Tom Geiger

I use Duplicolor primer gray as a base for just about everything. It's automotive primer so it covers anything, and can be coated with anything!

Yes. I've posted pictures of stuff I won and others have remarked that they too had bid on it. And the other way around too! We're a small community. In fact, this week I bid on a bunch of nicely done early 1960s custom builds that a model friend alerted me to. I did put what I thought was a high bid into my sniping software and was dismayed that I lost each one by one bid increment above my bid! The sad part for me was that these were all hand built customs with a common theme that I would have liked to preserve in my old custom collection. My fear is that they were won by guys who are going to strip them down and we'll lose all that history! In this case I'd be relieved if someone here told me they had them and they were safe!

I'm not the expert, and although I love pickups, they're the kits of earlier ones. I haven't paid much attention to the 1990s on up ones much. A quick walk through the eBay promo section finds 1995 S10 Blazers, 1996 GMC Jimmy, 1995 Tahoe, 1993 Chevy C-1500 extended cab pickup, 1991 & 1992 & 1993 Ford F150 pickups, 1988 &1991 & 1992 Chevy Silverado Sportside & regular side, 1994 Dodge Ram, 1998 Dodge Dakota, 1994 S-10 4x4 pickup, 1993 Ranger STX 4x4. And there's a ton available in 1/24 and 1/25 scale diecast. Some of it is OOP, but that never stopped us. If you want the truck, a diecast taken apart and rebuilt is indeed a model. This is just scratching the surface, I compiled the list below without ever getting past auctions expiring within one day: 1995 Chevy c-1500 Pace Truck (I think these were Brookfield) 1996 Chevy Express Van, 1993 Suburban pace truck (diecast - Ertl) 1997 Suburban Brookfield, New Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (Maisto), Range Rover (Bburago), Land Rover Discovery, Land Rover Defender, 2010 Ford F-150STX (Maisto), Land Rover (Bburago), Mercedes G (Welly), BMW X5, Late Model Chevy Tahoe (Jada), Hummer H2 Wagon (Jada), Range Rover Evoque (Welly), 2000 Suburban (Jada), 2002 GMC Yukon Denali (Jada) 1995 Chevy CK Dually (Sunnyside), Ford F-650 Super Duty (Motor Max), GMC Bucket Truck (DG Productions), VW Touareg (Bburago), 2003 Ford Expedition (Jada), Porsche Cayenne, and there are many large trucks in diecast simply marked as "From China" in the diecast category. There's a full size Toyota bus, large straight trucks, forklifts, a couple of different large truck tractor / trailer cabs, a cement mixer all in 1/24, and priced around $100.

They like to type!

Flash cubes? Weren't they used with that stuff they used to call FLIM or something like that?

Gotcha! The 1950 Chevy was actually done as a promo for an anniversary... possibly the 50th? That's why there is a snap version. The rest of the pickups were done as kits in the modern era along with the Revell 1964-5 Chevy pickups. They're all nice kits that I love to death and I believe were pretty well received by the hobby. The other 'modern' trucks of that era did indeed have promo roots. Just go through the promo category on eBay and you'll find the Ford Expedition and assorted Chevy Blazers, S10 pickups etc as promos. They still sell in the $10-20 range at shows so they're a great bargain if you want to blow them apart to paint and detail out as kits. While Round 2 has not gotten to creating new tools for the automotive / truck markets, Revell's current new kit strategy is to create timeless classics that they feel will sell in their catalog forever. Things like the '32 Fords, '49 Mercs, '70 Nova, '57 Fords and yes, the Fox Mustang. With the kit market being very small compared to back when we were kids, new tools need to be amortized over several issues and reissues. Back when we were kids, the market absorbed enough product that they could risk putting out a kit like an annual, that would have a limited shelf life. In fact back in the day, at year's end the annuals were put on clearance since they didn't expect anyone to ever want them again. And that tool was then modified into the next year's vehicle, most of the time financed by a promo order. The US manufacturers don't have that luxury any more!

User name? I'm kinda stuck with it. Avatar? Since I've always collected Valiants, both 1:1 and in scale, I chose a 1960 Valiant. And a seasonal shot since it's festive!

Rust never sleeps?

Rush hour in New Jersey - Commuters bumper to bumper, all going 75 in a 55. Everyone slams their brakes at once and it all comes to a halt. Then a minute later they're back to bumper to bumper, all going 75 again. Cops don't even want to mess with that well choreographed ballet! Doing the speed limit in NJ is just being in the way! I had a neighbor who was a state trooper and he said that they would never bother someone going 75. He said if you want to get pulled over, drive erratically or change lanes dangerously. He also said the good part was that he didn't need to worry about profiling when he saw a car that his gut told him was suspicious, because EVERYONE was speeding. So he could easily justify pulling over anyone!

Many years ago there was a guy at a model show who brought two models. One was red with a green interior. The other was green with a red interior. He displayed them side by side. Pretty darn obvious that he owned two cans of spray paint. Don't be that guy!

Those trucks all started as promotional models. The version of truck offered was determined by the 1:1 truck manufacturer who placed the order. It had nothing with being 'smart enough'. And those trucks didn't sell well enough to justify investing they're own money in tooling up new trucks once the promo orders dried up. Believe it, if models of brand new trucks sold like hotcakes, the manufacturers would be there to take the money. Round 2, the current owners of AMT and Lindberg, bought both companies not that long ago, so they have a huge debt tied up in the current tooling that they acquired. It makes absolute business sense that they are concentrating on using that tooling for reissues. It would be dumb to have paid money for it, to let it sit.

Neither of my two girls were really into cars. Both have always been into crafts and working with their hands that way. They still do. I think the big draw of the model cars back then was to get into Dad's magic hobby room and touch all his tools and paints! And having Dad's full attention probably had something to do with it too!

David- no need to scratch build the body. This one exists in diecast. Just change out the door and grill and you are good to go! I bought the three of them on eBay a few years ago. They weren't expensive.

I try to vary my model colors. If I didn't watch it, I'd be building them all the same color blue or red! I literally refuse to use the same spray can on two models. A lot of my model colors are based on the actual color of the 1:1 that I'm replicating. I don't like black or white on a car, model or 1:1. And I try not to do black interiors since they just dark out in a model car. I try to do lighter browns, gray, red, blue etc so you can see the details of the interior.

Hey Bob! Like your Caravan hightop. Yours is the generation before mine!

It's actually not all that difficult to do. Take out a kit that already has opening doors, like an AMT '57 Ford, and just copy what you see there with plastic sheet on your model. You'll want to create the jamb below and at the back of the door. Then you'll need to add the proper depth to the door itself. Just cut the door panel out of your interior tub and basically just box it with plastic strips to get the depth. The good part is that with plastic sheet, you can try over and over to get it right. If you don't have any, just go to the hobby shop and buy a pack of Evergreen plastic sheet for $5 or so. That pack will last you a long time.

I find it useful to know a curse word and how to order a beer in every language! And that's all I need to know.

One of my buddies alerted me to a group of cool old customs posted on eBay. I bid what I thought was a high price on each of them, and got outbid on everything except this Palmer or Premier Caddy. Still it was only $9.99 so it fits both in my old custom collection and my Palmer / Premier collection so I'm happy with it. The original builder cut the cover out of white card stock and stuck a kit decal on it. What was neat was that each of his customs had a name and they were all nicely done paint and mild customizing. I wanted the set for the Old Kustom Kollection but didn't win. I'm hoping the winners were admiring the work and preserve it, but I have a fair idea that some numpty is dropping them into stripper right about now. 50 years of history down the drain! And per our recent discussion, how was it shipped? Regular mail in that plain white box. How was it wrapped? In a Priority Mail bubble mailer! And with all that wrapping the putz still managed to break the windshield off!

Yea, the Aussie Capri was pretty much an Escort, so it would've shared more with the EXP than a Miata. I always said Ford could've sold more EXPs and LX7s if they were convertibles!

Don't worry Harry! We'll get Ray in the summer when it's like 140* in Phoenix!

When I got back into the hobby in the early 1990s, my local kit pusher was selling kits at my club meetings for $6 each. He'd give you a $1 a kit discount if you bought a dozen mixed kits. So each meeting I'd just grab an empty kit case of his and fill it up for $60. I'd buy anything I didn't already have, and I usually bought two of any new kit for starters. Then when I needed 2-3 more to fill the case, I'd just grab another '55 Chevy pickup or other favorite kit that I already had way too many of. Ah the good ole days!

What's irking me right now? It's nearly 7am and it's still dark outside! Which means the sun will come up on my way to work so I can stare right into it! Argh!

and that's it in a nutshell. I got bashed hard on the board here for saying that Revell wasn't going to correct something on a kit that only mattered to maybe 1% of their overall audience. Folks here have to understand that we are the 'lunatic fringe'. We are those guys standing in the middle of the street in our Star Trek jammies, yelling at the sky!

it was warm here in PA today, with the creek in my yard running pretty swift with all the melting snow. I shoveled the last of the snow off my deck and flung it out across the yard in hope that it would melt quickly. The snow on my pool cover has melted so I put my cover pump out there in hopes of draining it all off quickly. Which might just be making room for the snow on Thursday!

Thanks Justin! Here's an early shot of the truck that shows just where the color scheme came from! A souvenir I bought in Aruba. And yes, the Chevy does have an Aruba license plate!