modelercarl

Roger...welcome aboard! Like you I am an "older" model builder, 77 last birthday and got back into this hobby about 20 years ago after a long time away from it. I found a kit of the first car I owned that got me started.... a 53 Studebaker. I bought the car for $225 in April 1957 when I got my driver's license and have been fortunate to find kits of many of the cars I have owned over the years. As many have stated, you will find a tremendous trove of information here on the forum (and many ways to do the same thing as well), but probably the best advice is to just get building, learn as you go along and don't be hesitant to strip the paint and start over. For starters I would recommend using Google as your first search for info. It will provide you tube videos and lead you to other search results, even Model Car Magazine articles and topics of conversation.

I have built 3 of these and have another as a WIP. I have found that priming and painting all of the pieces first is easiest for me. I touchup any spot that needs it after assembly. My first build I tried building up sub-assemblies then painting, but due to the "birdcage" concept of the trailer it was very difficult to get good coverage. If you follow the steps in the instructions for assembly you will end up with a surprisingly sturdy build.

Got this yesterday...2018 Ford Edge SEL thanks to a daughter's employee discount. Terrific vehicle, handles great, smooth quiet ride.

Fantastic display! I see something new to amaze me every time I look at this. The model builds displayed are all top notch! The number of hours Involved in this endeavor (models and diorama) must be in the many hundreds.....

Well I guess I should outline my bona fides. In 1964 when I got out of the Army (3 years in the 513th Intelligence Group, primary responsibility for intelligence in Europe), I enrolled at Lawrence Institute of Technology, Southfield, MI. on the GI Bill. Course of study was mechanical engineering. After about 6 months of study I got a job at Pioneer Engineering, Warren, MI. as an entry level draftsman while continuing my studies 3 nights a week at LTU. At Pioneer I was being trained in the special machine group. This group was doing design of complete high production machine systems used by the automotive and diesel engine manufacturers of the US. Over the course of the next three years I was recruited by competitors of Pioneer and eventually ended up at Modern Engineering, Berkley, MI. I worked there for 4 years eventually becoming assistant group leader for the Lamb Machining Systems group. Lamb was the premier high production special machine design and build company in the world. Eventually I was recruited by Lamb to join their organization as an assistant project engineer in 1971. Over the next 30 years I rose through the ranks to Project Engineer, Engineering Manager and finally Director of Engineering. During that period I had responsibility for profit and loss, engineering, and assisted manufacturing and service departments from initial concept to final acceptance of our equipment in the customer's plant. Products we designed and built machines for ranged from 100 station transmission housing machines, 5 machine systems for diesel engine block manufacture ($35,000,000) to small machines and systems for master brake cylinders. Also included were all other sizes necessary to produce a wide variety of engine components and drive train components. This equipment was built for the 3 major US car and truck manufacturers, all of the major US diesel engine manufacturers and ZIV in Russia and Daewoo in Korea. We designed and built equipment for several European manufacturers as well For about 5 years Lamb entered the auto body manufacturing system market also. We designed and built systems for robotic welding of body panel subassemblies and complete bodies for the 3 major automotive companies in the US. During my career I not only learned quite a bit about engine and drive train components and their functions but also picked up a wide range of knowledge in the course of visiting and spending many days in customer plants around the world. I have also become computer literate and can research anything that might interest me or I want to learn more about.

Michael threw the ball at Bill and he committed a bad error on it. He countered with his usual egotistical back slapping claims without any backup at all as he has always done. It you read his second paragraph about the $200,000+ vehicle he is designing, responsible for all design decisions and integrating a variety of electronic systems for and wait....physically making most of the custom parts for.....this sounds like a rather spurious claim. In addition Michael's point is well taken.....regular followers of this forum have heard these type of comments from Bill over and over. It is like he has some sort of inferiority complex and needs to hear these comments regularly. In my opinion Michael is a very reasonable and fair moderator who takes the task seriously.

here is a pic of my build

I built the Revell Bronco (original release), and altered the fenders with flare kits from Fireball model works and used his bigger tires. If you search "Revell Bronco" you should be able to find pics. When I take the original cost of the kit and then add the Fireball resin components, the cost has doubled and the work to modify the fenders, which is very doable but has to be done carefully, doesn't seem worth it when the Baja kit is available. BTW, not knocking the Fireball resin components...they are outstanding quality, reasonably priced and you get excellent service but the costs just add up the way I outlined.

As they did not buy the cake at the restaurant, I think an additional nominal charge for "storing" the cake, slicing it up, and then serving it to the 8 people at the table would be reasonable. Maybe $15 - $20.

I have sold about 200 items on eBay over the last 4 years (all model related) with no problems at all. The first issue is your listing on eBay. Take a lot of pictures to post with your listing, with loose pieces, spread them out on a neutral background and get clear pics. I think they let you post quite a few pics for free with your listing, and in the description section of the listing note everything that you can think about what your are selling. You will get more "watchers" and bidders. You might want to download IRfan (free) for resizing your photos. Another thing you might want to consider is getting an account with USPS (free) as it allows you to do all of your shipping very easily. You can buy postage and print it out on your printer, you can get shipping estimates for any size package and between zip codes, you can order shipping boxes and envelopes (free) to be sent to you and the part I like best...you can request and schedule pickups at your front door or mailbox. I always have used 2 day priority express with shipping tracking numbers. You might look at listings of items similar to what you plan on selling to see how they are composed, and may even use some of the content that might suit your listing. You can browse completed listings also to give you some good ideas.

WOW! This post sure stirs up memories for me. In 1953 my parents bought a new Buick 2 door sedan for a reunion trip to Ventura, CA. My dad's parents, a brother and a sister (4 cousins) had all moved to Ventura, CA about 6 years before. My dad took 5 weeks off work and we hit the road leaving Garden City Michigan, taking "the Southern Route" out to CA and then the "Northern Route" back to Garden City Michigan. At that time the Southern Route was Highway 66 (now Interstate 40). We ended up taking 10 days for this leg of our trip due to the many interesting towns, events, attractions (including a side trip to Hoover dam) along the route. I remember the desert bags hanging on the front of the car, but we also picked up a window mounted "air conditioner" somewhere along the way. It was supposed to keep the car interior cool when you forced air through it but I don't think you could drive fast enough for it to be effective. I remember my dad giving it away at a gas station where we had stopped. Like I mentioned I still have vivid memories of this trip, one of the best ever. Have often thought about taking this trip again at a very leisurely pace, but I think time has run out..... We did return via the Northern Route but none of us enjoyed it anywhere near as much as travelling through the Southwestern US

WHAT!! You mean people on this forum MAKE THINGS UP? I am disappointed.....

Great project! Your ingenious solutions to the problems and then the detailed explanations are outstanding. Will keep an eye on this project.

X2

I have one of these in my "todo" pile. Bought it from Dave at the Toledo NNL several years ago and have the body cleaned up and primed, chrome redone. it is a very nice kit. I bought one of these a couple years after I got out of the army in '64 and absolutely loved driving it, very comfortable and great handling car.

Umm, it doesn't. But when you are 77 years old and just typing out some comment to go along with pictures you just posted, anything is liable to pop into your mind....

I have two questions......think there is much road noise? How much does one of these wheels weigh (with proper inflation)?

Richard, you HIT the NAIL the right on the HEAD!!!!!!

That is a spectacular build, and photography to match!!! Best Bronco build to date.

The weather has FINALLY warmed up here in Michigan so painting can be done. Got most of the painting done on my build of the Monogram F-350 with the bcs-trading 1 ton dump bed and did a mockup to see how everything looks. I like the way it is coming together. Now to get the "detail" stuff done and mounted. Ordered decals for it also.....more news later.

No issues at all. Someone mentioned in a prior post about clean up on the cut edges on the dump bed, but I didn't find that much to be a factor.....a really nice piece of work and in my opinion the fit with the Monogram dually is perfect. I had to add 4 strips across the rear frame rails to provide a level "platform" for the bed. I used the crossmember supports that would normally go on the bottom of the pickup bed (in step 27).

The obvious pick is GOOD and CHEAP, but how do you get good product if the people are "skill free"?

I respectfully disagree.....in 1969 I was and apprentice engineer and the company I worked for insisted that as such, I had to work for 2 years actually drawing various machine designs on bond, linen, or mylar, and "detailing" each component usually in 3 views with all the dimensioning and tolerancing so that a competent machinist could make it. I almost always had to explain what a draftsman did and sometimes I would use a blueprint for this. Most people were learning something new to them. As for kids nowadays, with the advent of a wide variety of computer software available for sketching or developing drawings in just about any architecture it is used quite extensively. My 4 grandsons have all had drafting classes in high school using computer software, it is a popular elective. One grandson works part time for a local landscaping contractor and prepares computer generated drawings for quotation and installation purposes.

We have copy shops nearby that have the capability of copying "roll size" drawings (36" wide by however long the sheet is, within reason). The copy will be black and white and as legible as the original is, printed on white bond paper. I don't think they are unique to this area so maybe you can pursue that. They are not scanners but blueprint machines that use a "zerox" type roll stock.