Tom Geiger

How come everyone has a cool name but Gertrude?? Who named that poor girl?

Ah the good ole days. Back in the early 1990s a certain dealer used to sell kits at our club meetings for $6 each. More than not, I'd grab an empty Ertl 12 kit case, and just fill it. He'd give you a discount for a full case. So I'd buy duplicates, no problem. Sometimes I'd buy almost anything to fill the last two slots in that case! Yea, I don't do that at today's prices!

May very well be. I remember someone saying many years ago that they use a different asphalt in Europe that doesn't get pot holes and lasts much longer, and the freeze / thaw cycles can be more severe there. They were saying that we use inferior asphalt here because of labor unions demanding so to keep people employed replacing roads! I don't know how much of it I believe.

Today I swam the two hour ride from Pennsylvania to New Jersey for my club meeting. A wet soggy ride. It rained all day in NJ, and on the way home. I did drive out of the rain as I headed west on my way home, even hitting road that was dry. And it's 46 degrees out right now so I'm hoping to get some outdoor work done tomorrow. I want to change some plugs and oil!

Ray, I just finished up my A100 resin van, so I'm very familiar with the kit and it's shortcomings! And I have two extra copies that aren't doing nuthin' so I figure what the hay! I will be building it as a stock pickup and NOT the wheel stander. The red glossy plastic on the kit does have me a bit worried since I just got stung by red plastic on a Lindberg Caravan kit. So maybe I'll just have to paint it red. That plastic also melted into my drill bits. I figure I built a Revell Miss Deal Studebaker last year, and that was a hassle of a kit. How much worse can the A100 be?

That is my Tracker in my driveway here in PA, winter of 2010. We had just moved here and a kind neighbor ran his snow blower up the driveway. The next fall I bought my own snow blower and we haven't had snow yet that justifies firing it up! So I have a three year old NOS snow blower that's never even had gas in it!

Can't make it! It's a 13 hour 900 mile drive!

Joe- AAARRRRGGGGHHH! I winced just reading your description!

Rob, it will be worth it! My wife is usually that same way, but somehow she managed to support me in this. She saw the challenge I was up against and checked my progress from time to time. She even fed me! Maybe pointing out that at Gary's house a bunch of guys came over and the wives actually cooked them breakfast had a bit to do with it.

Go for it guys. It's an interesting challenge. I did it solo last year and will do so again this year. You learn a bit about model building and yourself in the process. First, the rules are that it has to be a glue kit with engine. So find something not too complex, that will go together well and most of all is expendable. Last year I chose the Miss Deal Funny Car because I always wanted to build one, AND I had 3-4 of them in my stash. You will need to work fast, so no complicated stuff like adding scratch built parts or body conversions. Throw caution to the wind and build like a sixth grader! I did scope out my build and familiarized myself with the build ahead of time so I had a plan. Friends warned me about a few build issues with the kit.I started my car at noon and immediately took everything off the trees and cleaned up all my parts. I didn't go contest quality crazy, I just flattened out all the mold marks and ejector pins. Then I did the base assembly of things that would be put together prior to painting. And then I primed everything. This is where you start to notice how long a build actually takes. At six pm I only had piles of primed parts and assemblies. In the evening I got everything sprayed in a very systematic fashion. Everything black at once, then moved on to the next color. While stuff was drying, I used a second kit to figure out fit and mock ups of assemblies. The second it also afforded me the luxury of stealing parts I screwed up. I didn't have to back track and fix stuff that would cost me time. I'll deal with fixing them on my next build of that kit. I wasn't as cautious as I usually am, and built quicker as a result. I usually drill out and pin everything together but I figured I didn't have time and glued everything. This bit me, as some of the pieces, like the roll cage, didn't want to stay together. So I back tracked and pinned some things. By midnight I had a rolling chassis. I did wire my engine, but used a prewired distributor to make it quicker. In the wee hours everything started coming together. I got my body finished the way I wanted it. And then disaster struck about 5am. I was getting goofy tired and dropped my body. My reaction was to grab for it and pull it towards my chest. Well, I broke both A pillars. After a brief panic, I realized that both would be under BMF so I added straight pin strengtheners and kept going. All fixed and sitting nice by six am, so I figured I was as done as my attention span at that time of the project would allow, so I called it done and took my final photos for the group. What wasn't done? I had been warned that the exhaust system was difficult so I chose to leave it off. The blower top in both my kits was sunk in, so I left it off. I did the final fixes and some additional weathering during that week. What did I learn? To plan a project and work systematically. I've always been a slow builder, working on an assembly at a time. That necessitated many prep and spray sessions with the same color paints etc. So with this build, I got all the parts done in an organized fashion. While I don't want to build at this pace everyday, I do notice I'm more efficient now. I got a bunch more stuff done this past year than in any other. Was it fun? You bet! There was a challenge to see if I could indeed build a model in 24 hours. And I did it! This year I will be doing a Lindberg A100 pickup. I am just finishing my A100 resin van, so I'm familiar with the kits idiosyncrasies and would like a pickup to sit with the van. And I have a couple of them! So everyone can play, just choose a kit, sign up and lets do it!

Congrats to both of you and your families! Start stocking up on snap kits right now!

Since this was on my mind I just noticed something up on my bench. I have a small bowl I use for soaking decals. I had left it there with tap water in it and it evaporated. I noticed it left a white powder in the bottom of the bowl. That would be what ever is in my water... calcium, fluoride etc. Who knows what I'm actually drinking! But that may be the spots you are seeing. Another tip, if you are adding Testors Dullcote to anything, make sure your CA glue is completely dry. The Dullcote will frost it if it has any wet left to it.

Here's a pair from my shelf. I bought the sedan delivery built, because I really liked the look of it. The Vicky was built by me eons ago. It must be over 20 years old now. My first contest model, I went for opening everything! Bet ya didn't see that coming!

I've never had this problem, but I don't use any soap. Just acrylic and water. How is your water? You may want to try it with a bit of bottled water if your local water has minerals or additives in it. Do you have any photos of what you are trying to do and your results?

Thanks guys, I know that customer service is the number one thing in business. We go to a local pub that is cramped and crowded. It took us over an hour to get seats in the bar the other evening, where we could just walk in and sit down at their nearest competitor. That competitor's Happy Hour beers are a dollar cheaper. Why do we go there? Because the staff at our favorite pub is fantastic. They know our names, remember what we drink and the food we typically order. They treat us like royalty, and with a smile. They make being there a terrific experience. And that's what it's all about. On the other hand... back around 1990 I was looking for Dodge Caravan number two. Pre Internet, I'd drive around and check out dealer stocks. I was looking for a Grand Caravan SE in gold. One Saturday I was driving past a small Mopar dealer and saw the right car on the lot. I was driving my '73 Scamp and wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. I had long hair and a beard, I looked 15. A pompous salesman approached me, and when I expressed interest in the new Caravan, he had a look of disgust and said, "Geesh, you know you can't afford that!" and refused to cooperate. So I left. He never knew I was a cash buyer and I bought the exact vehicle at his competitor the next week. That dealership is long gone. And back in the early 1980s, when I was a young realtor, the agency's best salesman had an appointment to show houses. His prospect pulled up driving a taxi cab and the guy was by himself, burley and dressed in jeans and a winter vest. That salesman took one look at him, turned to me and said, "Kid, take this one for me." not wanting to deal with the guy. Me? I pulled him into the office and soon learned that he OWNED a taxi company and was quite well off. I treated him well and soon enough sold him a high end house. (that house would be a million today) He put 50% down and the owner financed the rest. It was the biggest deal I ever had! When the seasoned salesman heard I sold his prospect a house, he went nuts and wanted the agency manager to give him half the commission as a referral. Once the manager heard my story, he got nothing!

Cool. I never win anything! When you said "won" I assumed you meant you were high bidder at that silly auction site!

He did say Cavalier...

Cool! I have one of his Mini Travelers that I need to get to one day!

Hi Glen- What type of cars are you thinking about doing, and what scale? We are mainly 1/24 and 1/25 scale builders of mostly vintage American cars. Are you looking at that market? Or an International market and/or different scales?

I remember some of those cars from magazines way back then. Those two Matadors may be from my club. Very cool collages!

I had a 20' deep by 24' wide 2 car garage on my old house. The depth was compromised due to it being close to the street. That was always a pain. My '60 Buick pretty much tapped the back wall to get the door to close! My house in NJ has a 1 car detached garage that is very small. I have a Celica in there and it's pretty darn full. The neighbor across the street was an original owner, who told me that back in 1950 when the houses were new, he saw the owner had parked his 1949 Ford up on the hill. He was wondering why, when he noticed stakes and string around it. That's how he sized the garage! Built it himself and poured a slab and then put the studs on the ground outside of it! I literally built a foundation under the walls, dug it out and poured concrete in. I had to replace a lot of the lower sill as I went. My house in PA has a large attached 2 car garage. The ceiling is 19' so I believe I may be able to add a car storage lift if I changed out the doors for a rollup unit. My dream plan (come on lottery!) is to build a detached garage that would be about 30' wide by 45' deep with an upstairs loft with stairs! And I want it tall enough that I could put those car lifts in it for second tier storage. Yea, that would become an 8 car garage on two levels!

Tamiya Tape is expensive but you get what you pay for. I get a perfect division every time. And you are correct. I just use it for that critical line, then overlap it with cheap tape and cover the rest of the model that way. I've also used cling wrap or a plastic bag to cover much of the model, and cover the edges of that with regular masking tape. I recently taped off a single door this way. As far as tape residue, make sure when you gentle pulling it up so you don't pull any paint up with it. The residue can be easily wiped off with a mild solvent.

I do the "My Content" first since that's like eating your desert before dinner!

Gregg, that's the good part. There is really nothing all encompassing within a 20 minute ride. We have a Hobbytown USA about 20 minutes away, but the store is more of a toy store than a hobby shop. The couple who run it don't seem to be involved in hobbies. There is a train shop not too far away, but strictly trains, not even scenery or a paint rack. When I went in there once (and only once) the owner jumped from behind the counter to head me off and gave me an inquisition as to what I was looking for. He didn't seem to want me roaming around, so I left. This is a pretty affluent suburban area with an average family income of over $100,000, and 75% owner occupied homes. Population within 5 miles is 88,000 people, mostly families. So this looks like good numbers. There is a high end toy store in an area shopping center about the size of the store I'd like to open that has been there at least 5 years. They specialize in hard to get Lego and other niche toys and there would be zero overlap. I spoke to the owner at length and he was happy to share his info, So we'll see if I want to take this gamble. My wife isn't a gambler at all. And to add to this all, yesterday a VP I worked for on my job two jobs ago has retired and is working for a large consulting company. He called me about a one year assignment, so I'm seeing where that goes!

Are you still working with enamel or lacquer? If so, your wash is attacking the color under it since the way these paints bond is by softening the layer under them to adhere. So the reason you can't wipe it away is that it's already stuck into the paint. One way to work with it would be to wait for the wash to dry and then do the wiping with some lacquer thinner. This is the reason that we use acrylic for washes, it sits on top of the lacquer or enamel and is easly wiped away since it's not has 'hot' as the paint you've put it on top of. Also, I don't wipe, I blot. That leaves a much more realistic pattern.