Tom Geiger

That's a good point. The Chinese love American cars. When I asked my company contact in China if he had a car he proudly proclaimed that he had a Buick Century! It would be cool if the American model manufacturers could sell kits there, especially since their products are actually made there, making them a domestic product. The big question would be their knowledge of older American cars that predate cars being available to the general public there. There probably is a market for models of Buick Centurys and new Ford Mustangs since they are sold there.

Agreed. I think that comes from the home environment. My father's hobbies were photography, audio and electronics. He put himself through college photographing weddings, proms and school pictures. He had a dark room in his parent's basement. As I was growing up the darkroom was gone, but he always had good cameras and took a lot of pictures. He had great audio equipment, much of it I still have in the original boxes. He liked cars, but since he was military we moved a lot and that made hobbies difficult for him. My mother always did crafts, knitting and other pursuits. In the 1960s she made those art kits where she glued down jewels and such to make pictures. So yes, I was brought up in a creative environment and I was encouraged to be interested in things or hobbies. I was always into cars, early on Matchbox cars, which led to models and 1:1 cars as well. I collected coins and still collect stamps. And that has been passed down to my daughters who always enjoyed crafts and working with their hands. On the other hand, my wife's family never had any hobbies. Her father and brothers watched sports and TV for entertainment. They never built models or otherwise created or collected things. When they saw my model room they were over whelmed. My eldest brother in law remarked, "That looks like work!"

It's only fair to say it's not only modeling, but all the traditional hobbies are down in numbers of young people. I hear the same thing from the railroad guys, stamp and coin guys too. As said, there are so many more activities for people today, their interests go to many other pursuits. At the same time, crafting isn't dead, big stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby sell all kinds of craft items. I work with guys at work who are big into work working. One custom crafted a tall clock that he gave to his inlaws for their 50th anniversary. It incorporated 50 individually hand cut hearts in the design. My daughters love to create custom frames and decorate jewelry boxes for presents, and are investigating selling things on Etsy, a sales site specifically for hand crafts.

There were some dark years for car modeling, I'd say initiated by the demise of model car magazines. We had no communications device so a lot of us assumed we were alone and lost interest. The start of the resurgence of modeling started with Gary Schmidt's start up of Scale Model Enthusiast. I know I found a copy in a bookstore in 1986 and I immediately joined my club which had a classified ad in that issue. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! I believe the hobby has been alive and growing ever since. There was a brief period of worry when both AMT and Revell/Monogram were up for sale and we didn't know what would happen. But both entities got into the right hands and are better than ever! I believe the model business was kept alive during the 'big bumper era', as many of the kits released in the late 1970s were based on promotional model orders from the car manufacturers. Resulting kits like the AMC Pacers and Plymouth Volares were pretty simple and scant on detail. The model companies did get better in the 1980s as kits of marginal 1:1 cars, like the Ford EXP, Dodge Omni and Chevy Cavalier are actually pretty decent models. One thing that was predicted as the demise of modeling is the Internet. But just the opposite thing has happened! The Internet has become our communication devise with more modelers being connected through message boards and email. Researching subjects, asking questions or finding a kit or missing part has never been quicker or easier. So rather than be an agent of demise, the Internet is one thing that is helping with the growth and long term survival of our hobby! As I said earlier in this thread, the retiring baby boomers now have more leisure time and will be buying and building model cars for the next 20 years or so at least! And of course the world is full of surprises, there's no telling what will happen next.

Another way to cover your gauge faces is with the product on the left in the above photo. It's MicroScale Micro Kristal Klear, if that's not available in your area, it's also known as airplane canopy cement, so there should be a local product for you.

Okay guys, my point right from the horse's mouth. Here's a young guy's view of our community. There are babbling old fools in this hobby who think they stopped making cars around 1970, and anyone who drives or appreciates anything beyond that is the devil! Austin is doing exactly what we did as young people... he is building cars from his personal experience. I wouldn't expect him to get all excited about cars that were produced 30-50 years before he was born. Those of us who build 1950s-60s cars lived in that era, and we are reliving this through our models. I'm sure Austin will still like the cars from his era when he is our age. So give this generation a break! So get over it and welcome young folks into our community. NNL East created the category of Modern Sports and Tuners specifically to invite young guys. We are working with a group of very nice young modelers to populate the table and bring more young folks in. It's the future of our hobby. Agreed, but it's a crying shame when we discourage those who do!

Before the last storm that didn't deliver the punch we expected, Michael Nutter, the Mayor of Philadelphia quipped on TV that he didn't know why everyone wanted to make French Toast every time there was a storm. I'll bet that went over the head of a lot of viewers.

The only caution I'd give is on the fender top trim. First, if you are going to use them, put them on before paint.... not afterwards like on the instructions. They are spindly little pieces that don't go on well. You may be better off chucking them and using Evergreen stock instead. Some of the decals are microscopic and easy to lose, namely the one for the steering wheel center and the wheel dust caps. I lost two of those! To glue on the headlight rims, tape the hood in place first, and align them to match the edges. Otherwise the kit nearly builds itself!

and here's mine! The 64-66 Barracudas were all the same A body car. The 64-65 looked alike and the 66 had new squarer sheet metal and the new fish logo. The doors, trunk lid and glass would be common to all 3 years. The differences you could see to identify a 64 from a 65... the 64 had "Valiant" on the back panel below the trunk lid on the right side. Some folks had taken this off during restoration. The 64 automatics had push buttons on the dash. Due to the change in laws, the 65 had the standard PRNDL1 pattern shifter. The 64 heater controls were pull knobs. The 65 heater controls were slides.

I don't like the "LIKE" button on FaceBook. It's just not fitting sometimes. Someone posts "My father died" and people all hit "LIKE"???

and you didn't even mention Meng or ICM! They both have a lot of potential to add to their 1/24 releases. From hints on their first Ford pickup, they will probably do a follow up of a different model / drivetrain. ICM gave us their WWII era Mercedes and Opel in 1/24, so there is potential that they could upscale some of the other vehicles they currently have in 1/35 scale like the Packard. I also hear that their Model Ts are very nice. A contender for sure! I just posted in another thread that the manufacturers are building up to support us Baby Boomers as we retire. We will have free time and money to spend. And they realize that potential! Every day here on the board in the introduce yourself section, it's the same story over and over... guys who build when they were young, who are just getting back to the hobby. We should be okay for the next 20 years or so!

Here's the Corvette Summer car. This one was built by Bob Schaffer and I took these photos years ago. More pix at the link: http://public.fotki.com/ModelCitizen/model_cars/corvette_summer/

Looked outside this morning and there was a dusting of snow. So I got up at 5:30, showered and got ready for work. At 6:00 my phone pinged with my work email. My boss saying to work from home today. Yes! I didn't have to go out in the cold and deal with traffic in snow.

With the Baby Boomers retiring at a mad clip, I'm sure you've seen that the big money in this country will be in providing senior services. The model companies are riding this wave, aiming new product at all the guys who are retiring and will have pleasure time and money. That should carry them for the next 20 years or so!

AMT did correct that in later issues.

The little green Chevette I shopped for with my sister in law lasted her ten years... and then she gave it to a friend, still a worthy road car.

Rob, what you've basically said is that children will build if they are exposed to models! One of the big issues today is that model cars are sold in very few places, so they are out of sight and out of mind. I have shown my models to non hobby folks and the comments were in the line of "I didn't know they made those anymore" I didn't have a parent who was interested in models but my own interest came about because models were in every store, and then peer pressure from friends who built models. Today's kids don't have that stimuli available to them. As a father of two grown daughters, as you said each built a model or two with dear old dad, but both of them were very interested in the craft aspect of the project. They loved brush painting detail onto parts and the craft of assembling something. Today both of them still are into crafts and design custom frames, and jewelry boxes. They are working with their hands and both of them are very computer savvy, my youngest has a successful fashion blog. So I believe more exposure in non-hobby shops, and in the media would result in more young people building models. A buddy-0-mine works part time in a hobby shop and said that the average young guy who does come in will buy a Tamiya Honda, Pegasis wheels and accessories and a bunch of paints. They have no issue with plunking down $100 to build a model, so they don't fit into the 'frugal' mold of our herd. Where I think this will all come together is with 3D modeling. Once this becomes more commonplace and easier to get more refined printing, young guys will be attracted to create their own designs on the computer and finish them on the work bench. If I was a kit manufacturer, I'd open source some of the parts as 3D files. Go to the Revell website and there would be wheel blanks, with the technical end of fitting the tire and axle connection, but with a blank front so guys could design their own wheels. That's a real simple example, but something like a print your own hood, to download a hood and several different scoop designs to combine and print. This is just the tip of the iceberg and could be the thing to bring young guys into the hobby. Thoughts?

I like it Riley! That looks like every third Cougar you see on the road today! Especially the decals on the back window. I had the same blush issue with Duplicolor black on my current Scout II project. It was over Duplicolor gray primer so I don't know what the issue was. I had a second body so I did Duplicolor primer, followed by painting the entire body Duplicolor white. The black came out good over that so I can only think that the black reacted with the primer for some reason.

Sorry to hear you are into a redo on the body! You would be better dry brushing the wood than trying to cut the wood exactly. I have a PDF of a tutorial on wood graining that was done some time ago by Irv Arter. If you PM or email me your email address I'd be happy to send it to you. It's how I learned to do it.

Very happy to hear things are well. Hope it continues!

Two packages in the mail yesterday when I got home. My wife always says "you've got presents". First, a friend of mine made the white scallop decals I need for my Scout II build on his Alps printer. They arrived and look super! Second, a small package from Chief Joseph with 4 packs of his new GM door handles. And they are just great. No more molded in blobs on my models!

Bingo! When Revell announced the new easy builder kits, there was an outcry on the boards that they were wasting resources that they could've used to give us more advanced kits. When NNL East announced a Modern Sports - Tuner class, people made fun of that. The table filled up by guys under 30. I'm not into a lot of the subjects I see here on the board, but I'll look at them and compliment a good build, or neat technique. And I'm sure there's folks who don't like my tired old beaters either. This aging herd will be responsible for it's own extinction if we don't wake up and invite younger people into the fold. That includes making them feel comfortable and welcome on the boards and at our shows.

This is cool, the Clone The Past Program at the museum is a great program where long lost models are recreated for the museum. It helps complete the story of the model builder! Glad to see you involved!

Cut the windshield opening using the molding top as your guide. That is about right and the kit glass will still work without modification. To score the top molding new position, you can use the back of a number 11 exacto blade and a metal straight edge. I have an old jigsaw blade I use as a straight edge since it flexes, and lately I've been using an old draftsman's eraser shield since it has some curves and is lighter metal and bends easier. Others take two exacto blades and glue them to a spacer the same width as the new molding. Then they use the one blade under the window opening and cut at the right position with the other. I haven't done this so I hope someone in the know comes along and posts! Another way would be just to define the top of the trim by placing a piece of Bare Metal Foil at the right place. Glad you cut it larger, you will be very pleased with the result.

I saw both of those and the prices were still cheap $51 on the Ford, much less on the Messerschmitt, about an hour before the end. So the fireworks must've been in that last minute!