Jello

I'am aware of one guy that used to come in here til something happen and he has not been here since but he does indeed know...Too bad huh? I didn't get my infor. from him by the way. All I can say is this for a fact not a rumor, there is several all new never done before kits due out next year by several companies and several factors may or may not have anything to do with the release of these kits such as the economy, kit sales etc and I really don't know the exact cars planned, just a few hints from a few trusted friends that don't participate in model car forums. Why ruin a good surprise anyways?... Have fun! ~ Jeff

Theres been some "fishing" talk about a couple of serious new kits in the works for late next summer and where I got this information, I don't question it one bit. However one of the kits is a very popular car and the kit will have many uses and body styles using the same chassis & engine parts. That should help narrow down the car choice a wee bit. Some of you may remember back in the '90s when AMT was producing those new kits ( '71 Charger , '58 Edsel and many others) and a certain car was mention in the works but it never made it past the front office or so they said. I'am not saying its that kit or its being made by AMT or R/M or ... I say no more and please don't ask for more. ~ Jeff

Great pics Rollin! Thanks! I should also point out that the '55-'57 kits also have windshield fit problems, when you sand smooth the edges on the "glass" and smooth out the windshield frame, there will be gaps on the corners..some kits are worse than others. I had to use clear windshield glue to hide the gaps but next time I will make a windshield "gasket" out of very small plastic solid tubing and sand it for a just right job. I recommend lots of dry fitting on that windshield before & after painting no matter what you do. You may or may not have a problem with it but I have over a dozen of the kits with windshield issues. ~ Jeff

You mean that huge empty space under the cab between the interior sides and cab/door walls? Its weird and many folks had issues with that. I just cut-out a floorboard out of sheet plastic that covers the whole bottom except the tranny area under the cab and that seems to be your best bet unless someone else has a better idea! I did this years ago and can't really remember all of it but some dry fitting should get the job done before using glue. ~ Jeff

I have not seen any tire/parts damage in the past 20 years in the newer kits or so but it was common in the late '60s to '70s mostly in MPC & Johan kits..I got windshields, decals, chrome trees and even several car bodies with tire marks on them. Got one JoHan body that has the tire melted right on the roof! In some hobby shops, the kits were displayed on the shelves a long time and some even had the sun on them and heat does make the problem worse. Cause of those problems, I never buy older kits without being able to see the contents and that means buying these kits in person or buy from someone that will send pics of the contents. Sealed older kits do have its problems and I have gotten several that had tire damage. Its a roll of the dice when you buy older sealed kits cause you never know whats inside! Even today where the chances of tire damage almost gone, I still bag the tires if they are not already bagged like Revell does now. Anybody that has seen those old hard JoHan tires with or without the out of round whitewalls, will know theres "something" odd about them, they are plastic killers! ~ Jeff

I hear you Bob! Funny thing, I had been building since 1965 and never saw a model car magazine til around the mid '70s but I did find my first Auto World catalog around in 1970 when the family went on vacation in Atlanta and boy I tell ya, did my model car world get big that day! I spend about 3 days drooling over that catalog and started mowing a lot of yards to buy those kits! At 2-3 bucks each... I saw my first hobby shop around in 1974 and they had to kick me out at closing time! Before then, I got almost all my kits from Sears, JC Penneys, Woolworths and Rose's dept stores. I still use rattle cans and do just as good as job as someone using a airbrush but my tools are top of the line and a long ways from using my mom's kitchen knifes & poor ol' dad's tools! Its amazing how far we have came in this hobby and yes, the computer did its share of making things better but it also hogs up a lot of time better spend on models huh? I count myself lucky to have the opportunity to meet & know lots of great folks that share this hobby with me using the internet and even tho I have been building models for over 42 years, I still learn something new everyday! Its great to read about other people's experiences in this hobby and the things they remember. Thanks Bob and keep up the good work! ~ Jeff

Geezzz...., that sooo awesome & nostalgic! I remember my workbench looking almost like that full of AMT & Johan kits. It was the same desk I had to do my homework on plus I had a lot of those WW2 planes hanging down from the ceiling. That pic did almost made me cry! I could make one similar to that cause I still have lots of boxes and kits of course from the good ol' days. I wonder if someone will recreate a hobby shop... I would gladly trade in today to go back to the car model hobby's golden years, buying kits for .50 to 1.50 to 2 bucks and sure it was more harder back then but it was also more fun and a whole lot less complicated than it today is. Sometimes the future is not always better than the past and I should know cause I was born in 1959. Thanks for the great pics and memories! Love that collection of yours and kudos to you! ~ Jeff

She is looking real sharp! Great job on the paint and can't wait to check out more pics! ~ Jeff

As far as getting that correct 3-D look, I would suggest the flat pieces be PE or screen and the rounder parts be casted either in resin or cast metal. Like the real factory grilles, most come in 2 or 3 or more parts separate such as the '58 Impala grilles/bumpers. Kit grilles with bumpers molded in always usually are 1-pc which looks unrealistic cause most grilles/bumpers usually have 2-3 shades of different chrome or aluminum such as the '57 Chevys including the side trims. Even in plastic kits, I would rather have several parts of a grille & bumper than a 1-pc part. Same goes for the rear taillight & bumpers. Theres a company that makes headlight/light lens for model trains that is very realistic and has that real looking deep bulb look and they also look great on any scale model cars..I believe its called something like MV lens? I last saw an ad in a Model Railroader magazine about them. They have a large chart of thousands of different sizes & colors as will as clear. ~ Jeff

I live near the Fla & Ga line 60 miles from the Gulf panhandle and took me 2 weeks to clean tree branches out the yards and some folks didn't even have power for 3 days after the last one. I didn't have any power for 18 hours. ( after seeing what happen in New Orleans, folks worry about looters now) Had to throw everything out of the fridge ( lost about 100 bucks worth of food) Lots of flooding in my area. Got older family members in Fla to tend to as well. It can be nerve wacking cause of the power going out and never knowing when it will come back on and living down here with no fan or AC is crazy as no one leaves the windows open anymore! Lucky, I don't do contests anymore but it does set me back getting stuff done after spending weeks working on a project and now, theres another one ( Ike) on the way....All this finally ends sometime in Nov. Alaska looks better & better every year! ~ Jeff

Good one Art! ~ Jeff

It would be great to have open grilles on the cars & trucks but some kits just make that impossible without doing serious damage! From my experience, open grilles really get the job done! Theres nothing better detail wise. Hood latch detail would be cool too. As for the headlight area, the Revell '58 Impala kit really takes the prize! Note the separate parts and one of the best set-ups I have ever seen on a model car kit and as a former owner of a '58 Impala in high school, its right on to the real thing! I suspect in the future of model car kits, we will see more details due to better technology and of course, higher prices which is fine with me. ~ Jeff

No problems with me. I got a great security system and its all too easy for people to forget about protecting their computers til something happens and theres always fools out there that just enjoy messing up other peoples computers! There should be a death penalty law for jerks that develop & spread viruses! Thanks for expressing concern for others Gregg & thats why this forum is miles better any other model car forum! ~ Jeff

Thats really neat! A little sanding and some candy apple red paint w/flames should complete it! ~ Jeff

With Car models of course being one but right behind in no order, I enjoy military history ( transportation & supply vehicles & WW2 Railroad guns), reading, have a large HO Train layout, old car magazines, messing around with my '71 Maverick hot rod, adding more custom stuff on my '05 Ford Ranger Edge PU, going to car museums, collecting M&Ms stuff, checking out my original '60s GI Joe collection, collecting 1/87 to 1/18th diecast & plastic vehicles ( over 4,000), messing with my 1/87th civil war diorama and a bunch of other stuff that I really don't have the time for anymore and of course, nothing better than a good stuffed leather recliner chair and something to read! Yeppers, there is indeed a life after model car building! Can't y'all tell I'm not married anymore?? ~ Jeff

Everything looks great Ed! Hmmmm, I especially like photo #3! Good to see you got it finished after I started on it about 25 years ago or so! Keep up the good work! ~ Jeff

Great job on that GTO! Looks right at home at any short track. Its too bad the Camaro & Mustang kits are no longer around but I got several of the kits to use different bodies on. Nice work. ~ Jeff

Hey Ed, Outstanding job on those wreckers! Both remind me of similar ones I have seen for years down where I live and you the Man doing a fine job building them! Thanks for the eye candy! Can't wait for mo! ~ Jeff

I have been going to car shows & swap meets for over 25 years mostly to buy model kits and there was a guy that set-up his van & trailer selling new kits at great prices in most of the shows I went to and I always looked forward to buying 20 or so kits everytime I saw him. He was one very popular vender everybody checked out for years and last time I saw him was about 5-6 years ago and he along with most of the others that did the same thing quit the business due to slow kit sales & high prices and what I suspect was complains about car show venders selling kits cheaper than hobby shops. In the last 3-4 years of car shows & swap meets, I have never seen another vender selling model kits down here in the south and I wonder why?? I have almost quit going to car shows cause no kits will be available. One guy told me he was actually buying kits from stores, hobby shop sales and selling them for 3-10 bucks higher depending and he did very well but he could no longer get or find anymore to sell since Wal-mart stopped kit sales. He explained to me that it was cheaper to buy from stores than it was to buy direct from kit companies even at wholesale prices! Most car shows & swap meets down here do require a state tax number just to get in and sell new stuff but if you say its, just a few items you no longer want and they look kinda worn out, your free to go in at most shows but watch out cause lots of states today are dying for more tax money and their people will be looking for "cheaters" at the shows & swap meets and if they see you 2-3 times at different shows, you can bet the farm they will check you out! Unfortunately, the days of the little guy trying to earn a few extra bucks doing something he enjoys are pretty much over cause of taxes, insurance, high prices and silly politics but I suppose its still possible to make it work and Good Luck! ~ Jeff

Looks great to me! You got nothing to worry about and as long as you enjoy building model cars, keep up the good work! You can't do wrong with a Mustang! Mee crazy?? Nahhhh, just slightly underdeveloped & a weee bit of insane, the rest of me will grow up soon or never! ( hopefully, never!) ~ Jeff

Get the AMT '37 Chevy coupe kit for parts...it has a inline 6 but not sure how much of it is correct for a truck but I'll say close enough! The kit is still listed in ModelRoundup. You might be able to use several of the body parts from the coupe on the truck as well. Looks like the hood & fenders are nearly the same for both. Sounds like a great project and I have heard of several modelers building a stock truck from that Orange Blossom kit. Good luck. ~ Jeff

I just got that kit myself last month sealed from a Hobby Town store for 12 bucks and very impressed with the kustom goodies! I had got it for parts like many kits I buy but I will build a kustom car out of it cause it seems like such a cool kit and we don't see many of them either whether its the real one or model kit. Have fun! ~ Jeff

Well...tsk,tsk...it has finally came down to this, the nuts are in control of the loony bin! ~ Jeff

I saw that notice & pics elsewhere too...A stock '64 Fairlane version! I'am told it has all new stock parts & a 2n1 kit and if thats true, I'll be grabbing a few of them ditto for the '57 Chevy sedan too. I sure hope the Fairlane chassis is correct for stock tho! ~ Jeff

I will for sure get one of those the flathead kits! Maybe later, Lindberg will give us a hot rod version hopefully pretty please?? I bet that will sell fast. Thanks Steve for posting this. ~ Jeff