Dave Van

No iHobby announcements for new kits........

All I can say is I thank God I still enjoy this hobby with all the flaws it (reportedly) has........

My son is manager for a major drug store chain. They put out their Christmas stuff last week. They have proof the earlier the put out the Christmas items....the more they sell. Most are high profit items. They have high paid analyst that tell them how to use store space to make the most profit. In other words it's not the stores problem....and they'd not put out Christmas stuff if it didn't make them LOTS of money..... Boils down to our fault as the public in whole....... If 'we' didn't buy.....they'd not use shelf space in Oct for it.

No inside info here......but again.....I bet there is a 72 in Revell's future......Fast and Furious, Gran Torino and a number of other movies had them.

I was privileged to get to help a well known tool designer help measure a car to create a new kit. This person took photos but not for any scale usage.....for reference only. He said photos lied more than gave you good data. His most important tools were a cloth tape measure, drawing pad, poster board, markers and scissors. He relied on a series of drawings and templates made from the car. Photos were never used to measure from. One or two degrees off dead center or two to three feet from center........the camera altered. Today's methods of creating 3D drawings to make tooling is different....and maybe better....but has it's own issues. Most of the guys working in this field today care and do a good job. IF and it's not for me....but IF it's an issue a good modeler can fix it. 99.9% will not see the errors we are debating. I'd say chill some until it's here.....they are working on it.

57,000 more recalls today 10/6/14......mostly Pontiac G8........when was the last G8 sold???? GM just neds a daily recall update for the press and public.

Thanks again Gerry

The photo comparison is neat....but I don't think it is accurate enough to draw hard conclusions.

A few issues here........ There are no CAD drawings for 1990 Mustangs or 1976 Torino's. 3D scanning is real.....and REALLY expensive for a 1/1 car.......WAY to costly for a plastic model car that they hope will sell 8,000 copies the first year. How many much costlier WoW video games do they sell??? scanning a person or small item is easy compared to a car....not counting the logistics of getting a real car to a scanner big enough to scan a car. Add to it if a quickly moving character in a video game has a arm 1mm too long....no one can see it......not like a plastic model you can hold and measure to death. So why in this high tech world are we getting small errors when JoHan hit it so many times right??? Experience........Big staffs of craftsman making parts in wood pattern in 1/10 scale.....you see problems before they even get to 1/25 size. This was old world craftsmanship that is not....maybe CAN NOT be done any longer. Find old photos of AMT's office with a huge room full of guys drawing plans, making wood buck patterns and reviewing parts. Model companies have some great folks working for them.....I've worked with some of them.....but there is power in numbers, Today's model companies are really micro companies in today's world......a handful of dedicated folks working hard to make a few kits while not going broke doing it.

Vicky will be restored to original issue.

Boot Hill Express.........Way too many to list...but as a kid I got to sit in this one....so it is a fav.......... Dad was Valvoline racing director 1960-70 and we did all the car shows in So Cal......

If that was iPhones there would be riots in the streets........funny how 'what is important' has changed. Man hours........let's be on the positive side and say it takes GM 30 minutes start to finish for each recall........It will be 2050......

What is it with GM and metal slivers??? That was the issue with a few blown motors in new Vettes. But I see no real negative impact for GM......a good family friend I saw in town the other day showed me her new Chevy Equinox....when I asked about GM recalls causing any worries......this intelligent person that owns lots of real estate and businesses gave me a blank look.....'Recalls??'..... Full speed ahead GM.....no worries here!!!!

Thanks Gerry.......... And yes...I know that fine line you walk. I've worked on some projects, some that never made it to production, that maybe someday will make a book....when I am REAL old!!! Thanks for keeping us informed.

A few cool things.....I will be more happy when the model car side gets some new tooling. The Sci Fi guys have gotten a few.....and I do not count the snap Duke's kit as a new tool rather a replacement of a worn out one. MANY THANKS for the info Gerry!!!!! An ETA of when Revell will allow you to spill the beans??? From what I understand they will not be set up at Ohio NNL this year...

IIRC the double Star Wars item was the Toy vehicles for the 3 3/4" figures. Ours also had a TON of the Strange Change Mummy and Vampire kits......not big sellers??? Maybe a 100+ 1/144 scale plane kits!

I wanted the Enterprise lunch box.......going to another Ollie's Friday......mainly to see if they have any LIONEL as advertised.

I kinda wonder where all this stuff came form? It looks like a distributor rather than direct form the manufacture. With a mix of AMT, Revell, Monogram, Lindberg and Minicraft and the quantity to send this much to each store....seems like a bigger distributor. Slot cars for $15 is a decent deal. Still looking for any one who's store has Lionel Trains at their store as the ad stated.

Went to my Ollie's today. They ha a ton of stuff. I got..... RM Midget racer RM Superbird R2 61 Ford slot car R2 71 Dodge Charger slot car R2 Star Trek Klingon tin box They had a bunch of other RM, R2, Lindberg and Minicraft kits. 1/16 Morgam and MGTC were cool...but didn't get them. Had almost ever R2 slot car kit made. LOTS of 1/144 scale plane kits. Worth the trip for me. PS....Ad said they had Lionel trains too....mine had none....please let me know if any one else got Lionel trains in their stores...

I don't have hours to type them all.......I'll pick one....... Blade Runner.........Syd Mead's work is unreal....

NICE START..... I like those RM snap trucks......I built this KWop last year.....

I get it Bob......... Harry I see your side too.....but it's not how our system works. If any one feels strong enough there are methods to change things.....but that will consume the rest of your life.

A nice build....but best build ever of that kit!!!!! I have a few of those in my stash....always thought it would make a great replica build!!!!

WHY is MCM not in attendance??? I know the reason many companies don't.......COST! Back in the day when iHobby (and RCHTA) was a REAL must attend I went on trade days and most years it was so big it took two days to cover. Our retail arm carried plastic models, trains and die cast (and we manufactured some of these too) so it was a busy two days and 99% of the time I enjoyed it. My personal story on cost??? It was my 2nd day at the show....at Rosemont. I had 15 pounds of catalogs etc in my show bag. It was near the end of the day....I was BEAT! I stopped by a booth of a model railroad manufacture that we did a fair amount of business with. My salesman was busy,,,,,so I waited. I saw a big stack of chairs next tot he booth. I walked the two feet and started to pull the top chair off the pile to sit. I hear 'stop, stop, stop.....you can't do that!!!!' I stop....and this guys runs up to me and explains I needed a Union guy to move any furniture. He said it would be about $5......I passed. I made a comment to my sales guy when he got free......he said 'Don't ask me how much it cost me to get a electrical cord plugged into a socket!!" Don't start a bash of how I am anti-union......It is a EXAMPLE of the cost company's face when showing at a trade show. And now that social media is almost FREE....I can see why the trade show is in decline.

Look forward to your report Gerry.........I chose NNL Toledo this year. I understand Revell and Moebius will be there.....and LOTS of old friends!!