bob paeth

As most of you know, I am a "member" of the "golden age of modeling". I was there almost before dirt was invented, let alone styrene. Our hobby has had its ups and downs for years. Besides the comptition from girls, 1/1 cars, girls, partying, girls and then girl griends, I have seen problems develop from slot racing, computer games ( both commercially as well as home games ), lack of hobby shops, you name it. BUT, the hobby seems to survive. I too, miss the local contests that we used to enjoy. NOW A CHALLENGE TO EVERYONE: Visit your local 1/1 custom car shows. Interest the promoters into providing space for a contest. Convince them that that the modelers will increase their "gate". If you have problems with money for trophies or plaques or ribbons go for a modest entry fee, with 100% being returned to the entrants. With the slow demise of the hobby shop and little or no interest of contests from the "big box stores" these car shows are just about the only avenue left. If you belong to a club, promote the hobby by working with the "Boys and Girls" clubs or maybe the "Boy Scouts". Hold a simple contest foir this source of young talent, The club treasuryshould be able to afford ribbons, if nothing else. Be responsible for the thrill of winning to a young builder. Another possible source of sponsorship might be a local new car dealer. All of the modelers have parents who might be in the market for a new car, what better way to get the parents into the show room than to look at the entries of their kids and their friends There are probably more ways to promote our hobby that you will read about on these web sites that we all enjoy. if our hobby is to survive, we all must be active. bob

One very effective way to reduce the amount of "sticky" to any type of tape is to first stick it to your forehead. Peel it off and apply it to your model. The natural oil on your skin does the trick. Remember, though, to seal the edge of the tape with a "clear shot" so that your paint will not seep under it. bob

I would agree that buying a package of accessory bits is the way to go. You will get pieces that you cannot use on oplastic, such as the "stone pieces" but you are still getting a bargain. HOWEVER ............if you really want to use your Dremel ( or the equivelent ) you really need a foot control. With this accessory you turn your grinder on to full speed. Hold your model with one hand, the grinder in the other hand and "step on the gas". Instant control, fast, slow or "half-fast.. Foot controls can be found in sewing machine shops. I found mine in a stained glass store. Use a foot control once and I guarantee you will never go back to hand control. bob

I would agree that buying a package of accessory bits is the way to go. You will get pieces that you cannot use on oplastic, such as the "stone pieces" but you are still getting a bargain. HOWEVER ............if you really want to use your Dremel ( or the equivelent ) you really need a foot control. With this accessory you turn your grinder on to full speed. Hold your model with one hand, the grinder in the other hand and "step on the gas". Instant control, fast, slow or "half-fast.. Foot controls can be found in sewing machine shops. I found mine in a stained glass store. Use a foot control once and I guarantee you will never go back to hand control. bob

Just a note to make all of you members green with jealously. I live about twenty minutes away from Steve's Auto Restoration and have been inside many times. FASCINATING. bob

due to circumstances beyond my control I must change my e-mail address to the following: www.jstbb@comcast.net If you keep addresses of members please change mine. bob paeth

Don gets an A+ for his memory. The "T" bucket was exactly as he described. It was designed strictly as a body kit only. It sold for .89 while 1/25 kits were selling for $2.00. In order to build a complete model, you needed to purchase a frame pack ( two to choose from ) an engine pack ( about 8 to shoose from ) and a wheel and tire pack ( about 6 to choose from ). As you can see the end result was more costly than a normal kit but the detail you ended up with was far superior to any full sized kit.With the exception of the non-chrome Triumph motorcycle and the decal sheet, all parts packs sold for .89. The motorcycle and the decal sheet were .69. bob

It seems that I have posted this request before but I cannot find it so here goes another try. I met modeler at the last GSL in Salt Lake City who invited me to attend a model contest in Pleasanton Ca. What I would like to know is: When is the contest ? Does anyone know ? bob

I made a mistake on the above web site address. Should have read: http://public.fotki.com/1320wayne/ bob

If sanyone is curious as to what kind of models I build go to the following web site and click onto my name. http://public.fotki.com/ 1320/ bob

Jon, If you have a Home Depot near you, check out the hardware department. They are closing out an air compressor made by Campbell/ Hosfeld that is perfect for your airbrush. I bought my compressor about three months ago and am perfectly satisfied with it. You should hurry if you want one because my store only has one left with no more on order. The compressor is a dual tank set-up with two guages: one to show you the pressure in the tanks and the other is to set the pressure that you want. The think goes for only $79.00 and that includes everything you need including a brad nailer. If they have already been sold out, Senco makes a good compressor but it costs a little more. Jarius is right about practicing with your air brush. Single actions are easier to use but the double action is so much more verstile. If you start right out painting a model you will mess up, GUARANTEED. bob

I always thought the opinions were " in the eyes of the beer holder ". But then , again, I have been told that I am not too close to be considered normal either. bob

As far as that Ford Prefect goes: den kulf ins, resda luksen bob

aaawwwwwwww Greg, You're no fun LOL bob

I just saw a photo of the members of the Hawaiian Model Car Club. WOW ! Who is that ugly one in the middle with the whiskers and the shaven head ? bob

all I get is a blank screen except a "bar" runing across with a volume control that does nothing. bob

Outstanding for your beginning of the hobby. Outstanding if you had been it for many years. You should check the membership list. We have several members from OZ. bob

Your latest is coming alomg fine. Point of interest on the Lindberg '61 Chevy: This is the early release of this kit. When it was pointed out that the windshield has the wrong shape, the mold was pulled and corrected. You should save this kit when you are finished as it may be a collectors item someday. bob

This is a very interesting question that has more than one potential answer. It has been a long time since my direct involvement with the manufacturering or atleast re-issues. Re-isues are not a new idea. Revell was doing them even back in the mid 60's. I grant you that there were fewer re-issues then because of two reasons: # 1 new kits were coming out every month and #2 there were fewer to choose from. Revells problem was finding time to put the molds in the machines. These molds ran atleast two full shifts 5 days a week. The fact that some molds are is lost is true, believe it or not. Worth many thousands of dollars did not keep the various companies from misplacing them. Unless someone clearly painted of the mold what it was for, no one new what it was. If a warehouseman put the "mold" on a shelf and subsequently covered it it with another one...........consider it lost. Storage was another problem. Many of Revells old molds were stored on an outside loading dock, subject to the weather ( not a good idea even in sunny southern California ) Due to inflation I would imagine that the cost to put a mold into a machine borders on several thousand dollars. This start up cost, plus the labor in production, box costs, advertising, shipping and accounting "eats up" some of the profit right from the "git go ". In the mid 60's an arbitrary goal of 50,000 kits was looked at as the break-even point. Of course this took into consideration the initial cost of development. but, even when the mold has been amortized many thousands of kits must be sold to realize a profit. Jarius, I must disagree with you on the "responsible" people at Revell before this latest sale of the company. Two of the people who have been responsible for the development of new kits are personally known by me and I can assure you and everyone else that these two people are "model " people , not just bean counters. So far as I know their responsabilities have not changed in accordance with the new owners. I have not always agreed with their decisions but they have been backed by a learned background. What Revell does in the future, will ultimately depend on how much the new ownwers wish to spend. Whether its new development or re-issues, that all of us would like to see, we will just have to wait. bob

I didn't take the time to see the movie but, check me if I am wrong, the featured cars all had wheels, right ????????? LOl LOl bob

It may be pronounced "willis" to be correct but the History channel and all of the magazine writers that I have known use the name as "willeze". Thats where my vote goes bob

My first model car was a '35 4-door Oldsmobile that was given to me by my grandfather, and I still have it. It is made of rubber and pretty close to 1/32 scale, with pretty good detail. All of the first cars of mine were made of rubber and in a small scale. According to what I have been told I started to customize them at about the age of three. I used modeling clay to change the fender lines, etc. As soon as I was old enough, I could use my mothers paring knife to cut off the running boards or the top if I wanted a convertible. Larger scale rubber models came out after WW II, a '46 Buick fastback and a '41 4 door Olds. Using straight pins these latter "works of art" I installed working suspension and cut out windows. To my knowledge the first 1/25 scale model in styrene was a '48 Olds ( four door ). I never saw one of these until years later. I did, however, start working with a 4-door Ford, sanding off detail and using paper for fender skirts. I first bent the metal frame drastically to lower the rear end ( style of the day ). I then discovered, after removing the friction motor that you could turn the frame upside down and really lower it. 1950 brought another Ford along with a 4-door Plymouth and 1961 a '51 Pontiac ( 4-door ) was offered along with the Fords and the Plymouths, and as they say the rest is history. bob

Paul, Pick up one of the 1/32 Ford convertibles by Revell. These are well detailed and look good as well. bob

Dwayne, You pay me a great compliment. Of course, you may use anything that you would like. Let me know if I can do anything more. bob

I would add to what already has been said. It is truely the greatest contest that you will ever be able to attend. The planning that goes into an event such as this is unimaginable. Three and a half days with no problems, everything was like "clockwork". While Mark Gustavson deserves a lot of credit, let us not forget the many members of the Utah club who did the behind-the-scenes work. Arranging the museum tours, the seminars, the checking in of the models, the security, the questions answered, you name it, they were all there. I, too, would emphasize, the idea of planning for the 2009 gathering. bob