Tom Geiger

I'm not an expert on this... but I'd say the original releases will hold value with kit collectors. Same thing as folks who collect first edition books. Then there are those kits that got modified later on, so the original is desirable. Think 1940 Ford pickup with the stock interior. But when an old kit gets reissued, I see the old restorables and glue bombs are worth less, since the new release kit is good for parts etc. No longer a need to pry an old one apart or scrounge for parts.

I use the Elmers Carpenter Glue for my scale woodwork. It comes in the same type of bottle that the white glue does, but is a yellowish color.

Lyle Willets has a '55 Dodge that he takes to a lot of shows and cruise nights. He gets upset if young people ask him if he bought it new... how old do you think I am?? And on Dune Buggies... Volkswagen made those one year when they ran outta Beetle bodies!

You can get wood from a hobby shop. Don't go balsa, it will warp in time. Buy basswood, that's what I use for all my builds. 1/25 scale playhouse build from Popular Mechanics full size plans from basswood.

Great job. I think it came out perfect!

Pharoah jolted my memory with the street scene! Back when I was 13 we had a model builders club at school. "Clubs" was actually a class period once a week. This was in the US Army dependent school system in Germany and yes, model car kits were tough to get. We had a contest and I brought in a drag car I built from remains of several models onto the Thames Panel. Only the body of the Thames was broken and all I had was the part of it behind the doors. I broke it off and then cut the roof to match. So picture this thing with an engine exposed, dashboard and seat area exposed with a covered van back. Must've been horrible, but I thought it was great. Well, I didn't win anything in our little contest so I was carrying it home on the school bus. Our busses were big old rear engine Army busses. Some kid on the bus was taunting me about my model and not winning. I got so mad that I placed the model on the ground, right in front of the duel rear wheels. When the bus took off, it totally flattened the model. Not a part to salvage.

Since it came up in this thread. I know that both Plastikote and Duplicolor are owned by the same company. Here on the east coast, we saw Plastikote go away and be replaced with Duplicolor in stores in Pep Boys. I don't see Plastikote for sale anywhere. Did they regionalize these brands? I was told the Plastikote name was going away.

sad to say that spectacular flare up of lighting Testors glue is the choice fuel of drug users today to heat up a spoon. Sad.

Very nice work. I've always wanted a dune buggy. Guess I'll have to put it on my bucket list. I can't wait to see it finished.

I believe Dodge went to the RAM name on their trucks to make it easier to sell off the truck brand sometime in the future. I don't think people even notice that expensive cars are sold out of the same showroom as cheaper makes. Multi manufacturer dealerships have been around forever. Back in 1982 I bought my Nissan Stanza from a Nissan - Ford dealership that had both in the showroom side by side. And mega dealers with many makes are more the thing now. The local Mopar store in Downingtown, PA here has Chrysler - Dodge- Ram - Jeep - Fiat - MItsubishi and VW all out of the same complex with the cars all mixed up on the lot, especially as visible from the road.

Doesn't look all that difficult to change out to the round headlight. I also want to shorten a chassis and do a step side. You can start with the one in the AMT '53 Ford kit, the bed only changed slightly over the years.

Ron Hamilton pointed out in another thread that the Model Car Garage 71 Cuda set would translate well to the new kit. It also includes Barracuda and Grand Coupe scripts.

I agree completely! I can't get Plastikote here, so I use Duplicolor gray automotive primer, which is very similar. These primers go on very thin and don't obscure detail at all. Typically, automotive lacquers dry very flat and close to the surface even when put on in liberal coats.

My life was a bit different. I was an American military dependent living in Europe so American kits were very scarce and not available locally. So I had to order mine from Auto World and wait forever for delivery. So models were valuable to me. My built models would usually be sacrificed for parts for my next great idea. The parts would get used, reused, broken taking them apart and eventually be worn out and wind up in my parts box. Military models were easier to get, the PX got those if any models at all. And we'd buy MiniTanks locally and blow those up as part of our war games!

I think it's the reality of the domestic car market. All three have cut many smaller dealers from their networks and consolidated brands into one store. Chrysler combined Chrysler - Dodge - Ram - Jeep into single dealerships. Some also have Fiat, but they've been slow in rolling out Fiat stores, and demand that those dealers sell them from their own show room. I haven't watched GM close enough to see what they've done, past shutting down low volume dealers. There are an awful lot of abandoned car dealership properties in the NJ / PA area. In the example I gave earlier in Central NJ of Tom's Ford and Straub Lincoln / Mercury being next to each other, Straub has taken a major hit in the consolidations. They originally had Buick - Pontiac- GMC - Lincoln / Mercury and Jeep. They originally had a Dodge / Jeep dealership down the road (it was originally their AMC store) and lost Dodge to the dealer down the road earlier. So they rolled Jeep into their other building and sold that property. Sad, it got knocked down and is now a pharmacy. In the last round of cutbacks, they lost Pontiac when it went out, Lincoln / Mercury (Lincoln to Tom's - Mercury went out), and Chrysler took Jeep from them and consolidated that up the street in another company's Chrysler - Dodge store. So at this point they are just Buick - GMC and the big Lincoln building is now a used car center. It's a shame since this is a long time dealer, my 1960 Buick was sold there new! I don't think GM will be cutting Buick because it's their biggest selling nameplate in China. And part of that allure is that it's an American brand.

I like it. The whole thing back then was that Polar Lights was developing a new concept in kits, where a novice could snap it together in a short amount of time and get pleasing results, while those of us who want to detail can do so to our hearts content. To prove the point, you added some detail and you came out with a respectable model and a pleasant experience. I especially like the Herbie Lovebug VW done in the same style.

Your problem comes down to one word "Testors". I use Duplicolor automotive paint nearly exclusively. Yes, I have to prime my parts to protect the plastic, but that gives me a chance to check for any imperfections before I spray color. I seldom have an issue.

I have a relative by marriage who is a chore to be around. He tries to sound important by making things up, but he doesn't realize how stupid he sounds to those around him. A few of his jewels... They're called PARAMEDICS because there's always two of them. The hospital ICU is called that because it's got glass walls, as in "I See You". No, it's not worth correcting him because he'll defend his position.

Harry, now your friendly Ford dealer also sells Lincolns. Ford has consolidated their dealer network. In my NJ town there was Tom's Ford right next door to Straub Lincoln / Mercury. Different ownership, but there forever. Now there's just Tom's Ford / Lincoln. Even more of a reason not to do simple badge engineering on the same cars.

The MKZ is a pretty good looking car. I agree that Lincoln needs another Town Car to be relevant. Ford's Town Car and Crown Vic were the staples of the transportation industry. I don't know how they just abandoned that market.

Great model. A very typical sight here in Pennsylvania.

Very nice work!

The back bumper will be on the finished model. The finish on this one got screwed up by the clear coat so it went into the drink and is ready to start over again. That is a Coors ash tray in the back ground. I think I got it for free when I visited the brewery in Colorado maybe 20 years ago. It's got a birthday candle mounted in the center, and it's what I use to melt body damage on models. So it's a tool!

Great info! I just wanted to add that the cars of this era had an air cleaner that put the element down next to the carb. These have never been available in scale, but Kitchen Table Resins (Ken Kitchen) makes the styles needed for the above year cars.

I believe the Mopar unibodies were dunked in a primer tank. So there would be even primer on the underbody. There's pictures of that process in some brochures. As people go to detail chassis everyone forgets that there was an optional factory undercoat available. It was on both of my '66 Valiants, my '65 Barracuda, '73 Barracuda and '73 Scamp so it was not a rare option. Maybe more in rust prone areas. All my cars came from New Jersey. I had a '67 Valiant that didn't have the undercoat, nor did it have much of a floor left! The undercoat was a dark tan dirt color and a strong crinkle pattern. I don't know at what time in the build process it was installed but I remember having to chip it off the bolts on inner fender panels to get them out.