Aaronw

Maybe the stack and hydraulic rams? I built the grey plastic RC2 era issue. I don't remember any chrome either.

I would agree that on the whole model car builders are less strict about "correct" but you will find some whimsy in aircraft and armor Model car builders have their versions of rivet counters as well, you will find race car builders who take the markings of a car very seriously down to exactly what markings were on a car at a specific race. Factory stock builders can also be pretty strict, and even the rod and custom guys which are generally thought of as creative can get picky about displaying the right period equipment and style.

This whole table in front was one modeler's display at the 2007 IPMS Nationals, these are all 1/35 Sherman tank models. Now obviously this is just one individuals obsession, but I've seen similar collections of other tanks and aircraft. There are plenty of aircraft modelers who focus on one or two major types like P-51 Mustangs or Bf-109s. Certainly there are people who only build one example and move on, but I don't think they are anymore of the majority than people who only build one subject. I know of one modeler who is trying to build one of every aircraft used by the US Navy. With a project that size you would guess he doesn't build many duplicates, but that would be wrong. He has stacks of the same kit of a variety of aircraft.

I don't think so Hobby Lobby does stock some mid range aircraft, armor and ships, Italeri, and Revell of Germany maybe even some older Tamiya (not sure on the last, I'm rarely in a HL). I picked up the new Revell C-54 kit at a HL with a 40% off coupon (I'm not made of money, or proud, if someone want to save me $20 I'll take it). While it is true you are unlikely to find some of the smaller more expensive brands in your HLs, Micheals and Walmarts, you won't find the high end model car kits there either. You can certainly find cheap aircraft and armor kits but if you spend time on forums dedicated to those subjects the cost of kits just doesn't come up with the frequency and volume as it does on model car sites. When it does it is typically a new kit breaking an accepted ceiling for the scale. Except for race cars which are an expensive niche, model cars as a genre have gained a stigma of being the cheapskate end of the hobby. I don't speak Japanese maybe that message hasn't been heard as loudly based on what we see coming out of Japan. We are starting to see some companies take a chance on higher end kits, ICM, Meng, Belkits, Ebbro, Beemax are testing the market for $50-100 kits, I guess we will see if companies feel there is a market there or not. I certainly don't mean to bash people who don't have the money to spend on expensive kits, but the message has gotten out there loud and clear that model cars builders are less willing to part with their money that other genres.

I think that is the number one reason. You will see armor and aircraft builders paying $50+ for a kit and then see them slap on another $50 in aftermarket without a whimper. Car model sites seem to have a lot of discussions about 40% off coupons that I just don't see with other model types.

I've got a 1/72 P-40, it measures 5/8" wide at that point. 1/48 is would be 1-1/2x larger so should measure around 15/16" , 1/32 is 2-1/4x larger so should measure around 1.4" (roughly 1-7/16")

This and also sometimes just as a place holder while I shop around. Sometimes I don't really even want the actual item but want to come back and save some photos for reference but don't have the time or inclination to do so right then.

These threads always go like this, no market for truck models, no market for old cars, no market for small cars etc, usually followed by the hobby is dying, kids just want to play video games... Then the next thing you know one of the companies comes along with a Hudson Hornet, a 1950 Oldsmobile, a modern Ford F250, 1970s Ford pickups, a full detail Hummer, not one but 2 Citroen DS- kits... Never say never, who would have put money on a kit of an Isuzu I-Mark being tooled up?

If you are thinking about casting the Eisenbrenner Seagrave you should know there are more recent better quality resin Seagrave kits out there. Uptown Automotive was doing a couple more to the standard people today expect. Recently 3 inches under has started to sell a decent looking Seagrave on ebay that offers some different options than the Uptown kits. Based on your past connection to Uptown, I'm guessing you are looking at those. After much pestering I finally got one of each from him about 10 years ago, shortly before he stopped offering them.

Let me know which you prefer, the above model or a nice handbag... https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/tuileries-epi-nvprod830008v People buy ridiculously priced things all the time.

Revell did some 1/28 WW1 aircraft. The Fokker DR1 triplane and Sopwith Camel have a rotary engines (spinny round radial style, not Wankel), don't know the quality of detail. They also did some with inline engines but don't know if those included engine detail or not. I wouldn't be surprised if there is aftermarket for them though. A little small for 1/24 but probably would pass the scrutiny of most.

Does Pierce actually offer 42 shades of white or are some of those blanks to fill up the rack? That is a great photo to show the huge variety of colors available and that is just one manufacturer.

Maybe a leather punch and a lot of patience? https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/craftool-oval-drive-punch

Find something that looks good to you. There is a huge variety of options, everything from black, to purple has been used on fire apparatus. Unless you are specifically trying to match a 1-1 piece of equipment you really can't go wrong. The Key lime mentioned isn't bad for the more green hued slime lime, Krylon Sun Yellow is a nice bright yellow. There are some fluorescent yellow paints which would work for the yellow end of slime lime, but they tend to be tricky paints to work with. For shades of yellow, I'm partial to Chrome yellow aka School Bus yellow. If you wanted to go really crazy, during the period these trucks were in service some departments painted their apparatus in red, white and blue flag themes complete with stars and stripes for the bicentennial.

There is an article on converting the OBS into a 1 1/2 ton truck in the July 1992 Car Modeler magazine.

I bought an Italeri FL kit to do that. That is as far as I've gotten with the project.... 5 years into it so any day now.

Yeah, I'm probably being harder on it because I look at the thing all the time and I can't help but see all the issues.

At least in the US the 740 was available with 6 cyl diesel engines that are not listed above. The engine in the 760 kit catches a few key features which is enough to suggest it is a Volvo redblock. That is about all I can say positive about it. It certainly provides something to work from and improve in the 760 kit. I'm just not sure the work involved improving the engine and fitting it to the new Beemax 240 kit would be worth the effort. I have an '85 240 with a B230F in the driveway and have done all of the work myself so I'm fairly familiar with the 4 cylinder engines. Granted there may be some differences based on the exact year, model and market. There are a couple of things they got kind of right and a long list of things that are very wrong beyond simplified detail. Like I said, it looks like they let the guy take a peak under the hood and then he had to design it from memory. He got the 3 or 4 things that jumped out at him and the rest is generic inline 4 cylinder engine.

On practically every other Volvo you are correct that the middle number is the number of cylinders.The 700 / 900 series were weird and didn't follow normal Volvo naming rules, the 760 was just a fancier version of the 740. It was possible to get a 6 cylinder 740 and a 4 cylinder 760. Same with the 940 / 960.

It is not a very good representation of the Volvo red block, but this could be used in the 240 kit if somebody wanted to open the hood. The distributor blob at the back of the block would have to be moved, but otherwise the 200 and 700 series were more or less the same under the hood. It is hard to tell for sure but at least it looks like they at least have the engine slant like it should. Oilpan needs some work, they got the sump sort of right, but the rest is fiction. These engines have a very rounded oil pan, don't know why they keep making it so flat and square. On second thought scratch building the engine bay might be a better option, this is really bad. It looks like they let a guy look under the hood for 2 minutes and then made him design the part. It has a couple of key details sort of right, but it is mostly a generic inline engine. If they only gave the guy 5 minutes it might have been more useful. The rest of the kit doesn't look too bad, I'd pick up a couple if they were re-issued. I'd grab the 850 too, not many racing wagons out there.

I've not seen that before, Esci, Italeri? Makes more sense than the 850.

During the Cold War Volvos were apparently highly desired by Communist party big shots. As Sweden was a neutral country it was one of the few western cars available in Eastern Europe that wouldn't raise eyebrows, like a Cadillac or Mercedes would. Volvo built several hundred limos which were mostly sold to Eastern European governments for VIP transport. Also anyone looking to stick an engine in the kit, but don't need it to be factory stock there are 1-1 small block Chevy and Ford V-8 conversions out there. It is apparently a fairly easy swap to drop the drive train from a Mustang into a 240.

Wow that Alfavo? Volfa? is neat, much better looking than I would have guessed. I know it was just timing but I find it ironic that the only Volvo ever kitted* was probably the shortest lived 1-1 Volvo ever made. Most Volvo designs have gone 10, sometimes 20 years with minor changes. The 850 was only built for 4 or 5. It wasn't a bad looking car though clearly a transition between the older bricks and the later more aerodynamic designs. *not counting the new 240 kit because it just came out.

Only way to learn is to do it. Easier to spend the $40 on a resin one, but more satisfying to have one you made yourself. This is really not a bad beginners scratch building project, most of the one ton dump beds tend to be little more than a box.

The RMR cabs aren't bad. They are typical of older resin castings and can be a little on the thick side, but they are reasonably priced and quite capable of being turned into a nice model by anyone with average skills or better. No worse than working with an older kit or common diecast. I'm 90% sure that this is an RMR casting. It is in my stash with other stuff I know is his, but is unmarked.