Tom Geiger

Note that I live at the edge of the NYC / NJ epicenter so I’m more than a bit concerned. We all know people who died. It’s real easy to sit out in Montana and criticize. As areas are opening up, people are running out and acting like it’s all over. Watching TV showing people out and about, shoulder to shoulder with no masks. News interviewing cavalier people including one idiot who rubbed his face with his hands for the reporter! Already, the news just reported that new cases are up in Arkansas and North Carolina today as well as in Montgomery, Alabama up 35% this week. I think we are going to see more spikes and it will be harder to contain people this time around.

It is a phantom, not stock but someone may have built one in 1:1. there was this VW Fridolin that was made primarily for the post office. I remember seeing these when I lived in Germany. I’d love to have a resin of this one!

Since we already dragged this thread down the rabbit hole, you reminded me of a story. I was laid off eight years ago. Part of my package included placement consulting services. I was put into a group of senior people who were director / Vice President level, but also between jobs as well. One of the exercises was to search through your experiences and hobbies to see if this could be part of your new career. I told the group I was a model builder, and thought it might be fun to own a hobby shop. Immediately this became the group project. To investigate and write a business plan. So this group of very senior executives gave it a go. Very quickly they way over complicated my simple dream. One guy called someone he knew at a company that owned shopping centers and got an offer to start with FOUR prime locations, no rent first year and company would contribute towards renovations. They figured out budgets and how to finance the whole thing. This started to get scary real! These guys knew business, how to pull favors, negotiate and retail. Where did they fail? Staffing! The budget was all minimum wage help with a store manager for each location at $10 an hour! They had no idea of the special knowledge required to run such an operation. And they couldn’t make their business model work where anyone earned a living wage. Done!

That’s pretty much it. Use the top of the existing molding as your cut line. Then scribe a new molding above that. The existing windshield should work fine

With Mayberry jelly

In NJ there’s a hobby shop that is owned by a business couple rather than hobby people. Their floor staff is a bunch of high school girls, who equally know nothing about the products. One year in the Christmas rush I was looking at the models and a lady was shopping for her son’s gift. She asked one of the young girls if they had a Porsche kit and the girl started reading all the boxes starting at the top corner of the shelves. i jump in and immediately know what Tamiya kit it was, grabbed it and handed it to her. I explained the contents and quality. She then asks about supplies needed and I load her up with glues and paints. Other people start asking questions about different kits so I help them as well. What I don’t see is they the frustrated store clerk had gone and gotten the store owner to show him the guy who is interfering. He tells her to leave me be because I’m doing good. He watches me sell a couple more kits. Then he starts a conversation. Is impressed that I know everything about model cars and offers me a job! Of course he wants to pay minimum wage.. the same amount he’s paying the useless high school girls!

said to be actual ad from 1918 pandemic..

Those back corner ones have me a bit concerned.

It looks good finished. The top of your molding is parallel with the drip rail. It looked different in your progress shot. Here’s the windshield right out of the box. I couldn’t fix this one since it’s from a test shot for the box art. I think everyone can see the difference. The good part is that the kit glass still works once you correct the windshield.

I can’t disagree with anything you said. A builder like Paul has earned his rating and developed a following. I’m sure he paid his dues to get there! Subject matter is important. There’s a guy in my club who hasn’t built in years but constantly buys drag models. Recently there was one he was talking about, that when I saw the photos it wasn’t a great build at all. But it was a drag car with a resin body. It brought a bit under $300. One of the things that can hurt a seller on eBay is a great model with a few poor photos and poor write up. Presentation is as important as the model to get noticed and command bids.

Full of pickles

Me, deleting people from my Facebook Friends, who spend their entire day reposting conspiracy theory memes...

Here’s two fresh from Facebook.. I had a third but decided it was a bit racy!

Tim, was that “toy” commissioned by Ford as an auto show giveaway? Or did Revell do it on their own?

Cool! I bought an embossing powder starter set with a few colors on eBay a while ago but have yet to try it. I will need to find a victim project. I have done flocking in the past but have never been completely pleased with the results. Also the fibers do come lose over time and static will attract them to the inside of the finished kit’s glass. I did find that I could give the finished carpet a quick shot of hair spray to help with that.

That’s a clunky old tool with lotsa cleanup! I remember one big issue at the back top edge of the left front fender.

A quick photo outside Ollies yesterday. I immediately noticed the patina on the hood. Another photo for my weathering files!

I think your windshield is still too low. See here that the top of the windshield molding is parallel to the drip rail over the door. I worked with Model King on the 79 Ford pickup. Here’s a markup I did on the windshield of a test shot. I also advised that the drip rails were faint and misformed. Those changes couldn’t be done for that project. I also advised that the cab logos were too faint and there needed to be decals. That actually happened! The test shot I built is one of the trucks on the box art.

Agreed! It was wasteful not to use such a cool design! Imagine how those would’ve sold! Most folks don’t realize that Chrysler had a turbine program going back to the 1950s, only the test engines were planted in current Chrysler bodies.

Wow! A lot of American opinion here! Note that Tamiya creates kits primarily for their own domestic market where curbside kits are a norm. This kit’s content and assembly follows that program. I had mentioned in a thread earlier they the only US cars modeled by Tamiya were those of interest to the International market, primarily what would sell in Japan. Criticizing it to US standard is like screaming that the steering wheel is on the wrong side and mirrors in the wrong place on a Japan market 1:1 car. It would be nice if we had some Japanese modelers who could weigh in and explain their market as well as their own thoughts on this kit.

Try Walmart Color Place flat black if you can find it. Tall can, cheap and works very well.

Too bad tooling doesn’t have an odometer! Think of some of the classic kits that have been issued over and over I. The past 60 years. I’ll bet some of them have done over a million kits!

To the wall

Paint Day - I escaped house arrest and took a ride to Ollies.They didn’t have much Duplicolor and I had to move around a lot of Krylon and such to find it all. Tall Duplicolor primers.. 4 brown, 1 black and 1 gray for $2.99 each. 3 cans of Perfect Match small cans in 3 different red tones at $1.99 each. 1 tall red for $2.99. They must’ve had 100 cans of the Krylon green, so I bought one to test for $1.99. I used their 15% off your entire order coupon and it all came to $34.90 plus tax. Then I stopped in Pep Boys and they had the Sante Fe Brown and a brighter credit I wanted for my Jeepster at full price, 2 cans for $20.98. Ollies was a much better deal! I still need an acceptable medium green for my second Jeepster.

Considering Tom Lowe’s passion for movie memorabilia that would be a good choice and a snapper would sell well in that market!