mrmike

I can't imagine trying to stop one of those DONKS with huge wheels and tiny little brakes like this! Anytime you add big diameter wheels and tires, you need to upgrade the braking system. This one will need a couple of miles to come to a complete stop from 55 MPH!

Happy Birthday Gregg! Welcome to 50 Club For Modelers! I hope you have a great birthday today!

I have been reading all of the replies to this since I first posted this thread yesterday. I have laughed, felt sad for those who have had to deal with this problem, but for the most part enjoyed reading the responses. I have sympathised with those afflicted, and it got me to thinking about this for a bit. I do believe that most people here are not hoarders. I do question those who have several thousand kits stashed in closets, basements, attics, storage sheds, garages, and storage lockers away from their homes. They may have only the vaguest idea of what they have stashed away in those areas. And, what are they going to do with them? I doubt that any of those kits would ever get built...or see the light of day. IMHO, a hoarder is not just the person with junk piled high to the ceilings of their homes, but one who also has excessive quantities of whatever they happen to like. Sure, they have the intention of building that kit when they bought it, but it gets put away especially when that person goes out and buys more and then even more later. It just compounds itself over time. It seems easy just to say that they are a collector when their "collection" is out of control. If you don't have a place to display your collection, is it really a collection? Hoarding is an addiction. It needs to be treated by a professional who has the knowledge and understanding of this affliction. The person with that addiction needs to realize that they need and want help, otherwise going through their stuff and disposing of it is a waste of time since the hoarder will just go back to satisfy their addiction all over again. I hope I haven't become "preachy" and I will get off my soapbox now and hopefully more of you will post your opinions and stories.

My first car was a 1956 Ford Customline 4-door sedan. I have been unable to find one in resin, but I did have a 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 with a 352 topped with a 4-barrel carb and air cleaner from a 1970 383 Road Runner for a second car and was able to model that one. It was my first airbrush job and I thought it can out pretty good.

Thank you Jeremy and Randy! I finally got the chassis up on four wheels. The suspension is fiddily to put together. I did a mock up with the body and bed. Lookin' good! I started on the interior by flocking the floor. More to come.....

Thanks Nick! I suspected that there might have been another version out there, I just couldn't remember if there was. OK guys, I have more progress! The chassis is nearly done save for the engine, drive shaft, radiator, wheels and tires. The bottom of the chassis. The exhaust tips will be foiled. A mock up with the engine. I don't like the fit against the engine and transmission mounts. A little massaging is in order here. More to come.....

I posted this over 2 hours ago and I am amazed at the responces so far! My goal is to see what others think about their stash of kits and if they might think that they could be a hoarder. I told my wife about this thread and I said that I am not a hoarder and she said that I was in denial. I disagree! I have found several different definitions on hoarding so I won't tell you folks which one is right or wrong. That is up for you to decide. But, when we go into the hobby shop or other stores and see models on the shelf, are you impulsed to buy one or two kits even if you don't really need it? Do you think you will have the time to build it before the BIG GUY comes and says it time to up to the BIG HOUSE?? I want to hear from more of you, my fellow modelers! Are you a model hoarder?

Fabulous craftsmanship, Art!

I am sitting at my bench and I can hear the TV in the living room which is next to my hobby room. My wife is watching an episode of Hoarders and I have watched a few scenes of this show and the hoarders with their piles of stuff that they say they simply must have. Some of these scenes are quite disturbing and it got me to wondering about us modelers. Are we hoarders? I know of at least one modeler with a garage full of models and kits and have heard stories of others with closets and storage sheds and cellars full of models. Some say they would never part with any of their collection of models while others are willing to trade for other kits, but the question still lingers...are we hoarders? With only 54 kits in my stash, I know I am not a hoarder. All my kits are neatly stacked on a bookcase in my hobby room, and barring any unforseen disaster, I plan on building all of these kits in my stash. Even at the age of 58 years young, I will be building for many years to come and well into my retirement years and old age. So, how about it my fellow modelers...are you hoarders?

It's best to get the clot taken care of first! The modeling projects can wait until you are doing better. Get well soon!

That is a sharp looking cruiser! You did a super job on this Charger! I just got a Lindberg Charger to make a New Hampshire State Police cruiser, I just have to order the paint!

I have finished the engine save for a few touchups and a decal on the oil fill tube. As I was building this engine, I noticed the extra valve covers and intake manifold on the parts sprue. Did Revell originally intend this to be a 2 In 1 kit or a different version altogether? I have started on the chassis by adding cross members, spring hangers, and the exhaust system. More to come.....

Great job on the Olds 442, Brian! I like it!

Well, I made another offering to the carpet gremlins that reside in my model cave! I realized that the shaft on the distributor was not long enough for mounting the distributor nor is there really a spot for the distributor anywhere on the front of the engine. I removed the wires from the cap and drilled out the bottom for a longer shaft made from a piece of 1/8 styrene rod. I placed the rod on my bench to cut a piece off and the distributor went flying off the bench and onto the carpet. I searched for it, but it was gone. A trip into my parts box produced a distributor from a Revell kit that is better detailed and has a longer shaft. The carpet gremlins can have the other distributor! The doghouse is together. I forgot to add the subframe to the chassis pan, so this will be getting some overspray. More to come.....

I started working on the engine by adding a fuel line to the carbs. I also added heater hoses, the alternator, fan belt, and fan assmbly, transmission, and exhaust manifolds. I drilled out the distributor and added plugs wires. I need to make a coil and coil wire. More to come.....

So Steve, are you telling me that I should rip out all the styrene I put into the score? I think that would make quite the mess of the hood and in my mind, not worth the effort. I do thank you for the suggestion, but I think it is a little too late for it now. So far, I have about one hour invested in this hood and I am going to forge ahead with my repairs to it. If the hood curls a couple of months down the road, then I'll replace it with the other hood I have in my parts box. Again, I do thank you for the suggestion.

Well, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to play a hunch. I filled one of the scores with Testors Liquid Cement. Then I took a piece of sheet styrene and placed it inside the score. After a couple of minutes, the glue softened the styrene and I pushed it into the score level with the surface and allowed it to harden. This should take care of the thin plastic and block some of the heat from the paint from getting through. More to come.....

The way that I understand it, when you start with the coarse grit, you are, in a way, damaging the paint. Using the next grit in a different direction, you are removing that damage. So, to me, it would be best to alternate directions on every grit used. Try it out both ways and see for yourself which one works the best for you.

The bed cover sits on top of the bed rails. I was going to make the cover fit flush with the top of the bed rails, but I took the easy way and made it a little bigger than the opening.

My fix for the lack of trim around the rear window seemed to be a rather easy fix. Just something for the foil to grab onto. Right now I am thinking about prepping the second hood for paint by filling in the score line under the hood and sanding smooth the top of the hood since the score line shows on top as well.

My wife is experiencing the same with her tennis elbow. The doc deadened the nerve to block the pain and after 48 hours, the pain is coming back. BTW, cake is for eating, not walking!

Here's the hard tonneau that I made from sheet styrene. I used a medium sanding stick to bevel the edges and make the rounded corners with. Paint was flowing today! More to come.....

That's exactly what it is!

Looks great, but I see one thing wrong with it...the shifter is backwards. It's probably be more trouble than it's worth to correct it, but I thought you should know. Other than that, it looks great!

Thanks Rodney! I did take Mr. Zinns advice to heart and after an one hours time, I had the side skirts on and hopefully, properly aligned. The truck needed a hood scoop and even though it willl not be functional, it give the truck a racier look. I have been working on a hard tonneau cover and it is coming along rather well. I measured the bed for the correct measurements and cut it out of a piece of sheet styrene. I should have pictures of it later.