Tom Geiger

Okay, we are old and we spend too much time on the Internet!

But only leased!

Need I start posting box art of Palmer kits?

Thanks! I've been searching for the thread to post a picture of what I'm currently working on. I will save the Nomad for next round... not like anything is going to go bad since it's been sitting a quarter century!

Passing of an era! We are losing them at a mad clip!

Very nice! I'd be pleased to have that on my shelf!

Match.Com and other dating sites don't know that I'm married and too old to be bothered! And for some reason both Uber and Lyft assault me daily via email to drive for them. I'm ignoring them.

Ah, it's not how you screw it up, it's how you recover! I've screwed up many. I've walked away and put them in the penalty box... the unfinished kit shelf. Years later after I'm emotionally over it, and maybe just a bit more skilled, I pull that project off the shelf and actually finish it.

Dave, I'm still seeing "Not Secure" in Google Chrome for the message board. I am seeing it for the modelcars.com site. I believe Gregg has that set up on GoDaddy, as are the NNL East family sites. I was able to easily do it in their C Server environment as you have. Isn't the message board on another company's server "Envision Communities"? They may need to do that change over.

Ha! Same story as the rest of us. I built as a kid through teens until real cars and girls took over. I attempted to build again in my 20s with a young family but got poor results because I was still using my 15 year old skills! Finally in my 30s I found Scale Auto Enthusiast Magazine on a magazine rack and that changed my life forever! In the classifieds there was a small ad for the Tri-State Scale Model Car Club. I responded and wound up joining the club in the late 1980s. Suddenly my models took a super leap in quality. The people in the club took me under their wing and taught me the tricks. It wasn't so much skill, but techniques and materials I hadn't discovered on my own. I was on my way! Today you have the Internet so you can learn 24/7, you should do very well here on the board! Just ask questions and heed the advise. And it's interesting that there's a Michael's at the North Pole! You still have the Internet to order more specialized kits and supplies.

Ha! You are on! It took frickin 45 years but we will succeed! Okay, I'll do it. Funny thing... I had just photographed another model that's currently on my work bench for your build. Guess I could do them both!

It's a very nicely done kit. As we've said, it's not shrink wrapped, but sealed with two clear dots, like many Revell of Germany kits. I did see them shrink wrapped at a Hobby Lobby in Virginia last week, but the wrap was poorly applied so probably done at the store. I will be building mine, and getting a second one for parts. I will be sizing up the wheel and tire set for my long languishing Doodlebug build. And that hood may wind up on a rat rod. I'm also wondering how to carve out the diesel engine for use in another rod.

runs like doo-doo!

The roof rack on this one is sprue! I found a piece nearly the right size from a Japanese kit and narrowed it to fit.

Chris- Here's what's in the box! Let me know if this is what you are looking for, and I'll shoot them in the mail. Overall, a bit disappointed in this "Custom" kit. All that is different is the grille, carb set up, added chrome valve covers, swapped door mounted mirror with a spot light. I was hoping that the interior was custom.. maybe pleated or something cool, but nope, it's bone stock. I had bought the kit for the custom seat patterns I anticipated, to use in a '59 Buick project.

I do have all those Tri-Fives in my stash, but I don't think I'll attempt to build them. There are so many better kits of those today! Then who am I to speak? I'm stuck on the old Monogram Model As tooled in the early 1960s! Here's my last attempt at the Nomad. When I got back to modeling in the late 1980s (that's back in the last century!) My first attempt at a model was the Johan Studebaker Lark Convertible. I did well on that one so I progressed on to the AMT '57 Ford. That also went well for me, my first full detail kit. I even wired the engine. I figured that finally as an adult, I was up to the task! So I started this one. That's Testors metallic crimson over gold paint as primer. I had learned about BMF at that point and was pretty good at it. I even tried to flock the carpet. There are some rooky blunders here, and I didn't know enough to fit, sand and fit again, so I'm stuck with some of the wonky fit. And there are parts that are just awful, like the two hood vent rockets. Today, I still have this kit in my unfinished kit pile. I do have an extra one for parts as well as a pristine one with my favorite box art. I had Bob Paeth sign it, priceless! Maybe NOW I can finish this kit! After all I am a big boy now!

Went to the Mid-Atlantic NNL in Maryland yesterday and came home with the kits above. I needed to grab a copy of the '78 Dodge pickup, and I've already cleaned up and primed the mini bike. I bought the Dart and '57 Chrysler, $10 each to use as parts cars. I'm still stuck on those Ford Model As so I was lucky to find these, the Woody for $15 and the Coupe for $13. Other dealers at the show had these at much higher prices! Had nice lunch with friends, saw lots of people and overall had a splendid day! Then out of nowhere they gave me this! Absolutely floored, I had no expectations at all! Thank you to the Mama Club!

It wouldn't be hard to reproduce old Johan kits. Remember that Polar Lights started out by reverse engineering old Aurora figure models. Just a matter of having a fresh kit, and 3d scanning the trees. CAD cut aluminum tooling and you could indeed to runs of old Johan kits. A manufacturer would need the standard automobile company licensing, but Johan is long gone, and nobody would be there to defend any expired rights. The flip side of it is that although Johan had very accurate bodies etc, their kits would indeed be too "old school technology" for today's market. Shallow interiors with molded in seats, inaccurate engine compartments and low detail, low parts count chassis. Yes, those of us into the nostalgia aspect would eat them up, but they'd be a tough go in the larger market as casual modelers, 90% of the kit market, would be looking for detailing and parts counts of contemporary kits, and wouldn't understand what they were looking at. Kinda like they got gypped into buying a Palmer kit! That was the reaction to the reissue of the 1959 Imperial. Which is why it would be more appropriate to have a new full detail kit of important subjects like the AMX. Maybe in the future 3d technology would be so easy and affordable that we could make our own quick copies of a friend's kit, as simple as making a xerox copy. Never say never!

Wow! Gotta love the Internet... right after I posted the above message, I got the inkling to Google, "Honey I Shrunk The Bus" VW and it came right up. I haven't even gone through it all yet, but this is very cool! Some history with a few more photos: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5272074 http://veh-markets.com/cars/volkswagen-c/192010-1967-vw-split-window-vintage-drag-car-race-bus-van-chopped-hot-custom-rat-rod.html "Hey guys, I am making my way over the type 3 side to ask you guys a question. My dad had built a drag bus named " honey I shrunk the bus" over twenty years ago for a good friend of his Danny Corbo. We've kept in contact with Danny since he parked it and has offered to let us have the bus. I'm starting to seriously contemplate doing so but would be in need of a roof to chop up. The one on it has gotten pretty beat sitting uncovered for fifteen years. I'm in eastern pa and was just wondering if there are any decent enough busses left to do what I need to do. Pictures are as it sits now. Thanks guys " Interesting! The above post was from 2011, so I'm thinking that this guy never acted on it, since the van was there last time I remembered right before the garage closed. See the one post showing it for sale, I don't know if that's a current ad, but some of the photos in it are very old. For instance, there are shots in front of the garage in bare wood. It's been painted blue as long as I remember, and I've been here since 2010. Whenever we talked about the truck, Dan always said he was going to restore it someday. Anyone feel a model coming on??

Claes, I found one more photo. This was Corbo Automotive here in Exton, PA. Dan Corbo was seriously into VWs and always had a yard full of them. A real shade tree mechanic shop! And he was a character too! He became my regular mechanic for years because he was good, honest and cheap! He'd have VW resto projects going on in the garage and often would be working on your car out front! My first time there he had the right side bay full of a frame off VW Beetle Oval Window. And he was a good guy. One time I mentioned my self propelled lawn mower drive gear had slipped off and I couldn't get it back on. He said, "Bring it here." and he fixed it, no charge! Me petting the watch goat. And the last shot.. this spring I went past the place and the yard was cleared and the building locked. I noticed the sign was gone. Ron had threatened to retire for years and it seems he finally did so!

The A’s should return. I knew all the speculation that the tooling was damaged was suspect. They had the CAD files! I think it was more that the old company hadn’t paid their Chinese partner who wasn’t going to produce more product and maybe was holding the tooling on a workman’s lien. Part of setting up the new Revell is setting future business with old partners or moving forward with new ones. There is too much potential in the A’s to abandon at this point.

I've been cleaning up photo libraries as I dump the contents of my phone and came across these shots. Eons ago the Tri-State Club received this resin body from Grandpa's Toys to use as a door prize at NNL East. The only problem is that it arrived the week after the show. So we looked it over and decided to do a club project with it. Each person would have 30 days to complete a percentage or assembly for the vehicle. And at every monthly club meeting we would review it and pass it on to the next person. Each person could do what ever they wanted. There were no rules. Our goal was to have a finished model to raffle off at the next NNL East. I forget who did much of the work but I remember that Ryan Leach did the slant six, Todd Koncsol did body work including setting in the tail lights. I believe Bill Barrett did the interior. I opened the hood panel, and noticing it was a slush cast body and the final assembler would have a dickens of a time getting glass to sit in it, I replaced the roof with a matching plastic one. We did meet our goal and indeed raffled it off at something like NNL East 10. (Yes it was 10, I just saw the license plate!) It was won by Dan Vogel from the Jersey Shore Club. A few years ago he brought it to a club meeting and I squeezed off a few photos! It's doing well considering we just held NNL East 33!

heated up a frozen pizza.... I got nuthin'!

Call the elephants

I wouldn't be so quick to rule this one out. Much of it still exists as the Barnabas Vampire coach. I wouldn't put it past Round 2 to restore it. I've learned never to say never. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised!