charlie8575

Hi, Art. I'll be there. Charlie Larkin

I would suggest wiping it down with either mineral spirits, lacquer thinner or 91% alcohol; all of those are known solvents for just about anything, and where overspray tends to be fairly light, and it appears your booth is finished, it probably won't bother it too much, especially if it's powder-coat or something like that. Charlie Larkin

A few years ago, I was seriously contemplating entering the manufacturing end. Perhaps someday I still will, but when I last checked on this stuff a few years ago. (Late 2006, early 2007.) 1. I talked with a friend of mine who's a master machinist and specializes in molds. Using an Italeri 1933 Cadillac as an example of the type of kit I was looking for at the upper-end, Joe estimated that a tool like that would cost about $100-$150,000 in shop costs and materials to make. 2. Many molds can be made directly off the machine, and they will for a lot of small, easy-to-make stuff; however, most shops still do prototyping on complex items to ensure that the molds are cut properly. It's an inexpensive step to ensure accuracy. Particularly when tool steel is very, very expensive. I believe Joe said the stuff runs about $600-$800/ton, and a mold for a model car of average complexity is around 1500 pounds; if you screw up a major-enough part of the mold, you're back to square one. 3. I hope #2 answers your question about pantographs. Don't forget artists' studios, or people like me who still do drafting, as opposed to sitting at a computer giving myself carpal tunnel syndrome. Charlie Larkin

You've made a very interesting point, Dave, and a very valid one. The price point has gotten out of perspective, and not just for models, but a lot of products. A lot of the problem is that too much focus is being placed on immediate profit, rather than long-term profits and growth; pricing like that, even allowing for the costs of materials, extortion from Ford (in your example,) and the product liability insurance companies, and so forth, a kit of moderate complexity wouldn't cost more than about $7 to make, once you factor in packaging, shipping, and additional costs of the tool and design. Assuming a 40% margin on each kit, that's $2.80, so the manufacturer would sell to a wholesaler or mass-marketer at $9.80. From there: 1. The wholesaler will mark-up about 40% also, or, $3.92, making the cost to the hobby shop $13.72. This would also be the approximate cost that Wal-Mart would charge. Their volume has them matching (or in come cases, undercutting,) the wholesalers for the hobby industry. This predatory pricing is what has caused a tremendous amount of trouble, but that's another rant and rave for another day. 2. From there, the hobby shop will generally add about 40%. We'll figure 40% to keep the example consistent and that that's also about the right mark-up. $13.72 will result in a mark-up of $5.49, with a retail of $18.98. Now, if the profit margins were all cut in half, this would be the resulting prices: Cost: $7.00 (We'll assume for this example that's the fixed, sunk costs, in other words, they'll stay this and be stable.) Let Mk1 be the manufacturer's markup Mk1=($7.00)(0.20)=$1.40 $7.00+$1.40=$8.40. Let Mk2 be the markup the wholesaler, discount store or mass merchandiser charges, and is built from the manufacturer-direct price. Mk2=($8.40)(0.20)=$1.68 $8.40+$1.68=$10.08 Let Mk3 be the markup the hobby shop charges to the customer. Mk3=($10.08)(0.20)=$2.02 $10.08+$2.02= $12.10 By cutting the profit by 20%, you decrease price to the consumer by roughly a third. Economic theory suggests that sales will increase roughly by the amount of the price decrease. Alhough less profit will be made on each individual sale, sales will increase, thus having little or no actual effect on the net profit. As we've seen, especially with Revell's announcment when it was bought up by Hobbico and began profiteering by increasing its wholesale price (Mk1 in my example,) by a whopping forty percent, sales, while brisk for many of the products, which are quite good, are still down, partially because of the economy, partially by Hobbico's ridiculous restrictions on distribution, which tend to artifically inflate prices, and partially from the short-sightedness of recouping too much profit upfront. While it might lead to more tools, which is good, the continued errors of judgement, which has been clouded by visions of dollar bills, rather than good distance vision, will still ultimately cause a backfire and failure. For those of you wondering on what I base my statements: My degree is self-designed, and consists of twenty-four credits in industrial arts, concentrated in manufacturing, and another sixty or so credits in economics and business administration. While I'm no expert in any one area, I do have enough of a general background to be able to analyize information, determine the problem, and propose solutions, outlining what will happen if they are/are not followed. Charlie Larkin

But....I like Spam. Not the electronic kind, but I like Spam. Espcially lightly pan-fried, no extra oil or anything (doesn't need it,) with pineapples and raisins. It's poor man's ham. And with my income right now, I can't even afford the cheap imitation (expletive) Spam. Anybody need a bookkeeper or some office help, locally or remotely? Charlie Larkin

I LOVE it! Thank you for a very badly needed laugh! Charlie Larkin

Interesting concept. It is too bad that Chrysler didn't go with the Charger instead of the Coronet, I don't see it having been too bad a problem engineering-wise. I've never seen pictures of a Charger convertible, factory prototype or otherwise, I'll have to go look for it. Charlie Larkin

I've never heard this before? I wonder if that's why a couple of paint jobs I did in my younger days came out.....not so good. I'm assuming you're suggesting a very light mist of color before clearing? Would you recommend any type of polishing (like Soft-Scrub) prior to the clear or not? Charlie Larkin

I love pre-1920 cars. They're really neat, and a lot of them are very pretty. What a cool little truck. I'll look forward to seeing the finished product. Charlie Larkin

I wish someone would do a tutorial on that Testors vinyl top paint. It looks like it would answer several of my problems. Nice looking build so far. Charlie Larkin

Not that I can make it this year, but does Toledo even have anything online? I haven't been able to find an Internet site or anything. Charlie Larkin

Autocolor Library is a great resource. It can be a bit tough to tell some colors, but it's very helpful. If you can, Nick, get over to your area paint jobber and see what you can find in the paint charts, too. That can also be helpful. Charlie Larkin

Interesting. Very nice resluts, too. One of the shops sells junker kits for next to nothing. I might pick one or two up and give this a "shot." Charlie Larkin

Actually, I'll bet Revell, or whoever takes the gamble could move 10,000 Solstice kits. I think the 1:1 will be a real collector's item, and a lot of people like the looks, but can't justify the purchase. Personally, I'd like to see a Mercury Grand Marquis or Lincoln Town Car (A.K.A. the only two cars on the road now that have any interest to me.) Charlie Larkin

A few things I've noticed. Although we do seem to get a bit silly sometimes, in the long-term the airing of thoughts and opinions is good. We need to keep it civil, though. I'm going to go back and touch on a few things I want to comment on. 1. Aaron, you're correct. An average tool is about $150,000. When you factor in research and design, it's probably closer to $175-200,000. I have several friends who work in the plastics industry and got this information from them. 2. Mark and Abe are both correct. From all accounts I've read, Wal-Mart will dictate what to make and how much they'll pay and sell it for. The greatly reduced profit margins have in fact driven production facilities overseas, combined with the tax and regulatory burden the brain-dead dweebs on Capitol Hill have placed on interesting. But, as much as Wal-Mart can help a company, it can destroy it just as fast. 3. Revell's prices skyrocketed in part because of increased raw materials price. But also because of the restricted distribution Hobbico has imposed. I was talking with a hobby shop manager a few months ago, and apparently Hobbico's great plan may be to re-enter mass merchandisers by jacking up hobby shop prices so high that they can stick it to Wal-Mart and still make a killing. Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but based on modern business practices, I wouldn't be surprised. This of course, comes with shortening the discount so each shop makes less per model, and an attempt to stop distribution by online-only hobby dealers, which appears to have failed. The Hobbico ownership, as when Athearn (model train equipment) was bought by Horizon Hobbies, the prices went way up. If you have less distribution, your prices will increase because you attempt to monopolize it. Monopolies naturally tend to have higher prices. 4. Yes, advertising is very expensive. I was giving some consideration into giving manufacturing a shot, and started to put together the costs of a marketing campaign and it was staggering. As much as it hurts to not advertise, I can see where a lot of companies wouldn't be able to in non-hobby magazines. However, the model manufacturers need to start thinking outside the box and promoting themselves other ways. Car shows, different fairs and expositions. There are dozens of things they could do. 5. I agree that even if research is being done, it does seem somewhat slip-shod. I don't have any suggestions, because I need to see what's being done. In the inention of the original spirit of this posting, I'd love to see Studebaker, Diamond-T and Mack, Jr. pick-ups, a Hudson pickup and a few I-Hs. A couple of 40s-50s era tractors would be nice, too. For modern trucks, I think the new-for 2009 Ram is a very nice looking rig, and the present-generation Chevy isn't bad-looking either. I'd gladly buy any of the aforementioned. Charlie Larkin

As the thought of building one of these stock someday has appeal, I'll be watching with interest for the fabrication tips. Charlie Larkin

Nice rigs. I'm usually not a rod/custom type, but I can appreciate something that was done nicely. That '50 looks great. I could see a real one like that on the road. Charlie Larkin

I've posted this on a couple of other forums. As of right now, I'm waiting for a little extra scratch to order a little replacement paint from MCW to touch up a couple of polish-throughs, after which I can try foiling (again, it's been a while.) I started this build in July, 2008. My first really serious attempt at building anything in about ten years. A combination of lack of time and space caused me to stop building (but not reading or buying.) This is AMT's 1998-issue 1962 Buick Electra 225. I decided to paint it in Desert Sand with a red interior, for something a little interior. This was an available combination. The engine is painted using Acryl RLM 25 Hellgrun, which is very close to the Buick engine blue-green. I picked up some basswood and once I get the nerve up enough to start cutting, I'll be making a more accurate console/armrest for the interior in place of the generic "thing" AMT supplied. I was half-temped to order a bench-seat interior from R&R, but I like the buckets, it's a little different. The interior is painted with craft paint, which, while I like the variety of colors available, I think I'm going to have to do serious experimenting with them to get the kind of coverage I want. Has anyone ever sprayed those with an airbrush? If so, please share your experiences. I used Anita's Ruby because to my eye, it wasn't too far off from the red used by G.M. I did find a primer underneath them is crucial for anything bearing semblance to coverage. I also discovered the Model Master Acryl Dried Paint Remover works very well, just be sure to follow the directions to the letter; it did turn a couple of spots on the gray plastic white. Anyway, here are my pictures. I hope you enjoy. This is a pre-assembly mockup, taken on the tailgate of my dad's recently-dead 1991 Roadmaster Estate Wagon. A close up of the dash after some detail painting. Underside detailing; I used Tamiya semi-gloss black for the heater box and flat black for the hood pad. The interior about as good as I can get it; I'm a little reluctant to try stripping it again. Not the feeble attempt at detail-painting. This picture was taken in my apartment with a real camera (as opposed to my cousin's digital one as in the first few pictures.) This shows the color much, much better I think. This is a shot of the engine, also taken with a real camera (Canon AE-1,) I think the exposure was off a little, but you get a pretty good idea of what's going on. So far, I'm most happy with the chassis. I thought it came out pretty nicely. Hope this didn't bore anyone too badly. Charlie Larkin

Hi, Terri. Most of the larger-scale diescasts (1/18, 1/24-25) are a little too fragile for a four-year old, because of all the little parts so I'd tend to stay away from those until he's much older, at least 8-10. If you do buy any, stash them away and give them to him for birthdays, Christmas, good report cards and so forth. For maximum value, don't have fun with them. For maximum fun, expect a lower return. I aim for in-between with the few I have. At least when I was younger, Matchbox made some of larger-scale diecasts called King Size, that aren't small like the traditional +/- 1/64th scale Matchbox/Hot Wheels models; they're about 1/48 scale. I'd suggest starting at a good, well-stocked independent hobby or toy shop. If you don't have any in your area, hit the Internet. I going to suggest one thing that isn't a toy, but he'd probably like (and it'll help get him to start reading) would be some picture books with different cars, such as you'd find in the adult section of the bookstore. Many of these books also have histories of different cars and stories about the evolution of the industry. For now, he might be interested in the pictures, as he gets older, he'll be able to appreciate the other aspects of the book. These "coffee table" books are great references and fun to look at. A lot of the time, you can find them on clearance racks for very short money. In another year or so, I'd strongly suggest getting him a snap-together model car in 1/25. It'll be easy enough for him to put together, and it's something he can do with Dad. That's how I got my start, at about the age, going on thirty years ago. I never stopped. It'll teach him following directions, process, and patience. I hope this helps you a little. I think I speak for all us here when I say we're all happy to help someone start in the hobby. Charlie Larkin

I think it looks great. I'm hoping Resinrealm get their Conestoga ready soon, I'd like one for myself. Charlie Larkin

Thanks, Tommy. That was more-or-less what I was looking for. I just wish there were some mounting pins or something like that I could use to get the unit on the trailer. I'm toying with drilling a couple of small holes with my Yankee or a pin vise, and making that part slightly recessed. Charlie Larkin

Send pictures of this to General Motors. They seriously need to build that, and I'll be first in line with a deposit! Charlie Larkin

Oh I can't wait.....I love 68-72 Cutlasses. Once out, I'm hoping some enterprising resin-caster with better fabrication skills than I possess will release either a roof or whole body for the Cutlass Supreme with the formal roofline. Click here for an example Just think.....68-72 Chevelles, Skylarks, and Tempest/Le Mans/GTOs could all come off of this one tool! If someone decided to get adventurous....sedans could come from the aftermarket, maybe even a wagon or two. The resin thread for the fellow looking to cast the 69-72 Chevelle wagon, this could solve his problems for the Vista Cruiser he was also toying with doing. Charlie Larkin

That came out very nicely, Emily. You made an admirable recovery from your first paint-job. I've had more than a few go like that, and I still have one happen like that every once in awhile. It's like your schoolwork- the more you practice, the better you become. Focus on building your basic skills and try to pick something you want to develop each model you build...painting, detailing, and so forth. I had to stop doing most of my building for a long time due to life, when I was able to actually start doing some serious building again last year, the kit I started to work on (and still finishing up,) I decided to focus on the basics- good paint job, detail painting and neat assembly. I also decided to relearn how to use my airbrush. The results have been pretty good, I just need to foil it, touch up a couple spots and I'm done. Keep at it. Charlie Larkin

The Modelhaus kit is a curbside, and has the hold molded in as part of the body. R&R has a '57 that has a separate hood. If you contact Steve at Resinrealm.net, who handles their distribution, he might be able to scare up a loose hood for you. From looking at it, I think it's a Firedome, which is the senior-series De Soto you want. Charlie Larkin