charlie8575

For those interested, this is the previous response I had alluded to earlier. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.p...st&p=213112 Charlie Larkin

I'll be honest, Mark. I love a good deal. I don't know anyone that doesn't. With my work situation now (almost none,) I need good buys on everything. Living at about 1/8 the poverty line, adjusted for the New England region, is not fun. However, when I need to start really losing value, then it's not a good deal. As I have to watch my pennies, I tend to be very picky about what I buy. And....lo and behold, for a lot of things, I'll actually spend a little more. Why? Because I can get something better for only a small amount extra. We as a society, have been lulled into believing thrift, economy, value and cheap are one in the same. I must disagree. Eating out (which I do maybe once a month because I get sick of my own cooking,) is an example. For $6, I can go to McDonald's, get a so-so hamburger/fries/tonic, or for $7, I can got to the little Italian place around the corner from me on Tuesday evenings and get an all-you-can-eat buffet with homemade food that isn't full or garbage, and just order a glass or water instead. Hmmm....no brainer which one is the better deal. Or on a Friday, for the same money, I can go to one of the two diners in town and get a small fish n' chips, again, all made on premises and it doesn't taste like genuine imitation food. Mc Donald's is cheap, Ma Raffa's is a smart deal, and the Shawmut Diner is a good value. Big differences. One book I saw at the bookstore that I've placed on my Christmas list (or I might grab if I get some money coming in again,) is called Cheap, and it discusses the very situation you've outlined. If I get it, I'll let you know how it is. Charlie Larkin

I took a look...he does have some neat stuff. I wouldn't mind one of those Amphicar kits. Charlie Larkin

The spirit of this post is well-said, Harry, and I could see it happening. The only fly in the ointment is most of the Japanese subject matter isn't as widely-appealing to most builders. However, as Deming also taught reading your market properly is necessary to succeed (again, waste elimination is essential to profitiabilty,) if Tamiya, Hasegawa or Fujimi did start tooling the popular AMT, MPC and Revellogram subjects in 1/25, aimed primarily at the American/Canadian markets, and priced them intelligently, I can see where there would be a lot of trouble for the domestic manufacturers. Charlie Larkin

The simple answer: greed, in the form of the mentality of short-term profits at the expense of long-term customer retention and sales. The modern American business model, foolishly in my opinion, de-emphasizes long-term growth and creating long-term customer loyalty. Thus the high prices, sometimes questionable accuracy, and a lot of the so-so quality we saw over the last ten years. The model is hit-and-run, that is, make lots of money upfront, re-vest to ownership (either privately-held or stockholders,) repeat. By simply making large profits upfront and no reinvesting in the business, the business cheats its customers, and, in reality, the stockholder or ownership, and itself, as eventually market-share will suffer. Remember the kits from AMT under the RC2 "captivitiy" (as to me, it was more a hostage taking than ownership, ownership implies some kind of responsibility,) where so many of them had so much flash you couldn't find parts? Yeah... Of course, with Wal-Mart dumping kits on the market at super-cheap prices a few years ago, something had to go, and unfortunately, the quality management on a lot of those products was the trade-off. The American companies have not caught on to the concept of quality management as the Japanese did. W. Edwards Deming, the American who taught the Japanese everything about quality control, always maintained quality costs less in the long run. The Japanese companies adapted this philosophy and were able to turn around excellent product at a reasonable price, even accounting for the exchange rate. By spending more on quality control on all ends (research, tooling, manufacturing,) the Japanese companies can save a lot of money. Even though their aggregate costs are higher, their profits are greater....fewer rejects, higher sales, fewer problems with tools that need to be corrected, and so on. One point I read someplace that was an interesting fact to consider- as these kits are shipped worldwide, and cartage can get very, very expensive, they have one more incentive: the less flash, the lighter the box, the more boxes that can be shipped per dollar spent on shipping. Thus, quality control really can be cost control. The American companies, meanwhile, with lack of maintenance, lack of care in manufacturing, and so forth, combined with (Hobbico especially,) need for short-term profits, have jacked up prices tremendously. As I showed in one of these threads earlier, cutting profit margins (and prices,) will increase sales. To cut down the margin, and maintain, or increase profits, quality management needs to improve. With better QM, new and more tools could come, even with lower profit per unit, because money will be saved on errors. For more about Deming, read here: Wikipedia Article Charlie Larkin

Once some money appears in my wallet again, those kits will be making an appearance on my layout, I hope. Of course, enough financial stability would be nice so that I can also actually build said layout. They have enough of the right flavor to capture the town (North Adams, Ma.,) I'm trying to model that it'll work about right. Yours are coming out nicely. Charlie Larkin

Testors still sells 1/4 ounce jars. I suspect the website just doesn't change quantity. I've seen that with a few places. The standard Pla enamels should arrive in the little square glass jars we all know and love, unless they have a special Internet sale packaging, which is possible, but not likely. As to three cans of Hugger Orange, as you build, you may need more, but check around, I'm sure somebody is willing to sell you an individual can. If you don't have a hobby dealer within a reasonable drive, it might be best to wait until you have an excuse to head in the general direction of one and run several errands at once. Charlie Larkin

Especially if they put both engines in it, I'd buy that kit just for the 258 and second-generation AMC V8. I can think of a lot of my Jo-Han kits that would appreciate a more accurate engine, as many of the engines were a hodge-podge of the old and new V8s. I would hope they'd have a choice of 2WD/4WD, with the proper transmissions. As to the Jeep itself, I remember seeing one guy when I was about 14 that had a pretty burgundy CJ running a TPI 350 out of a Trans Am. Now that would be a nice model to make... Charlie Larkin

George, do you have either an address or Internet site for him? Charlie Larkin

A double-taper boattail Model T. Very cool! Charlie Larkin

Usually not my deal, Phil, but I must say yours came out quite nicely and it's definitely something you can be proud of. Nice rep-stocks, too, Ron. I love the 1961-69 Continentals. One of those has been on my "gotta have one in 1:1" list for a long time. Charlie Larkin

After having been a long time, I relearned how to do something I guess could be called dry-brushing when I had to put some black on wheels yesterday. It wasn't dry-brushing strictly speaking, but not really painting, either. The end results still came out nicely. Charlie Larkin

Now that my head has cleared from the fumes and I can type again...has anyone else had problems with the Model Master lacquers not covering particularly well? The color in question is Chevy Engine Orange over gray Plasti-Kote primer. I found the coverage rather weak. Has anyone else experienced this with this paint when brush-painting, or is an airbrush an absolute necessity for this stuff? Charlie Larkin

I've found the Tamiya stand with the clips on it is especially useful and highly recommend its purchase. The one with the body holder takes a little tinkering to get to work, but is also a good product. Empty spray cans also work well, especially on closed body-styles, just don't forget to touch up where the can lid was inside! Coat hangers are useful especially if you want to move the body around by hand unrestricted, or are on a budget; I know a couple of guys who unwind them and turn them into a sort-of U-shaped apparatus. Coat hangers can also be used to prime whole trees of parts by hanging them. Another solution that's not too expensive and is very easy is to take a small block of wood (about 2-4" wide by about 6-8" long by no less than about 3/8" thick,) drill a series of holes in it along its length about a 1/4" deep and place four plastic, brass or aluminum rods, or wooden dowels (I'd recommend about 1/16" to avoid making it too big,) in it. This will provide perfect stability and you can adjust it to fit different lengths of cars. For helping to hold parts in place, I'd suggest using double-sided tape or masking tape. Charlie Larkin

Looks like the factory metallic beige. Very nice. And I agree, the chrome rims add a nice touch of sparkle to an otherwise barren landscape. Charlie Larkin

Looks great! Charlie Larkin

Idiotic....one more reason to reduce government interference in the public. Charlie Larkin

An Anglia....another car I want to try building stock sometime. Charlie Larkin

When I was five, my dad started building with me. He did some of the painting and the more difficult assembly, I cut parts off, and put the easy stuff together. As I got older, I got more into trains and cars, and built a lot through college, and in college, too. The buildup of inventory got at my mother, as did the spray-paint fumes and my disappearing downstairs for hours at a time; evetually, she came to accept it and actually didn't mind my disappearing sometimes. I loved it, it gave me an escape from school, the torment I endured from the other kids from being a little different, and even some of my other fun stuff, like De Molay and student government, particularly in college, where I was a member of the Commuter's Board. I had to stop doing much building for a few years, due to attempts (repeated and failed) to establish myself and a lack of space in the basement. I kept reading and buying kits, setting them aside for "soon, I hope." When I finally got a decent job in 2006, I was able (and needed to) move out, although I only had a little room I rented, I was able to start doing a little bit...basic assembly, a little painting. I still have my T-Bird someplace, just need to dig it out and finish it up. I moved again, lost my job immediately after moving, moved yet again from my condo I had to sell to a small apartment. And I've been doing lots of projects since. After nearly three years at partial/no employment, a model car or the occasional plane or train provides me the quiet of mind I need to deal with my situation. I, for one, am very glad I discovered this hobby and kept it. All thanks to Dad. Charlie Larkin

I just did this on the chrome wheels on a 1993 Ranger. I used Testors Pla flat black enamel, stirred very thoroughly. Using a superfine Micro-brush, I barely dipped it in the paint, making the brush load more with tinted thinner than thinner/pigment and gently applied this to the holes in the rims and the center. A small amount of pigment is left at the top, and I used that to deepen the effect a small amount. Where the pigment at the top of the jar is something of a paste, you have far more control over it than a liquid medium. It worked very nicely, my first time trying this. I'm quite pleased. Charlie Larkin

Very good, Nick. Did you happen to note down the mixing ratios you used to achieve that camel color, and specifically which colors you used? It looks very good and I could use it for a lot of projects, along with a lot of other people. Charlie Larkin

GarWood? As in beautiful wooden boats? Wow...that's product diversification all right! Thank you for pointing this out, Art. When I was young and even more deluded than I am now, I was going to be an industrial arts teacher. I argued with passion that the newer methods of teaching shop- like de-emphasizing craftsmanship, skill, patience and pride in your work, and replacing it wish squishy goop was the wrong way to go, and I was laughed out of the program. Fast forward fifteen years...and in the midst of all the "advanced modern technology," there remains a small, but dedicated group of people who do things using what was called by one of my teachers as "caveman tools and caveman tactics." As a side-note, I've been proven right. Too many of my kids at school take no pride in anything they do, shop or not, and don't understand the virtues that I just encompassed above. And we wonder why this seems to be a lost generation... For vindicating me in a small way, I owe you a great debt of gratitude. Charlie Larkin

I have an Aztek A320. I like it. It took a little getting used to, but it works well. I like it because it's easy to use, very, very easy to clean and gives excellent results. I have a Badger 250, but it did nothing but give me fits. I've toyed with trying a Paasche, too. From all accounts, they're supposed to be an excellent product. Charlie Larkin

I actually prefer jazz when building, but it has to be the right type. I usually listen to Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk, MJQ, Art Blakely, and that variety when building. The down-tempo music slows your mind down a little, allowing you to concentrate more, and some of the more complex music (especially Monk) helps focus your mind. That's why classical music can help with mental development in infants. Charlie Larkin