Aaronw

There are some loud mouths, but for the most part I get the feeling people don't post out of a I'm my own worst critic kind of thing "my models are not good enough". I see a lot of people make that comment when asked why they don't post pics of their models. Granted the crickets that accompany some postings can be pretty loud, and that is common if it is an average model outside of a fairly narrow genre (muscle, rods or racing). I don't think it is a secret a good number of the vocal posters are old guys with a narrow set of interests. There was a time that criticism could be rather harsh, but I haven't seen much of that in the past few years. If anything it has gone a little softball, even losing much constructive comment.

It's been a few years since I've talked with Keith, so I'm not sure if he is still in business. At that time he and Tom had just swapped some subjects so they could focus on their interests. Keith got some trucks, and Tom some cars. I was in contact with Tom around the same time (looking for his Dodge truck) when I was informed about the trade. Neither had plans to get out of casting ta that time, just cleaning up their production.

That to me is a pretty obvious video game rant. Because kids are engaging in a hobby I don't approve of it is a waste of time. A pretty clear cut bad wrong fun argument. Agree with you on needing to monitor who your children are engaging with online, no different than making sure you know who they are dealing with in real life. No different online than in person, still need to parent, just requires a different technique. We will get online and play with the kids, one its fun, and two it gives us a chance to get a feel for the people he is involved with. The response from the other kids is usually along the lines of "Wow, your mom / dad play games with you? That's cool". It is ok, not to enjoy the new online world, but not so cool to condemn those who engage in different kind of hobby from yours. Understand you may not be doing that, but there is a very tiring drum beat of video games are the cause of all that is bad in the world. 20 years ago it was understandable, today it is replacing get out of my yard you punk kids.

I'm pretty sure that was a joke.

I'm not so sure about the timing belt being an issue if properly designed. On my car it is a 60,000 mile service, and is only marginally more complex than changing a fan belt. Pull the fan belts, remove the timing belt cover, change belt and idler, replace cover, put the fan belts on (or replace if they need it) done. 2 hour job at most. Of course somebody was thinking wjhen they designed the motor to make sure it would be an easy job, not all car makers seem to look down the road at a 5 year maintenance cycle. Vs. timing chain at 2-3x the mileage, but a far more difficult job, often essentially assuming it is to be done during an engine rebuild.

Like most "video game rants" it is just plain wrong. Video games are a hobby like any other and they provide a creative outlet, they are not all first person shooters, many include problem solving, and critical thinking. Don't just look at Grand Theft Auto, have a look at Minecraft (basically virtual interactive Legos), or the Kerbal Space Program (build your own rockets and launch them, solving the problems of weight vs structural strength vs thrust, and trajectory). Look at most modern automotive games, they allow a great deal of customization of the cars, not just color and stripes, but suspension set up, gear ratios, engine mods etc. Even the shooters require a fair bit of teamwork for success. The online community opens up a whole new world. When I was a kid I had a few local friends, the only person I knew from outside the US was because I had a friend who moved to another country. My son talks with kids all over the planet on a daily basis. Yes they are playing games, but the conversations they have are not really about the game, they talk about school and other stuff going on with them just like kids do when they are sitting in the same room playing with Legos or building models. Anybody who just goes on a rant about video games and computers really needs to just accept the fact that the world has moved on and left you behind. Those who will not embrace the computer age are going to go the way of the wagon builders who refused to be retrained to build automobiles.

Cool, thanks. Looking at the timeline for that kit, it does look like Revell - Heller cooperation is a new thing. The only company I knew of that had re-boxed Heller kits was Airfix while they were both under the same parent company. Hope this means we might start to see more of the Heller kits that haven't been issued for a while. Paul, agree on Heller kits. Like most old companies they have some clunker kits, but they also have some really nice ones. I have one of the earlier boxings of this kit and it looks pretty nice, with a lot of fine detail.

More like what were the smoking. Weird styling or not, I kind of like the Juke, but I don't want a pink one.

Maybe I missed it, or November isn't 4th quarter, but does anyone know the source of the 1/24 Bentley Blower listed as a November release? I assume it is the Heller kit but I'm not aware of Revell and Heller sharing molds. Not aware of any 1/24 Bentley kits other than the Heller, and doubt it is a new tool.

Honestly I'd take a kit of just about any Volvo from 1944-93, but I didn't want to dominate the "suggestions" with a bunch of Volvos. Morris Minor would be neat, when I was a kid there was one down the street from my house. It looked perfect for 6 year old me. It was next door to a '49 Cadillac. I'm pretty sure it would have fit in the Cadillac's trunk like an escape pod.

I find it funny that there is a guy standing by the Miata behind your wife's Camaro. Kind of knocks that whole guys car, girls car thing on its end.

I almost didn't include the 2002 as I was sure there had to be a kit of it already. All I turned up in 1/24 was a single resin kit, so I guess it really hasn't been done. Understand the European model market is pretty fragmented between 1/43, 1/32 and 1/24 which explains some of the holes. The SAAB, Volvo, and Peugeot had fairly successful careers in rally racing, which provides me with a glimmer of hope for those. I've been taunted for years by Heller who did the DS in 1/43 and 1/16, but left out the 1/24 builders. I keep hoping with Heller getting back on their feet, we may get the 1/16 scaled down to our scale.

Wow, that really looks a lot like full size version of those toy cars they used to sell at Chevron.

A girls car is anything that you are not manly enough to drive I guess. I once saw a pink Geo Metro with the license plate Mr Bubble. It was being driven by a very serious looking older man, so I guess not a chick car.

I was looking for something English, but they don't dabble. English cars are either very funky or dead sexy. The Lotus Elise definitely falls into the second category

In recent years Revell of Germany has brought us some unexpected against the grain kits, Trabant, Mini, 2CV and several VWs. Just for fun I thought I'd try to see what else was out there that isn't a European Supercar (somewhat in the spirit of the many Greg Myers photo posts...) Saab 96 Built from 1960-80. Early versions came with a 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine, later versions could have a V-4 built by Ford Germany Fiat 124 Approximately 2 million built in Italy between 1966 and 74. Many other countries built licensed variants including the USSR. Upwards of 8 million of these cars were built in Soviet factories for use behind the iron curtain where it was known as the Lada. Peugeot 504 The 504 was built in France from 1968-83. It continued to be built outside of Europe until 2006 being popular in many parts of the world with less developed roads. Renault Dauphine Probably best known for being compared with the Corvair when that cars safety was being scrutinized. Like the Corvair it has a rear engine layout and rear swing axle suspension. Unlike the Corvair it had a watercooled inline 4 producing a maximum of 37 horsepower. BMW 2002 Built from 1968-75, the little 2002 helped to build BMW's reputation for sporty cars. Volvo Amazon / 120 series Built from 1956 until 1970. Known in Sweden as the Amazon it was renamed the 120 series when it came to the US in 1958. Citroen DS The DS was a very advanced car when it was introduced. Built 1955-75 it had a manual transmission with an automatic clutch, hydropnuematic independent suspension, and self leveling headlights that turned with the wheels (non-US models).

That is nice, but I will have to pass. I could pay off my house twice and still have enough left over to buy a nice exotic sports car for the expected selling price. I always wonder about these extremely low mile cars. 2000 miles in 45 years is less than 50 miles a year, I don't understand buying a car like that and never taking it out for a drive.

John, I think you are off by a decimal, 300,000 families out of 44.2 million households (1958) is 0.6% of households.

You had me going, until the threw in the Studebaker. A Chevy hotrod, ok maybe, the 41 panel truck, unexpected but ok, they have a pickup to start with so... Sadly the bulletnose is probably due about the same time they get a snow cone maker in H E double toothpicks.

Neat, I have a neighbor down the street who has one on these but metallic green and white.

Well since this seems to be drifting... I ran across some import data, the issue of when did imports arrive was brought up earlier. 1955 imports account for less than 1% of US auto sales. 1960 imports make up nearly 10% of US auto sales. 1962 imports drop to 5%. 1975 imports are up to 20% of sales 1976 imports sales drop to 13% 1979 VW sells more cars in the US than AMC. 1980 imports account for 26% of US car sales. Comparison to the present 2013 The Big 3 account for 47% of US auto sales. Toyota sells more cars in the US than Chrysler. More than 50% of "import" cars are built in North American factories (USA, Canada or Mexico).

China recently passed the US as the largest car market on the planet, a title the US had held going back to the days of the Model T.

They've been included in a few kits. Monogram did a couple of dirt bikes with a Datsun pickup, and there was a Honda trail bike in another kit but I don't recall which one. I remember somebody posted a model truck in the under glass area awhile back that had some sort of older Harley or Indian type bike in the back, but don't remember if it came from a kit or was a diecast they picked up somewhere.

I've always assumed the Corvair was a response to the import market. In 1955 imports accounted for less than 1% of sales, but by 1960 they made up 10% of new car sales (or around 800,000 cars / year). When looked at a counter to the growing import market the Corvair outsold any import. VW was selling around 20,000 Beetles a year in the US in 1960, and peaked at 90,000 in 1975.The Beetle was the top selling import car for most of the 60s. I can't find sales numbers but Corvair production was in the 100,000-300,000 range for each of the first 6 years. Maybe small by Chevrolet standards, but more than any import of the time.

I think you need to think about suburbia vs city as well. Even today you will find people who live in large cities who find they don't need a car. If you are in the suburbs or father out, a car or a second car is more of a necessity. Kind of weird, the license plates on the cars are all pre-69 black and yellow, but taking another look the Volvo in the ad has the 1971-74 style grill, so you are probably right more like 71-72 ish.