Tom Geiger

I'm back to working on the Trabbie and attained one tiny step today. I had made the Deutsche Post decals and have them on hand. I thought the speed limit decal (white circled "80" on tailgate) would be part of the kit's decal sheet. Think again! 80kmh equates roughly to 50mph, and this sign warns other drivers that this vehicle isn't (probably can't) go any faster than that! I print decals all the time so sizing and printing is no biggie for me. I created the "80" in Microsoft Word in a couple of different sizes, and picked out the one that worked best. Then I went back and did a string of them (always print more than you need!) on my clear decal stock. I do have white stock, but my quandary is that I knew there was no way I could cut a perfect round circle for a decal! So I tried something else. I got out my old draftsman's circle template and did a reverse mask on Tamiya tape. After a few tries I got one that was acceptable. I then placed this on my tailgate, and taped off everything that would remain gray. I gave it a shot of Tamiya white primer, which covers pretty well. It's still not perfect, but as good as I'm able to do! I then gave the entire tailgate a coat of Tamiya clear, and got the "80" decal in place. Once that's dry, I will add the Trabant decals onto the gate and clear it all. My one mistake on this model is the indented circle at the top. That's for the rear wiper and guess what? The postal Trabbie doesn't have one. I may try to cover that with a Trabant brand circle. It's always something! Thanks to Flat32 - Ray for letting me know the 8 was upside down on my decal! I had the decal flip flopping as I put it on, so it must've flipped upside down. I fixed it now.

The Impala is for the sci fi market. We just got lucky.

eBay has charged the same commission they charge for the item for the shipping charges. They have for years, it was in direct response to those trying to avoid paying fees by selling items for a penny with $20 shipping. The eBay shipping calculator has issues. It routinely errs on the high side. Decent sellers will refund the difference. eBay or Paypal has recently stopped refunding the commission part on refunds. So if a seller refunds $10 shipping costs, he has still paid the commission on that amount. The Universal Postal Union has raised international rates so US rates reflect that of the receiving country. The US rates were a bargain for a long time. They also have stated that anything containing "merchandise" be sent at parcel rates vs merely being put in an envelope. Overall, US postal rates have gone up dramatically in the past 10 years or so. Back when eBay started and USPS announced Priority Mail Rate, it was originally $2.99 or $3.99 for up to two pounds. That made a lot of my eBay sales feasible. Now postage is way too high to justify a lot of what I once sold. It's also changed the cost of sending free parts to people from the boards. I used to never think twice about sending out parts when it cost $1-3 to mail it. With it costing $6-10 to send a part, I think twice and only send things to people I know!

I will weight in... I don't mind if someone posts that they want a '68 Coronet, a '68 or '69 Impala or any other subject because if you go back and look at those Scale Auto Enthusiast polls of days past, most of their top ten requests made it to kits! So yes, the manufacturers do listen. What I don't like is when people call the manufacturers names, or make insinuations that they must be stupid (or worse!) because they don't drop everything to produce that one kit, so that poster can buy ONE copy. I've had the privilege of meeting a number of today's manufacturing leaders and can say they are all knowledgeable, passionate and work hard to do what they can do in today's limited market. They have my respect. I take offense when people who don't know the true sense of the market or the people involved and go off on them! It's just ignorant!

Great story and it's a blessing that your early models still exist! I really like that you are restoring these too! And you are right, the resto need not be perfect to year 2020 standards. It's better that these models reflect the level of detail, finish and state of the hobby back in that era some 50 years ago!

and 30.5 euro is about $33.84 US dollars.

I have two China cabinets, a beat up older one in the model room and a larger one in my office / den. I am planning on adding extra shelves, in a standard China cabinet there is space between each shelf to add one. Pretty much can double the capacity.

I do the same on my inkjet. Make sure you have taped the leading edge flat so it doesn’t snag and jam as the machine pulls in the paper

Which is my point. They will sell more of those to the sci fi fans then they’d sell Superbee/Coronets.

Scott you need to understand the markets and Round Two’s business model. Yes they like money and are doing the right things. It comes down to how you invest the money you have available for the maximum return, the number of people on payroll to move projects forward and the bandwidth of the market to absorb the product. Do you invest in the Diecast car market where you can place product in over 5000 Walmart stores? Not to mention all the other retailers, or do you invest that same development money in an all new model car that may sell 10,000 copies? They are investing new tool money in sci fi because it’s a larger market than model cars. You can say younger people are not building models, but it’s just not cars. They are into sci fi and fantasy subjects. The two remaining hobby shops in Central NJ that I’ve been to recently have added big table areas to attract fantasy gamers. Last I was there they were packed. And finally Round 2 has invested a lot of money in acquiring all the old model car tooling from the past. They need to work that inventory and be creative in the marketing, thus the nostalgic box art, new decal sheets, tampo printed tires and bonus parts they find that we’re welded shut on the last issues. The deeper they get into the tools, the more damaged or incomplete they are and restoring and improving them is a big investment. The returns are limited and they have tapped into the Coke collectors and the TV / Movie memorabilia markets, all of which have more patrons than the model car market to make it work. No mystery that the greatest modification made to a car kit so far is for the sci fi market. And that’s the reality of Round 2. It would be interesting if they did some all new cars and I’d be as happy as anyone.

It's a big plus that they are doing a live interactive event. It should be interesting. I will tune in if I am available and remember!

There was a story, I believe it was from Roger Harney, about Monogram winning a court case against Palmer for cloning one of their models. If I remember correctly, Monogram executives went and witnessed the destruction of the mold at the Palmer facility.

I use Tamiya yellow for the important paint match lines. Then I use 3M Painters Blue for the rest of the masking. The white sections in this photo were painted blue. Look to the top of the photo, that's Tamiya tape in it's dispenser. The dispenser is important because it keeps the edges clean and dent free so you get a great match line. The first time you buy this tape, it's a bit more expensive to get the dispenser, but then you can buy the cheaper tape refills. Another tip to prevent bleed through is to shoot some clear over the tape edges prior to your color coat. The clear should bleed through any tiny imperfections in your taping, and seal them. It's easier to sand out / polish out the clear than a color coat.

There were license plates that came in old kits that had raised letters. You would have to paint this. You could try something like those Studebaker floor mats you did on your cutter. Otherwise most people just use photo reduced plates on paper or decal. That gives you the most leeway

Hmmm.. kinda unpredictable what will happen over your existing paint. As a rule of thumb we generally use like paint over like primer.

I never find anything good! But one time I got kicked out an antique shop for pointing out to the owner that’s his genuine 1955 Chevy kit had a zip code and barcode on the box!

What I thought! The last two Dodge vans I did, I only assembled the block with water pump, belts, fan and exhaust. Saved the upper end parts for a future build! I also built a Jimmy Flintstone Dodge A100 van with a used slant six block just to see who would notice!

How much of the engine can you actually see? In my experience with van kits, you can only see the bottom of the engine anyway. Which makes it a lot easier!

Wow! You are building a mess of stuff for the show! Anticipating meeting you there!

How 'bout this one? The guy who used to repair our cars was a VW nut. To the point that he had two resto projects going on inside the shop, so they would work on customer cars outdoors in all kinds of weather! This was one of his. He as since closed up shop and retired.

I built a whole model this weekend! I participated in the 24 Hour Build and kinda / sorta finished in 20 Hours. It's done but there are extra details I want to add and things I want to clean up a bit. It's not perfect, but hey, it was built in 20 straight hours! I over complicated the project by working in the RM '66 Shelby chassis and interior bucket. Things got hairy fitting the engine and headers in there! I used a lot of pins to hold it all in place! I made the Little Debbie decals. That's a bit of an inside joke since last year I had a box of Little Debbie snacks in my refreshment stash and people noticed it. So this year' they are our sponsor! The Valiant stocker now has a friend. Once I finish my details and am satisfied with the car, I'll do an Under Glass thread with decent photos.

Missing Link Resin produces this as a resin kit. It comes with everything needed to build the stock postal Jeep. I'll bet Jeff would sell you just what you need for the drag Jeep.

If the glass is in there tight and it looks good, mask it off. I've done that before with restorations.

The 24 Hour Build starts in 15 minutes so I should get a lot done today into tomorrow! I am building the Falcon Modified Stocker. Yes, it's a turd of a kit but that will be part of the challenge! https://www.facebook.com/groups/774303692944365/?fref=nf

Nice work Rich! That '57 shelf is filling up!