Tom Geiger

Every time I've been to my new client in Seattle, this puppy has been there! I finally took a photo. I rented one of these in Aruba many years ago. When I got back to the USA, I test drove one and decided there was no way I wanted to drive one in New Jersey traffic. So I went up one level in confort and refinement and bought a new Geo Tracker in 1991. I still have it! Back home in Pennsylvania I stopped into Lowes and this nice '68 Camaro RS was sitting there. I couldn't get a photo of it without people looking at it.

Scott - Depending on if that 'cuda has a custom chassis under it, the AMT 1971 Duster has a very nicely detailed one that fits under it with a slight shortening of the wheelbase. There is a spot on the chassis I usually cut that doesn't require much clean up! That would work with Gary's suggestion of interior and you have a complete car!

There's two ways to do this... 1. Dremel sells a device that works like a light dimmer to reduce the power to the tool. You can slow it down. 2. Elbow grease! I sanded out grilles like the AMT '55 Chevy pickup by hand with low grit sand paper.

And that guy may be laughing at you for chasing old Caddys! That guy may be a very happy dude to win that Coronet. It's his favorite car in the whole world and he won't miss the $$. Or it's just one of five $1000 models he bought this month. His wife spent that much on designer clothes and they can afford it. Let it be! I learned somewhere in my 20s that I wasn't going to change everyone to my thoughts and beliefs. It was a hard learned lesson because I was hard headed! ☺️ Let everyone do their own thing. As my father said, "That's why they make Fords and Chevys"

The older we get, the wiser we are! People may have noticed I've been getting a lot done lately. That's because a while back I decided "the heck with it" and that I'd just finish all the stuff on that unfinished model shelf. So I've looked past the parts of the projects that had me lose interest. My goal is just to finish them as models that will be acceptable to me and my small circle of friends who somehow enjoy my odd stuff. I still will wire engines because I like that and feel it's essential to make me see the model as complete. I will use prewired distributors and won't be looking at wiring diagrams! Brake lines and other major wiring are out of the question. I'm no longer opening panels and scratch building all that detail. Another thing... I have a huge hoard of aftermarket stuff, decals etc that I've been saving for someday. Well that day has come. I am shamelessly using things from that collection on my builds. And it feels good. I think what got me thinking was participating in the annual 24 Hour build every January. I have been able to build and detail some acceptable models in the allowed 24 hours. It taught me to build more systematically and not go crazy. I have my share of trophies, but the cutting edge of the hobby has left me far in the dust. I don't choose to chase contest building anymore. And since I've been building this way, I won two major awards this year! Go figger!

Funny thing... someone just sent me 3D printed scripts! I also like scripts that are done on decals, Alps printer using the silver option. Tell us your method for home photo etching..

Funny story! I bought this kit, the Double Dragster and the Tony Nancy two car kit all at the same time. I stayed up almost all night so excited because there must be a thousand ways to build from those three boxes! It must've been very exciting to be a kid in that era!

off and spits

And around the 50th Anniversary of Easy Rider!

Gary, it's not an easy thing for the home operator. First it involves you learning a CAD program well enough to create the item, say a grille, and create a photo negative at the actual size you need. If it has detail you wish to see, like a brake pedal with a pattern on it, that's two masters and a double burn at the photo etch. Then you need to have the kit, which contains caustic chemicals. It's not worth doing all of that if you need an item or two. Note that professional companies like Model Car Garage, do the artwork and forward it to a professional company for the production process. Today, still needing the CAD skills, people are doing this in 3D printing. This produces much more usable results.

Bingo! I totally agree. I generally resize my images to 800 pixels across when I post to the site. I use a free application called Irfanview to do this. I also crop my images to the relevant item, then resize. Very easy to do so. I will teach anyone who asks!

I hit the "Buy It Now" button about a week ago. I was away on business and my wife said I had received an eBay package that day, and I couldn't remember buying anything! She knew it was an eBay package because it was completely wrapped in eBay tape. I have two other Dauphines but not one with a box. And the two I have have no interiors or glass either. This one is the full kit. Nicely built, not painted. It will go on the shelf and stay in this state until a later day IF and when I decide to do something with it. I'd never seen the kit instructions nor the plated tree of optional parts. Those wires are really nice for prehistoric Hubley parts. And I've never seen chrome skis before either! Here she is with a friend. I've owned the aqua one for a long while. Just had to share this one.... best placement of spot lights! ?

Yes! 1/25 scale cars will look fine in this diorama. Doll house supplies are available in two sizes... their main size equals 1/12. Then there is "half scale" which is 1/24! So that's a place you can look for further accessories. There are also doll house sites called "Printables", which are paper items you can print out and use. You can scale them any way you want. Good place to find accent bits.

What it comes down to... We all have our beliefs and our own financial limits. There are those who cannot go beyond a certain limit financially. There are those who WON'T go beyond a certain limit, not because they don't have the money, but because they won't spend the money on that. As Steve said, most of us would spend that $25 to finish a project. That $25 doesn't represent a financial hardship to us. There are other people that won't even notice the $1100 missing from their checking account. They have earned a lot of money and have decided that they will spend some of it on model cars. If you are a lawyer whose time is sold at $500 an hour, it's cheaper for you to spend that $1100 on a complete kit, than to spend a lot of time piecing one together or seeking one at a lower price. Note that both the kits mentioned sold to different bidders. There were at least two people willing to go above $1000 for those kits. (the winner on one and the second bidder on the other appear to be the same person) So we have three people voting with their wallets. You can't fault the seller as greedy, he started those kits at $9.99 and let the market do it's thing. I'm happy for him! It appears everyone is happy in these transactions. So who are we to fault it. This is the very definition of an auction! Participate or not, your choice! Note that a certain builder routinely gets $500 to way over $1000 for his builds on eBay. So we have a segment of our hobby that has money to spend and is happy to spend it. I find it good that there are people of means in this hobby. Especially when I go to sell! ?

Hey Alan! You are bringing this diorama with you the next time to attend NNL East? Right? ? Say hello to Ute for us!

Thanks for all you do! Reminds me of this week. I was on a client site, and had to go through orientation. This company provides FREE food... breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with coffee areas full of candy and goodies. Part of the orientation was the head of their food services explained it all, and his talk ended with THREE different avenues to lodge a complaint. My take on this? NOBODY should be complaining about the FREE FOOD! There is a parallel lesson here!

The Modelhaus concept of providing parts for obsolete kits is wide open. Just cut 1000 molds that may sell 5-10 copies a year. As in, you may need a hood for a 69 Chevy, but how many can one sell? If it was a gold mine someone would’ve copied it by now.

Doggy has attitude! He knows he's in the coolest car!

Do not use your own toothbrush. (Borrow one!)

There Bada Bing sits in Lodi, New Jersey. Drive on over the bridge and measure it all off! Buildings are pretty easy to scratch, all flat surfaces! Go for it!

A liberal dose of Testors Dullcote will tone that baby down nicely!

This was my '89 Crown Vic that was originally my grandfather's car. Since Dwayne and Greg have gotten me so close to my car (yes, I bought one and have received it), it's easy work to add the moldings. And I had wire wheel covers, not the aluminum wheels.

and burn it

You'll fit in

Very nice scratch building work!