Tom Geiger

Sad story... part of why there was a big DMV reform in New Jersey was that the old privatized system was so corrupt that the 9-11 hijackers all carried bogus NJ drivers licenses, all coming out of the Patterson, NJ DMV. So the following year EVERYBODY had to show up in person at DMV and renew their license. The state came up with this complex identification system where all kinds of different documents had point values and you had to have 10 points worth to prove you were you. Your current license wasn't good as ID because they assumed it was bogus. If you were born between 1955-1970 in Bergen County, your birth certificate was also assumed bogus since they said there was a lot of corruption in that era. So you needed to apply for a state issued birth certificate, and because of that volume, the state was something like 6 months behind. People were driving on expired licenses because they couldn't document themselves. In the meantime, I needed a passport. So I took my NJ drivers license and my Bergen County birth certificate and the United States of America accepted that ID and gave me a passport! The NJ DMV would accept a passport as identification, so I used that to renew my license. Totally confusing right?

That was the situation on Bob's Hobbies in Pitman, NJ. Bob had died years ago and his widow kept the door open with a friend of ours as manager. She wanted to retire and tried to sell the shop unsuccessfully for a long time, and eventually put the operation to rest!

When I lived in New Jersey, new governor Christie Whitman vowed to straighten out the Department of Motor Vehicles and darn right did! Where the system was hours of waiting in cramped offices to be served by cranky to downright hostile help, the reform brought on a state of the art website for renewing registrations and changing info on your rego or drivers license. Under the new system, they moved the local offices to newer, brighter and more expansive buildings. The help was cheerful, and wouldn't you know I spotted a few of the formerly cranky old ladies being nice and smiling! I'll bet the old system was so miserable to work in that they took it out on the customers. But now the very same people looked happy. What a transformation! I actually looked forward to going! And this office handled everything you possibly could want... licenses, registrations, plates and titles on the spot.. including sticky situation resolution. Move to Pennsylvania and it's back to the dark ages. They have state run offices where you can only get drivers permits and licenses. Big building with a million people working there and that's all they do. Car paperwork is done by small private offices owned by political cronies. When I brought my NJ cars here, I had to deal with this system... can they issue a new title? Noooo... they take your application and then they send a courier the entire length of the state to the head DMV office in the state capital! And they charge you to transport it. I titled four cars... one courier fee? Noooo they acted like the courier was going to make four separate trips. And then the state mails you your title about a month later. They'll sell you a registration and a plate (yea, PA only has a rear plate) with huge fees. I recently needed to get a duplicate registration... $27! So their whole system is a privatized money grab. But liquor stores? THOSE are state owned and operated! Now that's like going to DMV. Everyone there is a state employee with a state ID badge clipped to their shirt. Go figure!

Here's some examples I own that I got in a collection. As you can see, there's no saving them. This is the reason I don't collect old promos. The '57 Plymouth body is so warped that the top has popped off. And the remainders don't have a single straight panel!

That Maverick brings back memories! Back in 1970 the Maverick ad was $1999. Yea, you could buy one for two grand (well, sorta!). My great aunt got one. Hers was red like your promo. We went to visit her and the Maverick was in the driveway. I was 11 and all into cars and was enthusiastic on this Maverick. My aunt went to a drawer in her dining room and came back with a long narrow box. The dealer had given her a red Maverick promo! And she gave it to me. I remember riding home in the car with it on my lap, very happy to have it. That was like you gave me a million dollars!

I"ll take L... just for the challenge of creating all that detail. I had to look for a minute, that's a truck with a sedan body on the back of it.

I can only imagine the Ralph Kramden thought processes about how they are going to brag to their friends that they only paid $5 plus $5 shipping for that custom cowl hood on their pickup truck! And I'd love to see the look on their face when they get that little package in the mail!

Agreed. That's part of why hobby shops fail, the personalities and limitations of the owners. A hobby shop owner needs to be proactive and always promoting. They need to make every customer who walks in the door feel they are important. They need to be enthusiastic and decently well versed in every hobby they sell. They need to reach out to hobby clubs... that includes offering space for clubs to meet (people seldom leave empty handed!), offer clubs discounts and promotions, host kids events like Make & Takes, reach out to scouting and school groups to offer sponsor ships and otherwise promote their shop in the community. A few things I've known over the years... One shop in NJ is run by an IPMS military modeler, quite active in that local chapter. I walk up to the counter with $50 worth of Evergreen and basswood. He is smiling as he asks me, "What are we building?" When I told him, his face fell and he just muttered, "Oh cars.." and completed the transaction silently. That left me feeling crummy for being there. In my shop I don't care if you are carving saints out of olive pits, it's GREAT and a FANTASTIC HOBBY! It's all about the customer experience and making them feel good and wanting to return! At another shop on a busy Saturday, the owner is not there but two young guys are sitting behind the counter working on RC stuff. They are talking between themselves and ignoring customers. I ask a question and I could tell it was a chore for the guy to leave his seat to help me. Even then, when asked for a common Tamiya color, he looked on his computer and said, "Nope, can't get it." I did let the owner know and he actually appreciated knowing. He shook his head and admitted one of them was his grandson and they were trained better than that. He also said Saturday was his biggest day and he did notice his numbers were down. Last time I went there on a Saturday he was there. Recently at my most local shop I went in looking for Model Cars Magazine, they sell it and this is where I get my issues. Although the new issue is here on the board, he didn't have it yet. He tells me "maybe next week", and walks away. A proactive shop owner would've offered to take my name and number, and put aside a copy for me. AND put me on their mailing list. He lost a good opportunity to make a customer happy and get information that would benefit him in the future. On the other hand... There is the shop that allows the Philadelphia club host "The Big Sit" every February. That event brings 50 or so area hobbyists into their store. Yes, we take over the place for that Saturday morning. But people walking in the mall see all that activity and come in the store! They look at the models on display, converse with us, and more than one left with a model. The owners offered everyone a big discount on everything and made their way around to meet everyone and shake hands. Each year I save up my supply needs and buy it all there that day, just to say thanks for holding the event. They then tell you that you can have 20% off anytime, just by mentioning the event, and if you need anything they'd be happy to research and order it for you! Now that's the way to do business... and why they are doing well!

Here's two walls of the back room in the International Model Car Builders Museum. They have done exactly as described, the many empty boxes are mounted with different eras represented. Came out pretty cool!

I knew the OP wasn't serious from the moment I read his comments! There is this eBay phenomena where things do get sold at astronomical prices. Sellers post them and hope that someone who doesn't know the market will see it and buy it. That happens when kits pop up in people's real car parts searches. The guy is looking for parts for his El Camino and, oh wow, there's a kit of my car. He may not have the eBay skills to search and sort to see others like it, or he's a newbie who just assumes he's stumbled onto the only one in existence. And bam! one of those 'going fishing for morons' sellers has sold a kit. In this instance, the seller seems to be some generic sales type company. Check out their other items. Everything from flower pots to kids toys, so chances are they have no clue what they are selling. And note that it is not sold in case someone is feeling silly!

Chuck, it's been explained to both you and the Ace-Bandage guy over and over, by the industry and hobbies best experts... most recently by Tim Boyd in the new Model A thread... there's a certain amount of detail and accuracy you get at a certain price point, and at the staffing levels the model companies can afford to hire. He also explained the damage that is done to the manufacturers with such behavior. Done and over with. You, Bill and a few vocal others do the hobby no favor. Beating every new issue to death, even before it ever hits the shelves causes damage to the manufacturers, this board, the magazine and the hobby overall. You do so for no reason other than to beat your own drums, for whatever satisfaction you derive from being board bullies, and pretending to be most astute and smarter than everyone else, with no thought whatsoever of the consequences of your actions to the hobby at large.

Whoa! This thread went downhill to firearms and ammo real fast! If you want an Elkie for $89, I got ya covered! I'll even supply multiple copies!

The model manufacturers take a lot of grief from an over demanding, but clueless group of modelers. Those of us who do understand that R/M, and Round 2 are working with a staff hovering at around 10 people, and at Moebius it's pretty much just Dave, are amazed at what they accomplish.

Oh the eBay sellers. Those who will hope that some poor newbie doesn't figure out that they are just selling an empty box. When I was new on eBay and eBay itself was new, there were few photos. The model category had no divisions between anything, so you scrolled through cars, military, figures... everything. And yet the category was small enough that you could browse through the entire thing. Anyway... my first encounter with a shifty seller was in 1998 or so. I saw a kit I needed and bid. The seller even had a color photo of the kit box. I bid something like $17 plus postage. I got a regular size envelope in the mail with a kit instruction sheet in it. I immediately emailed the shifty seller, and although he had used a photo of the kit box, and the description was something like, "150 parts.. " he pointed out that somewhere in the several paragraphs he had included "ins". and that I was expected to know he was just selling the instruction sheet. And he wasn't making any adjustments. There was no eBay protection of any kind back then, so I was pretty much stuck. It was a cheap lesson to learn and made me much more cautious in my dealings so it probably saved me a bunch more. And I gave him a Negative feedback, which he immediately retaliated. Yea, the good ole days!

I save them, heck if you blink, 25 years have gone by! I'm amazed at how old stuff I've saved over my life has become! Note that most model boxes will fold flat. And that's how I store them. I have a huge amount stored in one big box. Why do I save them? Why not, I have the space. And soon enough someone on a board will ask, "Does anyone have the box for the Lindberg Little Red Wagon, original release? And I'll be happy to send one to him!

Whenever I see an old typewriter... antique shop, garage sale... I always ask them if they have the monitor!

Mark, and you got no resolution? It HAD to be someone you know, who is in the hobby, to recognize that there was value. Most break in thieves are rather unsophisticated, looking for jewelry and electronics they can pawn to buy drugs. I'm surprised that nothing surfaced at local club meetings, shows, eBay etc... and that they didn't brag to someone else in the hobby. That's usually the thief's undoing.

Wow! Looks like someone bribed the Taxi and Limousine Commission. I cannot think of a car less likely to be a New York City Cab! More Fiats... Gunze kits. Mine is red, my friend Tim's is white.

My wife's family is LOUD. Especially her brothers! I used to kid them during the Saturday Night Live skit on the Loud Family. One time they got us kicked out of a hotel pool... after they were asked to quiet down like three times.

Last Christmas my wife's sister spoke fondly of her first car, a green 1977 Chevette that I helped her purchase way back then. So I took a promo and built it to exactly resemble her car, right down to the fuzzy seat covers. She loved it! And it sits on the built in desk in her kitchen, right out on display. It's a great feeling to give one away to the right person!

Sorry Harry! Your dream of selling Encyclopedias door to door is long gone!

Ah, but you have a direct line to Progresso Soup!

A few years ago my wife asked me what I wanted for Father's Day. Something came to mind and I heard myself say "an hour with my father". The irony of this was that my dad had died 15 years earlier. There always has been a void in my life, and I had thought of the one thing that could solve that, but unfortunately not possible. I'd share family events... the good, the bad and the unbelievable. The highs and the lows, failures, unjustness and the rebounding successes. I would discuss world affairs, and things he never could imagine, that have happened since he left. Those times in your life where you think, "Wow! I wonder what Dad would think of that", as well as the things you know he would have enjoyed. I know I would come away from that hour feeling better, no matter if he gave me sage advice or if he was just an understanding ear. If the world was cosmically just, everyone would get that hour with their father, every year on Father's Day. I'd look forward to it all year, saving up the many things I would say. It no doubt would be more than an hour's worth of discussion, the joy, the tears and the laughter... the full range of emotions that make up our lives. Sadly, for me there will just be that void on Father's Day. But for those of you with living fathers, step fathers or other men you look up to in that role, you have the ability to seize that opportunity and take that hour. Go visit or call. Have that conversation. Years from now when it's no longer possible, you will be glad that you did.

I'd post in the "Wanted" section of this board for a pair of them! You already bought an extra kit so you can build on, and still have time to find a pair. Consider the cost of the casting kit, it's probably not worth doing them. I'd only be making molds for rare obscure parts or ones I want multiple copies of.

and where are you placing the hot tub? On the ground or concrete slab, good. On a deck, or in a house, you will need to reinforce the floor to handle the load.