Darin Bastedo

If 1000 people show up for the rolercoaster on a regular basis, the park builds a second one. It appears that Randy has been "overwhelmed" by business for years now. If he is getting enough business that it's taking 6 months or mor to ship, he is getting enough business to hire help to speed things along. I'm sure he is not getting much more business than the modelhaus, yet they get their orders out in a timely fashion.

there are several models in my collection I have spent big bucks on based solely on the quality and subject matter... Aardvark's Firebird III Multimedia kit around $100 Historic racing Miniatures Cobra daytona Coupe $185 Both were must haves and in the case of the Firebird III IIRC I pre-ordered mine the day it was annouced. niether kit disappointed either. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

because the what kit do you want suveys for some inexplicable reason always end up resulting in the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am winning...lol

I agree, some of the old AMT kits are not exactly state of the art any more (if they ever were) That is why I'm glad to see Kits like revell's 69 Nova kit. It's a much better kit than the old AMT 72 Nova ever was. That said The AMT nova was still one of my favourate kits growing up.

I never claimed to be a hot shot or anything other than a subscriber and a modeler who is willing to share with other modeler's a small morsel of information I hadn't seen shared before. it's my way of trying to give back to the hobby. I've been a reader of Scale Auto, Car Modeler and Model Cars Magazine since the titles were started, and have learned a great deal from them over the years. I simply want to give back some. I have shared (usually in my in progress posts on this and other boards) techniques I use to do what I do, This however was a vary complex technique that I thought would make a good article, and Harry agreed to see what I come up with. I have no delusions that the printing of one article will some how catapult me to fame and fortune. Lastly I know perfectly well who you are and what you are capable of. I have seen and admire your work. You do amazing scratch building yourself. I have no problem with you as a modeller. It is your people skills that I have an issue with. From now on I will simply keep any ideas about future articles to myself and hopefully avoid ugly situation like this from occuring. I wish you the best. Good Day Sir.

Wow could you be any more rude? First of all I subscibe to this magazine as I not only enjoy the read, but believe in supporting our host. I would be very upset if I got my magazine in the mailbox and everything I read in it I saw on the forum three months earlier. To come on the magazine's forum and through a hissy fit because you aren't getting what you want, when you want it and for free is a slap in the face to our host. Secondly denying the magazine content in favor of posting it here, encourages people like you who "choose to use this forum as a "mag" instead of the print version" to not buy the cow because they are getting their milk for free. For the price of a couple of model kits you can read the magazine for a whole year. why not support our host and subscribe. I'm sure gregg would appreciate it. I have said my peace, so since you don't "give a darn" I consider this matter closed.

Actually they do pay for articals, but that is beside the point. If everyone did as you suggest, the magazine would have no content, and the magazine would cease to exist, as would the forum. as far as wanting to know what I have planned I believe I indicated the wheel that would be replicated. as far as posting it in the tips section, I guess the magazine's paying readers will get the information first.

To get back on subject, Yes I would (and have) pay more for a better detailed kit. but more to the point I would be willing to pay more for more interesting subject matter as well. while I like mustangs, camaros and 57 chevies as much as the next guy, and I realise that they are volume sellers, I'd be willing to pay slightly more for a kit with less volume apeal like some AMC kits or 50's pontiac or something like that. It is likely that people who feel the same way are not plentiful enough for it to happen. I can see many people rioting if say revell came out with a new tool AMC Javelin that was $10 more than a similar Camaro kit. I can also see the kit languishing on the shelf as the mass market folks pass it up for the cheaper Camaro kit. It's a catch 22 the model companies need to make a profit, thus only tool what is most popular, but can't charge more for something that would sell in lower volume.

Merk I don't see why you keep harping about the re-tooled diecast stuff. My original post clearly listed none of these as examples. as far as these being "adult oriented kits' They are not, and never were intended to be Adult oriented kits. There uptown line and other diecast based kits are not meant to be taken as seriously as the newer "special edition" kits. as for missing the the point, you miss mine, which is the Revell kits tooled lately are a serious improvement over the kits that both revell and monogram tooled in the 80's. I could care less if you agree or if you buy the kits. I clallenge you though to find a kit that either Revell or Monogram tooled in the 80's that is better than the 1972 olds Cutlass kit they tooled this year.

Jeff Have I somehow offended you? First off I said I would be doing an "article" which I have been working on, and am finishing the text up as I type. today or tomorrow it will be sent to the magazine for publication. As far as leaving you hanging, I don't know about you, but I work for a living and have a family. with all else I do I think scratch building a wheel in a week's worth of spare time is pretty good. I'm sorry if I didn't wave my magic wand and fulfill your need for instant gratification.

1. I'm not in a twist, I just think you are unfairly critisizing Revell's new kits. 2. You do have a right to your opinion, just as I have the right to disagree with it. I just notice that revell seems to raise your ire more than any other company. I rarely see you pick apart AMT even though they have had some real dogs lately themselves. 3. perhaps I am less discerning , as I have have kits in my collection from all manufacturers including a couple of hundred Tamiya and Fujimi. I feel that having such a diverse collection, and having all the kits mentioned to compare allows me to make a fair assessment. sure Revell has had some duds, but most of them are because they were based on diecast molds that had to be re-purposed when zinc prices sky rocketed. you keep saying how much better Tamiya and fujimi is yet choose to ignore that they have have some flops as well. let's not forget their foray into diecast screw on chassis plates that made their models look and feel like giant hotwheels cars. they sometimes have better looking bodiesbut lose points with me for having next to no detail underneath them. The Enzo was the last Tamiya kit that truly impressed me by having both detail and scale fidelity If Tamiya wnats to charge me double I want double the kit.

You are kidding me right? Are you seriously saying that the new tools from revell aren't improved from what they issued in the 80's? take a look at the new 72 olds Cutlass, the two new 57 chevies, the new 62 impala the 49 merc, and the 1969 chevy nova. do you really want to compare these to the 1970 'cuda, 1970 chevelle, 1970 challenger from the 80's. I have noticed you have quite bias against Revell and for some reason can't avoid bashing them at every turn. why don't you simply add "I hate Revell" to your sig line and get it over with. the revell kits have improved greatly compared not just with there own kits but any manufacturer world wide even your beloved Tamiya. You want to talk about getting less for your money? compare the new tamiya DBS to the Porsche 959, Ferrari F40, mercedes SL we got in the 80's. They give us 10% of the detail and tripled the price, where revell has increased the detail & content during the same period.

I'm working on one now.

That is prmarily why I want to do this series of articles. while billet,CNC machines and lathes are great scratch building tools there are simpler ways of doing things that aren't out of reach of a talented modeler. I'm lucky in that I took about two years off from modeling not due to lack of interest, just that I was 1000 miles away from my kits and tools. Thus my modeling time was spent not at the bench but in doing research, and brainstorming new techniques. My time away was helpful in that it allowed me to step back from my project and think about modeling in a broader sense. I researched new (or new to me at least) tools and materials. Yes a CNC machine would make doing that wheel easier. (to those properly aquanted with using one) but almost any shape is recreateable by hand also. I did not say though that I would be limiting this series to working in plastic, in the case of this wheel set, it will be mostly plastic.

Ok I guess I'll do a set of the foose challenger wheels above I have the kit, and the decals, Might as well do the wheels.

If you are refering to this one... that's not mine it's Dave Gaboury's work. I'm not sure if he finished that one or not but would love to see it if he did. If you are refering to this one... I'm still working on that one, but it isn't viper based.

I'm not really looking for a popular vote here, just some inspiration. I don't particularly need a set of wheels right now, but want to do the tutorial considering a lot of people have emailed me asking how I do it. if I do a set I'd want them to be something some people might want to duplicate, that would have some relevance to them.

I'm not looking to do either of these again since I already had them cast, but I am hoping to get some Idea of what you might like to see done. I was thinking maybe some vintage inspired street rod wheel or some sort of wheel that has been ignored in scale. How about a set of these? slixx makes the graphics for this car.

I'm interested in doing some articles for Model Cars on some of the scratch building techniques I do. one of the first I'd like to offer Gregg is on Scratch Building wheels. The question is what wheel to do as a subject. I'm wanting to do something that would appeal to the broadest cross section of model builders. Here are a couple of wheels I've domne in the past... The techniques I use are available to the typical modeler, and can be shown in a step by step method. I want to get some suggestions from you guys on what type of wheel you most want to see made.

My thought on it is this; Never pass up free styrene. even if it won't work for chassis tubes it will come in handy for something.

I appreciate your candor. I'm currently working on front and rear 3 1/4 view renderings of it that show it's features better than the side veiw. It might hopefully look better to you then.

Back when I did the first Barely 'Cuda build pictured below, It was suggested that I have it cast, but due to it's construction and multiple donor kit design it wasn't possible. So I've been tweaking the concept and updating the design so that one donor kit, (most likely the latest Revell Viper) and the conversion parts would produce a finished model. Barely 'Cuda V I'm planning to develop the parts in such a way that it builds like a kit, with the drivetrain, suspension, seats and other details would be sourced from the viper kit. This would be a full detail model and retail between 60-75 dollars. What do you guys think?

Thanks guys. I'll have more to show in a couple of days.

It would be cool, but I'm kepping this one simple.

Started on the interior tin-work, and am close to finishing the bodywork on this one. a lipe was added to the door opening so the dor has a prototypical jam to it. The interior panal has a lip that meets the door jam. (still needs to be smoothed and trimmed at this point. Also all the vents are now opened and both side pipe holes have been filled. The hood is trimmed and fits like a glove and the door lip has fixed the fit of the doors. Here is the tool I made out of sanding film, sheet aluminum and an exacto handle to file the openings of the fender vents. Still plugging away at this one every chance I can get. Hopefully I'll have more to show this weekend.