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Everything posted by Tom Geiger
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Hey, the thread about the high cost of modeling got me thinking. I do own a lot of old expensive kits and my fair share of resin. Still, I find myself being amused by bits of cheap or free junk and building models around them. How about you guys? One year at NNL East, Howard Cohen handed me a brown paper lunch sack full of parts and said, "You need to restore this!" He knew I had a soft spot for ancient builds and especially this generation Ranchero. It was literally in parts, the body was broken apart at that crack over the rear wheel well. It's pieced together here for the photo. And yes! We got it all together. Here's the saddest '63 Valiant body you'd ever see. Someone gave it to me many years ago, probably so he wouldn't have to throw it away. And I eventually built this! Chassis and engine from a junker '71 Duster kit, you may even recognize that front bumper as '57 Chevy from my parts box. This old original Monogram Blue Beetle came to me just like this. I did pay $20 for it. At the same show someone wanted $100 for a mint in box original Blue Beetle. And here she is all restored and looking better than she ever did! Original issue Monogram Model A coupe. This was with the side mount fenders not found in the later releases. Top chop courtesy of some kid in the early 1960s. A big $4 purchase. And yes we rebuilt this one! People in the hobby helped me with a few extras of that really cool wheel cover! And the ultimate nothing! See the body in the back? I stole both ends of it to create the purple pickup. The remaining van section banged around the model room for years and was a paint stand in my paint booth. Then one day I looked at it differently.... And in the end it became the Dog House Camper! Most of what you see is scratch built from plastic sheet and basswood. The ultimate cheap model! So what do you have? Post 'em here!
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"Holy Grail" Models?
Tom Geiger replied to Billy Kingsley's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
I always thought your "Holy Grail Kit" was that one and only kit that would make your life complete. Not a whole list of fairly easy to find kits! I can say I don't have a Holy Grail Kit. I've been in this hobby as an adult for 30 years and have been fortunate to have most of what I'd like to own. Yes, much of it needs to be restored or built, but I have it! What I would have considered my "Holy Grail Kit" was achieved about 10 years ago. This is the AMT '66 Valiant promotional model. I had seen them come up for sale several times, and wasn't in a good financial position to buy at those times. Finally I saw this one at a reasonable price, and although the timing wasn't perfect, I hit that "Buy It Now" button because I knew I wouldn't see one again anytime soon. I believe I paid $350 for it. This was the last of the AMT Valiants. Note that for this generation two Valiant there was a promo and then a Craftsman kit for the 1963, 1964 and 1965 cars. The 1966 promo was created and exists in several different colors, but I don't believe they were ever distributed. Take a look at the roof line, it's completely wrong at the rear/ That's not the shape of the real car's back window. Most of the copies I've known came from Chrysler employee collections. So my theory is that AMT sent the initial batch to Chrysler and the issue was noticed. I think the entire run was destroyed. So it's very rare! Maybe the rarest Mopar promo! I also have a theory about what happened to the tool. I believe it became the Fireball 500 kit. Why? Because people thought the Fireball 500 kit was produced from the 1966 Barracuda body. Then the Hemi Under Glass kit showed up! So we know that body is still intact. And since I acquired this, I obtained two copies of a resin kit done by Missing Link Resins (if I remember who correctly!) -
Not really, I live in PA about 20 minutes from the Delaware border! There are people who fly in from all over the country and Canada. Even a few come from Europe. They envy how close you are! We have a host hotel and a get together on Friday evening for those staying over!
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We have combined the Philly NNL, NNL East and the Diversified Scalerz shows on September 26 in Wayne, NJ. If you are building for any of these shows themes, keep on building, we will have all those categories available. Details on www.nnleast.com Also watch the site for changes and latest info.
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We postponed NNL East to September 26. Basically New Jersey is closed. My daughter in NJ is teaching first grade in Google Meeting online app. I was in Walmart in Pennsylvania yesterday and it was fine. Workers were stocking shelves, we saw toilet paper and were able to get everything we needed. We are in uncharted territory here. Just go with the government recommendations, and everyone be safe.
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Met my first Palmer kit today.....
Tom Geiger replied to JollySipper's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
The box art is nostalgic cool. Back when I'd find them at shows for $5 and $10 I'd buy them if the box was cool. -
Sorry to hear! Be sure to file for unemployment immediately. Feds are supposed to be backing state plans to offer coverage to affected folks like you!
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Met my first Palmer kit today.....
Tom Geiger replied to JollySipper's topic in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)
When I was a kid my grandmother would drag me to Bingo with her. Across the street from the church was a small luncheonette and she would give me money to get something to amuse myself and a snack. I’d come back with a chocolate Yoohoo, a pack of Drakes Cakes, a Palmer kit and a tube of glue. That was the only circumstance where I’d buy a Palmer. -
Per the Firebird... I never liked the nose on this car! Years ago a friend of mine in NJ had a brother who ran an auto repair shop in Tennessee. Cars down there were rust free, especially clean of the dreaded rear window surround rust commonly found on up North cars! He wanted a nice reliable daily driver, so his brother rebuilt the car top to bottom for him. He flew down and drove it home. It was a very nice car even though I didn't like the nose!
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Thanks for posting this here. Yes, we have been dealt lemons and we are making lemonade by combining three events in September! We are getting a lot of positive support from the community confirming this was the right decision. This was one heck of a last two weeks of anxiety dealing with both NNL East and Philly NNL and watching as the news gets more and more dire. So I'm very relieved to have this worked out. We are first concerned about the health and safety of our friends and colleagues. We are fortunate that we already have a lease for September 26, when we rent one room for the Diversified Scalerz Model Meet. We worked with the hall to secure the rest of the building for this event, so it will be the scale of a regular NNL East. We wanted to get it out there quickly so people could adjust their travel plans, but also so other canceled events know to work around our date. The only issue I'm aware of so far, is that this is the same date as the Toronto show. In closing, everyone stay safe! We are living in interesting times, and something we've never seen before so err on the side of caution. We hope to see everyone safe and healthy in September! Tom Geiger TSSMCC / NNL EAST
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In my case it was the compressor fan.
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Yup! Paid a grand sum of $500 for that car! 58,000 miles, Florida car with no rust! A funny thing, I was 18 then and that 20 year old car seemed ancient, and got noticed. Today I passed a 2000 Celica in traffic and it just looked normal!
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Maybe a bit later. I had a 56 110 2 door sedan with a six and no oil filter. I bought it from the original little old lady owner in 1976.
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How to be competitive at contests.
Tom Geiger replied to Jantrix's topic in Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials
Bingo! -
How to be competitive at contests.
Tom Geiger replied to Jantrix's topic in Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials
It happens! At GSL many years ago a judge picked up Joe Cavorley’s truck and the chassis disconnected from the body and tumbled to the floor! Joe was a big guy and could have a temper. The unnamed judge sweat it all night that in the morning he had to tell Joe! Fortunately when told Joe just said, “I guess I’ll have to build another one.” -
The latest version called the Blue Bandito has the scuba gear and surfboard. It also has other bits from the original Blue Beetle like the wheels and wide whites. All of this is new tooling and differs a bit from the early 1960s original. And yes the Cadillac valve covers are missing. Over the years the tooling was modified. The axles were narrowed to accept those wider tires and other “modernization” of the kit probably in the 1980s. I found that all out by accident trying to build kits from parts from different eras.
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Hmmm, ancient thread back from the deep.. I read much of it including... Mention of the original 4 door hardtop promo.. never a kit but it’s just wonderful! And I do remember seeing it in resin. And someone mentioned wanting the old original kit with the custom parts!
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Restoring old built kits??
Tom Geiger replied to 2zwudz's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
I like to rebuild ancient old builds simply because they deserve it for surviving! Same as the 1:1 car hobby, it’s rewarding to make someone old new again. Above is an original early 1960s Monogram Blue Bandit u bought at a show in a plastic bag, as you see it, for $20. It was fun to coax it apart and to get the many glue stains off the body. There are later releases of this kit in my parts inventory, which I added to the project. Still, there are unique parts to that original issue like the Cadillac script valve covers. So yes it can be a lot of fun to restore old classic builds -
A power drill makes modeling so much easier! I have a hobby drill run by two C batteries which last years. Cannot imagine the hobby without mine!
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