Tom Geiger

Bingo! And from my experience with the 24 hour builds... 15. Choose a kit that is expendable. That allows you to build like a fifth grader without worrying that it's a $100 kit. 16. Choose a kit that you have multiples of. Screw up a part or assembly? Don't waste time fixing it, grab parts from a second kit and keep moving 17. Work systematically -- remove all parts from trees and prep at one time. Immediately put parts into color piles so you can paint everything in one sitting. 18. Don't think you are scratch building anything! That's been the fail of some of the guys on the 24 hour build. 19. Don't take it all that seriously... build like a kid (okay a big kid) and have fun! 20. Record the event. Post pictures, starting with the kit box, then the pile of parts, and steps along the way. Post as you go. That's part of the fun, and the responses will keep you going. 20. And if you don't finish... so what? As long as you've had fun, you are a richer man! I will be working on the Meyers Manx. I won't get much done on Friday because we are having friends over for a cook out on my new grill. My wife is doing well since her operation and this will be the first company we've had since! Much more important than a silly model. Good luck, have fun!

Yea, the Larks were closer to 1/20 than 1/25. Johan was known for doing models to fit the promo size box. Some of the Cadillacs are too short and too narrow. It's best to ask here on the board if you have a question before buying any of them.

A pair of 1965 Rambler sedans needing some post work Note- the beige one is a kit, the salmon color one is a promo. The 1962 year still used acetate so be aware and check for warping. A 64 Rambler 4 door sedan If you like Johans eccentric array of sedans and wagons, note that there are many designs that were only done in promo, never making it to be a kit. For converting to a model, it's cheaper to find damaged ones. Go to the promotional model section of eBay to find a lot of these. Johan is sometimes listed as Jo-Han and X-el which is what they originally called their promo products. Copy and paste this into the search line: (johan,jo-han,x-el) and it should find all of them for you.

A few thoughts if you haven't started yet... Aircraft Stripper - the right way to go but be very careful because it's nasty stuff! Only use out doors. Very bad fumes. Do not breathe it! I do this on a base of an old cardboard box, something you can fold up and throw away. Do not let the stuff get on your skin. You will feel it immediately start to burn if you do. Use something expendable (like an old toothbrush) to spread it across the painted surfaces. I just pour it (it's like jelly) onto the top of the body, then brush it on to all the surfaces fairly thick. You will see it working almost immediately. The paint will come up and wrinkle. I then push most of it off the body back onto the cardboard box. You can finish the clean up with paper towels, the tooth brush etc. Once it's fairly clean you can wash it off with running water. Once clean, examine it for paint in pesky little corners, apply just a little stripper on those. Once the body is squeaky clean, examine it for imperfections. Most of the diecast I have stripped had mold lines and other stuff you'll want to sand off. Once I got it stripped like this, I sanded off the remaining red paint in corners and such. Look at the front fender, you'll see a mold line that needs to be addressed by sanding it down and then filling in a void there.

The Xuron scissors are great for photo etch. Just don't use them for anything but photo etch. I have two pairs now. One I got tiny little dents in from cutting other stuff, and a brand new one I keep in a sleeve so I don't use it for anything else!

Lindberg Trail Blazer. A bit light on detail and poor molding but a pretty cool kit. When I first got it I thought Lindberg just made it up, but I soon found that there actually was a vehicle built around 1961. It had a Corvair engine and transaxle up front! And it's pretty much 1/25 sorta scale. The one shown above is is sitting on a Hogans Jeep chassis

Wagons.... the only two I can think of are the 1960 Plymouth and 1959 Rambler wagons. Both of these were promotional models. The Plymouth was never sold as a kit back in it's day, only becoming a kit in the Johan Oldies series in I believe the 1980s. The interior is shallow and has no detail like a drive shaft hump. All one tub with seats and all as one piece. They did open the hood so it comes with an engine. The chassis is just a simple plate. The Rambler is similar and was available as an Excel promo all through the 1980s, which was a good thing since originals warped, but the later ones are good. The first time that was sold as a kit was when Okey Spalding bought Johan (or some of it's assets) in the 1990s. As they pieced that kit together, the interior was later date, I believe a 1961 or so interior. It's curbside with no engine.

Cool Rob! Let's do it! I'm ready...

Same here! Once he's claimed the kit, it's his!

Guess it was time to pull this one out again!

Took my wife to her cardio appointment this morning. Her doctor was actually gleeful when he said she was doing wonderful, couldn't be doing any better!

At least OP gave us that option. If I ever meet him face to face, I'll buy him a doughnut!

Firework stands.. I'm ashamed to live in Pennsylvania. It's illegal to possess or shoot off fireworks in PA. But at every state border there are HUGE fireworks stores. To buy there, you must show out of state ID. They aren't supposed to sell to PA residents. Here's the clincher... they have these set up at the borders to New Jersey. Where it's also illegal to possess or shoot off fireworks. Stupid, stupid and stupid! I hear tale that the NJ state troopers sit on the Jersey side, watch cars leave the fire works stores and pull them over as soon as the cross the border. Stupid, stupid and stupid!

I don't have the kit yet so I don't know all of the necessary scripts, and Bob's site says this is for the AMT '57 Ford.. but there are Ranch Wagon and FORD scripts. What is on the kit decal sheet that's not on the photo etc sheet above? Everything tastes better with Ranch! Someone else mentioned turning it into a 4 door wagon... I know there is a big difference in roof shape between a Nomad and a 2 door or 4 door wagon. I don't know how that works with Fords. But I'm sure that picking up a Jimmy Flintstone wagon would be an easier conversion.

Hey that's my model!

Yea, love that the Ferrari had been planted right in the middle of the two electric vehicle recharging stations!

I remember having both those 1/32 kits around 1968 or 1969. That time frame is locked in because I remember being at my grandparents house and having acquired both of them at the same time. We had moved from Turkey in spring 1968 and we moved to Germany in fall of 1969.

I'm kinda sorta thinking of building this one. I've always wanted one for my shelf as well as in my garage... so I think I'll build one to the way I'd want a 1:1 to be. I will even go with the chrome engine theme of the kit. I may not even wire it, depending on how visible the engine is in the finished model. I bought this kit out at the GSL in Utah for $10. The seller had swiped out the cardboard hamburger joint, no worries for me. Trivia- AMT used Don Emmons actual Manx as the car they measured. I did buy the kit to have Don sign the box for me, but every time I saw him I either had left the kit in my hotel room, or neither of us had a pen. So it never got signed. Oh well, next GSL! And on to the build!

Yea, I've taken a back seat to discussions about the new kits. The realities of the model business today have been explained over and over. If these guys don't get it at this point, they never will.

Important to say that Camry didn't take a top spot... it's merely the car with the most US content. That's what the article was about.

hmmmmm... if somehow wheel attachment got standardized today, then none of wheels from the models from the past 50 years would fit!

I like doughnuts! I bought a box of six today to surprise the wife for breakfast tomorrow. Apple fritters, Boston Creme, blueberry..... mmmmmm!

And it is that season again! Tracker is back from state inspection and the roof is off for the summer. There were no roller skates at this Sonic... and the food was like Eh! for all the fanfare.

There are folks whose primary and only use is turning oxygen into carbon dioxide.

Yes, Alex Geiger and family (no relation!) run a good clean business. They travel to shows as far east as NNL East too. Always look forward to seeing him!