johnbuzzed

Because so many of us silverback modelers have feelings of nostalgia when we see those old kits that remind us of our childhoods- when we were younger than you are now, and that was way before you were born. When we weren't so serious about our hobby. -AND- Sometimes, one might want a break from the "serious" modeling, where even the heater controls under the dash have to be perfect. Most of the Lindberg kits fit the week- or weekend build slot perfectly. They might not build into contest-winners, but they're good slump-busters and can be just plain old fun to build. They might be niche kits and they might not sell as many as, say, a 2015 Mustang, Challenger or Corvette would, but they will sell.

Pactra produced a Hot Rod Primer in a spray can. It was a real dark gray, almost flat black but not quite. That's one product I would like to see reissued.

Very cool treatment of a not-often-seen subject.

Good point. I do have one Hudson but I will buy more than one of the Satellite kits.

Yes, you can add food coloring to Future; I tinted chrome wheels that way. I tried it on windows but I found it difficult to control how the liquid settled on the glass. With the compound curves, the color would tend to settle, just like paint running, in the lower areas.

I have two small, square bottles of Pactra- Insignia Red and Mandarin Blue ( I might have the names mixed up) that were part of my Dad's supplies. I don't know how old they are, but I was buying those colors back in '64, and I won't open them- as soon as air gets in, they'll start to dry out.

That is really nice and clean; plenty of detail added without a bunch of clutter. Have you considered a thin, black wash in the dash AC vents and speaker grilles?

I'll be following, Mike. Do we get a story with this one?

In '67, they were still called Fury- I, II and III. New York state registered station wagons as "suburbans". I had two.

It's not just the cost of the plaques or trophies or awards, and depending on the location, those costs might not be as inexpensive as you think. If sponsors are paying for the awards, they might not be pleased if a category that they chose were to suddenly disappear due to lack of participation. Also, time and effort is expended by members of the host club. Display space must be allocated for the category. Most venues do have limited space; to have a sudden void due to the elimination of a category can cause confusion and ruffled feathers. If you have ever participated in hosting a show, you'll understand.

Is this a full kit with an engine, or just a curbside?

Ira, that engine really looks good, like it's ready for some serious work.

I remember seeing the '66 kit box when it came out. I was in 5th grade. It just seemed so.. sophisticated and too grown-up for me to even consider building

Very nice. Smooth, clean, uncluttered... I would be happy to have that on my shelves.

Tesla S. And a bunny on Cressingham Drive.

"They" will always get you for taxes and/or fees, one way or another, but that doesn't always equate. Our property taxes on LI were almost 9,000/year when we sold back in '09. That was with a "STAR" discount and my veteran's discount. We did not live in a high-dollar neighborhood, nor did we have a huge home on a lotta land. It was 1,700 sq ft on 116x65, 57 year-old, two-story "colonial". Down here in Indian Land (I kid you not), we have a 2200 sq ft, new home, on a much larger property, on a cul-de-sac, with a nice treeline just next door, in a nice, quiet, almost rural area. The house cost about half of what we would have paid on LI and ,guaranteed, the lot would have been a lot smaller. We are close to everything vital. Two car garage, big driveway... Our taxes are just about 1,200/year. Our sales taxes are lower, our homeowners insurance is lower, as is our car insurance, registration, driver license fee... and we have no annual state inspection. Gas is cheaper, as are 2/3 of our utilities (water costs more than on LI). Yes, we pay an annual tax on the car- our county demands about $125.00/year for our '08 Hyundai. I can live with that. Funny thing is, it seems like we are missing no services that we had back on LI. One wonders where all that additional that tax $$$ does go?

I dunno- that doesn't match the box art. You must have put something together wrong... Ira, this is really looking neat. I can imagine this one as an article in Car Model magazine, so many years ago. Probably in two or three issues. Thanks !

Wow. You are one productive modeler. How do you do it, especially with the quality of your work and detail?

All Creatures Great and Small?

You have to realize that just about every type of car that "car guys" (male and female, no offense to anyone) can, do or have appreciated has had it's day in the sun and will make a comeback. Read through Hot Rod magazine for the past 5 decades. I just got the last issue and they are writing about... vans with shag carpeting and mini pick-ups! Yep, both had their day, but they're coming around again! It's difficult to find a magazine that features mainly American cars without seeing a retro- '60's gasser featured. Flatheads were once thought dead ,due to the small-block Chevy. Not anymore, by a long shot- and a lot of them wind up in some real cool old stuff- and I don't mean "rat rods". Model trends tend to follow the real world of cars; maybe lagging a bit. Most car model builders- actually, most model builders- will accept any kind of modelers into the fold, so to speak, as long as that modeler shows the same respect and acceptance that he or she is shown. The LIARS Challenge added a Euro/Tuner class many years ago to accomodate those entries that didn't have a true home. Though the interest waned, I believe the class still exists. And I'm not saying that "no one builds tuners" or that anyone who does is a "punk kid", but maybe the genre is not as popular as it once was and/or as big as you wish it were. Not too long ago, the NASCAR categories were packed full of colorful entries- not anymore. Same with Pro Street- yep, there were contests that had separate categories for them- not anymore. Light commercial, a personal favorite, has declined in popularity, as has heavy commercial. But that's how these things go. If you want to be heard and have your style of build be represented at contests, perhaps you can contact those who sponsor shows or contests in your area, even real car shows or cruise-ins. Be friendly, be courteous, be respectable and be serious. If you belong to a club or just hang out with others who build tuners, get together with them, take some pictures of your builds and present them to those who you're gonna contact. Better yet, bring a few builds to show them in person. Don't worry about the reaction. I once brought a car model to a club contest that was 99.99999% military- and raised a few eyebrows, but heard no grumbling. I took home a ribbon that night. That was 32 years ago. Now, the military models that compete in the mostly model car contests that I attend draw a lot of attention, too; in a model-builder, respectable way- and a lot of their builders also build model cars. A bunch of guys from my club back on LI used to gather at a LHS on Friday evenings. He sold model railroad stuff, ergo, model railroaders would also come in. We appreciated their incredibly well-detailed-and-built works of art as much as they appreciated ours. You can't let the negative minority get to you (I had originally, mistakenly written "majority"... oops)

Kinda like pro street; the tables were once full of them. NASCAR, too.

It's relative; and combines with personal preference. Those who can, will. If I had the $$$, I would buy a Hellcat Challenger- and I would enjoy every friggin' ride to and from work, even on a bad work day- maybe even more so on a bad work day. But, I don't, so I won't. I guess one could also think : "Why don't we all just buy little commuter-type cars like Smart cars to drive to work everyday?" My answer to that would be: "No, thanks, I just don't want one".

That's really cool , but it's soooo clean... have you considered a little oily black wash?

Ahhh... my mistake. "You live, you learn".

I thought that all current horsepower ratings are at the drive wheels and have been for many years...