Aaronw

If the quality is there $120 isn't too bad. I would be happier of it was $60, but considering the fairly obscure subject it isn't surprising. Is Max's yellow intercepter the same kind of car as the Pursuit cars? They look very similar except for the hood scoops on the interceptor and only 2 headlights on the Pursuit car. Yeah, $300 for two of those Planet model kits and an Aoshima V-8 interceptor but thats what Christmas & birthdays are for right?

I don't think the US will become the #2 economy for some time, our economy is just shy of #2 through #5 combined. Economic ranking according to the World bank, the so called G20 #1 USA $14.2 trillion #2 Japan $4.9 trillion #3 China $3.9 trillion #4 Germany $3.7 trillion #5 France $2.9 trillion #6 UK $2.6 trillion #7 Italy $2.3 trillion #8 Brazil $1.6 trillion #9 Russia $1.6 trillion #10 Spain $1.6 trillion #11 Canada $1.4 trillion #12 India $1.2 trillion #13 Mexico $1.1 trillion #14 Australia $1 trillion #15 South Korea $929 billion #16 Netherlands $860 billion #17 Turkey $794 billion #18 $527 billion #19 Indonesia $514 billion #20 Belgium $498 billion 6 US states individually would rank as G20 nations. California with a GDP of 1.8 trillion would rank in the top 10, Texas & New York with a GDP of 1.2 and 1.1 trillion would rank in the top 13, Florida, Illinois and Pensylvania with GDP of 744, 634 and 553 billion in the top 17. It's not quite time to start speaking Japanese or Chinese.

Tom do you know what is going on with the RMR site? I tried to get in earlier and it was blocked (I was at work), but now trying at home it comes up with an error too.

Thanks for posting this, there is a real shortage of pre-50s non Ford trucks. I will definately have to add this to my wish list. Ed, RMR also has a 41-46 ish Dodge pickup or 2 ton truck (same cab, but the 2 ton just has a heavy duty frame, while the pickup version includes a bed).

I've got a '40s Dodge from him, didn't know he had a '36. I'd like to see the pics when you get a chance.

Nothing looks wrong with it, just not stock. Looks like a chopped top, and no lights on the fenders to start. If I didn't already have a start on a '37 using the Orange Blossom Special, I'd probably grab one of these. I've bought 8-10 resin kits from RMR and all are nice, so I hope my post didn't make it sound like I didn't like what I see.

Figures Oh, well I'm commited to my OBS conversion at this point, it will probably be done by 2012 just in time for the end of the world.

I've started seeing 1-1 Camaros and they look better than the prototype and kits. I'm wondering if is a scale issue or if they have changed the final design compared to the prototype the kits were based on. I can't quite put my finger on it but the proportions seem better on the 1-1 and I'm wondering if it might be in the grill area which looks a little larger. The kits remind me of a knights helmet with the headlights peaking through a little slit, the 1-1 doesn't have the same effect. Just wondering, I didn't like the prototype, but the 1-1 doesn't look too bad. It might be growing on me, but I still don't care for the look of the kit which makes me think something has changed.

I think a similar Kenworth is supposed to come out later this year as well.

Weird I could have sworn I replied to this yesterday. I also thought I saw someone post one of the yellow pursuit cars as well but I haven't had any luck finding it. I thought there was a resin caster specializing in Australian muscle cars but again I haven't found a peep in searches. Thanks

I get most of my paints from Tower hobbies, they stock most of the Testors lines (Model Master, Polly S, the little square bottles etc). For brushes I've found Micheals is really good. They have a nice selection of artists brushes and if you catch a sale you can get some really good deals. They also have packs of decent cheap brushes that can hold you over until the really nice ones go on sale.

I know there are a couple of options for Max's black V8 Intercepter in plastic and resin, but does anyone make a kit or resin that could be used for the yellow, red and blue MFP Pursuit cars or Interceptor from the first movie?

Have a look at RMR, he has quite a few good quality trucks from the 40-70s. Unfortunately not a lot of Dodge trucks but there are a few. http://www.freewebs.com/rmrresin

I would never try such a thing, I like to do things that I have a chance of succeeding with. The wood in that bed looks great, I have a '48 Woody I started but just wasn't happy with how the wood was coming out so back in the box it went. The Airbrush and me are not friends, all I've been able to do with it is make it into a glorified rattle can.

One of Bluesman Mark's comments gave me this idea. He made a comment along the lines of some people want to buy a kit of exactly what they want, while others take the time to learn how to do it themselves. I'm not taking sides on the buy it vs make it, there is room for both in the hobby. I just thought it might be an interesting thing to talk about. So what new modeling technique have you recently learned to do or are currently trying to learn. Whether its how to do a better paint job to something more specific like pin stripping or chopping a roof. For myself, the past year I've been trying to figure out how to make photo etch parts. I bought a kit from Micro Mark, but am still very much in the planning stages (it is harder than I thought it would be ). Making decals is another thing, but that has been a long term learning experience and I still have a way to go there.

Mark, I don't think anyone thinks you or Art or anyone else is conspiring against any part of the hobby, even weirdos like Ed asking for a Crosley. Somewhere this whole debate seems to have gone off track becoming half rant about '32 Fords and somewhere in there a question trying to figure out how to have the needs of truck modelers addressed. I only posted my buying habits because 1, I just found out Tower lets me track this, and two to say I'd be happy to give more money to Revell but I can only buy so many re-issues, I'll be grabbibg a 1/2 dozen of the '65 Chevy but after that my stash is pretty much full and resin casters will continue to get a large part of my model car / truck budget. I really didn't intend to get dragged into this but somehow I can't stay away. I'm not sure why so much of the discussion has become kind of nasty, I don't really see much on either side that warrents the negative attitude of so many, unless its just because its the internet. It seems as though many take the explaination that the US companies are very conservative when it comes to new things as some kind of insult (on both ends, you and Art seem to take that word as an attack on Revell, others wanting new stuff as an attack on them). For some reason Harry's post about direct marketing has also gone down hill. If I win the lotto someday (only slightly less likely than some since I don't buy tickets) you will see a new truck tooled up with the money. I'm just a dumb fireman though so I wouldn't even know where to start an investment company to do such a thing.

Unfortunately that seems to be the case, I haven't seen anything to support the idea that Trucks lose money, although it has been made abuntently clear why they make '32 Fords which seems to be arguing past the issue in your post. I haven't seen anyone who can explain why Harry's idea of seeking customer interests is a bad one, just the same "the model companies can't make everybody happy". What is clear is the US model companies are very conservative and unwilling to look into other markets. You see the same thing in all areas of modeling, everyone makes a P-51 Mustang and Me 109. Where I see a difference is these other manufacterers are giving military modelers more variety, who would have thought we would ever see WW2 Italian or French tanks, but we now have several nice kits. Some one made the comment military modelers don't complain about not having xyz subject (completely untrue BTW, they obviously never spend any time on miitary model sites) but simply they have way more variety particularly in recent years. I mean we now have 3 or 4 versions of the Fairey Gannet (1/72 & 1/48) from 2 manufacturers, the Gannet is a rather obscure post war sub hunter that saw limited service with the UK and Germany. I know I'm just one person, but here are my buying habits. Tower lets me go back and look at my past 3 years of orders. In the past 3 years I have spent nearly $1700 just at Tower, Revell got $235 of that total, about 1/2 of that just for their '41 Chevy and '50 Ford pickups, another 1/4 on other Revell truck kits, the last 1/4 went to a few of cars, mostly the '06 based Mustang kits. During this period I have bought all of the Steven's / AMT truck re-issues from various sources mostly Model Round Up, 8 or so at $50-60 each, so at least $400. The companies getting my money are making kits I want, funny how that works both ways.

The US halftracks used a Hercules 6 cylinder engine. Someone made a large scale halftrack (1/16 I believe) Dragon or Trumpeter, maybe both. I think one of the recent 1/35 halftracks also included a motor. The instructions might provide a source of some good detail drawing, or you might be able to use the kit parts to scale up or down. I have a few pics of a halftrack motor but they are not very good since it was still in the halftrack. If they would be any help I can find them.

Art, what I read in your post about the garbage truck is that the distributors are just as conservative as the model companies when it comes to trying something different. I fully understand that there is a large sum of money involved in tooling a new kit. It is also clear that '32 Fords, '57 Chevys and '49 Mercs sell. What I have not seen is one supported fact that well researched trucks don't sell. Did Revell go under when they tooled up the 90s Ford F350? Did the American LaFrance pumper cause AMT to go bankrupt (obviously not because they tooled up 3 seperate kits there ladder, "snorkel" and pumper). So the model companies are conservative, lots of buisnesses are. It explains why they haven't done more trucks, it doesn't prove that trucks are a bad bet. How did that garbage truck do, I guess we will never know who was right, the poll or the distributors.

Tremont is a fictional location Charlie made up for some of his builds.

I use the red glazing and spot putty. It is similar to Squadron or Testors putty but much cheaper (for the same price I get 2-3x as much putty). It does shrink so you have to work in thin layers. Besides the shrinking issue using too much putty at once can melt plastic because of the solvents in the putty. The 2 part fillers don't shrink or at least shrink very little, but they are harder to work with. They also get warm as they cure, it may be a myth but I have heard some have had some issue with the heat warping the plastic if too much is used.

If you go back to Lowes or Home Depot where you bought the compressor you can probably find the adapters you need. When I got back into modeling about 10 years ago I bought a Craftsman air compressor and a Paashce VLS double action air brush. I wasn't sure what I needed for adaptors so I just bought an air compressor accessory kit from one of the big hardware stores, it included a hose, air gun, chuck for filling tires, a needle for filling balls, many sizes of adapters etc basically all the stuff you might need for your compressor. It was about $15 and was easier than trying to find the exact fitting I needed. I never have really taken to the air brush, I pretty much just use spray cans for cars. I'm glad I have it, an airbrush can do stuff spray cans and brushes can't, but it isn't something I use frequently. If you decide to buy another air brush you will find they are almost like a religion, many people have very strong opinions about brands and types (single / double action, gravity / siphon feed etc). I bought the Paasche because that was what my LHS stocked, I like it, but I don't have much experience with others to compare it to. LHS = Local Hobby Shop, you will see this abbreviation used frequently, if you haven't already seen it.

I don't have a nearby hobby shop either, so I buy a lot of stuff online. I've used Model Car Round Up several times. I agree with George, good people to deal with. Decent prices and good service. They were very quick to fix the one mix up I ever had with them (wrong kit included in my order). The only negative thing I could say about them is their ordering method is a bit antiquated. http://www.modelroundup.com/ The other place I use a lot is Tower Hobbies, good selection of supplies as well as kits. They frequently have discounts ($10 off a $50 order, $25 off a $199 order, free shipping on orders over $xyz etc). They also have flat rate shipping, so it can save you some money if you make fewer large purchases instead of frequent small purchaces. http://www.towerhobbies.com/index.html Shipping is based on the size and number of models in the order (some large kits count as more than one). Here is the direct link to shipping http://www.modelroundup.com/shipping.html

I don't believe Walmart dropping models has anything to do with the reason Revell models increased in price. All of the companies made major price increases they blamed on high oil prices, both material costs and shipping. Hasegawa, Tamiya, Italeri, Revell of Germany all saw significant price increases and they never sold kits to Walmart. Personally if the higher prices mean the companies are more profitable which in turn results in more new tools, I'm happy to pay the higher price. Even at $20-25 model car kits are a bargain. Try building airplanes, Hasegawa's new 1/72 Avro Lancaster has a retail price around $90. Mark I think yor cost for tooling numbers are way off. From what I've read elsewhere it is more like $100,000 which by the way fits with the other claim I've seen that they need to sell 10,000 kits to break even. 10,000x $10 (I'm assuming the other $10 goes into retail mark up, distributor costs etc) = $100,000. If a new tool cost $500,000 they would have to sell way more than 10,000 kits even at full retail. My biggest gripe with truck kits is the trucks that get done to represent the truck market. My peeve with the Trumpeter ALF, the first fire engine model done in years was they picked the wrong brand. ALF was Ford or Chevy in the 70s, but today they are Studebaker on a good day. Pierce, E-One and Seagrave are the big three in fire apparatus. You wouldn't sample the market for car models with a Hyundai Excel would you? No you would get in there with a Chevy Corvette or a Dodge Viper. What was used to sample the market for modern trucks / SUVs, a Ford Super Duty, Dodge 3500, Chevy Suburban? No they gave us a Hummer H2 with big wagon wheels and not one but two different Cadillac Escalades (AMT & Revell so no savings on tooling cost). These were seen as the best options, really? A Cadillac Escalade donk kit will sell more than a Suburban 4 in 1 (stock, police, lowrider & donk with the simple additon of a few parts). These are the reasons I don't believe good market research is being done.

Ok, Harry I'll poke a hole in your bubble. Supposedly (I can't verify, but people who claim to be in the know say it) Revell / Monogram used a Fine Scale Modeler poll for choosing a subject several years ago. The subject that won was a 1/48 PBY Catalina. It is claimed that this was Revell's worst selling kit of all time. However I noticed Revell has recently re-issued this kit, so I wonder if it is really true that it was such a poor seller. I mean if it was so bad, why would they go back for a second helping of slow sales? Personally I like your idea. I know many claim the model companies do market research, but if they are then why has no modeler I know ever been asked what they would like to see? I'm not sure that limiting the suggestions would really be neccessary. With computers and OCR emails or write in ballots on a site cold easily be sorted. Then it would just be a matter of counting how many times a specific subject had been suggested. Obviously they wouldn't want to blindly follow such a list but it would at least be a place to start. They could then sort through, pick out some of the more promising ideas, say a top 10, then make a "rank these possibilities".