Tom Geiger

Kinda like my group of friends... one good mechanic, one guy qualified enough to hand off tools and the rest of the clowns are just in the way!

Looks great Rich. Funny thing is I don't remember you starting this one. My cousin George had a 1959 Belvedere 2 door hardtop like this one when we were 18. His was green with a creme color top, and a Rayco green interior. Pushbutton trans and flatty six. That was a cool car, and I have all the parts in one box for that build one day. You probably have the promo repop or kit, as the originals all had that Johan smile.

Looking great! I love the way the interior pops with the green exterior!

And the broad who served the whiskey She was a big old friendly girl And tried to fight her empty nights By smilin' at the world

and both had tragic ends way before their time!

A little earlier... okay, yea I know the song dates back to the 1940s

Do we restart this one? I think Harry would scold us if we started a new thread of the same essence? Soooo... I'm Tom Geiger, not a snarky screen name, just the ones my folks stuck me with! I'll be 56 this month, married for 30 something years with two grown daughters. I work in the pharmaceutical industry. This past year I achieved my CFM, Certified Facility Manager title, from the International Facility Management Association. I have been back to building 26 years. I'm from New Jersey and I moved to Exton, PA about four years ago to pursue an employment opportunity. That job lasted three years, so now I'm back working for the same company in NJ that I did before! I'm with the Tri-State Scale Model Car Club, hosts of NNL East. I got back to the hobby by answering a small club ad in the back of Scale Auto in 2008. The reply told me they were having a show and invited me to what was NNL East 3. Little did I know what that would lead to! I found that being involved in this hobby really spread and changed my automotive preferences. I got involved because I wanted to build the dozen or two Mopar kits I had collected over years and wanted to learn the skills to do them justice. That journey had me starting with other easily obtained kits to learn and increase my skill level. Once I had a club and mentors, my model quality went up big time! Soon enough I was entering models in contests and took an interest in the models of Joe Cavorley, light commercial and weathering. With Joe as my mentor, I developed skills and a style that I enjoy to this day. I spent many years working on contest models, but in my learned years I've stepped back from competing and now build the odd subjects that come from my head that only I and the strange band of individuals I call my friends can appreciate. Funny thing, I've never built one of those Mopar models! Being in this hobby has been a big part of my life and has caused many of my long term friendships, some in person and some on-line. I've had the pleasure of hosting guests I know through the hobby from South Africa and Australia. Four different guys from Australia have stayed with me! I've always said that if it was just about the little plastic cars, I would've lost interest a long time ago. It's about the friends and interesting people I've met through the hobby that keep me coming back for more!

Welcome! It's good that you want to make worthwhile contributions. We need more guys who will go the extra mile to post in progress builds and how to's. and generally participate. You'll find friendships that will go beyond the posts, guys who will not only make a suggestion on your build but will mail you the part in question. It's an all around good karma thing, and can be your favorite part of your day!

The Central PA club is holding their annual Super September Showdown tomorrow in Gilbertsville, PA http://www.cpmcc.org/superseptembershowdown.htm The link takes you to all the rest of the specifics... along with a registration form you can fill out on-line and print.

And there are promos of cars that never made it to kit. For instance there are Rambler wagons and 4 door sedans all the way up to the mid 1960s. As you can see above, I managed to find a few in restorable condition, ideal to resurrect as models! And I didn't give any collector a heart attack or pay top dollar for a minty one!

W.O.L.D. Harry Chapin I put another quote from this song out there last evening... didn't see where anyone got it

Taxi, Harry Chapin

Ah, I had Googled it and looked fast! Archie Comics... the company was founded in 1939 and released their first comics that fall. As you said, the Archie character appeared in 1941. If Archie was 17 in that comic, that makes him 90 years old today!

I believe that's an R&R body. I have the pickup version. Ray never intended for these to be built replica stock. The chassis included with mine had dual exhaust molded into it. I don't know the source of the master either.

Could be. My family was once used as extras in a movie. Our Caravan was used in the parking lot scene. I guess it's any cars available for free! The movie was being done for HBO and I don't think it ever aired. Still it was a fun experience.

Wow Bill! That is very tiny. Great shot too, I can read the VDB under Lincoln's shoulder, the initials of Victor D Brenner, the designer of the Lincoln penny. The design goes back to 1909. Timeless!

Can't disagree Scott! Archie comics started in 1939. Figure that Model As and '32s were still all over the place as normal cars. The T would've been considered a jalopy back then.

Jonathan, I know Ed Sexton cordially for many years of our association through NNL East. He wouldn't say something outright like that. The truth is they read and watch our hobby and what we say and do. I also have met and have had nice conversations with people from the other two companies. Never in our hobby's history have we been in better hands. All of them come from the hobby and truly understand the market. Much better than we do. What is true is that they learn a lot more looking at show photos and seeing what we all do with their products. It gives them insights into what to include in future kits. They watch the aftermarket and what sells in that small niche. They also understand that those who complain the most build the least. There are a lot of people whose hobby is "posting on message boards". Also important to note how very small these companies are today and the lack of staff and funding for projects. These are busy people, getting product out the door. They literally don't have time to look at some of the nitty little things we suggest - demand they fix on existing tools. And we are the most fanatical of model car hobbyists... that is those of us heavily involved in the hobby that post on boards, belong to clubs and attend shows. We represent a very small fraction.. some say 1%, probably smaller, of the overall kit buying public. Our opinions are taken with a grain of salt since we complain about things that the other 99% of the market wouldn't even notice.

Sometimes I get this crazy dream That I just take off in my car When you can travel on ten thousand miles And still stay where you are

And it's one more day up in the canyons And it's one more night in Hollywood If you think that I could be forgiven...I wish you would an easy one...

From various artwork it appears Archie's car morphed from a Model T, Model A and even a '32 phaeton... Note that there is no gas cap on the cowl of any of the images! I'd go with Dave Van's version, painted red of course. Just find an image you like and build Archie's car to match it. Kinda like trying to pin down a Nascar car that had decal changes all season.

I used to build everything full detail... engine wiring..even opening doors and trunk. Then in my old age I decided I had climbed enough mountains. Half of what I build today is curbside. See the above Chevette built from a promo. I really enjoyed working on all the detailing I did, without having to spend an equal amount of time under the hood. Looking at the Chevette four, and reference pictures that show a ton of wiring and other plumbing, I decided it just wasn't worth the effort! So here's where I ended up.

I went through the thread (your link goes to the last page) and was amazed at how many people I knew. Some still active here, others are active online, posting on other boards. People I know from shows and clubs. Sad to report that Craig Nacquin passed away a few years ago. His Uncle Carl still posts on anudder board.

It was once said that a company won't change a product where only 1% of their customers would notice. We are a miniscule but vocal minority.

There was someone a while back that did a Geo Metro convertible... was it Joel Dirnberger? I believe he had a 1:1.