modelercarl

I find your constant critical opinions of engineers as stupid, poor performing, dummies, etc. to be uncalled for. Your constant negativity on this and many other professions indicates a lack of experience and knowledge about the design and manufacturing processes inherent in the automobile industry. Design engineers are delegated to come up with a design that the marketing department says consumers will want to buy, purchasing departments say must be easily procured on a cost effective basis, safety department say will insure driver and passenger safety, federal and state standards, and manufacturing plants require the vehicle can be assembled with minimum labor costs, which often requires integration of robots. There are many more constraints place on the design engineer but these are the prime constraints. Your suggestion that an engineer that may not be a good engineer and is involved in the design of an automobile is absurd. While I agree there may be engineers who have limited capabilities, these are quickly identified and relegated to menial support tasks if not dismissed for poor performance. As a retired Director of Engineering in one of the worlds largest producers of high production machinery used worldwide by virtually every automobile and truck engine manufacturer, I have sat in meetings at the customer's facilities and witnessed first hand where the engineering staff has been directed by management to alter a design or use a design that was not favored by the engineers for a wide variety of reasons....sometimes against strong argument to not do so. I was involved in a new transmission program at a major automobile manufacturer who was developing a new 6 speed automatic to be used worldwide in their small vehicle program. To illustrate the problem engineers sometimes face in designing production equipment, this transmission was designed by a foreign "partner" and was to be produced in the US, Asia and Europe. This required adherence to three different "regimes" and in addition the US plant was attempting to placate the UAW so they invited 15 UAW members off the production floor to be involved in the process. Needless to say this complicated the engineer's effort to a large degree, resulting in decisions being adopted that after installation of the equipment had to be remedied so that more efficient production could be achieved. I share these experiences with you to demonstrate that this type of non-engineering "interference" occurs all throughout the process of new product development, including initial product design. Do engineers make mistakes? Yes they do but through a rigorous review process most if not all are discovered and do not reach the customer purchasing the final product. When you take into account the number of components involved in producing an automobile the efficiency of the engineering process is very impressive.

Well this isn't an opinion, it's factual experience...and I do know what I am talking about. I have used Paypal for years now and have always used "payment for goods and services" for the protection it offers...only had 1 problem with the many transactions and Paypal refunded my costs quickly. It is a very reliable service and usually the transactions are completed on a timely basis.

Amy, I sent you a PM (private message)

Thanks for the generous comments.

Thanks for the comment...Fireball modelworks fender flares were used.

Thanks for the kind comments....

Thanks Geoff, I appreciate the comment.

Thanks Dave. What color are you doing yours in? I'm thinking of building another but can't decide on a color.

I don't remember the exact figure but it was around $1,200.00. I had to put a new battery in it and replaced the tires also.

Yes, those are the kit tires.

Finished this build a couple of weeks ago. This is a model of my first car bought after getting out of the Army in August 1964. Didn't have a whole lot of money but was lucky finding this one. When I went into the Army in 1961 I sold a 1960 Catalina and was hoping to find another one when I got out but this was available so I snapped it up. The kit went together very well, what I have come to expect from Moebius. Make a fantastic looking Poncho!

Finished this build up last week. Box stock. This is an excellent kit to build......very little flash, very good fit and no alignment problems. Moebius has really raised the bar with their kits and this is one great example. Enjoyed this one so much I am going to build the rest of their pickups just for the pleasure I get out of building a well engineered kit.

Another build I finished recently. Box stock with custom decals. I started this last year....got frustrated with mold lines, set it aside, started it again and got frustrated with fits so I set it aside again. Pulled it out about 3 weeks ago and finished it up. This kit has some terrible fits that require some creative work arounds but when finished looks pretty good.

Just finished this one up. Box stock except for the fender flares which I think give it a whole different look, it was one of the most enjoyable builds I have ever experienced......hardly any flash, and it fit together very nicely. Only touchy assembly is getting the side windows in the doors aligned with everything else.

I agree with Brett on the Paasche. I have had one of these for about 10 years now.....excellent for airbrushing models.

WOW, I apologize profusely....1 1/8 off.

This is a pic of The California Hauler I recently built. I had it all done box stock) and coupled it with a Revell auto transport trailer. I really did not like the gap between the cab and the front of the trailer so I cut 1 1/8 out of the frame and reassembled it. I think this looks more reasonable now. 1 1/8 would be 2" 3" in 1-1

I will give you my version.....I have lived in Michigan all my life (except 3 years in Germany) and I have visited relatives in California many times plus travelled to many other states. I always notice trucks in California usually have a big gap between the fifth wheel and the tractor, even with two trailer setups. I always asked my relatives why but never got an answer I believed. I am pretty sure that you don't see a setup like that in Michigan and other states because the restrictions on overall length force them to cram tractor and trailer(s) together to get the maximum payload. Any Californians have any input?

That is a spectacular build of a classic automobile!!!!!

I started buying my spray paint, lacquer thinned and ready for spraying, from Dave at Model Car World about 12 years ago. Probably about 200 1 0z. bottles. Mail in the order and got my paint in 9-14 days......never a problem. I have ordered 3 times from the new owner and have had the same results. The paint lays down beautifully for someone like me, not the most talented painter, and polishes up great. They have hundreds of automotive colors and will even mix up special order colors.

The GMC truck line was started so that General Motors dealers other than Chevy had trucks to sell (Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile & Pontiac) and to "suggest" that they were better and thus sold at the "premium" GM dealers they had some rather insignificant enhancements. It is amazing that some people really began believing they were in fact superior to Chevy trucks. I was Chief Engineer for a special machine builder and we had a manufacturing manager who always insisted on the company buying GMC trucks (which cost more) so I was able to take him on a tour of the Pontiac (MI) truck plant and we showed him Chevy and GMC pickups going down the same line, being assembled with the same parts, but I still think he wasn't convinced.

That is great looking mockup, something that looks feasible, not just a bunch of junk taped together. This looks like you really planned your work.

I have the 2mm and the 4mm pens....been using them daily for small pieces and touch up on chrome where the sprue attachment was. I am really impressed, just as good as any chrome I have seen in kits. I do have one question though for those of you who have been using them longer...how do you store them? I have been storing mine with the tip down like I do other markers.

Check with Thomas Logan at speedwaydecals@yahoo.com, He does excellent work and is very reasonable. He has a day job so it might take a week or two to deliver but well worth the wait. I have used him several times with great results, and he makes every effort to make sure you get what you want.

Just a couple of suggestions.......I would think that eliminating the poly bags and printing the magazine on less expensive stock would reduce the publication costs considerably. When you look at the number of subscribers versus the number of them complaining about getting "damaged" copies, it does not seem like a good business decision to add the burden of bagging the magazine and although printing on expensive stock gives the impression of value, it is after all just a magazine.