johnbuzzed

For just wheels and tires, that looks really nice.

The business environment is dynamic and will continue to be. But that is no excuse for poor workmanship, shoddy QC, or bad judgement. Most, if not all of the changes that take place are designed to improve things. In some cases, they simply don't. Too many business philosophies (for lack of better descriptor) have been introduced and they simply aren't as effective as they were originally thought to be. Take "5S" (please). That was developed in the '50s by an American, to be used by Japanese industry to help it recover from WWII. Sixty years ago it did, but no longer; Japan's economy isn't too great and South Korea is kicking butt; yet, our corporations and companies, big and small, have tried to adopt the same philosophy, and it doesn't help (do I really need to label where my stapler should be?). I see it every day. We continue to have the problems that I mentioned earlier in this post. I can clear all the stuff from the floor in my area, but if the clown who runs the warehouse doesn't know how to stock things efficiently, my clear aisle and correctly-placed stapler ain't gonna help production at all. Too much emphasis on inane BS, not enough attention on what really counts. I DO NOT mean the bottom line. American ingenuity and common sense did a lot for the nation's manufacturing during WWII and it can do the same today. Basic kindergarten principles can be applied successfully in any business situation. We need to continue to learn from past triumphs as well as past mistakes. You're telling me that Johan of the '60s has no relation to today's business model? BS. They must have done SOMETHING right. Perhaps, it's time to see what that was and how it can be done today. Or, what they did wrong, and how to rectify that.

Looks good so far. It's been a looooong time since I built straight out of the box.

Very cool. Sinister, without the evil.

Or, one can just put a model on the table with a note that says: "I built this here model" .

The wine is purely for Inspiration and relaxation. I'm sticking with non-organic colors for this one- Tamiya Light Gunmetal for the sheetmetal, Testors Graphite Dust for the soft skin areas and Titanium Metalizer for the framework. I plan on using carbon-fiber decal material in lieu of the wood panels. Tom, I am honored that you're interested in my posts. Thank you. You're one of my first modeling "heros". .

I see no problems at all with those brakes. Absolutely none. I gotta tell you, I might steal your front suspension idea for my own Duster build.

In the situation with that Charger, Revell sent me a whole, new kit- even the decal sheet had been changed.

Really, really nice. Seriously.

Thanks, Jonathan. This was (and is) supposed to be a strictly fun build, but that supposition went a little astray. But I am making progress and should have a couple more pictures in a day or two.

That's cool, Al. Go for it!

Bingo.

And, there we have the ability to agree to disagree. Abuse (if you will) of the English language has been going on since the language was developed. Those who came before Shakespeare did not share his prose nor poetry, nor did those of us who followed. Our language is a dynamic thing, as are others. My Dad and his family spoke Italian from birth, and he often explained that there were many dialects in that language, so it was not always so easy to understand those who had origins in other Italian states. Plus, slang was in there, too, along with Americanization. And, while I studied German for 6 years, I can't keep up with most of what's said in a movie without subtitles- they speak so fluently, using contractions and slang that we were not taught. It's not a matter of doing it right, it's the evolution of a language. It's exhibited in dictionaries. It's not "feel-good"- it's reality. "Feel-good"- ponder that phrase. Where did it come from? Did you ever hear it twenty or thirty years ago? BTW- a quick check of a dictionary reveals the definition of literacy to be : " The ability to read and write". No qualifiers given regarding how well that is or isn't done. Fox Mustang.

Wingnuts can produce a very sophisticated, very well detailed, very accurate kit of a rather obscure (to me, anyway- it's not just your everyday Spad or Nieuport 17) WWI aircraft with a recommended price of $350.00. Yowch , that is a lot. But- they did it. Perhaps not many people will buy that kit, but Wingnuts wil has made it known that they can and do produce a quality kit. Maybe not all of their kits will have the same amount of detail parts, photo-etched or other material, but they have shown that their basic molded styrene parts are of a fine quality and exhibit correct dimensions and contours. Those are basics. The modeling world can expect the rest of their kit line to exhibit those same basic qualities. The same goes for Tamiya. I have a few of their military kits on my shelves, and the parts seem to want to assemble themselves as I look at them. The molded detail is beautiful. I have no need or desire to replace anything with any aftermarket parts, nor will I add any- it's just not necessary, even to build a contest-quality model. More importantly, I know ( as does the rest of the modeling world) that if I buy another Tamiya kit, I can expect a box full of crisply-molded parts that are accurate in shape, contour and dimension. That's why people keep buying Tamiya kits, and that's why people will buy more of Wingnuts products. And, then there's Eduard. Ditto. There ain't no blankety-blank good reason why the other model companies can't do the same. We hear and see excuses, yet we know that it can be done.

That's digital life. It's not natural- the world exists in an analog state. Digital sound is sharper and crisper, more easily manipulated via electronic methods- analog sounds are natural. Listen to vinyl and compare to a CD. You'll understand.

But people have been doing just that for years, way before injection-molded plastic became the norm. It can be done; one just has to have the desire to do it.

That's known as "spending money to make money". You can't turn a profit unless you're willing to invest $$$. That's basic business.

No one is paying for the opinions that appear in this forum, just as no one would be paying for any face-to-face conversations that we might be having about the topic. Most, if not all of us are using what might be referred to as colloquial English, replete with slang, bad syntax and grammar, just as in a conversation. Same as any other language. "Jeet yet?" We are, however, paying for the products that are the subjects of this discussion. I, for one, would like to see an accurate reproduction of the subject material in scale.

Just a few days ago, I heard that a judge ruled for GM in the ignition switch situation. I don't remember exactly how, but the corporation might get a slap on the wrist, if anything, instead of being bent over for exercising poor judgement (to say the least) that cost lives, all in the interest of the bottom line.

That starts at a young age. In organized sports for kids, there is no scoring, no strikes/balls/outs, no winners or losers at the beginning levels because "you're ALL winners!" Everyone gets a trophy!!! That's a great feeling, but it's just not real. The standardized tests that are given in schools- students are not taught to excel, to get good all-around grades for them selves, they are taught enough to bring in good numbers on those tests for the school district to look good . And, employment... I do my best to do my best every day; I have a measure of integrity and my work is directly involved with medical diagnostic equipment (nuclear medicine repairs for 26 years). But, after so many years of working hard and feeling the effects of the bottom-line economy- human resources just about literally means a supply of workers- it ain't always easy to give it your best shot. It's all to easy to say "That's good enough", and move along. Poor excuses? Perhaps. Reasons? Indeed.

Yep. Even if you built it box stock, have that info available for the judges (and/or whoever else might be interested in knowing). I have started spec sheets during my builds, both to keep track of what I'm doing and to have the info readily available for editing, condensing, etc, when that build is ready to be displayed at a show. I get them ready in advance and have them printed before the show, and bring two- one to display with the model, one in case the build is chosen for pictures. I've been on both sides of contest judging and you can't provide too much info for those who are judging, even if it's a people's choice contest. It's impossible for any judge to know all about each and every kit that has been produced, much less determine exactly what has been done to any particular build of any kit. I once won "Best Pickup" at a show because I used Testors paint- the builder of the equally nice contender used an automotive paint; the judges thought it was easier to obtain a nice finish with that kind of paint. Without that spec sheet, they wouldn't have known what I used.

Did some work on the chassis. Airbags for the rear end, motor mounts for the 5.0, disks all around. ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// I still have to work out the air bag mounts on the axle and a transmission mount. You do NOT want to see the top of that transmission case; it has been... "lightened" substantially to fit in the relatively small space, and the bottom of the floorpan has been significantly massaged. The brakes are from an aftermarket source whom I don't remember; that kit includes the brakes and tuner-appropriate wheels and tires. The rear is from a Mopar kit.

That's really cool. I always liked that generation Riv. I'm following this build.

Have fun, y'all. Hope to see you there next year.

You would think that as one ages, one develops a more serene demeanor- at least, I think I have. Yesterday, I swept one of those teeny-tiny little drill bits (#75?) of my bench and onto the floor with other debris, thinking it was just a brush bristle or something. As soon as I did that, I said a bad word because I realized what I had done. The search to recover said drill was futile. Years ago, that might have been the start of a bad day, but now... hey, I have more bits and I can always go buy more.