Tom Geiger

I think I'd want a Sherman myself.... then I'd grow a beard and my hair long!

Nice work Geoff! That back window gasket indeed looks just like rubber!

I'd say you want to work with the Polar Lights Herbie all the way because it's the only Beetle in scale that has the cloth top, like the original car. The newer Spider Man VW doesn't come with the soft top, although there are two divots in the roof where the soft top pegs used to be. Another tip is with the Polar Lights Herbie soft top, clip off the snaps on the end of the roof, and fill in the roof holes. Those darn clips show on the final build. You are much better off just gluing the top on after fixing that.

I don't like 2 part anything since I often use 'just a dab' of tube putty to fill in a small imperfection. I don't like the way the Tamiya putty sands, it creates a very fine powder that seems to immediately make my sand paper useless. I use to use Squadron Green Putty and got used to using it. Then I bought Squadron White Putty when the shop was out of green, and I like it very much. The lettering on both tubes is exactly the same, and nobody can tell me the difference, other than I figure the green is for military modelers and the white for car modelers? I think the one part putty like Squadron is fine as long as you put it on in layers or use it for thin spot fixes.

I saw the post suggesting that you paint the wires black. I agree it's a done deal, but you could color them with a black Sharpie. I had a build where I had run out of black and somehow had some white wire. I recolored it with Sharpie and it worked fine. A suggestion... on your engine photos above.. the top one shows the starter and solenoid at the lower left, that should be painted black. Bottom photo has the oil filter, which could be painted a number of different colors, from black to orange (Fram) to white

Didn't see a heck of a lot of bolts!

Oh my homeowners association would freak! I'd counter, "By-laws say no campers, boats or large commercial vehicles. Doesn't say anything about tanks!"

Either Google or eBay Motors for me. Sometimes I just browse eBay Motors for photo sets. Some sellers put in elaborate 25-50 photo series on their vehicle which are perfect for detailing models. And the good part about it is their inventory changes every week, so if you don't see the car you need check back!

Nice article! I've always been a fan of Heller models since I lived in Europe. I have a decent collection of the older vehicles, especially the Citroen trucks. Assembly wise, these remind me of the early 1960s Revell kits. A bit over ambitious in detail, so they are fiddley to assemble. But in the end you have a very nice model.

Use Tamiya tape on the edges that matter. I'd first tape off the body outside the wood frame, then dry brush the lighter colors. Let that dry, then mask off the lighter framing pieces to do the center panels. Good luck!

Nice save! Are you going to use laminate wood again, or are you going to try the wood graining technique?

Good luck on the new job. I know what unemployment feels like all too well!

Some illustrations... The pins are glued into the pieces they are in. They fit tight into the mating part. Some parts never even get glued.

1 is not the MPC Dart Sport, just pulled the kit out and it has two separate tail lights that press in from front 3. is the Barracuda. Just held one up against the screen, yup that's the bugger!

Very nice work on the Nova! With the weathered body and big clean V8, it's a perfect car for the Cannonball Run! See details in this thread: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=96893 To create dents in plastic, I think your hair dryer did not get hot enough to let you dent the doors. I use a small open flame, I used to use a small lighter, but now I like to use a small candle, what we call a birthday candle. I hold the car body over the candle briefly, then I dent in the plastic with something metal, I have been using an old Matchbox car. This works well, but of course takes some practice.

There was a contest back in the late 1960s, I believe it was a Revell sponsored custom car contest. First prize was that Big Daddy Roth would create your car in 1:1 for you! The contest was won by Chuck Jones, who shipped his model off to Ed. He never got his custom car! Nor did he get his prize winning model back. Roth never delivered, so the show sponsors, after some legal action, gave Chuck a new Corvette. The negotiations took a long while, and soon after they delivered the 'vette to Chuck, Uncle drafted him and it was off to Viet Nam!

I think their membership dues checks bounced!

Welcome Greg! Where abouts on your great continent are you? We have a lot of Aussies on the board and friends there as well!

Greetings Fausto! Modeling is a great hobby to occupy evenings when you are away from your home and family! I saw on your other thread about air travel that you are working in Angola? What kind of work do you do? There has to be some interesting car related stories from Angola.

Cool Bill... I"ll bet you own a ceiling fan!

I did build this one in the image of a car that I'd like to own. I'd like a traditional style roadster pickup, no fenders, no hood.. no Chevy small block! A cool old engine like Ford or GM from the 1950s, Cadillac like this or even a Buick Nailhead. It could be a Model A or 33-34 Ford, no deuces since there are already more of them than Henry built! I would build this in 1:1. Why do I think I needed to start this "Dear Santa"?

I've been on the sorting end of several non modeler estates. There is no more unsettling experience like cleaning out the homes of loved ones that have passed. My father had a lot of old audio and camera equipment, including a foot locker full of old audio brochures and magazines from the 1950s-60s. Relatives would have dumped the whole thing in the paper recycling, but I felt those were important to him, that he saved them all those years and through many moves. So I sought out people who would enjoy them. It was therapeutic to me as well. Like a piece of my father was still out there. I also feel the same way about modeling friends who have passed away. I do have a few builds done by those friends that populate one of my display cases. I enjoy having those and protecting them. On another board, a younger guy died a few years ago and his friends distributed his unfinished projects to people who knew him. It was very cool to see those all finished as a tribute to him.

The only time I use the lights in my cases is when I'm showing them to a visitor.

You are right. With new car shopping you can look up the numbers and determine the bottom line. It's no secret that new car dealers make more on their used car lot. You cannot determine what their cost base is on a used car, how much they paid at auction, or how bad they screwed someone over on a new car deal. In those deals where some poor soul paid full list for a new car, and got $2000 trade in for the car the dealer is asking $6000 for, that person essentially got nothing for their trade in, since a good negotiator would have gotten $2000 off list on the new car. So if someone comes onto the lot and pays the $6000 asking price on the used car, that's all gravy. Negotiations on a used car are a game of chicken and you never know if you left money on the table.

I did and it's going great. At 195,000 miles I don't depend on it as my daily driver. And it gets like 18 mpg. It's the third car and available for hauling and when we have a bunch of people to take somewhere. It also has a built in handicap seat that was for my father in law. We no longer need that since he passed 2 years ago. That seat is the reason we kept the '96 all these years. Last November I bought a 2006 Buick LaCrosse with 30,000 miles on it for the wife to drive. It now has 34,000 miles and is our long distance family car so we can drive back and forth between PA and NJ in comfort. I use the '99 Plymouth Breeze for my 120 mile round trip commute (I'm fortunate that I only go in the office 2-3 times a week), it gets an average of 26 mpg, but is starting to nickel and dime me. I'm thinking it's time to get a better daily driver.