Aaronw

Yeah, but they are so cheap you can afford some aftermarket wheels and still not have spent a ton of money.

AITM hosts a gallery for Illini Replica Conversions, who has a '55 and a '59 Kenworth. The link is at the top of the page http://www.aitruckmodels.com/pages/news.html

If you can live with 1/35 Dragon / Cyber Hobby is supposed to be doing a plastic kit of Hitler's 6 wheel Mercedes armored limo. http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article.asp?a=8089 On the RR pickup, I remember seeing an Australian movie years ago about a brother and sister inheriting a mine from a wealthy relative, but not actually having the cash to operate it. They cut up the RR or Bently they also received to build a truck for the mine. (I don't remember why they didn't just sell it and buy a truck).

Typically only the body, doors, hood, trunk lid etc is metal, the interior, door handles, bumpers, engine and other detail bits are plastic.

The ink does not have a chemical effect, it just protects the photo resist from the sun so only the part you want to "attach" to the metal gets developed. I suppose you could hand draw some of the artwork if it was something that would look ok hand drawn. Just like decals you will get better rsults by using quality drawing programs (Corel Draw / Adobe Illustrator).

I think I have finished 1 car and 6-8 1/72 aircraft. There is still the potential to finish another 4-6 cars depending on time and motivation over the next week. Kits bought? Not sure probably 20 or so. Not bad, and much better than some years.

So the Parts pack 428 would be essentially the same as a 1958 332? That is one of the engines available in the Ford C series I have had trouble tracking down, so if that is true then great news.

The Diamond Reo is of similar vintage to the other two kits, late 60s early 70s.

Well at the prices Round 2 is asking all of those re-issued kits are a bargain. It happens both the trucks you mention do have known fit issues but if you ask around in the truck forum there are people who can help you identify and fix them before they get you. I'm not familiar with the Diamond Rio. The frieghtliner is kind of tricky because of the way the cab goes together. It is in 3 pieces allowing it to be issued as a day cab or sleeper by changing which interior and middle section they put in the box. Other than that I don't think the kit has a lot of issues. The Roadboss just seems to have more problems all the way around. The IH 4300, Chevrolet Astro, Kenworth cabover and Ford C cab should be fairly easy to find as well having been re-issued within the past year or so. All of thse are retailing under $40. Revell also has 2 snap kit semis, a Peterbilt and a Kenworth that are pretty good and cheap (around $20). they are pretty nicely detailed even though they are snap kits. All of these kits have some quirks, but they are cheap. The Revell of Germany, Italeri and Moebius kits are much higher quality being newer but you will pay $60-100 for them.

Sales tax was mentioned in regards to shipping costs eating up online savings. I just pointed out on a larger purchase ($100 with California's 7-8% tax) the shipping is often offset by what you would have paid in sales tax. Some of you seem to have taken that as I shop online to avoid the sales tax. I shop online because it is easier than driving 4-8 hours (there and back) to buy a kit from my "local" hobby shops that may or may not even have what I want. While I see much hand wringing over online hobby shops killing the brick & mortar shops, I don't see a lot of these failed shops embrasing the new technology. There is no downside to expanding to online sales except for many more sales, yet there seems to be a real reluctance on the part of many owners. One of my regular sources, Megahobby apparently did start as a LHS and still does have some physical shops you can walk in to buy stuff (maybe some of the New York members can verify that). I know another guy I have bought a few things from also has a regular hobbyshop but does a good chunk of his business online and at local shows. Many ebay sellers seem to be tied to hobby shops, so some obviously recognize the change in technology can help them. Riverside seemed to be doing things right, people get older and it is understandable that they would want to retire. It is too bad that they could not find anyone to take over the business, but not unexpected. Sacramento has what 3 or 4 hobbyshops? I know they don't focus on the plastic like Riverside did, but that certainly played into the lack of buyers for the business. The building doesn't seem to be in the best shape either so a new owner would have had to deal with an old building or move and lose a lot of the name recognition. I hope the business treated them well enough over the years to allow them to enjoy retired life.

Not really, you just change your buying habits. One of the shops I use frequently runs a free shipping special, other offer reduced or free shipping for spending x amount. Even without free shipping I just buy in bulk 2 or 3 times a year instead of making multiple small purchases. Many places use a flat rate shipping fee usually $8-10. On a single $20 kit, an additional $8 is a big deal, another $8 on a $200 purchase (10 models) is a drop in the bucket, less than the sales tax you would have paid at the LHS. I don't have the luxury of a local hobby shop to support so it is internet or nothing for me. On those occasions I am in an area with a GOOD hobby shop, one that actually makes an effort I do make a point of stopping in to buy from them. Riverside was one of those places, now I'm down to two (all are 4 hours + from my home). I have no problem buying from the internet instead of those hobby shops that have a smaller selection than my stash and unhelpful staff who chit chat among themselves instead of helping you find what you need.

I do think that would be in everyone's best interest. While slipping it in with a bunch of newer kits might get the company one more sale, it is just as likely to be the first kit from that company a person buys and cause them to write off the company for future purchases. Just look at Lindberg for this. If someone buys the 2005 Charger or 1966 Chevelle they will think what a great company. If they start with the old Pyro Auburn or 1948 Lincoln they will probably be the newest member of the Lindberg Sux club.

I've got that same '48 Woody kit as one of my 10 year projects (it's probably going to take 10 years before I get around to finishing it ). I'm not quite sure how the decals are applied, one big decal, cut into strips etc but it has a lot of molded in detail and looking at the photos I'd guess the decal conforms exceptionally well. I think it is really neat that computers have got to the point that we can have relatively decent communication with modelers around the world who speak different languages.

I can tell you from experience there are some plastic kits that seem to follow that first philosophy.

I always try to hit that shop whenever I'm in the Sacramento area. Too bad, it is a nice old shop and I always find something unusual to make the stop worthwhile.

I agree with Harry, there is a place for constructive criticism of kits. I also agree with the OP often these comments go well beyond constructive. My dad has some old unbuilt Monogram and Strombecker wood kits. For fun I think I'll get some photos the next time I visit so I can do some in box reviews. It is kind of funny instead of parts on sprues, you open the box and are greated with blocks of wood, some misc wood shapes and the instructions are basically a set of blueprints.

I let all my subscriptions run out over the past year because I knew I'd be moving soon. Now that I am moving I'll be starting up again with MCM and Fire Apparatus Journal, and my memberships in IPMS, SPAAMFAA (Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of of Antique Motorized Fire Apparatus, and the California chapter of SPAAMMFA which all include magazine style newsletters.

Yeah, that is a job LEDs will never take from the trusty incandescent. Another big plus to LEDs is their ability to be laid out in shapes. I'm considering LED lights for a model display case because of the way I can hide them in the structure of the case. The very low heat emmision is another plus, I don't want an easy bake display case.

You might consider locating both fans below the booth side by side then boxing in the two exhausts to run into one duct. I think that would work better than a cross/downdraft set up which might confuse the air. As long as the two fans are similar in flow I don't think having them side by side would cause any issues. The calculation for recommended airflow is actually pretty simple, just take the square footage of the opening and divide by the CFM of the blower. Ideally this will result in a value of 100 for a cross draft or 50 for a down draft booth, but many commercial booths fall well below this figure. So if the opening of your booth was 12" tall and 24" wide (1x2) it would be 2 square feet in area. If your blower was a 100 cfm unit then 2/100 would give you 50 meaning the blower was well suited to a downdraft booth of that size. The actual size of the booth is largely unimportant, it is the size of the opening that matters.

I hate flourescent lights. I wasn't a fan of LEDs either, they were bright to look at but didn't really put out much light. The past few years they have really improved. I got some LED headlamps for work 2 years ago and they are great, a real 90 foot+ lightbeam and we get 6-12 hours (hi / low setting) on a set of 4 AA batteries which is about 4x what we got with the halogen bulbs. I can believe the use 75% less energy since so much of the power used by incandescents goes into heat. Incandescents actually make great little heaters. I've worked in many places that have used a lightbulb to keep small building like well houses from freezing.

You misunderstand shaded pole and explosion proof. Shaded pole is also known as a squirrel cage, these have the motor seperated from the airflow (round water wheel looking blower attached to a shaft that goes to the motor). It has nothing to do with a rheostat controller. Most bath fans and range hoods are not shaded poles, they are axial fans that allow the fumes to run right over the motor. If wiring of the motor becomes compromised theoretically you could get a spark and a fire. Since the motor of the squirrel cage is out of the air flow it does not get exposed to the fumes, should last longer and is less likely to create sparks that could meet up with fumes. Explosion proof is a completely different issue, that is a certification that the motor and switches are sealed allowing use in a flammable atmosphere. Explosion proof is complete overkill for a hobby spray booth, you would find them in a full size automotive spray booth or fuel bunker. As you mention the cost puts them out of reach for most hobbiests. A squirrel cage is the preffered style of blower but many use the more common (and cheaper) axial type, most of them never have a problem.

Dry transfers can be hard to apply to the many curved or otherwise odd shaped parts. If this becomes a problem for you I've seen guys apply the transfers onto a sheet of decal film (nice and flat so easy to apply), then apply them as a decal.

Well these are always fun to watch even if I never seem to get around to actually building something. Sure Mad Max had lots of shiny cars, and then in The Road Warrior they ran out of wax, and by Thunderdome they ran out of gas.

That is Dark Star by John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon. The beachball monster scenes inspired Dan O'Bannon to later write Alien. George Lucas' THX-1138 was more of a Logans Run style dark future sci-fi movie. Lucas has slipped some variation of THX-1138 into several of his later movies and it loans its name to his THX sound system. Supposedly the ships and the deathstar in the Star Wars movies were made by bashing a bunch of model kits with other interesting bits and pieces.

I don't beleive I ever met him, but I have enjoyed NNL West the past several years, so a belated thank you is due. RIP