Johnny K

Very nice job. Great weathering.

There are 4 or 5 Hobby Lobby stores to 1 HobbyTown in my area. Hobby Lobby has a wider selection of models than HobbyTown and I'd much rather give them the money after the coupon savings. On top of that, Hobby Lobby retail prices (at least in this area) are less than HobbyTown's to begin with. Additionally, buying there supports the local economy as well as buying at HobbyTown. EBay prices, with shipping, are subject to one's argument and point of view. One can show a wide range of examples. Saving searches. patience, and careful shopping typically results in kits at 50 - 60% of the local Hobby Lobby or HobbyTown retail price (or on par with Hobby Lobby after use of the 40% coupon which works quite well for kits not locally available). The preceding, of course, is no more than my own personal experience and opinion. I'm sure HobbyTown has its place somewhere, possibly in the RC arena.

Thanks, Ken. Haven't been to Pikeville in a while. Usually follow 64 E and 77 S, so thinking more like Beckley, WV and Galax, VA. Hoping to get out that way again this Fall.

Hadn't heard of this store, so, out of curiosity, checked its web site and locations. There are actually about 20 of them, mostly in southern WV and western VA, with 3 in eastern KY, and 1 in NC. I do pass by a couple of them on trips to NC, so will try to remember and check out next trip. Thanks.

Great job. This is one of my favorite kits, but haven't built one in a while. Think it's time to pull out another.

A few months ago, I started a thread about eBay's then soon-to-be-launched Global Shipping Program. At the time, I thought it would (should, could) be a great thing for international sales. Unfortunately, after opting in to it and looking at the actual program, I was very disappointed. In the past, I have not shipped many items internationally due to several reasons, cost of tracking and risk of no tracking being primary among them. I had hoped this would be a solution. The shipping prices for this program are completely outrageous. I have a set of Decals listed on eBay that I could ship First Class International to the UK (or Canada) for less than a dollar and a half. That, of course, does not include tracking and does involve risk (I've never had a problem in the US using tracking; however, First Class International has resulted in about a 5% chargeback due to claims of non-receipt). In short, eBay comes up with a price of $19 and some odd cents for a letter-sized package to the UK. I left the Global Shipping Program in place on a couple of my accounts, but I don't expect anyone to use it. The account I typically offer Decals and paper items on, I don't offer Global Shipping; rather, I charge a straight $3 to cover postage, envelopes, and eBay fees. I just take the loss on items that are claimed non-delivered. Still, I won't ship anything other than letter-type items internationally. It's unfortunate; this could have been a great thing for the eBay community, both domestic and international.

On average, twice a week. The Hobby Lobby near me usually gets kits in on Thursdays, mostly in quantities of 2 each. There's a couple particular kits I buy regularly - usually manage to get at least one each weekly.

Nice job. I like it.

I applaud you on your willingness to take on a project such as this - I vote for it to become part of a diorama scene. After the amount of work you're talking about, you'll need the break of some casual diorama fun.

http://www.blucigs.com/

I switched to Electronic Cigs about 3 years ago after smoking over a pack a day for more than 40 years. Didn't have a desire for a 'real' cigarette from the first time I tried it. Tastes just like a Marlboro (which is what I smoked) and full 'hit' inhaling, all without the bad stuff (I contend nicotine itself is good for you). I order online and pay about half what cigarettes would cost, but they're also available (at a higher cost) at Walgreens and other places. No longer carry around the cigarette smell and have gotten my senses of taste and smell back - plus, no more coughing like I used to do.. All-in-all, I'm very happy with the result. I should say, quitting entirely is probably the best thing to do, but I have no desire to give up nicotine. Also, if anyone decides to try Electronic Cigs they should do careful research. I did and found the best brand for me, but I hear many of the brands are basically worthless.

One of my favorite kits. Excellent work.

The price doesn't actually seem too high at a cursory glance, unless additional fees are tacked on that I didn't see. Basically $1 a card plus Priority Shipping at $9.75, so $2 a card for 10, $1.50 for 20, etc. Curious though - if you supply the photos, why not just print your own? That could be done for anywhere from 30 - 45 cents per card conservatively, counting quality paper and printer ink. Two-sided printing is simple enough and seems much more reasonable, especially if you want to offer some for sale.

Actually, it's almost difficult to be suspended for feedback. I've seen people with 10 sells, 6 negatives (40% positive), and they're still selling. The odd thing is, people are still buying from them. The primary reason for wanting great feedback (apart from confidence associated by buyer) is to be found in fees. A seller that meets certain minimum criteria receives up to a 20% fee discount on his final value fees due eBay. One of these criterion is that he/she have a feedback, or SAR, rating of a specific level. While I am not a large seller, it does save me about $20 a month.

If the buyer reports that he/she has not received the package, Pitney Bowes will check tracking info. Just like domestic shipping, if item is not received, a refund will be issued; however, this WILL NOT affect the seller after Pitney Bowes has taken possession and shipped. If the tracking shows the item has been delivered, no refund will be made. This is a game changer, at least from my perspective. No longer do I have to be concerned about shipping delivery, tracking, time involved, refunds for lost items, etc. Additionally, a seller can no longer leave negative feedback for either cost of international shipping (it's solely determined by Pitney Bowes and eBay as well as collected by them) or length of time for delivery. It should still be noted, though - this program is available to a wide array of countries, but not to all. Care should be taken to coordinate your eBay account with countries this program serves.

Lots of people fell for that one. Fact of the matter is, that for most people the fee went from 9% to 10%. While it's true that eBay standardized fees at 10% for either auction or fixed price, the actual reduction is only for fixed price. That went from 11 - 13% down to a straight 10%. Most everyone, unless a store or volume seller, typically sells at 3, 5, or 7-day auction, which went up. Priority boxes are free from the Post Office and I use them whenever I ship Priority; however, most of my items will fit the under 13 Oz. weight restriction for First Class and that's significantly less expensive than shipping everything Priority. Most of my First Class shipping is under $4 while Priority is more typically $6 - 8. I'd rather supply a box than arbitrarily ship Priority. Still, shipping about 100 items a month requires the purchase of new boxes, usually $.43 - .45 each, including shipping, rather than rummaging around for recycled ones. That became very ineffective years ago.

Very nice work on the bed.

Only one shipping charge will show up for the buyer, just like now. The payment is simply separated 'behind the scenes' and the buyer will not be aware of it in my understanding. Most of the shipping will apparently be done by USPS, though Pitney Bowes will have the option of using others at times. I think they'll try and stick with the most efficient and economical. Unfortunately, there's not as much information on that as I'd like yet. The overall shipping costs should stay the same, or less, than it is now. Also, sellers are not required to opt into this program for international shipping. They may choose to continue to ship as they do now, or not ship internationally at all.

http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/seller-tnc.html Finally, eBay has done something close to right. The above new Global Shipping Program will result in the availability of both safe and reliable international shipping over the next months. In my opinion, it will eventually (after a few bugs are worked out) be a game changer. I currently do not offer international shipping for a variety of reasons. I refer here to USPS with no reference to other shippers. First, the cost has risen tremendously since ground shipping was discontinued a few years ago (while the seller has no control over this - and some buyers are willing to pay it - it still leaves the seller open to poor feedback due to cost); second, tracking is only available on Priority International or better with, again, subsequently higher (nearly unreasonable) costs (without tracking a small seller may find himself losing a couple weeks profit on refunding one item supposedly not received - without getting the product back); and third, the growing nuisance of filling out various Customs Forms and waiting in ever-increasing lines at the Post Office. I could make more money, even as a small seller, if I could safely offer international shipping without the current requisite peril and hassles. That may now - or soon be - practical. EBay has entered into an agreement with Pitney Bowes (the current provider of their shipping labels) which has resulted in the establishment of, essentially, a clearing house for international shipping. In essence, a US seller ships an item to a facility in the US and that facility handles all other aspects of continuing the shipment to an overseas location. No longer the risk of an item being 'lost' or not received by the international buyer nor the risk of low feedback ratings due to shipping time or shipping costs. It should be understood the seller must still print a shipping label to the US facility and fill out a few forms, but eBay and the 'clearing house' handle about everything else. One aspect I really appreciate is that the seller need charge only his/her domestic shipping rate; eBay will calculate further costs and make it available in appropriate international markets - the buyer may decide whether to accept or not - then payments will be separated by PayPal (mandatory payment provider for this service at this time) and sent to the seller (product cost plus domestic shipping) and Pitney Bowes (international shipping charges). Seller is also not charged an eBay fee on the international shipping charge - unusual for eBay. There may still be a few bugs to work out, as is the case with most new endeavors, but I'm certainly going to give it a try. I'm aware there are a few small distributors (primarily European and Asian) already doing something similar, but certainly nothing near this scale. I can actually see this as having a tremendous, widespread, long-term concept impact on international sales. As a side note, I'm well aware this is an additional, and large, source of income for eBay and PayPal (and Pitney Bowes), but I'm more interested in the concept and how it can increase my revenues by opening up various international markets. That's good for both buyers and sellers. As I said, this is something I'm going to try.

Picked up this lot on eBay Sunday and it arrived today: http://www.ebay.com/itm/rat-rod-hot-rod-parts-lot-/330858000649? Came in an 18 x 18 x 10 box, no packaging, just parts. Lots of great parts, a little junk, quite a bit of new, and mostly all in very usable condition. Very pleased with it - probably take all weekend to sort.

Joe, Yes, thanks for the Ozark Miniatures Site. It does have the 1:24 scale listed, but it's still in nominal sizes, which is fine. As noted earlier, after someone else (Art, I think) mentioned it, I realized I hadn't even considered 1:48 as being workable. After looking at the availability and prices for the amount I need, I realize I'm just better off to buy a saw and cut my own. I'll pick one of those out next week and get it ordered. I appreciate your input. Thanks.

Bill, You're right - thanks for the correction - was thinking 1.75 for some reason. Guess I was trying to stick with the 2:4 ratio. Hugh, Thanks. Thought I knew the dressed sizes off the top of my head, but Bill just showed me I probably need this. Anyway, appreciate all the comments and help. Think I've found a couple possibilities for what I need and will check some reviews and decide on something. Again, thanks everybody.

Art, Hadn't even thought of that (1:48 scale and doubling). Still, the fact that 2 x 4's are planed to 1 3/4 x 3 1/2 is the problem I'm running into. Also, I wasn't really sure when the planing started as a general rule, but had thought probably earlier than the '30's. That's very good to know - especially since a couple things I'm planning are late '20's, early '30's. Thank you. CadillacPat, Thanks for the encouragement. That pretty well sums up my feelings on the situation. Tom, That Chopper Tool looks interesting, but the one area I'm not having a problem is the crosscut. The Dremel works great for that, including angles. Thanks.

Appreciate the input. I'm seeing all sorts of scales in these links, but must be completely overlooking the 1:24, which is what I need.

James. Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried that and it doesn't seem to work so well for me, especially in multiple cuts trying to get a consistent size. I'm more hoping to be able to consistently cut fairly hard woods to pretty small tolerances. Hugh, I knew those existed, but hadn't even thought of trying it. I will check into them again, though. I can see the benefit of having one in the tool box. Thanks. Dave, I had seen that site. Looks like they have some great stuff, but it seemed mostly to be HO or, at least, I didn't find the scale I'm looking for. Your resource site is nice - certainly worth bookmarking. The Micro-Mark is interesting. Has some less expensive Hobby Saws, so I'll check some reviews on those. Hadn't seen your site before. Again, thanks.