synthetic lacquers, like Tamiya or Model Master. Charlie Larkin

This was one of my more frustrating paint jobs, to sat the least. The model in question is my 1925 Model T coupe. Painted using Plasti-Kote primer and ModelMaster Classic Black, thinned with Ace lacquer thinner and airbrushed. The paint didn't go on as well as I had hoped, and was always touch rough without the gloss I would've liked. That said, it still sanded okay and I figured with adequate polishing, I would be able to get it to the point where I'd like it to be. After one final coat that was still a bit coarse, but had decent gloss, I decided to polish it with some Novus #2, which made it fairly smooth and to the point where I could gloss clear it and have a presentable paint job. To make sure no polish residues affected the clear-coat, I put the parts in my cleaning tank for a couple of days to let it soak- nothing fancy. Room-temperaure water with some dish soap. After pulling the parts, the paint was all lumpy and felt odd. Fearing the worst, I took a toothbrush to see what might happen, and this was the result! These are the following possible causes I've isolated based on thinking about this over the last several days. 1. Some kind of reaction between the Novus and the dish soap. 2. Some kind of reaction between the Novus and the paint (note: the primer-coat was not affected, and is now the best part of the paint job!) 3. Bad paint. 4. Bad thinner (something I've suspected as that lacquer thinner never seemed to work quite right). 5. Bad application (new airbrush and still getting the hang of this one). Thoughts? Charlie Larkin

Very nice work. I don't think I've ever seen a two-tone E-body before. I like the idea of the boxes to hold the sub-assemblies in. Looks like it's much safer for the parts than letting them rattle around in the kit box. I might look into a system like that for myself. Charlie Larkin

And now George Jones, too as of yesterday. All I can say is with all those guys and Dave Brubeck now, there's gonna be one helluva jam session someone in the great beyond. Charlie Larkin

Thank you, Ray, for creating many unique products and for pointing the way for those who have entered the field to follow. May the RTV always be fresh and the resin not lousy in the pot. I do hope the line will continue in some way. Charlie Larkin

I'm very sorry to hear of this, Mark. CF is a horrible, insidious illness that kills slowly, and the suffering your cousin endured was, I'm sure, beyond description. But, with family that made life more pleasant, helping make thing easier, you did your job. Now, let the Creator do His. Charlie Larkin

4-6 1x6s and some plexi with a 1/2" luaun backer board would do what you want. Cut the case so that it's about two feet square on the outside, dado the back of the case and insert the plywood. Nail and glue the backer in. Drill a series of 1/8" holes about every 3" vertically, in the centre of the case. Plan to centre the case on a stud in the wall. Drill additional holes in the back approximately halfway between the centre and outer edge of the case on each side. You will need toggle bolts for those outer holes. Next, using 1/2" square stock, cut those to a length slightly shorter than the internal depth, and nail them in place form the inside with 1" finish brads. Two per piece should do nicely. Then, simply place your shelves on top of the slats. Put some masking tape on top of the slats, stain and varnish the case. I would recommend taping the leading roughly half-inch of the edges of the shelves, too, to allow for stain. Remember, glue DOES NOT adhere to stain or varnish. Glue the shelves in place. Put a piece of plexiglass on the top, fitting the outside perimeter. Use magnets to hold it shut. Drill two small holes and mount hinges externally. Charlie Larkin