johnbuzzed

I can't begin to express my thoughts here... I am sorry for your loss. God bless you both.

Yep, he's right, on all counts.

Would be nice to see the LRW in it's original release as a telephone company truck, complete with a phone booth.

Ahh, the Tow'd- now THAT I'll buy!!!

When it was first released, the AMT '64 Impala had working headlights (and tail lights, I think); that was 'way back in '64- I'm dating myself. Anyhow, it's a nice kit for an easy build.

I can recommend Shep Paine's "How to Build Dioramas"- it might be geared toward dioramas but it contains a wealth of info for all types of modeling. Also, "Hints and Tips for Plastic Modeling"- it has an aircraft on the cover, but it's NOT specific to any one type or genre of plastic modeling. Both are softcover, both are early '80's vintage, but some things never change and are always pertinent. You might be able to find them "cheap" at a flea market, model show, etc. Good luck in your search for literature- it's always good to have something tangible to look at when you need some info or reference material.

My Dad collected them for many years and for a long time he bought each of our twin sons the Hess truck for Christmas. The boys played with their trucks so most of them are far from perfect, but they still have them, while I now have my Dad's collection- all in their original boxes, in what I would consider to be as close to new as possible. I think he might have inserted the batteries and tried the working features; other than that, each has remained in it's box since... I don't think I'll ever get rid of them. I would love to be able to display them all but I'll have to settle for a rotating display.

Try a Revell snap kit first- you can work on the basics here, such as: removing parts from their trees or sprues; test-fitting/dry-fitting; getting rid of mold marks, flash and ejection pin marks; basic brush painting techniques... These kits usually require no or very little glue and they are usually molded in color, so you don't have to go nuts trying to lay down a perfect, mirror-smooth paint job right away. They are relatively cheaper than full glue kits, too, and you might even be able to disassemble them if you decide to try something new, different techniques, part swapping or aftermarket stuff. And they don't require a lot of time to complete- you'll have something accomplished of which you can be proud in less time than a full glue kit.

So, who makes the resin body/kit?

I don't think I'd spend this kind of $$$ on a promo even if I hit Powerball. With my luck, Monogram would follow up with a kit within a few months

I had what I think is one of these kits back in the mid-late '80's- it was a BMW of some type. I'm not sure why I bought the kit; if I remember correctly, it might have been relatively "cheap" after a fire at a LHS. I wound up using some of the multitude of detail parts on other models and some more went into my parts box- the kit never was completed. In my opinion, the kit wasn't much better than the old Revell '55 and '57 Chevys, which I dealt with 20+ years earlier when I was still in the single digits, age-wise. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it, even back in '87. I'm at the point now where I'm beginning to better appreciate those kits with fewer parts but with good quality, clean molding and fidelity to the subject. I don't need to have scale seat tracks with handles anymore; if I do, I'll fabricate them. Of course, that's just my opinion after 52 years of building scale models.

"There's one born every minute."

I think that 3D printing will start off with some cottage industries first but I don't think it will be a hit with the larger corporations too soon- think of all of the retooling that would be involved, along with the time involved in the production of a single part. It doesn't seem to me to be very cost-effective. As far as home use, the abilities to design and produce parts with 3D printers will be the same as with any other somewhat complex tools. Not everyone can be a whiz with a lathe, end mill or even an airbrush on their first attempts- stuff like this will take practice. I don't think I'll ever get a 3D printer for my personal use but I would most certainly use parts produced thru the use of one. Along the ST train of thought, one of my co-workers just used the term "universal translator" in describing a piece of equipment that we use here. Reality does follow fiction...

I neglected to say in my previous post that your Galaxie is one really, really nice build- it looks very convincing in that parking lot.

Yep, from the test shot I saw, this kit will make the original MPC kits look sick.

Yeah, when you look at it that way, that seems logical. I shot from the hip on this one, too.

I'd love to see the original full kit brought back. It was one of the first kits that my Mom bought for me and if I remember correctly, it had working headlights and taillights (like the original full kit '64 Impala). I think I built it as a custom drag car that could race on an oval track . Hey, I was only 9!

You want Schwinn bike colors? Try Testors One Coat lacquers. They dry like THAT(insert sound of fingers snapping)!

Really? Since '95? I don't think so...

You got that right. And the more kits we get, the faster it goes.

But wouldn't it be kinda cool to see an Abrams tank in NASCAR livery, or a B-58 in Reno air race markings? I remember an article in Car Modeler waaaayy back in which a 1/32 Monogram Jeep kit was converted into an articulated vehicle; two halves with a common driveshaft. One of the pictures showed the finished model, in civilian colors with two occupants, towing the kit-supplied 37MM anti-tank gun. The caption read something like: "Two true sportsman out for the hunt". Maybe not politically correct but somewhat amusing. Along those lines (and inspired to some degree by my reading of "alternative history"), I have built in my head an F-14 in early WWII US Navy colors and a P-47 in current air superiority colors- just because I can and I think it would be cool. But I do build military subjects and do try to keep them as accurate as possible without suffering a brain hemmorhage or whatever else might happen from too much research. Also, I would venture to opine that those who build 1/43 scale automotive subjects lean toward the historically accurate, much like most military modelers.

When I was a kid, the only brand name that interfered with a kit purchase was MPC- the working front suspension on their Corvettes and the Mako Shark was a bear to assemble. I remember my Dad, sitting on the couch, holding the assemblies together as the glue dried... my Mom did not use spring clothespins .

Yep, even tho I can't see all of the pictures (which is probably due to the browser here at work), I do appreciate the time and effort put into the website and forums. It is a valuable modeling tool, indeed.

It's all marketing and demographics; and timing. Just like weather- if you don't like it, stick around- it'll change.

The JoHan '67 Fury kit. I built one back in '73 and I have no idea of what happened to it. I got another one in 1992, decided to "make it better" by using an Ertl B-body "chassis" and it turned into... scrap (stoopidstoopidstoopid...). In all the years of attending shows and contests since then, I have yet to find another unbuilt kit and I won't buy from e-bay. Oh well.