Tom Geiger

and how many guys here would buy it for 15 and immediately try to flip it for 50??

Happy to celebrate that with you!

I'm not big on sports figures since I grew up mostly outside of the USA. Here's one of my heros, Bob Paeth signed my '57 Nomad box for me at GSL. And he didn't charge me!

The Disney secret book tells you that when you are at their parks and presented with two lines, always go LEFT because people are accustomed to going right. The left line is always a shorter wait. We tested it and it's true. The other tidbit was when a park opens in the morning, go all the way to the back and work your way forward. You will have minimal lines because most people will enter the park and do the first thing they see.

Years ago when we moved into our second house and funds were tight, the sewer backed up. I called a service to unclog the sewer line, and after a half hour or so the guy came back with a big song and dance that he checked the line and the entire thing was collapsed down to the street. He was going to have to rip up my entire driveway (the pipe ran under it) and the cost would be over $10,000 which I didn't have. I told him I needed to get a second opinion. He told me it would take weeks for me to line up another contractor. They just happened to have an opening on Monday if I signed here now. Then he also told me that it was the law that he had to report it to the town, who would immediately come to my house and chase us of to a motel until repairs were completed. Once he made that threat I knew he was scamming me. I called another service that came that afternoon. They snaked out the line, no problem. Then the guy showed me a tool I could buy he called a "pig" that goes on the end of your garden hose so I could do it myself. And I did that every five years or so as long as I owned the house. And contractors not returning calls is universal. I knew a few small guys who wouldn't return calls if they were working on a job. Then next week they were starving and scrounging for work. They just couldn't understand the concept of scheduling work!

You are doing a great job working with the old Ertl Scout kit. I didn't separate the chassis from the floor, but here's a shot showing the open areas between this unit and the body. This was first step in filling those in. I thought the kit bucket seats were large and clunky, and in my research I found a lot of them had bench seats like this: So I made the bench seat from two AMT 1955 Chevy pickup seats. You only need one seat bottom, but two seat backs to create this. The engine bay is completely bare in the kit. Here's the left side of the bay. The master cylinder on power brakes, windshield washer fluid and battery are on this side. Also note the hood latch receiver on the firewall: And on the right side is the emissions charcoal canister (I've seen vehicles without this, I believe this was a 1973 addition), the radiator overflow and heater blower: Here's a cleaner view of the heater blower and coolant overflow. Note the charcoal canister isn't on this truck. Also this photo as a good view of the unusual master cylinder: I hope this post is helpful.

Let's see... April 26, 2019 6pm Houlihan's Restaurant, 645 Route 46, Fairfield, NJ. That's the Friday of NNL East, the restaurant is in the parking lot of LaQuinta, the host hotel. I'll be there! Joe, you have no excuses! We throw the biggest event for modelers in the country. Bring the youngster! Bill, hitch a ride with the Acme crew. We had beers this year... okay Downie had some sorta Martini thingie!

Okay, I may have overestimated this crowd. I was being kind. I might just pay the tab to get a load of meet some of these characters! fine citizens!

agreed Bill, he is his own worst enemy! I don't think anyone of us would have that attitude to anyone!

Snakes, Cobras... same thing! It's like a zoo here!

I think this post says it all. Thanks for a civil conversation.

I had my say earlier in this conversation. You guys are confusing hobby and business. First as a hobbyist, if someone needs a part I have, I'm pleased to send it to them free of charge. If I know you and that part is holding up a project, I'll even crack open a new kit to send it to you! Then there's business. Everyone wants there to be services to the hobby. But everyone has a problem paying for those services. If someone starts a business, either full or part time, their goal is to make some money. Our entire free enterprise system in America is based on finding a need, and filling it. And being able to profit from those efforts. Back when eBay was fairly new, I started a business selling car brochures. I found a niche market. Most everything sold and with healthy bidding. I built that business up to a $1000 a month profit. It allowed for me to give my family a lot of things we wouldn't have had otherwise. Was that money free? Nope, I put in an average of 20 hours a week, so figure with 80 a month I earned $12.50 an hour. Would you begrudge someone that wage? Or should I have simply given it all away because "it was a hobby"? Eventually the eBay market got saturated and it wasn't worth the effort anymore. Should I have continued to do it for a dollar an hour? For free? Or at a loss out of some duty to a hobby? Nope, my time was better spent elsewhere at that point, so I moved on. I hope someone here gets the point.

Congrats! 37 years here. For 50 years I would've made her take me to a better restaurant!

in Shanghai China

Very credible rust work! That poor little Honda! As far as Hopscotch, it's a children's game in which players toss a small object into numbered triangles or a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces to retrieve the object. If you read the link below, it actually had origins in ancient Rome. It does not involve drinking Scotch. More than you will ever need to know about Hop Scotch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopscotch

Totally agree! There are guys who take pride in how fast they can slap 'em together. Assembling chassis and interiors and then squirting the entire assembly flat black. Leaving out the engine and gluing down the hood... no prep, no primer and mold lines everywhere. I cannot understand what the friggin rush is... nor how they can be happy with mediocre results! I'd rather finish two a year that I'm proud to display! And to answer the original question: My main display case sits in my office. It is a huge china cabinet. I bought it at a second hand furniture store for $100. I am planning on adding a shelf between each existing shelf. This is where my own builds reside. You will note that all my displays are behind glass, I believe in protecting my babies from dust. The old display case... I've had this one 30 years. My sister bought a house and the previous owner left it behind. It was free. Again, I'd like to add shelves. This one just has old builtups and promos in it now. The light wood curio cabinet hold much of the Olde Kustom Kollection. This one is a curbsider... which means I found it for free on garbage night. Can you believe someone threw it out? There is nothing wrong with it at all! In the corner are a few acrylic model cases I acquired cheap. I have yet to mount them. So that's the grand tour. Note that all the storage cabinets here cost a grand total of $100. So anyone can do this!

Yup! Contractor was putting up fence around my pool. I made sure they dodged all the electric and plumbing services... until the very last piece of fence! Sunk the post right into a filter line. Had to have it all dug up and replaced.

Robert best wishes and kind prayers coming your way!

We agree Ray. His business model failed because the cost of providing service.. including eBay and Paypal fees etc, exceeded what the market would bear.

It's the voices in my head! I have a pretty active imagination that can be set off by any stimuli I see. Fortunately 99% of my great ideas are forgotten or otherwise not acted upon. It's those ones that you just can't get out of your head! That project that just screams at you and you can no longer ignore! Yea, those are the ones.

Hey, I've always defended PJ Toys. It's not what he was charging for a small plastic part, it's the cost of service that you were paying for. Most of you do not seem to understand this. I needed a small plastic bracket that held a roof piece onto my Geo Tracker. Part looks like a dollar item. Chevy charged me $28 for that part. It was the cost of manufacturing it, bagging it individually, shipping it from Japan then inventorying it at a regional warehouse. When I needed it a dealer parts guy ordered it from the warehouse, someone picked the part, wrapped and shipped it. Then the dealership informed me it had arrived and I came in and did the purchase transaction. That entire process justified the $28 cost. Notice that nobody has jumped in to replicate the Modelhaus parts business. Simply because you cannot hand cast a resin bumper, prep it for chroming, pay for it to be chromed and then inventory it until someone needs it for $8. If indeed a new operator came in, did a cost analysis and offered that product at a reasonable profit, you'd all be screaming bloody murder that they wanted $28 for a bumper.

Hi Carl, yea, this is what I started from. It was reduced from $4 to being in a bag of similar era Fords. I immediately recognized it as an original issue with the one time dual side mount fenders, so it was worth saving. The chop was done by some kid and never finished. I took that as a challenge. The wheels on both cars are stock in those original kits. I had three of the chrome wheels, and friends sent me extras.

What is with the jacked up stance of those trucks in Brazil?

I think the problem people are seeing with the first photo of the sedan delivery is that the body is sitting on the ground and not a chassis. So it looks super low. Put at the proper height it would be just fine. But.... who takes a sedan delivery camping? Two seats, where do the kids go? Unless you are doing the modern street rod thing. As far as what was real and what looks realistic, I lived most of my life on the Jersey shore. It's common to see boats being towed by work vehicles. A plumber by day, boater on the weekend kinda thing. But looking at both scale trailers against the photos of the real ones, it seems the wall ripples are too pronounced on them. The real one looks flatter. And on the Modelhaus, the "trim" is pronounced (and as you pointed out, needed to be cut at the door, but on the real ones it's painted on. Dale, are you going to put an interior in the trailer? It's actually pretty easy to scratch build. I can post some photos if you wish. Now the big question... what's happening with the Caravan bank in the background? Is that the metal bank or a resin copy? I was hoping for resin someday.

I have been playing with these original issue Monogram Model A’s. The chopped sedan was a junker and once I pulled out the incomplete phaeton for parts, well ya know what happens next! I have the pair on the bench. Low tech nostalgic builds!