Aaronw

Another victim of the chicken tax. The seats in the back were added to classify it as a passenger vehicle to get around this tax. In the late 80s the interpretation was changed and any 2 door sport utility was reclassified as a light truck and subject to the tax, seats in the back or not, so good bye Brat.

Italeri hasn't done many new tools in at least the past 5 years. They scaled up a couple of helicopters from 1/72 to 1/48, and modified some tooling to offer additional options, but I'm coming up blank on other new kits. It's mostly been re-issues or bringing back Esci kits. They did do a Short Sterling and Short Sunderland which were pretty major 1/72 aircraft kits, but I'm thinking those are pushing 7 or 8 years at this point. I'm not seeing any new tools in the posted catalog. I don't know their Euro trucks that well, so maybe something there, but I recognize many as re-issues. Italeri used to be one of the leaders in helicopter kits but they haven't done much there either. I know many requested a Sikorsky HH-3 "Jolly Green Giant" when they put out those polls. It is one of the iconic helicopters of the Vietnam war and is badly in need of a modern kit since the only existing kits were tooled up during the Vietnam war. A variant was also used by the Italian military and Italeri is known to favor Italian subjects, so that would be another plus in its favor. No movement there either and that would seem to have more going for it, smaller investment and larger market. It's not just trucks being neglected, I think Italeri is just on a couple of years new kit pause. Hopefully they are regrouping getting ready for some really exciting new subjects.

That is good, but shouldn't that be the view from North Dakota? Maybe Canadian's have really good vision.

I really don't think California has any kind of monopoly on social media twits. We have the "most" in several categories of tree, the biggest (Giant Sequoia), the tallest (Coastal Redwood) and the oldest (Bristlecone pines). The north state is well known for beer, wine and marijuana, the south for surfers and Hollywood. I don't think that is a very good map, everybody knows Ohio is the state most famous for turkeys.

This is looking really nice. I'm just getting back to this kit myself. I started it a couple of years ago and then life had other plans. I cobbled the kit boom into something resembling the light duty boom you posted above, but I'm just doing it as a light duty wrecker with (most likely) the kit wheels, and definitely not duals in the back. The heavier boom you are doing looks more appropriate with the wheels you are using.

The picture in the catalog isn't very good. I just assumed 4 doors. The toy Land Rover fire apparatus I have are a Short 80 or 88" WB with a fire trailer, and a 109" cab and chassis with a custom fire body. New tool would be nice, but I will take what I can, not a lot readily available for Land Rovers bigger than 1/35.

That one has my attention, curious to see where they go with it. I have a couple of old Corgi and Dinky Land Rover fire trucks from when I was a kid, but none are made from a 4 door wagon. I'm not too big on European semis, but I like the look of that black Volvo cabover. It looks kind of evil, and would fit in well in a Death Race style movie.

There have been some 4900 cabs, both standard and crew cab, but not sure who is doing one currently. They do turn up on ebay from time to time. I don't believe anyone has done a 7400, but there is a diecast (I think from Jada?) and some plastic toys that are 1/24-ish. Might be of the lighter 4300-4400 but the cab should be the same for both.

Jaws is a great movie, particularly the second half. It just goes to show the value of a good cast and production staff. It could easily have been a terrible movie. I saw Dead Calm years ago late at night on HBO because nothing else was on. It actually is a pretty good movie, just a boring name. It probably doesn't help that Dead Bang, a Don Johnson police movie came out the same year, I know I used to mix the two up. When Dead Calm was in the theaters, the multiplex down the street from my college messed up their sign and listed it as Dead Clam. It was up like that about a week before somebody noticed and changed it. See kids spelling does matter. It still amuses me anytime Dead Calm is brought up, I picture Joe Pesci as the theater manager out there pointing up at the sign asking some young employee if he sees the problem. When I was a teenager we had a local theater that played older movies, usually double or triple features with a theme. They would do a bad movie weekend at least once a year featuring Humanoids from the Deep, Plan 9 from Outer Space and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Killer Tomatoes is supposed to be dumb so I give it a pass, but Humanoids makes Plan 9 look like Oscar's material. Humanoids from the Deep was actually filmed near me in and around Fort Bragg, CA. Quite a few movies have been filmed in the area, thankfully most have been better.

Those of you with first hand experience with Dodge thank you for sharing your experiences. I got my drivers license in the mid 1980s and the craptastical products the US auto industry turned out in the mid 70s through the early 80s were prime fodder for new drivers at that time and has forever tainted my car buying tastes. The US has always done pretty well with big cars and full size trucks, but lagged pretty badly on smaller cars until the 90s. The fact I'm even considering a smaller car from the big three is only because I know they have improved considerably, so the reassurance is nice. Gerald, I have seen some vague information that the 4 cyl may not have the best reliability. Again that feeds right into my gripe, if you report on cars the fact the motor / transmission typically grenades before 100,000 miles is a lot more important than, it won't win any trophies on the quarter mile. Instead they just make some vague references to JD Power reports (rates about a 3 on a scale of 1-5) and we had another post here recently discussing the relative usefulness of those reports. It looks like the fuel economy between the 4 and 6 is minimal 19/25 vs 17/24 so one more point in favor of going that way. We are still looking at others, but based on those we have looked at this one is high on her list. At least it has a center mounted shifter, I can't stand the new trend of putting a little knob on the dash. Most of this stuff is just infotainment, a witty jibe at a car is apparently more important than actually discussing the substance of a car that might help someone buy a car that meets their needs. It is amazing to me how lightly car buying is taken by many considering the prices these days.

Yeah having photos in a custom car magazine does seem kind of important. Its not like a stock car that you could quickly google up a photo of.

I get pretty annoyed reading car stuff from the alleged car experts. It seems like they compare every car they review against high performance cars most of us will never own or even have the chance to drive. They seem to evaluate all the same whether a super car, a sports sedan or toddler toter. Most recent example being, we are shopping for a car for my wife as her car of 17 years is done, literally falling to pieces. It just makes no sense to keep throwing money at it. She looked at a Dodge Journey, a mini-van kind of thing and likes it. I'm not familiar with these so I get online to get more info. First thing I find is complaints about its "stale" styling because OMG they haven't made a significant cosmetic update to it since 2011 (um, it is a mini van guys...) When did "car guys" turn into women's fashion reporters. The Porsche 911 is an icon, and it changed little over 25 years I've never heard it called stale. But hey I drive a Volvo 240 a car that took its styling cues from a refrigerator box and made few changes over a 19 year production run so maybe I'm off base here. Maybe like women's shoes cars do need updates every 30 minutes (I have nothing to wear ). Ok, styling is subjective, next they describe it as grossly underpowered with the standard "weak" 4 cyl. I do take some exception to that. The standard engine is a 173 hp 2.4 liter inline 4. 173 hp, from a 4 cyl engine, that is only 12 hp less than a 1977 Transam with a 6.6 liter V8. The two cars have a similar curb weight, so this "gutless" wonder has a similar power to weight as the Bandit's ride.... I think some perspective is due here guys. I grew up in a family that owned VWs and Toyotas. I learned to drive in a 1976 VW Rabbit with a raging 74hp, so my first car, a Toyota Tercel with its rip snorting 89 hp was like a rocket ship. I've already mentioned my daily driver is a Volvo 240, 114hp pushing 2800lbs, somehow I still manage to get to work on time. I'm not here to defend a mini-van against the mean spirited alleged "gear heads" but I do wonder what value they think they are providing when is seems they can't figure out that maybe it is not appropriate to judge a $20,000 MINI-VAN against the $65,000 Dodge Hellcat they drove last week. I'd also like to see them put a car seat in and out of the back seat of that Hellcat... My wife has been driving a Suzuki Sidekick since 2000, so this thing was like driving a Corvette in her mind. Perhaps instead of thinking in 0-60 times they should evaluate practical cars on boring things like service records, ease of putting kids in the back, safety, fuel economy, cost to own. Many do at least pay some lip service to these things, but they tend to be an afterthought and often downright dismissive about their importance. Many also don't seem to recognize that yes there is indeed a difference for more than a few people between spending $19,000 and $29,000 or more on a car. This is not based on just one article, it seems to be the state of automotive writing in general.

Casey, have you looked at the Stovebolt page? That is a huge reference for old GM trucks, I would be surprised if there isn't something showing the chassis details you are looking for. There are a pile of technical discussions and documents, and a members gallery showing their trucks. There is a "Big Bolts" section specifically for the 1 1/2 ton and larger trucks. https://www.stovebolt.com/

No, I have a document saved that I found somewhere that gives the cab dimensions for light and medium duty GM trucks 1941-55. The 41-46 Art Deco style truck cabs did not change between the 1/2 ton and larger models except for opening the wheel arches to allow the use of larger wheels. The 1947-55 Advanced Design trucks did change on the 1 1/2 ton and larger trucks. The fenders were a couple of inches longer, wider, and taller. The hood was also longer to match the fenders. From the firewall back the cab remained the same as on the smaller trucks.

I just mean their refusal to sell, not buying it and driving it. It says they bought it for $6000 which would put it in the price range of a new Corvette or base model Cadillac in 1977, so it would have been well within the means for a movie star with a known fancy car habit to make them a more than fair offer if they bought it as investment, or to buy them an even faster car if they wanted performance. Doubling their purchase price to $12,000 would be nothing compared to the Porsches, Jaguars, and Ferraris he owned, but $8-12,000 could easily put them in another '68 Mustang, probably even a Shelby. It would definitely cover the cost of pretty much any 10 year old muscle car (not many desirable ones on the new car market in 1977), a new Corvette or Trans Am, Cadillac or Lincoln. Based on how they took care of it, and how they hid it from the public it just doesn't seem like they bought it to own a piece of movie history or as an investment. Just seems weird, or maybe McQueen just pissed them off and they kept it for spite.

Tamiya does an Alpine 110, not a 210.

Like a lot of companies that have been around forever, they can be hit or miss depending on the age of the kit. They have a few duds but for the most part they are competitive and compare well to Revell, Airfix or AMT of the same age. I have built more of their aircraft than anything, but I do have the Bentley blower and it is an impressive kit. I also have the recent Citroen Van and at least based on looking at it in the box it could be from Tamiya. The thing that really stands out with Heller though is what they kit. They do a lot of French and European subjects rarely seen by other kit makers, so it is good that they tend to make good kits.

How bizarre that they would keep it as a daily driver. I'm sure Steve McQueen had the means to put them in a Bentley if they wanted. I could understand them not selling if they were like super fans or something, but it doesn't seem like they took very good care of it and to use it as their only daily driver?

It is nice to see Heller getting back on their feet, looks like quite a few new tools as well as many reissues. The Renault R8 rally car is neat. The 4CV police car and weird Renault police van will provide some odd options for police and fire models. It says the 4CV is new, but I thought that was an existing kit, maybe it was in 1/43. I keep hoping the C4 fire engine will make a comeback, seems like they are doing everything else based on the chassis. The bus and hotel shuttle are kind of neat though.

I just need a time machine and a stack of $100 bills....

I've been around a few hybrids, my aunt had a Prius, and we have a few Ford Escapes at work.They are very quiet when the engine hasn't kicked on, and it often doesn't at low speeds. I could easily see a pedestrian getting hit in a parking lot by an inattentive driver, and the pedestrian would not have to be an idiot, just hit from behind. My aunt came to visit a few years ago when she had the Prius. Just happened to arrive when I was walking to the house. It was cold so I had a knit cap over my ears, but no traffic, and not many people around. I didn't hear her until some gravel crunched under the tires when she was less than 10 feet away. Even then I didn't think it was a car, I turned to look back and expected to see another pedestrian, not a car. No sidewalks so if she had been an idiot driver I could have easily been hit. 10-15 mph probably won't kill you but it can still hurt. My vote is to give electric cars the car sound from the Jetson's.

I'm sure that has purists gnashing their teeth, but I like it. I don't even build customs and that has me wanting to track down a 356 kit. Pete has a good point too, the starting place makes a huge difference to me. If I knew a guy butchered a pristine Model T to make a bucket T, I'd be disgusted. Same guy takes a rusted chassis with a few bits of car attached he yanked out of a blackberry patch have fun, at least as a hotrod it will be on the road instead of rusting away. The quality of the work plays a big part as well, there have been many monstrosities posted here that are an insult even if they started with the creature from the brier patch. There is a guy Gary Wales building retro touring cars from old fire trucks which is causing a minor bruhaha among fire apparatus collectors. Some feel it is better to let them rust in peace rather than be rebuilt as something else. This I kind of agree, I mean your money, your truck, but.... no thanks. But that isn't what this guy is doing. He is taking trucks that would otherwise be scrapped and making them into something interesting. Anyway I think they are pretty neat even overcoming my biases to cutting up old fire trucks. If I had the means I'd buy one. An idea of what these looked like at one time. He says he only uses a chassis that is beyond having a reasonable chance for restoration. Kind of a broad statement, with enough money anything can be restored. As an example of what he considers too far gone, the fire engine that became the car on the right had been stripped and left out in the woods for a few decades before he got it.

They also sold new for less than most couple of years old economy cars, they were cheaper than a Hyundai which at the time were freakishly cheap themselves. People in that market don't usually have the money to follow the recommended maintenance. Most of the people I knew who bought a Yugo were high school or college students. It doesn't help a cars reliability image one bit when most of the owners are deciding between an oil change and a big box of ramon noodles at Costco. I remember looking through an old car buyers guide and under the Yugo it mentioned the scarcity of A/C on the used market. That was one of the few options offered and it would raise the price by about 50%.

Reverend Horton Heat is fun. Many of these bands have been around awhile but the past year or two I've buying a lot more retro swing and rockabilly, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Blasters, Cherry Poppin Daddies, Crown Royal Review. This is one of my favorites from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Some of the electro swing that leans more swing and less techno is pretty good too Alice Francis

What if you made some flexible foam (neoprene maybe?) rings sized a little smaller than your arm and attached them to the arm holes. Then you would just shove your gloved arms through them. You could use caps or flaps to cover the holes when not in use to help keep dust out / fumes in.