Darin Bastedo

You see that is what happens when the model companies listen to us. We are are not the core of their business. For instance there are maybe two or three model builders from my town who visit the message boards, yet some how models keep jumping off the shelves at the hobby lobby. When I meet fellow modelers in the stores, very few of them know about the magazines, or the forums at all. Most just like to build an occasional model for relaxation, and don't enter or even care about contests or clubs. These are the same guys who couldn't tell you which 57 chevy kit is better proportioned and often buy one over the other because "it has more chrome parts" I had someone return an AMT 67 Impala to my store because they opened it up and realised that it had no optional hot rod parts. They didn't care that it was one of the most detailed and accurate Impala kits thus far, they only cared that it didn't offer custom rims. These are the same people who wouldn't even think of writing revell with a wish list, and have no idea of what has been produced in the past. To the same extent, many model buyers are upset that there is no way of telling how old a model kit's tooling is. They open the box after having built a modern John Mueller designed kit. and fing a crude AMT 62 ranchero with a promo chassis, wire axles and a big block chevy under the hood and feel robbed. So when you see revell someday release another kit that AMT has been producing for decades, and ask why, it's because the masses don't want nearly 50 year old kits based on an old promo. They want ones with similar quality to the newer kits on the market.

Ok a very vocal segment of the forum is clmmoring for more modern Pick-up truck kits. Here is your chance to show the model manufacturerer that you put your money where your mouth is. Let's see your pick-up truck models. we all know that the model companies check out this forum. show them that you mean business. At the same time fill out the attached survey and tell them what new truck you want made.

Junkman, I think one of the problems your running into inthis debate is one of culture. Perhaps being british you see the late seventies barges as iconic american designs, where we simply see them as old ugly and obsolete. I'm sure alot of the preconceptions we have of the british are vastly different than reality. Those of us who lived that part of american automotive history remember the reality of those cars. They were ill handling, poorly built cars that (in the part of the USA I lived in, started rusting after the first winter. The had no power, and crushed velvet interiors that made them look like a mobile brothel. Don't get me wrong there were a few standout cars in the 1970's but they were few and far between, and most of them have already been kitted.

If you ask me, the first choice for a modern pick-up kit would be that raptor, but what do I know. Yes there is great interest in the Bugatti, also, but I was going by what I've seen kids driving, and I have yet to see one of those at the cruise-in. Still I think thst there are many cars such as the bugatti, the Bentley continental, the Porsche GT2RS, etc. that would sell far more kits to the young crown than would a 1977 T-bird or 1979 Lincoln. It's just that simple.

Ok you want to bring in the young guys? here's what the 20 somthings are driving to our cruise-ins on fridays.

I know of one resin caster already that is using this technology. In the next decade it should be cheap enough for all of them to use it.

I touched on this in a different thread, but I feel it's worth repeating here. Which truck? You say everyone you know wants a light truck but I bet they all don't want the same one. Do they do the Ford Dodge or chevy? Or perhaps since it hasn't been done to death the do a toyota or nissan. Do they want a long bed/ short bed? crew cab, or extended cab/ maybe they want a standard cab sportside? The problem is there are simply too many choices. If you did a letter writing campian similar to the one that got us the Revell Caprice police car or the AMT 66 Nova. which truck would you push for? With something simple like a 1965 GTO all they have to consider is Coupe or convertible, and what optiona parts do we include?.

I understand the desire for something different, trust me I do, but you have to understand the goal of the model manufacturers is it make money. Put yourself in the place of a Revell executive. In front of him he has a choice; 77 T-bird, or a modern kit of a 1965 GTO. The only kit on the market for either of these is a 1/32 lindberg T-bird, and the old MPC 65 GTO. Both are no where close to being state of the art kits. what do you choose. Well looking at past trends the GTO is sure to sell ten times what the T-bird will, so he chooses the GTO. It's Iconic. even the non-car guys recognise it. There are cars I want that no major manufacturer will touch, such as; Tatra T-87, a Siata 208S, Chrysler Airflow, etc. But I understand why.

These cars may seem interesting to you over in england, but here in the states they are seen as a serious low point in our automotive history. They were oversized, slow and boring. With so many iconic classics, muscle cars and sports cars not having a kit of them how can they justify kits of late 70's flotsam and jetsam.

I actually see the mid nineties as a low pint. Between AMT ertl and revell, we has a total of 7 1994 Mustang kits (IIRC) 4 1993 Camaro kits, along with lindberg , there was 5 Ford f-150 kits, etc. You get the point. sure we had more new releases but everyone was releasing the same old stuff. For a little while we got a ton of impalas,a nd belairs, a couple of new mopars but it was still the same old same old. Now we are getting hudsons, oldsmobiles, really nice vintage re-issues, old tools that were lost or detroyed being re-cut, like the tijuana taxi and the rommels rod. Other old tools like the AMT Gremlin are being restored. The Model companies are starting to see the value of the old tools in their catolog, and realising that for a lot less money than it takes to do an all new tool you can restore a much missed old tool and reissue it. (I believe we can thank Dave Burkett for teaching them that trick) Yes I think today we have it better than we did at any point in history, including the sixties.

I'm guessing that with the shelby's and GT just now hitting the market they wanted to keep the excitement level up for those. Annoucing other versions now might cause people to pass up on these. I bet we see other versions in the summer announcements.

Depite many rumors, that revell had test shots, there was no mention of an Mustang LX Coupe. I had also heard rumors of another 57 chevy from Revell. I love the fact that they did a 62 vette based on the 58-59 pro-modeler tooling. That and the other new tools should keep me busy

actually the MPC Ghost rider kit, has the correct Daytona body kit, but is 1/25

Thank you guys. I've realised in the last year I've finished more models for her than myself.

This is the Doyusha 1965 Aston Martin DB5 kit. I chose this because it is my wifes favorite car. Back in High school when we met, I gave her this drawing of her favorite car forher 17th birthday, because I was broke and it was all I could think of to do.That was the occasion of our first kiss. Flash forward to 2008, she is 38 and divorced and we reconnect. all these years she has been the girl of my dreams and I had no Idea she felt the same. When we reunited in person she pulls out this drawing that she had saved for 21 years. She protected it like it was the "Mona Lisa" it's in the exact same shape today as when i gave it to her. I decided to do this as a tribute to the day we first fell in love, and to show her I love her just as much today as I did in those first moments of love. The Kit is not the most accurate or detailed replica, but is looks more like an Aston Martin DB5 than my crude drawing did. I upgraded the kit with some Detail Master Wire wheels, and some parts box door handles. I adjusted the stance a bit but other than that this is a box stock build. Hopefully it will make her feel 17 again as I bring her home today from the hospital.

I think that it depends on the type of build you are doing. I think rat rods where a significant amount of weathering and distressing is done should have there own "weathered" class along with a seperate class for beaters and junkers, If it is simply a car with a flat or suede paint job, then it should be judged along side the shiney ones. Keep in mind though that when I judge a contest, a well done flat or suede paint job gets slightly more respect from me than a buried in clear shiny car. that is because you have to lay the flat paint down smooth with no chance of correcting it, where the shiny guys and polish and clear coat until it looks right.

Harry, I'm sorry but I have to call fowl on this one. To say that someone is not deserving of sympathy because he decided to engage in risky activities is in my book tastless and ill-informed. First, anyone cut down in the a sudden and tragic way is reason to mourn whether you know that person or not. A young life was snuffed out today, and just because you see his contribution to the world as meaningless, does not make it so. Even if his only contribution was the entertainment of others, that is a worthwhile contibution to sociaty. As far as his "risky behavior", he like all of us took calculated risks. Last night On the way home from the store I was forced off the road by a jerk in a pick-up truck and had I not reacted as quicky as I had, I would have hit a tree at 60mph. Though we don't see it as such everyday we are sometimes seconds from disaster, and we just don't know it. His risks are more obvious, but had I reacted a tenth of a second later last night I would have been just as dead. You could say driving on the streets is more inherently risky than racing. There are no medi-vac helicopters standing by, no ambulance waiting in the wings and no track workers standing by with fire extinguishers waiting to pull me from the burning wreck. Are you a heartless jerk? No probably not, but you were certainly lacking tact in this situation. I hope that nobody you care about dies suddenly doing something you consider risky. But perhaps then you will understand. I still remember vividly watching my friend Jim Shampine's fatal wreck. I still miss hanging out at his shop and him talking my ear off about all things automotive. He may have risked his life racing, but by god his life meant a lot to those who knew and loved him.

While this is true, the idea that electric vehicles improve the air quality has to do with the fact that the energy they consume is made off site, meaning that there isn't a coal burning plant in the middle of LA. This allows the poluttion from this energy to be dispersed in an area with less pollution, thus cleaning up the air in LA. is it a perfect solution? no but until we find one, it will help the areas with the worst air quality problems.

To my eye the Polor lights GTO is off, but not in one major way but in many small ways that combine for an effect that is greater than it's sum. It's gretest sin is the soft details which tend to make the whole car seem too rounded. The real car is "banana shaped in the sense that the hood and the trunk slope away from the greenhouse, but the crisp and square body lines counteract that and give the whole car a longer lower look that Pontiac wanted. The soft body lines combined with wheels that appear oversized and fender openings that to my eye look undersized change the look of the car completely. I've measure the model against a real one and dimensionally it's not far off, but the subtle details of the bodylines make it look off. Either way we could argue all day over which is the better of the two, but i think the most compelling argument is, which model got bought and built more. I constantly see the monogram kit built but hardly ever see the polar lights kit. The market place has spoken, and whether or not one kit is actually better than the other is of no consequence, if the marketplace disagrees with you. That said, had Polor lights tooled up a 1965 GTO they would be heros today, even with the same execution, because anything would be better than the MPC based atrocity that has been offered over and over that somewhat looks like it might have been parked next to a 1965 GTO once.

It's just as well Honda discontinued the Element this year

All car buying is about making a statement. The 1990 Corvete Z-R1 was criticized for not looking more distinctive for the money, To the buyers of specialised cars especially when that specialization comes with an increase in price, it's important that there is an image associated with that car. That is why SUVs tend to have a whole lot of tough looking body cladding and details when it actually doesn't do anything for it's performance. As modelers we know that styling and stance is vital to make the veiwer know the intent of the car's purpose. It's the same thing with the greenies. they don't want their green car that they paid a premium for to look just like thier nieghbors gass guzzling less expensive car. On a personal note I feel I got the best of both worlds. The 2012 Hyundai I bought in June already has over 12,000 miles on it. is getting almost hybrid milage at a very non-hybrid price, Around town I've been averaging 35-36 miles to the gallon, and on the highway 47-48 mpg. On my trip to northern NYS with 4 adults, and a trunk full of luggage driving through the mountains I still got 40MPG. all this in a car that cost $18K. A similar Hybrid would cost me 10K more and it would take a long time to make that up in the difference in gas savings.

Re-VOLT-ingly...I get it! Very funny!

Ziggy played guitar, jammin' good with Weird and Gilly, The spiders from Mars, he played it left hand, But made it too far Became the special man, then we were Ziggy's band. Ziggy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo Like some cat from Japan, he could lick 'em by smiling He could leave 'em to hang Came on so loaded man, well hung and snow white tan. So where were the spiders while the fly tried th break our balls Just a beer light to guide us So we bitched about his fans and should we crush his sweet hands? Ziggy played for time, jiving us that we was voodoo The kids was just crass. He was the nazz With God given ass He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar. Making love with his ego, Ziggy sucked up into his mind. Like a leper messiah, When the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band. Ziggy Played Guitar.