sjordan2

Always fascinating to see further coverage of what's going on in the world of 3-D printing. This is from today's New York Times and features an interesting video. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/technology/14print.html?_r=1&hp

One can dis the Vega for all kinds of reasons, but I thought the styling was very nice and sophisticated. Even the poor, unlamented Pinto had much better styling than the VW and other European minicars that it was meant to challenge, regardless of explosive gas tanks. And I totally agree with Harry that the last generation Corvair Monza was excellent. We have a very large club in the Knoxville area that loves this car. I totally disagree, however, about the boxy Falcon.

Another killer build, Bob. How do you get the decals to lay down so cleanly over the curves in the rear? Is this a curbside?

Buy It Now, $49.99 (from Taiwan, $18 shipping not included). http://cgi.ebay.com/1-24-REVELL-BMW-M-COUPE-RARE-/250683090248?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5de06548

I'll say real. Please pass the Maalox.

I get a teeny amount of bouncing on newer threads on my iMac with Firefox, but not older ones. However, it may just be my imagination, but when I see the forum menu for all topics, the latest responses for each one show some kind of code number; I thought it used to show the date and time of the latest reply. I'd rather see the listing that way instead of having to click on recently posted or go deeper into the thread. That way I can tell faster if I've seen the latest reply to a thread or not.

What kit is it? Monogram 1/24? Can you scan the box top?

I absolutely agree with you. I love those cars (and I like the '58 Impala coupe better than the '57 BelAir, and a ton of people will disagree with that). My only problem has been with statements that the French, Germans, et al., haven't produced superb examples of automotive design, but I support the fact that they may have been weak in the high-volume, daily driver segment.

I don't need more examples. In my post on this particular subject, I said run-of-the-mill, like the higher-volume cars from Renault, Citroen, VW, etc., and not their specialty cars like a Citroen SM. And certainly not like your examples of a Facel Vega or luxury Jaguars, for sure, which we've already covered regarding excellent design. US high-volume cars of the time, while specialized and offered in a variety of more or less desirable forms, included generally commonplace models with inexpensive, basic packages such as Camaros, Chargers, Challengers, Firebirds, Mustangs and many more – all 4-seaters, and no one at the time knew how some of their models would be valued today. As Art mentioned, European companies had to deal with an entirely different set of challenges regarding their output than US carmakers did, with a telling effect on design quality. Some speak fondly of a Renault Dauphine or LeCar, but these are not great achievements and do not sell for megabucks at auction regardless of provenance.

Well, the most fun cars I ever owned were the beautifully designed '59 Alfa Giulietta spider, '66 Alfa GTV, '71 Alfa 1750 spider and Porsche 944. All were serviced by the book (and more), but they all disintegrated from poor materials and workmanship (ever have an Alfa door handle break off in your hand or have a turn signal snap off? Not to mention endless valve jobs, Weber carburetor problems, replacement water pumps; transmission overhauls, etc.). While I'm an experienced sports car driver, they almost bankrupted me by the time I was a few years out of college. Thankfully, I never had to cope with 50's–70's English cars. I think we're not just talking about styling here, but I still dispute that the Europeans didn't turn out interesting cars. To Art's point, however, the sports cars were cool but the run-of-the-mill passenger cars were less than inspired for a variety of reasons.

Here are some interiors: http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1590&bih=847&q=lotus+esprit+interior&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= Various engines: http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1590&bih=847&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=lotus+esprit+engine&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=S Some of this may lead to further, more specific information on your particular Lotus. I don't know anything about the following book, but you should check into things like the availability of service and workshop manuals, etc. Just check with a dealer. http://www.qbookshop.com/products/124499/9781861260666/Lotus-Esprit.html Links where somebody may be of help: http://www.lotusespritturbo.com/Links.htm

A dingo ate my Chevy!!

The 1/16 Italeri kit is currently my Holy Grail, nearly impossible to find. It's different tooling from the 1/16 Entex/Minicraft version, with better detail. Your Heller kit looks like one of the most accurate Gullwing kits I've seen. Do the doors open?

There's one thing that every single kit maker and builder misses, including the amazing 1/8 product from Diamond Cars. The Gullwing steering wheel folds down from the top to allow the driver to exit more easily. At about 1 o'clock, behind the wheel and spokes on the hub, there is a lever release to make this happen, and the lever is never reproduced. May seem small, but it's one of the Gullwing's many signature, unique features.

Just curious. I don't visit this topic very often, but I came across concept trucks by Colani and was wondering if anyone had tried to do anything like this. Would make an interesting application of sci-fi spacecraft models. http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1481&bih=807&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=colani+truck&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

From today's Celebrity Quote puzzle in the newspaper: "I can think of no more stirring symbol of man's humanity to man than a fire engine." – Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

For world-class performance at a substantially lower price than the supercars, it's hard to beat a Corvette. Viper is close, but it's pretty spartan by comparison.

Speaking of German cars, how about the fastest production car of its day, and the first one with fuel injection? Not bad looking, either.

Excellent accuracy and detail. One of the few builds that gets the hubcap paint right, and that's a tricky business to do cleanly.

The question of what car comes from what country gets cloudier in the modern world. For example, today's Bugatti is headquartered and manufactured in its original hometown of Molsheim, France, though it is owned by VW. (And by the way, Chillyb1, why are those mediocre Renault econoboxes included in your array of French classics? Please explain.)

I've owned four Alfas and they never made anything that ugly. Blowing up the picture of the rear end reveals that it is a Goggomobil produced in Bavaria. From Wikipedia: "Goggomobil was a series of microcars produced in the Bavarian town Dingolfing after World War II by Glas. Glas produced three models on the Goggomobil platform: the Goggomobil T sedan, the Goggomobil TS coupé, and the Goggomobil TL van. The engine was an air cooled, two stroke, two cylinder unit originally displacing 250 cc, but later available in increased sizes of 300 cc and 400 cc. It had an electric pre-selective transmission built by Getrag and a manual clutch. The engine was behind the rear wheels. Suspension was independent all round using coil springs with swing axles."

Do you mean wee-wee or oui, oui?

You have to dig pretty far back, but I think the following marques created some of the most classic designs of all time: Delage Delahaye Facel Vega Talbot-Lago Voisin But to your point, most of the best examples were styled by independent coachbuilders.

On my iMac, I go to File and pull up my print window. When the print window comes up, it has a button that says, "pdf." With the window I want to save open, I click on pdf and it is captured to my desktop because that's the location I chose. As a result, you have a pdf file you can put anywhere. It saves all visual material. Otherwise, just open a new text or Word document and copy and paste all the copy, post by post, into that document.

The only thing that's out there in 1/24 is an ultra-rare kit version of the Bburago diecast.