Tom Geiger

I just checked my 1969 kit and it follows along with the above statements. I even checked the decal sheet to see if marker lights were there, but nope. No big deal to add small rectangles of thin Evergreen to the proper locations, or if you're not too picky you can just cut the rectangles out of red and yellow decal stock. The below Jeepster is said to be a 1969.

cheap nasty beer!

Ah, one of my favorite subjects. I've always taken my unfinished projects seriously. I keep them in marked boxes on the two shelves directly over my work bench so I don't forget about them. In fact they are "in my face". Why are they unfinished? All the usual excuses. I lost interest. I put them aside for a time sensitive project and never got back. I was in over my head skill wise. You know. I've usually had the week between Christmas and New Years off from work. I decided to devote as much time as I could to working on models. I quickly learned that there really wasn't enough time here to build a model start to finish, but there was time to finish a model I had sitting that was at that 50% or more mark of completion. I started my "Christmas Amnesty Builds". Just as the President grants amnesty to a turkey for Thanksgiving, I grant amnesty to a model for Christmas. I pick something off my shelf of broken toys and actually finish it. I have been doing this since the year 2000. I didn't finish one each and every year, but gave it a good try. There are cars like my Volare Messenger car and '63 Valiant stock car that I went back and finished in the second year. There is only one car I attempted that still is not finished. The only year I didn't do this was 2010, which was the year we were in the middle of the move from NJ to PA. And here they are in one folder: https://public.fotki.com/ModelCitizen/model_cars/my_model_cars/my-finished-models/the-model-car-amnes/ The past two years I've also been concentrating on that shelf. I had a lot of great ideas I want to see come to completion, and I'm doing so, one model at a time! Both the 1950 Ford pickups and my Dog House Camper are all long languishing projects. The secret to getting them done was that I finally got it in my head that every model doesn't have to be perfect. Done and on the shelf is better than unfinished perfection! And two of these three have won awards. Go figger!

I like it. Round 2 is a very smart player in the market, taking the ancient tooling and maximizing it. Then adding in cool new tires, decals and accessories. They are catering to the nostalgia market, and I don't mind if Coke collectors help foot the bill. Kudos to them!

Sounds more like he's one of us, someone who hand built all the buildings and scenery with mad skills! I'm sure we could talk hours on scratch building and weathering techniques. It's smart to hire an electrician for safety's sake. A number of years ago there was a very nice diorama put out on it's own legs at NNL East. It had tons of lights and was plugged into the wall. I don't know why but I looked under it and was horrified. All kinds of hanging wires, twisted together with no covering. An accident waiting to happen. I had the guy unplug it. And that (and one more incident) are the reason the rules state "no electrical power" to dioramas today.

Cheers Wayne! As long as you are relaxing and enjoying yourself, that's what this is all about!

A wee bit of progress... engine is complete, and I wood grained the bed. I can still see the tire burn spot. I'll have to strategically place the swim gear!

Done! Ordered mine from the megastore! Thanks for mentioning it!

especially my beer!

The summer of 1968 my father got a hardship assignment to Seoul, Korea for 18 months so my sister, mother and I returned to our ancestry home of Jersey City, New Jersey. We lived a few blocks from AC Chevrolet. I was 10 years old and a huge car guy, so I took to hanging out there. Salesmen took me on as kind of a mascot because they got a kick out of my enthusiasm and that I knew the specs on all the new cars. Fall of 1968, the 1969s came out and I thought the new full size Chevy was spectacular. I loved the big wrap around bumper on the front. In fact I drew my self designed cars with that feature. Salesmen would take me for rides to swap cars with other dealers, try that with someone's 10 year old these days! They looked the other way when I raided the brochure racks and gave me showroom posters when there were extras or they were done with them. My favorite ride was in a 1969 Impala SS. It was yellow with a black bucket interior and vinyl top. I believe it was a 427 car because when the salesman started it up, it rumbled. He motioned me to hop in, so I did. I thought we were going for a ride, but he just moved it across the lot! Anyway, I enjoyed that ride, and when my grandfather said he was going to get a new car, I tried to convince him to buy it with no success! I have always remembered that car. I do have a couple '69 Chevy models to restore, and one of them will become this car. When the 1970 models came out I ran all the way from school to the dealer to see the first ones delivered. I was disappointed! I thought the '69 was much more attractive. But little did I know I'd own one someday. Yes, I had a 1970 Impala 350/350 coupe. Triple gold car, and yes I have models put aside to build this one too!

My favorite part of the article is that he'd get an extra hotel room when touring... and the hotel would pull out the bed as his model work room!

He is doing some limited run stuff now. He had a few at Toledo NNL.

Thought you guys might like this one... (Ken Hamilton, you are on notice!) ? https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561

Ah I remember when they first came out! We were in disbelief that plastic would work. Now it’s pretty much mainstream and all the glass plants went out of business. i remember working in the Cumberland Farms convenience store prior to this. The soda was against the front window in the summer sun. And all of a sudden bottles would start to explode! Take cover!

Happy B-day Carl! Hope it was a good one and a great year coming!

Tom I have some Duster kits I bought as chassis donors, if you want to try the hood decal again I can check to see if I have it

Ha! What I liked about it was that it was simply bone stock and original. When he drove off the flathead six was near silent.

at least you can blow them to the curb. In my town you have to bag 'em! What a royal pain in the tail.

I have the local deer renderer's phone number saved. I've told my wife if she hits and kills a deer to claim it. At least we'll get some meat out of it.

Ha! My first model room in my first house was called "The Dope Room". Not that I ever did dope up there... it was the upstairs bedroom in a Cape Cod style house with sloping walls under the roof. It was all painted flat black with black light fluorescent painted stuff on it. When we first saw it my wife said, "It looks like somewhere people go to smoke dope!" and the name stuck. It took like 5 coats of white primer to hide that fricken black paint!

This was in the parking lot at the Liars show on Long Island on Saturday. Nice clean and solid looking

I was a Hot Wheels guy from the very first set! I remember in 1967 I was in the Boy Scout's Pinewood Derby and asked my father why we didn't have a track like that for my Matchbox cars. Next thing I knew there it was with the famous orange track! I was hooked. I try not to buy many today and concentrate on my models. I also remember the cars in cereal boxes. I was an army brat and we got our groceries in the commissary on post when we lived in Germany. You know how when you get a box of cereal the expiration date is like two years in the future? Well, that's about when we'd get it, shipped slow boat by Uncle Sam. And the cars were a year or two old by then too!

Yup! Yesterday it was at 7am, lawn service had a mess of blowers running. Right now I'm supporting a west coast client so my hours can be 10am to sometimes 8pm. So I stay up late and sleep until 8am or so.

That's what I do too. I drive past Hobby Lobby all the time so I'll swing in and check for kits. If I see something I want, I use the magic coupon. Last one was used on a second Porsche tractor for rat rod parts.

I know but that's a start! I'm not sure if same caster did both years. Even if it's Modelhaus, watch eBay. People's collections come up for sale all the time. A vendor at the Liars show this past weekend had a whole mess of vintage resin from an estate.