charlie8575

I like this. That will work nicely with the light blue. Charlie Larkin

Or a Ranch Wagon. Or a new Country Squire. All the wagons used the short wheelbase. They do the wagons, and Paul Scopetski (owner, Spare Time Shop, Marlborough, Ma.,) will be able to retire off of me. Charlie Larkin

Shelves and racks are your friends.... How big an area are you working with? The key is to have enough shelves and racks without creating claustrophobia. Don't forget to leave an area for your workbench/counter, too. If you're really tight on space, make a folding one out of one of the 1" thick 2'x4' "handy panels," preferably the laminated wood as opposed to plywood, that most lumberyards sell. These are commonly used for sides of dressers, table tops, etc. If you go that route, I would suggest finishing it with a coat of oil-based polyurethane to protect it. Before doing that, though, it would be wise to consider gluing a 1'x1-1/2' piece of cork to one side to give you a softer cutting are to help minimize damage to tools.Glue the cork on first, as glue does not hold to poly varnish. Make the hinges using a piano hinge and two brass supports, all available in the cabinetry section at your hardware store. These are the supports I'm talking about (or similar.) http://www.furnitureknowledge.com/images/Brackets/200D-2742.jpg I'd frame it using some 1x2, forming a 2'x4' box, with counter-sunk 2" #6 woodscrews in each horizontal member into the studs, and 2-3 screws in each vertical member. If you place this right, you should have your ends at two studs, with two more studs in-between the ends. Charlie Larkin Charlie Larkin

Lucky indeed! I hope they realize they all used their free passes on this one! Those guys need to be in helmets, and the girls need to be taught some common sense. I hope they all heal and have full recoveries. Charlie Larkin

Legitimately, there is a concern the 1:1 companies have about protecting their name and products. For that reason, I can see permission being required, and even a reasonable review fee to help cover the time needed to approve the product. However, so many lawsuits get filed over the most idiotic things, that the companies in question need to protect themselves. For example, if the tires in branded "Goodyear," and some kid swallows it, quite frequently, the parents will not only go after AMT, for example, but Goodyear, too, and the courts will let it stick. Paying for lawyers is expensive. Much of this comes to needing to reform product liability laws and making profit from the product, not side-businesses, as the main focus, and much of the profit can be returned by flattening corporate command structures. The biggest problem, I still think, is the industry's lack of a cohesive, intelligent, economical licensing compact. That needs to happen. Charlie Larkin

I'll be honest, Jim, I'm not too sure about those rims- too dainty looking for that car, I think. I do, however, really like the color scheme and overall execution. Charlie Larkin

Nice touch with the working lights. Charlie Larkin

Factory-finished or not, it looks nice with all the details picked out and a set of whitewalls. Nice cleanup on that, Al. Charlie Larkin

Rather than silver, which I think would clash with the brown interior, I think dark blue with a lighter shade of gold (I'm thinking the shade of Tamiya Titanium Gold,) would work nicely. Charlie Larkin

I like this, Mike. It's very different and I think it'll look great when it's done. That car needs to be finished in some kind of subdued yet flashy color- like a deep candy or pearl color, like maroon or navy blue. Those wheels I think would look best chromed. Charlie Larkin

Looking forward to pictures. You do some really great work, Mark, and I always enjoy seeing what yo do. Charlie Larkin

Not at that level?? Oh trust me, you ARE there! What they hay, come up on the 19th and enjoy the company! As a special treat, it looks like I'll be guest President. All those years presiding over Masonic bodies may finally pay off... Charlie Larkin

Wow.... I can only dream. Charlie Larkin

If you ever get the urge to try another one of these and it meets the caster's standards, there's at least one of these sold to me. This is really nice work. Very well-done, Ron. Seeing that you're not too far from MassCar, why don't you bring it up for a visit along with yourself? Our next meeting is September 19 in Dedham. I can give you directions if you need it. Charlie Larkin

This should be illustration enough. For the record, I tend to display 1/24 with 1/24 and 1/25 with 1/25. Some of my Jo-Hans go with where they look closest to in-scale.... Charlie Larkin

The licensing fees, in many cases, have become quite high. It's only natural that part of that (the cost of production) is passed on to the customer in the final price, along with wholesaler and hobby shop markup. The major problem that I think a lot of the toy and hobby manufacturers have is poor negotiators working for them. The goodwill and free publicity is of great value, and that needs to be driven home to these companies. Many of the licensing companies have retained firms that engage in what I can only (politiely) described as legalized extortion given the rates they seek. These companies are not law firms, but are something akin to talent agents and charge accordingly. I think it would be very interesting to have full disclosure as to who charges what. Some rates, like Firestone, are actually quite reasonable (a small review charge,) while others (like Goodyear) charge, from what I have been told $100,000 to review your submission, with an annual royalty, based on sales on top of that. I also think the toy and hobby industry should negotiate some kind of blanket permission/royalty arrangement, that spells out everything in clear, simple terms. While it might be fair to allow manufacturers to still negotiate some specifics, I think the industry should form some similar licensing obtaining cartel similar to the license-granting firms and cartels some of the 1:1 companies have. As to Revell, frankly I think much of it is cheapness. Bridgestone-Firestone is very happy to license their products at low, and from what I have been told, in some cases, no charge. All they ask is to look at what you're doing first. They'll even help you with the design if you need it. One thought- why aren't we going to other tire companies? Cooper, from what I've been told, is very interested in licensing its products, and might charge far less, if anything, simply for the publicity. True, Cooper never came factory on anything, but they're a common replacement tire, and aren't an unreasonable choice. Many GM cars prior to the 1960s had Generals fitted at the factory. Why isn't anyone talking to Continental-General? Same thing- if we can determine who owns Armstrong's name now, if anyone. If nobody- that solves the royalty issue right there, and Armstrongs, from what I've seen, would at least occasionally show up on factory-fresh cars. Kelly might cost less to license than Goodyear, and Goodyear might like the publicity for Kelly and might be willing to offer concessions. And I've seen more than a few cars of recent vintage (within the last 15 years) with Kelly tires from the factory. Michelin might be willing to license U.S. Royal/Unioryal at a discount. That will cover a lot of GM cars from the 1960s to today, plus I think some AMCs and the occasional Chrysler product, although most Mopars came with Goodyears, they would use other manufacturers as a backup, unless a car called for something specific (like Polyglases or Wide-Ovals.) It's time for the manufacturers of models to band together and start negotiating smarter. And it's time for them to start thinking outside the box. And no, I won't pay extra for something that they should be doing. Charlie Larkin

I've never even heard of this stuff before. I'll do a retailer search and see what I can scare up. Charlie Larkin

I knew it! I had suspected from the very beginning that as soon as the Hornet was announced, a 1949-53 Olds 88 wasn't going to be too far behind. I'm hoping that someone will next release a 1951 Chrysler Saratoga (Windsor body, Hemi,) so 1950s people and early stock car people will have more stuff to be happy about. On another topic, Revell was certainly right about taking heat- witness this topic. I do agree with James' comment that it was deceptive, but, as he also observed, where he and I are both rep-stock builders, it's not the end of the world to have the wrong decals in the box. However, after reading their reasoning, while I still can't agree on a matter of accuracy and principles for including the McGriff decals with this kit, I can understand the reasoning for doing the club coupe. I'll be interested to see what they come out with as spin-offs from this tool. Perhaps a covertible with Indy Pace Car decals? A Holiday? Maybe something from way out in left field, like a Buick Special or a Pontiac? Charlie Larkin

Very nice job on that. Charlie Larkin

Nice job on this. I'm not aware of Ron Andrews' offering, but yes, R&R does offer something very similar to this. Charlie Larkin

I actually posted that a couple of pages ago, Al, along with the color charts. I'm liking Serge Blue with a gray interior for mine... Charlie Larkin

Very nice, Ron. The triple-black always looks at home on a Cadillac. Charlie Larkin

The whole front metal axle thing is easy to fix, really, if it becomes that big a deal. Simply buy some brass tube, mushroom it on one end, cut to size for the wheel-house and stick the wheel on it. Charlie Larkin

NICE work, Hal. Please bring that in March if you can come. Charlie Larkin

Very nice Brad, especially the interior. I'm surprised, and sorry, I didn't see this before. One tip: capacitors, especially older ones, can have some very nasty chemicals in them. Use caution (and a pair of gloves) when you take them apart. Charlie Larkin