Tom Geiger

Very nice work. I do need to pull mine out. I have a plan that's been singing in my head. Must stop the voices!

did anyone see the absolutely rusty hulk XKE that Richard found on Fast & Loud? Apparently sold it to some Brit for $6800 plus shipping... can't imagine even attempting to restore that one!

I will usually create the body from card stock before carrying the design over to sheet plastic. Card stock is cheaper than sheet plastic!

Cool project! I never saw this thread before so it's all new to me! And I've never seen a 1:1 either. Looking forward to seeing it completed.

Yes, every newer nice neighborhood in my area of PA has one of these. They were set up by the builders and taken over by the homeowners once the developments were completed. Part of their charter is to bring harmony to the neighborhood, to sponsor parties and events to bring us all together. I understood that our board did that early on, especially when the neighborhood was new and everyone here had kids, but that it dwindled to almost nothing over time. When we bought the house, the first greeting we got was a nasty letter in our mailbox that our landscaping was overgrown and needed to be replaced. Yes, it was overgrown, but must've taken years to get that way. The previous owners were very popular socially in the neighborhood because they'd let all the neighborhood kids swim in the pool and held parties there as well. So nobody would've criticized them! There was no welcome committee (actually there was on paper) so we never learned of the services like the neighborhood email chain, the holiday party or anything else until our second year here when we got a neighborhood directory in our mail box. We'd been here over a year and they didn't have us in it. Then I learned that the HOA president's wife was really wearing the pants, and that she'd drive around and inspect properties. When I saw her Ford Explorer parked at my curb and saw her in it writing on a clipboard, I approached her and asked if I could help her. She was flustered and drove away. The next day I got an unsigned notice that they wanted a dead bush removed. The funny part was that they sent me a notice that I needed to put down mulch in my front gardens. Then they sent me a notice that I had a pile of mulch! They also had this way of deflecting blame saying that "a neighbor had complained" as a way of deflecting pressure from the board. My neighbor next door's house is situated so that I'm his only close neighbor. He came to me with their notice that a neighbor had complained about his dog. Riley is a little imp who barks like crazy when a car drives by. He is funny and he is endearing and comes up to my back door to get pet. So I wrote the board a letter in response that we LOVED Riley and to quit harassing my neighbor under false pretenses. Unlike their hit and run misuse of the USPS mail box, I sent each board member a certified letter. That ended that. The board changed over this year and we haven't heard a peep out of the new players. Hopefully with this woman silenced, life will be peaceful in our neighborhood.

Agreed! My favorite box art of all time. Every time I'd see that kit on the shelf I was compelled to buy it as a kid. Never once did I get it together. When I started going to GSL I met Bob Paeth, who was the driving force behind a lot of 1960s Revell products. He told me the long story about bringing this kit to market in 1968, so the next tiime I saw him I brought along a box top for him to sign, look in the lower right corner. Bob said that back in the 1960s they were toy makers and never thought their work would be collected someday. He went to every GSL until his death. The story was that the actual Hollingsworth Nomad in the photo had fancy wire wheels on it. The kit was ready to start pressing, box art done and everything was a go. Then someone high up in Revell noticed the wheels and realized that they weren't in the kit! So he ordered the box art changed immediately. Bob did quip that nobody noticed the decals to build the Hollingsworth car were never in the box either! This was on a Friday and the art was supposed to be at the printer on Monday. Custimary in those days, they would have had an air brush artist fix the artwork. No time for that! So Bob Paeth went into work on a Saturday. He said he had a Rambler with the correct chrome rims on it, so he brought the company camera out to the parking lot and took a mess of photos. He then hit the dark room and printed photos out in sizes until he had two that he could cut out and rubber cement onto the artwork. What nobody noticed is the photo is in color, but the wheels are in black and white! Part of this 45 year story is that the Hollingsworth Nomad disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to it, but one of the theories is that it lives on in California, having been restored back to a stock Nomad. Recently an exact replica of the original car was built in 1:1. With new interest in this iconic car, Danbury Mint was going to produce a diecast of it! According to my source within Danbury, the owner of the clone gave them complete access, and they got as far as creating a prototype. They gave it to the car owner. I would have been first on line to buy one of those, since I've admired the car since I was a kid, and there's no way I could do that paint job!

One of my favorite old Matchbox cars, a survivor from my youth. Note the Testors Lumpy Black roof job. Yea, back in the day I 'detailed' all my cars. Three of my Hot Wheel survivors. I've owned these since 1970 or so. The VWs were my racing team. Matchbox cars were my first automotive love! I remember being five and we'd go shopping at the Wright Patterson Airbase Base Exchange. My father was a big photography fan, so we'd always go to the camera department and there was a display tower of Matchbox cars right on the counter! So every trip I carefully turn the case to look at all the cars and trucks. That was magic for me! And each trip I'd get to pick out one to take home! At one point, maybe 1970-1 I had the entire 1-72 current series. Yea, I was serious about Matchbox, and even bought ones I didn't like to complete that set!

Yup, back when my family owned the service station, relatives actually thought they could get their cars repaired for free... parts and all!

ah, another funny story. Many years ago I was at a flea market and saw the blue plastic of an AMT '53 Ford pickup kit on a table. It was the worst glue bomb, nothing painted, just blue plastic with glue prints, and a $25 price tag on it. So I told the vendor that it wasn't rare, that the kit was then currently available for $15. His reply, "This one is worth more since you don't have to build it." Um, no!

I think you are right, but I think that someone who does a craft, whether it be wood work, painting, jewelry making or sculpture has a basic understanding of what we've accomplished in our builds. They can appreciate the artistic content, and the workmanship. I once had a friend who was a watercolor artist go absolutely nuts over one of my weathered trucks. He called it a 'multi-media sculpture' and loved the texture and paint work. It wasn't unlike water color. On the other hand, we know a lot of couch surfers who have no idea of what it takes to do anything. I had a lazy relative look at my model room and works in progress on my bench and he was beside himself why anyone would do "WORK" in their off time. He saw my building as work, as if I had a part time job there.

Yea, the public is absolutely clueless about our craft. My wife's family has seen my models for 26 years, and sometimes compliment me on my work. One time my wife's brother was over for dinner and I took him up into the model room. He looked enthusiastic, but then asked, "Can we build one before dinner?" So I opened a box and showed him what was inside... his face fell. He thought all the parts were prefinished and all we'd have to do was snap a few pieces together. Another time a guy we know asked about bringing his two young sons to NNL East. I hesitated because his sons were holy terrors who broke every toy you gave them within minutes. Then he gave is interpretation of what a model show was... he thought we put all the models on the floor and there were a bunch of kids who played with them. Uh, no!

Mike, great pictures. Here's my younger daughter Christie... she's now 26 and is a sales manager for Marriott.

Great thread Jeff! And the important part is that your daughter will remember this the rest of her life. Note the above three photos of my daughter. She's now 30. Need I say more? Enjoy the ride with your daughter. Blink and you will be me.

Scott you bring up good points of what people did to survive in a total irrational world. I lived in Germany, as an American of German descent, from 1969-72. We met many of our German relatives, some of which were older and lived through the WWII era. Nobody talked about it at all.

The start of badge engineering! Later perfected by GM.

Put it all in a book and put it out on Magcloud... I'd buy a copy! And I'd believe it. I've been running a show for 25 years, I've about had it with the general public myself. Most folks understand, and really appreciate, that we are a club running a show for the good of the hobby. But every year there's one to several guys who just unload a rash of garbage on me, for perceived issues, whose fault usually lies in themselves. The guy who shows up at eleven and goes nuts on me because he couldn't find a parking space. He's parked against a hydrant and tells me if he gets a ticket he will insert it into me. The guy who shows up at noon with a huge diorama and wants us to empty a full table of models. The guy who makes a left hand turn on the highway and gets a ticket. I don't care if you can do that in your numbskull state, but in NJ we have jug handles marked "ALL TURNS" and where you turned was plainly marked "NO TURNS". Even your GPS knows that! The guy who corners me that his bag of purchases was STOLEN at our show and he wants ME to reemburse him. Turns out he left it on a vendor table and good honest vendor turned it in. The two guys who called after the show (one at 7am on Sunday morning) that their stuff was stolen... one a bag of purchases, the other two models on display... yea, we had them. You left them behind. We mailed them back at our cost, nobody even said thank you. This one from a few years ago. A guy went through one vendor room, then seeked me out cursing and demanding his money be refunded since we charged so much for such a small show. I pointed out that there was the equivalent of three more gymnasiums worth of stuff (1 gym of vendors, double gym of display models). He just squeeled like a little girl and ran in that direction... The guy who called me up early Sunday morning after the show complaining that his wife disappeared at the show and never went home. I rolled over, woke her up and told her to go home. (not really, just checking to see who was still awake!)

Delete them. The board rules are that you post your real name. If they won't play fair, they simply don't play at all! Over the years I've become aware of several guys posting here under fake names. And a few posting under several fake names. It bothers me when they decide to stalk and spam me because they know who I am but I don't know who I'm dealing with.

I still have my 1973 Peugeot Tour de France 10 speed hanging from hooks in my garage. And it's gonna stay there! Many years ago I decided I needed to ride my bike again for all those health benefits. So I took it to a bike shop and had new tires / tubes / brakes put on it and made it roadable. I started to ride it on the very same roads that I easily rode on the same bike when I was 14-16, in the 1970s. Oh my God! Traffic must've multiplied many times, or I just wasn't aware as a non-car-driving teen ager. Those cars were plentiful and awful close. I rode in fear every time one approached. The day a young girl in a car hit my hand with her right side mirror was my last day of riding!

Tommy, depending on your preferences the big secret is that here in the USA there is very little appreciation for 4 door cars. I don't see that bias in Europe, so you can buy and import US 4 door sedans and hard tops for a small fraction of what convertibles and 2 door cars cost. Cars that will be collectible and appreciated in Europe! I see that in the photos of recent Euro imports from the USA that some of my colleagues have posted on boards.

You did let him in on the secret that you was one of the old people?!?! My father was a big audio fan and had 100s of records. All old people music. When he died I acquired them, tubs and tubs of music that wasn't mine. As I sorted through I started to recognize the albums from when I was a kid. I popped some on the turn table (yes, I have a turn table!) and realized that I recognized every track. And it didn't sound all that bad. So I kept a mess of them. Bet ya my father was smiling.

Very nice here in PA today. Cool and a nice breeze. I worked from home, kept windows open and never turned on the air conditioning!

Super build John, one of the few models I got a chance to look over at NNL East. I'm usually pretty busy that day! An old story- I was teaching someone a lesson in my '65 Barracuda when I went for a shift and the linkage came free. I was just stuck in second gear. So I limped to a safe place and crawled under the car. I had sheared the cotter pin that held the shift rod onto the transmission. My rubber bushings there were shot and weren't being made at the time. Due to this sloppiness I had done this several times, the flimsy cotter pins weren't any match for the force of the shift. I laid under there a few minutes when it came to me. I realized that my key ring would fit through the holes. So I took all my keys off, and threaded it around and around onto the transmission rod, and it held the shifter in place. I thought it was a temporary fix, but I believe that key ring may still be under that car somewhere!

Very cool model Steve. Well done and a great family memory. I am just embarking on such a journey, having completed my sister in law's Chevette and about to start two more old family cars. Many guys won't get it, but it's a personal thing. Build on! And why not a fun story... back when I started seriously dating a girl in 1978, her folks had two 1965 Falcons. Both six cylinder with three on the tree. The girl I dated learned to drive on those so she could drive a mean clutch! Her mother's car was a maroon 4 door sedan. But her father's car was a gold two door wagon. I lusted after that wagon and made him promise to sell it to me if he ever wanted to get rid of it. Then one day I drove up and there was a new used 1976 Maverick in the driveway. They had gone to Tom's Ford and bought it off the front row and traded in the wagon! Argh! So I ran there and asked about it. Turns out one of the mechanics scooped it right up. Within a few months it was driving around town with mags and a big V8. Yea, one of the many cars that got away!

Sad fact is that the Swastika was a sign of good luck and good fortune before Hitler got ahold of it and made it the symbol of attrocity! I have a 1908 era postcard with one on it that is for good luck. There is history with American Indians as well. There is an organization right now trying to redeem the Swastika. See web report: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-swastika-banner-new-york-beach-20140714-story.html Notice that after WWII there weren't any babies named Adolph. Check your local phone book. Bet there's nobody named HItler listed. Same thing.

It's all relative. There's probably a guy who looked at your picture and wished he had that chair! Seriously, you may have more stuff than others on the board. When I got back to the hobby 26 years ago I went to shows and bought everything in sight. I'd see other guys from my club at the show walking around empty handed. They'd say there was nothing they needed there. I couldn't understand it at all. 26 years later, after attending several shows a year, and buying on eBay and many other ways, I have a sizable hoard. I can go to shows and not buy a thing. I now see their point of view. You will be the same way. The massive hoard builds a kit at a time over time! And before you know it you'll have much more than you could ever build in a lifetime. Believe me! It kinda creeps up on ya!