Aaronw

Thanks, I don't build a lot of sports cars but I really liked the look of this one. Not only was the kit trouble free it was one of those rare builds where everything went right, which makes it even more of a mystery why it took me so long to finish it.

Thanks, I thought it was weird they don't say what it is. Sorry Ken, I thought you were psychic. I built a stock roadster pickup from the other kit, your list would explain why I wasn't seeing much difference. Not a complaint, just wondering if it matters which one I get in the future.

So what is the optional motor in this kit? It is an OHV V-8 but that is as far as my engine knowledge gets me. Also looking at this kit and the one reissued earlier this year they appear to be almost identical except for the chopped body vs the Tall couple body, is that really the only difference? Maybe I'm missing some of the less obvious differences, but it looks to me like I could build the same truck I did from the other kit.

Mad Max and the Road Warrior both jump right in with some great car chases. Star Wars would probably be my number 1 though. I was 10 or 11 when I saw that, and the opening with the rebel ship and the star destroyer basically flying right over your head made a huge impression on me. The beginning of Alien is pretty good too, although on the opposite end as far as action goes. Just kind of a creepy tour through a silent space ship, it really helps set the tone for the rest of the movie. The Right Stuff, it just starts with a scene of high speed flight with a voice over talking about breaking the sound barrier and the demon that is waiting for the pilots that try to break it, and then it cuts away to a smoking plane crash.

You know one of the things I've noticed on those old Monogram kits? They actually encouraged modeling, from tips about detailing, to simple conversions and kit bashing. I haven't run across it in any car models but the military modelers had the great diorama tips and ideas from Shep Paine. http://sheperdpaine.com/monogram/index.htm Some of the Johan kits also included this kind of info. The '59 Rambler wagon showing how to make a sedan or phantom Rambler pickup. I haven't run across many modern kits including this kind of info, sometimes it seems like they barely even include adequate assembly instructions. It just seems like a win for all if they still did this. They could even pimp their other kits by suggesting kitbash combinations for new build options.

I use photobucket with 800x600 photos at 72dpi, that allows me to post 5 img links.

Yeah, I wasted a few sheets before figuring that one out myself.

That one baffles me too, Aston Martin is one of the best known British car maker up there with Rolls and Jaguar, the cars are comparable to Ferraris which have dozens of kits, and they have James Bond going for them. Seems like a winner to me particularly the DB-5 which is tied to the Sean Connery movies (the best Bond ).

Try setting it to photo paper or highest gloss. I had a similar problem the first time I used a laser printer and that took care of the problem.

That makes more sense, I thought you were saying 500 of each kit, not a combination. Your number for serious modelers is quite a bit lower than other estimates I've seen, but these are all just educated guesses, so really no way to really know with any certainty.

I would agree with the early 80s, but by the mid 80s quality was definately improving. US perfomance cars (Corvette, Mustang, Camaro /Firebird) were starting to have decent performance again, and the overall quality of US cars was definately better although most of the best were borrowing heavily from the Japanese (lots of Mitsubishi, Isuzu and Mazda motors in the Big 3s entry level cars, if not complete rebadges of Japanese cars). Many of the 70s cars were pretty bad, particularly those on the lower end. By the 80s they may not have been exciting but at least the quality was getting better. Compare a Chevy Chevette or Ford Pinto of the 70s to a Dodge Omni or Ford Escort of the 80s. Not great cars but at least the US manufacturers were starting to get an idea of how to make a decent economy car.

Um, I'm curious about your numbers. Has any kit sold 5 million copies? I've read the AMT Star Trek Enterprise model is the best selling kit ever, even leading to AMT making multiple tools to keep up with sales. Does anyone know how many copies of that kit have been sold? From others numbers quoted I'm under the impression 50-100,000 is a good selling kit which means "we" (assuming there are really only 10-15,000 "hardcore" modelers, which also seems suspect). Only need to buy 5 - 10 of each to make it a success, not 500.

I wish more of the diecasts were sold unassembled as kits. I have a fair collection of diecasts simply because there is no plastic kit of the subject. Most were bought with the intent of tearing them down to rebuild my way, but they are so nice I tend to just leave them alone. Sell me a box of unpainted parts at a discounted price and I would be thrilled (plastic is better but I will take what I can get).

It may vary a bit by brand, and local conditions (heat, humidity etc) but I have had no problem with resin 6 months old. I did have some around a year old that started to go funny, first some little chunks I could strain out, then later it just wouldn't set up and I had to throw it out. They do sell cans of an inert gas (I think it is nitrogen) that is claimed to extend the life. You just add a squirt to the bottle after use to displace the air. I've never used it, but it isn't really expensive if you want to give it a try.

The scale is a bit large for me, but I have very nearly bought the Model A truck a few times. If I had a better set up for display it would make a nice center piece for ome of my other models. If any of the Model Ts can be built as a truck I'd be tempted there too.

Some one did one but I have no idea where it came from, wish I did, I would buy a couple. It's possible it was scratchbuilt rather than resin, not really sure. This was at NNL West a few years ago. The cab was GMC's B series, Ford had a very similar cab they called the N series.

and more (yeah, some of these are incomplete, I know I'm the only one like that. )

More

Sorry I read into it as modern trucks. I've got to admit to a vintage bias myself. I'd love to see some modern fullsize trucks, but I think I'd be even happier to see some of the gaps in older trucks filled in. 1930s Chevy / GMCs, 1942-47 and 1957-66 Fords, and 1929-71 Dodges. I wouldn't object to seeing something from the independants either REO, IH, Studebaker etc. Anyway on to my trucks (some of these are worked over diecasts, due to unavailability of plastic)

Ok first of all how are we supposed to post photos of kits that don't exist. There are no modern truck kits available, the last truck kit produced is a truck now 12 years out of date, the runners up are 15 and 21 years old. I can put up or shut up with some antique (25 years +) trucks though. Oh yeah, I better put one of these so you don't think I'm mad, just pointing out some potential for misunderstanding. Chuck, you really need to invest in a 1/25 scale car wash.

Hey I did my part, I bought 4 or 5 of them. There is a neat old truck burried under all the crud.

I'm glad I'm not the only one, I don't get the special plastic either. If they think it might help raise sales to collectors I don't see any real downside to it (unless that plastic is more difficult to work with). They must feel the collector market is fairly large since they keep offering the deluxe kit in tins.

I was just curious what modern cars you want to see that are not available. I see a lot of comments about how all the new kits are of old cars but when I look I see a pretty nice range of modern cars available from the environmentally friendly mini cras and hybrids to modern muscle cars. Understand about the Japanese kits, but like it or not I think the fact they cover so many Japanese subjects so well (even if many are curbside) that I doubt you will see much from the US kit makers. I have always found the Japanese habit of ultra detail except for including an engine odd, and I'm not even one to detail the motor much of the time. I think the US kit makers completely botched their "tuner" efforts, and like trucks mistake their half hearted efforts with won't sell. As a result they seem to have given up on most foriegn subjects (except for supercars like Ferraris). I'm not into the tuner thing but even I can figure out they should have been doing those kits like they have done the various hotrods with tons of options and nifty parts. I wonder how people think the ever popular '32 Ford kits would have done if sold as curbsides with no or very limited options. The tuner guys are into customization as much as the hotrod guys, but tooling up some jumbo size speakers in an older tool import kit does not make it a tuner. Where is Revell's tuner version of the '29 Ford truck? Those kits have so many optional parts I can build a stock truck and have so many spare parts left over that it looks like a complete kit in the box. I agree with you that failure to bring in younger builders may come back to haunt them in 15-20 years. On the other hand I have seen some suggestion that more people are getting into modeling for the first time in their 30s and 40s as they have disposible income and are looking for a hobby, so maybe they will do ok. Now I don't think that is completely fair, the 70s brought us the Pacer, Gremlin, Pinto and Vega... wait what was I saying. No but really there are some notable exceptions, largely non-US. Eh British and French cars have been notably poor quality long before the 70s, many collectors of those cars hold the fact they own a car that may or may not start as a badge of honor. I remember a Herb Caen column from the 80s lamenting the fact his new Jaguar was trouble free taking all of the adventure out of owning a British sports car. On the better side of things, in my opinion the 1970s Porsche 911 was the peak of that cars styling. It left behind the sportified VW look, and had a more elegant look than the later cars with the big spoilers and such. The 70s also brought the Lotus Esprit which again in my opinion was one of the better looking Lotus cars (although I do like the looks of the Elise too), very super car looking but without so much of the "rich dude with a midlife crisis" look like some others. Mercedes had a very elegant sport coupe in the SL350. On the more mundane side, the Japanese makers owned the 70s and 80s, with good economical cars and Toyota's Hilux introduced in the late 60s has set the standard for compact trucks ever since. Toyota and Datsun did manage to include some style too with the 240Z, 510, Celica, and Supra. I do agree that tthe 70s and 80s were not a high point in US auto manufacturing, the Delorean and Pontiac Fiero probably being the high points except for the mid 80s introduction of the restyled Corvette, and Pontiac Firebird / Trans-am that maintained a little bit of the 60s through the 70s.

Very nice. I've been getting back into a rally car mood but didn't know there was a kit of this car other than Tamiya's 1/20 kit. I'll definately have to add it to my list of kits to watch for.

After sitting neglected in a box for 3 years I thought it was time to finally get this one finished. It is Tamiya's Alpine Renault kit. Typical Tamiya it pretty much fell together. Paint is Tamiya metallic blue. The A110 was popular with rally racers in the early 70s, taking 3rd place in the Monte Carlo Rally during 1969 and 70, and sweeping 1st, 2nd and 3rd in 1971 and 1973. In 1973, the first year of the World Rally Championship, an A110 placed in the top 3 in 8 of the 13 events, and won the Manufacturers award this year as well (the only time Renault has won this award). The Lancia Stratos arrived in 1974 and dominated the WRC for the next few years leading Renault to work on a replacement for the A110. Tamiya also offers this kit in full rally garb.