Erik Smith

...and the Del Rio wagon was in the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby last year - I picked up a few for $6 or something ridiculous.

The Duplicolor Pearl is a finer flake. I still think it's a little large and in the dark green - to my eye - is more apparent than in the lighter colors I have used. I can get a photo up later to show the dark green pearl paint over Tamiya light gray.

...or the weird colored glass. The example shown above is, or looks like, a 3D print. The old Pony 2 was kind of a weird scale too, it seemed. Looks like a new kit to me. But that doesn’t mean it is.

I print out a test on normal paper, then cut out a small piece of decal paper and tape it on to the paper over the test print and send the whole thing through and print again.

I finally placed an order with Mike as well - for 1/16 gasser style wheels and tires and for the 1/8 wide 5 wheels - something I would have never thought we would see in 1/8...goes into the box of all the parts I’ve been collecting for years to finally build a 1/8 Hot rod...

Great work. Best of seen of that kit.

In addition to incompetence, unfamiliarity with subject matter could contribute to errors in properly positioning the running gear of a vehicle in the design process. In a way, it’s incompetence again, but often people don’t know what they don’t know, and you could definitely find somebody responsible that should know. Remember those 1990s AMT boxes with the Corvette and Taurus riding sky high in the actual model kit photos? That’s incompetence all the way through (although it is more indicative of actual box contents and what you are able to build!) Another slightly contributing factor may be the kit manufacturers reluctance to produce realistic, properly sized tires - yeah, they’re not all guilty, but for years we’ve had to deal with many kits getting the same tires that have been in many other kits - generic enough to fit multiple vehicles but not really great for any of them.

Forgot that Scene’s Unlimited has some really great 8 lug steel wheels with full floating hubs - in 1/25 and 1/24. One with separate hubs and one with molded in:

Kind of weird the lack of full floating rear ends in model world... Joseph at Fireball Modelworks has 8 lug full floater in his Ford 3/4 conversion kit - he might sell just the rear wheels. I don’t know if the axle would be appropriate or not.

I like it. Great work!

Depending on the kit source, it may be better to just buy a whole kit. The 427 in the Revell 1964 Fairlane is a pretty decent engine and that kit has been released many times. Again, though, you will need to spend some time researching options and prices...which may or may not be your thing. Posting in the wanted section could also turn up options as many builders on here have a ton of old parts just laying around. It’s also helpful to have a good description in your post’s title, with specifics, if there are any.

It is a cool little kit - I picked one up too. I’m amazed at how good the casting is - not a lot of mold lines and cleanup for an old kit. I think I’m going to use some wheels and tires from either the Tamiya Mini Cooper or a Hasegawa Subaru 360 - they both have options for wheels with covers (so you can’t see the four lug wheel) and the tires are sized just about right. looking forward to seeing what you do with yours.

Dean’s Hobby Stop.

Looks great so far Darren. Your models always crack me up - love the no-holds-barred approach to doing whatever you want. Sad about the other projects being lost - I can remember following along and enjoying each change and addition.

Yeah, that’s some superior work Paul. Those wheels are really impressive - even zooming in they look real. Excellent work.

Resolution: Plaza Japan emailed me (must be first thing Monday morning!). I sent photos of package and they refunded purchase. That is customer service.

As far as just the long block portion of a big block, I think the Revell COPO Nova has a pretty decent big block - no blower set up though, you’d have to source that from another kit...I have three of those kits and you would be welcome to one of the engines if needed. I also have a bunch of the big blocks from the MPC Open Roadster Corvette - which is softer on details but has those drop tube style dragster headers (I don’t know what they’re actually called - Zoomies?). It also has a Hilborn style intake and metal stacks. I don’t have the metal stacks available, but the rest of the engine would be.

That must be the same guy that drove over mine...it would be more disappointing to lose a kit like the DeSoto that isn’t as replaceable.

Thanks! Yes, I did that right after receipt of the package.

I read that too. I have always had exceptional service from them. Really, I guess I didn’t realize the seller would be responsible for the items damaged in shipping. I always thought it was the person who bought the item and insurance was for the buyer.

Yeah, I have received damaged boxes before but the contents were undamaged (at least still usable). The bodies on all the kits are crushed from this one though. Oh, and it was air mail (ordered January 5 and received 18). I looked up the policies from Plaza Japan and fortunately they say they insure all packages. I have been selling and buying on eBay since 2006 and buying from overseas companies for years and I have been lucky enough never to have a package like this, so I didn’t even think who the insurance is for - buyer or seller? There are worse things in the world, but I hate to see all this damage and waste. Heck, I even get sentimental when I see a Chevy Metro at the wrecking yard...

Does anybody here have any experience or knowledge of filing a claim for a package that is completely destroyed during shipping? My wife was home when the USPS delivered this mess. Box was busted open and re-taped closed. All three models are broken - even the decals are damaged by how hard/heavy the impact was. I contacted seller for insurance inquiry but had it shipped the cheap way from Japan, so I have no idea if there is insurance - I’ve never had an issue on any previous boxes. USPS online claim requires USPS tracking? I will take it to the Post Office Tuesday when they’re open, but for now...

Buzz watching the progress...

Yes. For rare kits, people will find them. Buyers save searches, so every time a kit they are looking for or collect comes up, they get an email. Rare kits sell for hundreds of dollars all day long on eBay. I can’t think of any other market that compares to eBay’s in terms of exposure and buyers. Make sure you have lots of clear, uncluttered photos. Show all the parts on opened kits. Include a good description. Don’t start them priced too high for auctions. I start all my auctions at the old school .99 - it gets buyers involved and gives them a sense of “mine”. Time your listings as well - don’t list them to end at 1:30 on a Monday - most people with money are working. I found it best to end on Saturday afternoon or evenings. There is more traffic. Also it gives you Sunday to pack and get them to the post on Monday. Don’t list run of the mill or easy to find kits for .99, you will end up selling them for .99 plus shipping... For Run of the mill and common kits, sell them in groups. You will not make any money on run of the mill kits and selling more than one at a time reduces your time in listing, packing, and shipping. Just make sure your kits will fit in a box that will ship priority at the lower rate - last time I sold off some kits I was unaware of the new volume restrictions (not just weight) - I cant remember the dimensions, but shipping went from something like $15 (based on weight) up to $50 because my box was a couple inches too big. You can sell run of the mill Kits singly for a buy it now, but you will be sitting on them for long periods of time. if you want to get rid of a large portion easy, look for craigslist ads for people buying collections.

The cool thing is, you could put any emblem on it - Kia, Toyota, Subaru, Honda, etc- and nobody would know the difference. It actually looks Like a very good model in the photo above.