charlie8575

I'm going to second Testor's tube glue. It works well and that nice slow set time allows you to fiddle with stuff. I'm assembling an AMT Auto Transporter, which is a multi-piece fiddle festival. I was considering using epoxy, but I liked the idea of having the solvent action and the slow set time of the tube cement and decided that was what I needed. I've had a very strange problem with my Testors liquid cement- the caps are getting glued to the bottles! Between that and no budget to speak of right now, I'm not using it, at least until I can figure out what's going on. Charlie Larkin

Nice build-up. How did you make the old-style Mass. municpal plate? I want to try making a couple of antique plates with the slanted lettering like that. Village of Tremont? Where is that? I'm not familiar with that, and I know almost everywhere in Massachusetts. Charlie Larkin

Stupendous! Charlie Larkin

Your Firebird is coming out admirably, color "right" or not. The color you're using is very similar to Sierra Copper (63.) I had a 1979 Catalina in that color. The gold (61) looks a little closer to Rockford's car, but with the funny fade a lot of the color film of that time period had, it's a little hard to say to me, although I always remember it being a bit lighter. Whatever the case, you're happy with it and as stated previously, the overall build quality is quite good. Well done. Charlie Larkin

Law & Order and CSI (any of them.) Hold the phone? Wha? I've found when at least listening to police procedurals on TV, my mind tends to think more orderly and in a step-by-step manner. Hmmm....just what you need to do assembly. I was noticing this earlier when I was working on my transporter, and all of a sudden listening to the lab techs explain stuff and the steps involved, I noticed it was ordering my mind in such a way that I was seeing steps and instructions more clearly, and it got a lot of the side-thoughts pushed aside. Perhaps it's just me, but I thought it a bit odd. If you have similar problems with putting puzzles together, maybe you should pick up a few detective movies or shows on video or just watch for them on TV. Give it a try, you have very little to loose! Charlie Larkin

Hi, Gary. I don't know anyone that's built it, but I can say that anything Modelhaus is almost as good as putting it in an AMT/Revell/Lindberg/Jo-Han box. For the engine plate, I suggest Acryl RLM 25 Hellgrun. It's very, very close to Buick Green; the paint covers well, too. Charlie Larkin

Nice combination...too bad the 1:1 companies forgot how to make those. Charlie Larkin

I'm doing the AMT Auto Transporter now, as it's a bit easier to put together than a conventional car, and and I just needed a change of pace. It's a very interesting kit with its own set of assembly challenges. I've found that Testors tube cement is your best friend for this one. As I don't have any squares or squaring blocks, that stuff dries slow and takes a couple minutes to actually set up, so I can fiddle with it. I'm just trying to figure out what to put on it now. I suppose it would be best to use all the same model year of something. I might also do something like a transporter for a dealer or moving company, I suppose. Charlie Larkin

I'm putting together the AMT Auto Transporter, and I have a question about the air-hose fitting that goes on the front of the trailer. 1. Any tips for centering and attaching that thing? 2. What colors should it be? Also, I know the original kit was made in late 1960s, but how far back could a design like that be used? I know it's too new for a late 40s/early 50s model, but I'm wondering about how far back I could go with it and still be reasonable. Thanks! Charlie Larkin

www.blankplates.com ROCKS! I use Word Perfect and Corel Draw for graphics-intensive stuff because I find it better than Word/Paint, as well as easier to use, and it works very well. I like the plate selection. The only thing I have to do is figure out how to make the registration stickers for the Massachusetts license plates. I do find it's a bit odd in that I have to copy from Draw into Word Perfect twice to get the number/letter combination to take. The Special plates, at least the newer ones, have stacked letters starting them. By doing one letter on top of each other in Word Perfect and copying, it takes with no arguments. I've made a few plates already, and plan on making an entire sheet full of them. Thanks for finding this one! Charlie Larkin

Great idea, Justin! Thanks for the tip. Charlie Larkin

Cool, Art. I remember seeing this someplace, too, and I thought it was awesome. I look forward to seeing more. Charlie Larkin

Very cool; I need to get a few s/d bodies; just for something different. Then, mine would be different by being done as....sedan deliveries instead of rods! Charlie Larkin

YAY! What a handsome young man, too. Wait a few years before letting him handle the knives, though! Charlie Larkin

Rob: I'd suggest going to a packaging store and getting some bubble-wrap sleeves and putting your built-ups in there. I've also wrapped them in thicker wraps of newspapers and paper towels and that's worked well; you may want to put them in a Baggie/ZipLcok-type bag to make sure nothing goes missing. For storage, go over to your nearest packy and get some liquor/beer cartons with the dividers to help store and separate them. I have dozens of built-ups stored like that and they've suffered no damage after many years. You could also use the bubble-wrap sleeves and very carfully store them flat in file boxes, using a thin piece of cardboard or possibly a piece of foam-core to separate layers. One last alternative: sleeve the models and put them back in their boxes if you still have them, and box the boxes. Charlie Larkin

Harry, I think you've hit a very valid point here. While some things are very, very popular, it can start to detract from the rest of the hobby by over-developing a few kits at the expense of variety that all of us could benefit from. Sure, there are plenty of people who will happily buy '32 Fords, Tri-Five Chevies and so forth. I will, too. I love '55-57 Chevrolets, and will gladly buy one that I can build stock. The same applies to a '32 Ford. I won't buy the Revell kits because I cannot build them stock. If they offer stock parts, I'll consider building them. The exception, as mentioned in the other thread, is if they were to start offering engines I could use in resin kits, for example an Olds 303/324/371 with different carburation options, and hopefully choice of transmission as well. However, like the planet's ecosystem, maintaining a diversity in the marketplace is healthy. Think of times when new species of plants or animals have been introduced and overran, and in some cases, made extinct, the native species; it's very rare that's beneficial. In the case of the marketplace, it never is. I'd love to see some more mid-fifties cars besides Chevies and the occasional Ford. I'd love to see a Dodge, De Soto or a Studebaker Hawk. A Buick/Olds/Pontiac would be nice, too. I'd like to see a Step-Down Hudson, too. I can say without reservation that almost everyone in the Hudson-Essex-Terreplane Club, which I belong to, would buy at least one of those kits, even if never built, just to display with their cars at shows and meets. Whoever steps up and does this car and does it right, would have at least 2-3000 sold right there. Club membership is running about 3500 last numbers I saw. And I can honestly say any member of the club would be delighted to let you use their car for measurements and references. I'd like to see that 1981-88 Cutlass Supreme/C.S. Classic issued, too! We had two of those cars, and I'd love to build replicas of them. I hope they supply an option for the quad lamps and the different grilles so I can (ours were both 1986s.) If Revell is really concerned about market reception, the 3-in-1 maybe the best option, and then maximize the tooling usage with things like options for a Cutlass Salon or Calais, Brougham interiors, 4-4-2 and the Hurt/Olds. Would this be of the same vain as tooling ten different '32 bodies? I suppose, but it adds the variety we need, and as seen here, this is a kit almost everyone would buy if they do it properly. One thing I will touch on here a little is basing stuff off the diecasts. I don't have a problem with it myself, as long as the end product is of high-enough quality. From what I understand, Revell based the newer-issue 1955 Bel Air Sport Coupe off of a diecast, and it came out very nicely. The '58 Chevy is a nice kit too, from what I've been told, just needs a little trimming on the trunk inserts. What I object to is basing something off a diecast and making the details, or some of the components toy-like, and then charging very high prices for the kit. That's dishonest and unethical, regardless of who does it. I think a discussion thread like this is a good one, and is about time it came about. Charlie Larkin

This is a good idea. I agree that it's one that comes under the "so simple and effective they'll never do it" classification, but I think it's an excellent suggestion and ought to be followed. The added cost is negligible, and it provides the most direct and effective market research- the actual consumer. Charlie Larkin

Sonny boy's gotta make REAL sure he outruns Johnny Law. Excellent dio! I love the execution and the workmanship. Charlie Larkin

The idea of a pre-394 Olds Rocket has a lot of appeal, and is a really good suggestion. Rod or not, I'd buy one just for the engine. I can think of a few resin kits that would find a home in, especially if supplied with a 2-/4-bbl and J-2 option. I do hope though, that a stock option is forthcoming. I'd really welcome a return of the 2-n-1/3-n-1 kits. Charlie Larkin

Interesting arguments are made. Market forces aside, G.M. is now Government Motors whether any of us like it or not, and will be for the next few years. If the political hacks want to play cars, I say find a reason to use every asset as much as possible and stop shedding divisions. These are ready-to-use plants and there are products that can or should be manufactured. As the website says, what more do you want to meet "shovel-ready" requirements? I personally don't see too much hope in doing this, it didn't work for Olds, and believe me, I tried, but I think the arguments made here are very interesting. I don't know if they're completely water-tight or not, but they're interesting. Charlie Larkin

I've recently started trying the Super Clean, and I'm quite impressed with it. I found it takes about a day or so to strip it down completely, and it leaves everything clean. I did notice on one part, though, it turned the plastic from white to slightly ivory, which I thought was a bit odd. That aside, I'm quite satisfied with it. I have a couple of things people suggested I'd want to use brake fluid on because of the nature of the problem, so I'll probably pick up a little bit of that. I've used oven cleaner, brake fluid, Whestley's, ammonia, and purple stuff. I like oven cleaner and purple stuff the best, with Whestley's a very, very close third. Whestley's is safest for resin from what I've read. Charlie Larkin

Sounds interesting, but I'm having a little trouble envisioning how this works. Could we entice you into doing a pictorial? Charlie Larkin

Interesting story, Jairus, and it doesn't surprise me to a great degree. If, however, you want absolute consistency, MCW does offer Ford engine green 1 oz. bottles, or 3/4 oz. bottles for $5 on clearance, if they still have any. Charlie Larkin