Modelmartin

I share your pain, Brother!!!

You've got that right! There is a big difference between building some really, really cool curbsides and building a 95% scratchbuilt full detail and looks real model car. Both are very cool but apples are not oranges.

But Gerald is indeed a modelbuilder. He is quite good. The French Ferrari guy made a functioning autonobile in smaller than usual size. There was a guy back in the '80s who built a running Locomobile race car. It ran and shifted, braked, etc. Again, not a model!! To me a model is a non functioning representation of something(usually in scale). Somone earlier in this thread mentioned Michele Conti from Italy. If you ever saw his models in person you would realize that they are very appealing folk art. They were actually kind of horrific as scale models. Bad technique and bad proportions abound. I like what some have said about there being hundreds of great builders around the globe and there are tiers of builders. There isn't a one truly best builder out there. There can only be a best at one moment in one place and that certainly is a rotating position.

This type of discussion is always interesting. A lot of people, naturally enough, go with people they know(what else can you do?). It is helpful if you have spent more time and traveled around in the hobby. Most of the people mentioned in this thread are very worthy modelers to be included here but some(and I will not say who) will violently protest their inclusion in this list. Why? Simply because they are not among the best builders. They are active in the hobby and produce beautiful models that get a lot of coverage. They are usually prolific builders, too. Nothing at all wrong about that but it doesn't merit inclusion here. To me, a top builder has to be able to do it all! Scratchbuild, paint, detail, assemble, design, engineer, plan, finish the d@mn thing AND show up! My top choices(and favorites) are Jim Drew, Randy Derr, Bill Geary, Dirk Joseph amongst others. There are many more. We have a guy in Minnesota who does everything but show up - Jay Lewis. He could take Best in Show almost anywhere but hates contests! You can see some of his work in the gallery of Dave's Showrod Rally site. I think the absolute best I have seen are Manuel Olive Sans and Tom Kirn. I have seen their models side by side and to me the nudge goes to Tom's Duesenberg. Sans was professional and worked in bigger scales and was top notch but Tom's Duesey was just that little bit better as amazing as that is! Of course Manuel built many, many models over decades and Tom built 2 that I know of! Wingrove is definitely great but Sans and Kirn are a notch above. The rest of us kit-bashers are just having fun and chopping up plastic toys! The French Ferrari guy did not build a model. That was a small car. I mean that.

Cool car and great project! Who's going to be the first to get a ModelHaus 50 Caddy and do the Lemans car?

I have paid up to $200. for a kit of the right subject and the right level of detail. I have also turned down free kits of subjects I could not care less about, regardless of quality. I did't want it or need it.

Love it. The driveline from the "Showboat" goes into a boat!! Very cool model, John.

I briefly owned a few 1/8 kits many years ago. I couldn't deal with them. Sold them and and all the 1/12 (excepting motorcycles) and 1/16th I had too. Even though I dabbled in 1/43rd and other scales I have settled on 1/24-5 in my middle age as the way to go. If all 1/8 went away tomorrow I would never notice it! Rotsa ruck on the Superbird, Harry!

You asterisked me, Man!!! It's all in good humor. I was just reading about Bill Harrah and his insistence that the model and body style be named EXACTLY the same way that the manufacturer listed it on all the placards in front of the cars in his museum. You could have endless variations such as four door, four-door, fordor, etc. With over 1000 cars on display the placard engraver was kept busy.

But I got the location right! When only 200 cars were built that did not vary according to year because very likely they were all manufactured in 1929 and only sold in 1930 and 1931, you can't be too fussy!

Real cool!!

Perhaps part of the problem is that no one wants to work up the ladder anymore. They want to start with the Caddy, the Lincoln, the Lexus. With all of the easy credit - why not? Luxuriate now, pay later!

I've seen better...........but not many! For the humor-impaired that was flattery. I saw it in person at GSL and it was good to see the pics again. It is so much more than just a super-detailed 1/12 Tamiya.

It's on the fairway at Pebble Beach golf course!!

I also have several Manx gluebombs in my lineup. I do hope they re-issue it with this box. In fact, I think it would be too cool if they re-issued it in both boxes! I would buy both and I hardly buy any new kits.

Steve, I love your Raleighs and the Peugeot. I have 3 Raleighs and a Peugeot "kit" in my garage. The Raleighs are a 76 Sprite 5 speed with full fenders and a rack that my dad bought new and never rode. It's the one I put the most miles on. I also have an 80s 10 speed Capri that is almost mint as bought off Craig's list for $80. I also have another 80s Olympian 12 speed that I got free. All it needed was air in the tires. The Peugeot project started when a neighbor gave me his mom's mixte since she couldn't ride anymore. I found a taller men's frame on Craig's list, decals from Australia on Ebay and also handlebars and pedals off of Ebay. I just need to find some cool Peugeot aluminum fenders and I will be ready for the rebuild.

Ford always had Mercury sell their atypical sports and performance cars and always muffed it! From the Pantera to the Merkur to the original European Capri. A friend of mine wanted a Merkur and only about 1 in 10, it seemed, came with a 5-speed. Who loads up dealer inventories with performance sports cars with automatics? Mercury could never figure out how to sell performance stuff. The new Mustang is a pretty good car and is quite good looking. Doing a Cougar version would only dilute the "brand". It would be a total waste of tooling dollars even if it is just a few parts. Ford was smart to let the Mercury brand go away at this point. Maybe if they had taken a different approach about 1970 it would have made some sense.

Because it wouldn't sell?

I am sure Art can write a dissertation on Mercury. My impression is that Mercury was introduced to bridge the gap from Ford to Lincoln. Fords were pretty basic back then and Lincolns were top of the line. I believe all Lincolns from '20 to '48 are considered full classics by the CCCA except the Zephyrs. That is quite a gap to bridge in a product lineup. Mercury's problems started when it became a badge engineered Ford and Fords became more luxurious. When was the last time Mercury had a unique home grown vehicle to sell? How about a different wheelbase then the similar Ford product? Dumping the badge was way overdue. By the way, Harry, That "Cougar" is kind of ugly! The nose looks like some of those 80s-90s Rivieras. It would probably sell in the dozens!

Ridiculous.

No kidding. (sarcasm) There had been a few instances over the years of AMT using MPC or Jo-Han tooling. I was merely wondering. I don't store too much info in my head about Gremlins and Pacers. I did cut up an MPC Pacer to make the Pro-Mod Pacer body that JImmy Flintstone sells. Chopping the top was a riot. I can't even remember how many pieces I had to cut it into to lower it!

I think the overall trend is still up.

AMT made a stock Gremlin a little later in the production run but parts can be swapped to do an early stocker from the Funny Car kit. I liked that kit when it came out. I also had the Vega panel Funny car kit. MPC also had a Pacer. I have no idea if it was the same tool as the AMT. It would have been exceedingly silly to tool up 2 different Pacer kits! Wouldn't surprise me, though!

Does anyone put the "objects in mirror are closer than they appear" warnings in their rear view mirrors? Inquiring minds want to know.

Wow! You work fast!! Have fun with it! That was the first and last time I used the "Creepy Crawlies" rubber parts that Protar puts in their kits. Be sure to foil the rims before putting the tires back on and don't use the rest. How do you like that awesome rubber chain? Good luck on this project and I will look forwrd to seeing it reborn.