Tom Geiger

Very cool engine bay. I also had noticed the engine bay was sparse and the kit instructions actually had you putting the battery in the wrong space. I see you had some reference shots because you have that all right! I love the heater assembly on the right side inner fender... did you make it? Or where are the accessories you used come from? I ask because I'm about to start a Scout II myself. Great work! Hope you get past your paint hurdle.

I'd cover the panel with BMF, then paint it with flat black (or what ever color the part is). Once it dries, run a Q-Tip with thinner on it across the tops. Or just rub the piece with a cloth until you wear the paint off the BMF on top of the ribs.

Because model car kits were toys aimed at us kids. And we were young, stupid and easily taken in with bright shiny objects!

Parkers ticked me off the other evening. My wife was ill and we went up to our local Urgent Care Facility, part of a medical complex built out in the Exton Mall. There are several rows of spaces all clearly marked "Patient Parking Only" and they were completely full so I had to drop my wife off at the door and park in a distant lot across a bridge that is meant as employee parking...and it was cold and raining too! We get inside the Urgent Care and there are hardly any people there. Obviously classless mall shoppers who couldn't care less just parked in the patient spots. As we sat in the waiting area, I saw many people come into the facility like it was an alternate mall entrance. The girls at the desk laughed, "Yea there goes another one." So I told them that those same folks had taken all their parking spaces. I told the manager they needed a security guy at the door to stop them and make them move their friggin cars too.

As a kid, box art was everything! And the model companies put a lot of effort in the graphics. Take any of the old Tom Daniel illustrations of drag scenes like the original Monogram '55 Chevy box. I bought several of the Revell 57 Nomad just for the romance of that famous beach scene! Just like magazine covers sell magazines, model box art sells kits I think folks here are too astute to judge a kit by the box art. It's more for hobby store shoppers. Still, we are not beyond buying a kit because the box art is cool. Round 2 is riding that one right now with releases of ancient kits in their original box art. Doesn't matter if we have five different versions, we are buying a new one because the box is cool.

I was 17 and it was my car, but I had been telling my father that the brakes on my '66 Valiant felt funny. He got in the car, hit the pedal and told me I was nuts. That week I took a ride up the Garden State Parkway. I decided to go into a rest stop and coasted up the exit a bit, then hit my brake pedal. The pedal went straight to the floor! I was a brand new driver and had no idea what to do. I hadn't learned to pump the pedal, nor to downshift the auto trans etc, so I just rode it out with my foot planted on that useless brake pedal. I thought I could go up the hill and onto the grass, but as got closer I realized there was a guard rail around the lot. So I turned quick and hit one of the trees in the lot, dead center! I destroyed the radiator, hood, bumper, grille and valence... and my prize NJ State Bicentennial license plate! The car was towed and that weekend I hit the junkyard and repaired the car.... and replaced the master cylinder. My father was ticked, but there was nothing he could say since I had told him the brakes were funky!

Great year of production! I especially enjoy seeing those forgotten cars of the late 70s and 80s built. Some of them aren't half bad kits either!

Very nice build as usual Tory! Important to point out that there were a lot of participants in that contest too! Turnout was very good! And the car is much nicer in person than photos could capture!

Here's an interesting cover of "Eye Of The Tiger" by the PS22 Choir. This is the coolest school music teacher in existence! They have over 50 videos and have been on TV with all kinds of kudos!

Try a Sharpie pen on it. That's what I used on white ribbon to make brown belts.

States do that for any large business. It creates jobs and stimulates the economy in that area. When I worked for a small pharmaceutical that was looking to build a new headquarters, we got courted by three states.

I like the year in review posts. They are correctly put in the Under Glass section because they are finished models that we have built. What difference is there that there are several vehicles in each post, rather than just one? It's guys posting work they are proud of, and that's what the section is about.

In 2014 I built two cars that I remember from my past. I'd like to do at least one more like that. I have the paint, kit and resin body to build the 1974 Mustang II that my wife owned when I met her. I am also participating in the 24 Hour Build in three weeks. I will be doing an International Scout II kit. I also have a bunch of vehicles that are nearly finished, so I'd like to get them off the bench.... The Volare messenger car should be done maybe this week. I could get bogged down with little details. The Trabant postal van is also nearly finished. The chassis, engine and interior are all done. It's just a matter of finishing the body and final assembly. The Caravans are almost done too. This is an old photo. I am stuck on the issue of the headlights. They don't look realistic with the rectangular slots in them and I have had problems trying to fix that. Just something to figure out. Another one that's much further along than the photo. There are minor details to do on the tongue and the main issue is that I can't bear to shove my detailed interior into the body! I have a ton more unfinished projects, but I'd really like to get the above group done and off the bench this year!

It is best to have a photo account like Photo Bucket or Fotki. If you store photos on this site, then delete them when you run out of room, then the posts you have written all have blanks where your photos were. Remember that posts here live on forever, and it's frustrating to look at a thread that goes back a few years and see all the missing pictures. If you have a photo account, you can leave those photos in place forever, so your posts will always be complete. Even with an account, you need to remember not to delete photos, or even move them between albums, because that will also make the photos disappear from your posts. It is good to have a photo account anyway. I have a Fotki account for over ten years. I have a paid account, which is well worth the fee, where I keep all kinds of photos. It's great to be able to create an album of your Christmas photos and send all your relatives a link to view them. We do that kind of thing a lot.

I didn't know Lutz had a new book. I will have to get it since I love his philosophies. In his book, "Guts" he told the story about how they saved Chrysler by challenging all the old thinking. One story was how they brought the Viper to market. Originally created by Chrysler as an exercise in cutting down the time of the development curve, they took one look at it and decided to actually produce it. A group of Chinese investors had come in for a meeting and were very concerned. They wanted to see the research studies, and all the data that led to the decision to actually sell this odd vehicle. There was none. It was all a seat of the pants gut decision. The Japanese, who live and die by extensive research and studies, were aghast! Lutz was worried that they were going to pull back on financing when the head guy took him aside privately. But what he asked, "How can I get one of the red cars?"

I just replied, "Eat your soup." and she did. There was no way I was gonna change the bowl.

Which is why I now have three sets!

I've used both painted masking tape and ribbon. I have just ordered a few rolls of 1/16" ribbon from eBay. I got a roll of black and a roll of white. You can then color the white to any color you need with a Sharpie. Ray is correct, you can neutralize masking tape glue with Dullcote. I would like a source for a photo etch sheet of just buckles... both male and female ends. Seat belt sets I have contain too much for harnesses and other buckles only come on car specific sets with scripts and such. Anyone?

As you may have, I usually resize images for decals in Word. I find I have a lot of control in sizing, as well as the ability to print multiple images on the same page. Always make several of each decal. It gives you a margin for error since all of them won't print right, may smudge when coating them, or screw up when applying them to your model. Your grainy issue could be a couple of things. First, it may be a problem with the original image you are using. Second, check your output quality both in Word and in your printer program. You want to print the best quality image you can, but beware that the top quality may put too much ink onto the decal stock so you'll need to play for the right setting.

Nice VW! I have that same kit and am about to build a red Beetle myself. My father had one like yours when we lived in Germany back in the late 60s- early 70s.

New Year is off to a good start. My wife got the flu even though we both have flu shots. Which puts me on alert that I may already be a carrier and awaiting my own illness. We had to cancel family holiday plans for tomorrow. She is not a good patient. "Make me soup." so I make soup and bring it to her on the couch. "I don't like that bowl." I think you know how my weekend is gonna be!

32 Vicky with VW chassis and drivetrain

same era of poor detail. A bit different since Volare had a completely different torsion bar setup.

Dan you are absolutely correct. I've always worked in the pharmaceutical industry and with the buy outs and downsizing I know a lot of people who have literally fallen off the truck. People who were well situated in jobs that traditionally they would have retired from, booted out due to circumstances beyond their control. One large pharma specializes in buying their competitors, keeping the products and dissolving that company, with all the employees being laid off. Right now I know a senior IT manager who is currently driving for an ambulance service for $10 an hour. Last time I took my dog to the vet the receptionist was a lady I knew, who had been a vice president's assistant. She was working part time at the vet and part time for a bookstore. Best she could manage to land after two years. Another friend of mine was a senior person, laid off in a bank merger. He was out of work for three years. In my job search it wasn't uncommon to be networking with educated and valuable people who had been out of work a year or two. These folks were living off their savings, cashing 401Ks and otherwise draining their assets. This will become a big national issue as this generation retires.

The other direction would be to buy a Revell 1966 Chevelle wagon kit and use the more modern chassis and bits on your '65. Many years ago I started one of these wagons and used a Revell Chevelle coupe chassis under it to add full detail.