Tom Geiger

One of the best engineered kits is the Galaxie '46-8 Chevies. Even the chassis is good to be displayed all by itself!

Happened to me once with the water company. Spent the whole day sitting here waiting for them to let them in my basement. Nobody shows. Called them the next day and they said they did come, but nobody was home! Right!

Gotta admit that this conversion is really cool! I think the 4 door Citation is more in people's experience than the two door. I remember friends of ours having the 4 door.

That's the general condition of kits I see for sale at flea markets! Either crushed or sun faded with tattered shrink wrap and a sunken in box cover. It will usually be a fairly common kit from the last 15 years, and the seller will tell you it's a genuine rare antique from 1999 and quote an outrageous price. Same kit you'd find at a model swap meet for $5 or $10.

Agreed! The cost of 'printing out' a complete kit would be higher than you pay for resin today. And the provider wouldn't be giving you the file for free, it would be a pay for download situation, not unlike buying software from the Internet. The technology will go through a few stages of integration within the hobby. As said in this thread, the very best equipment will still be expensive and used in industry. The people in the hobby who debut it will be trained folks from industry who have access to this equipment professionally. I've been printing my own decals since 1988 or so, long before people had home computers and printers. I had a professional CAD system at work where I drew the decals, and an HP pen plotter that I printed them on with real ink pens. Same kind of situation. At first this technology will be used to create masters for resin casters. They will either have the skill to create the drawing file and print out the master, or will pay others with the skills and equipment to do so. The second stage will be buying parts that were created by 3D printers from others just like you buy resin or photo etch today. They will either mail them to you, or send the file to your local Staples store to print it locally for you. The aftermarket company may be able to modify the parts to your needs. Maybe they can print it out as a 1/24 scale instead of 1/25 scale. Maybe they'll be able to modify a wheel from 5 lug to 4 for you as a special order. And yes, somewhere down the road you will be able to create your own 3D artwork and print from your own 3D printer in your home. It won't be as commonplace as a VCR or microwave oven, as those are everyday consumer devices that are easy to use. It will be as common as knowing someone who owns a lathe today. I know I won't have one because I don't have enough of a need. Today my own color inkjet printer dries up because I don't use it all that often. My 3D printer use would probably go the same way if I had one. There will be a cutting edge of the technology in the hobby, very much the same way people have pioneered other disciplines. There will be guys who will invest the time and money into having the latest and greatest and will develop the skills to create amazing things. This will open up a whole new level at model car shows. And once model cars and computer work is combined like this, maybe this will be the thing that interests young folks in the hobby!

Very cool Blair! You must be rich, there is money in every photo!

Bill you are reading things into my statement. Vintage vehicles are generally exempt from current state inspections and emissions because of the very reasons you state. Older cars used as transportation are tested to make sure they are performing to the standards they were built to, and not to be as clean as a late model car. They can't be by their design. It doesn't matter if your vehicle is polluting your county, it's much bigger than that. All pollution goes upward and becomes a smog slick up in the atmosphere. So each vehicle counts. I do agree with your comment on idling vehicles and those in traffic. Cities that are specifically smoggy have started programs to turn their taxi fleets over to hybrid, and eventually electric. Big issues are the emerging vehicle markets in China and India where emissions laws are lax or non-existent. Again, the emissions from these vehicles will eventually choke us all. I was at a facility management industry meeting at PJM Interconnection in Valley Forge, PA last evening. They are the company that manages the power grid on the eastern half of the USA and Canada. The management of the grid is absolutely fascinating. But the big thing was a Mini Cooper in their lobby. It's an electric vehicle concept that they are working on. Where the issue with electric cars is the range due to battery technology, the cars they're working with pulls it's electricity from the grid, and sends back surplus stored electricity from the car's batteries. They are not far from having a totally electric unlimited range vehicle. Very cool indeed.

I think it looks really cool and brings that interior to life with texture. Great work.

I don't watch TV, listen to music, talk or sing when I build. I just get into the zone and build. My wife says she's come into the model room and I never noticed she was there.

Don't over complicate it! Sounds like there are three of you on this thread. Just figure a time and place to get together (a public place, one of your homes, etc) and just do it. In my book, a meeting of three people can be a club. No costs, no rules, just bring a model and get together. If it grows, things will just happen naturally. For instance, the club in Indianapolis is pretty robust and they take turns meeting at homes. Each meeting is somewhere different. There's a club that evolved on the other board in I believe, Michigan. They meet in a local burger joint. I know of another club that meets at a pizza place. Restaurants are often happy to host if you all order something. The clubs I attend meet in a church basement and a first aid squad bulding. Good luck. Do it!

I think so but it's all bent up. See the hood for instance. It's not like you could melt the wax block and have a perfect model. And I knew there'd be folks who don't get it. A good friend of mine saw it for sale and he got it, and knew I'd get it. I guess that's why we're friends. And I'm very touched that he thought of me. I see it as an artistic statement that someone made a long time ago. I'm glad it survived. I was half expecting someone to reply that this was the result of an article in an old model magazine...

Without a doubt, that has to be the best build ever of that kit. I completely enjoyed watching the build, step by step. Kudos to you!

This one came my way via Mr Junior Berg of Fargo. He bought it at a show and knew I just needed to have it... so we worked out a little trade deal. It's an original build of the first release of the AMT '62 Chevy annual using the custom parts supplied in the kit. It was neat and clean as you see it, The original builder used tape to divide the colors, which are brush painted red and the original white plastic. The only work I had to do was add new dual antenni to replace the broken ones. Interior had some custom touches including the fuzzy seat transfers that came with the kit. There is a phone on the front seat and a tape recorder on the back seat. A face only a mother could love! But soooo 1962. And here she is sitting next to it's stable mate, my original 1961 Chevy custom. Remember folks, this is the folk art of our youth. And somebody has to preserve it.

Welcome Russ! Watch the build threads, read the tips and you'll be building better in no time. When I got involved (before the Internet) I joined a club and with the guidance there, I was building better models almost immediately. It's not black magic, just little tips and things you haven't thought of on your own. And do join a local club if you find one! And don't be afraid to post questions and progress shots of your builds. The folks here are non judgmental and eager to help.

Well it is free shipping and you'll get back $50 in eBay Bucks so..... it's still insanity!

Couldn't just smear some glue over it, pop the glass in and run away??

Rich, I got the JF body at NNL East too. I bought the van version so I'd only have to make glass for the windshield and back window if I cut them out. What's kept me from starting this is I don't know just how close the PTs dash and interior match. And remember, he owns a 1:1 so he'd notice. I'd check out the match, and the necessary work to make any needed changes. It may be appropriate to do a slammer with blacked out glass... either way, I'd get it out of the way or you'll be up very late on Christmas eve!

Isn't this the coolest thing ever? A buddy-o-mine brought it to my house as a gift. It's a 1965 Dodge Coronet hitting water... or dirt.. we couldn't really figure that part out. It's cast in wax and there is some sand attached to it. Carhenge? Anyway... somebody did this back around 1965 and it survived completely intact. They did a really nice job on the build. So it is currently sitting near the TV in my family room and eventually will wind up in the Old Kustom Kollection display case, even though it's not a custom it's an interesting period build. And it won't take up a lot of shelf space.

Very cool Rich. I wouldn't have guessed this one for your next act! Sooooo what is coming up? With Christmas coming before ya know it, I'd recommend working on that HHR. Jimmy has that one set to be a slammer with painted windows... or are we brave enuf to open them up??

Looks good in your backyard Dan. Too bad it's not full size!

I dunno but dumb local laws just drive me nutz! It seems for something as important as vehicle emissions there should be one federal standard that applies to everyone. There's only one ozone layer!

Very cool Sam! And happy to help. The tarps look wonderful!

Donn got me thinking... this week I decided to work on restoring an old stripped built up 69 Chevy Impala SS. I pull a 70 Impala kit off my shelf for parts. Then I discover that these kits have a manual trans attached to the engine (never mind it's an auto trans interior) but somehow the '69 I'm working on has a gluey big block with an auto trans. So I decide to restore this engine. I grab a second 70 Impala kit from my shelf for the engine bits for the second engine. In doing so I discover another Impala kit that's missing a chassis, so I take all three Impala kits and dump them into their own parts tub. Sooooo... how does this affect any average? A. I build a '69 Impala from an old pile of parts that weren't counted as a kit. B. I took THREE 70 Impala kits out of circulation, but didn't build any one of them... And the kits we buy all year long. Do they each count as a kit? Or do we need to fractionally calculate them from 365 days in the year. If I get a kit for Christmas does it count as 6/365ths of a kit in the years average? The plot thickens!

And I'm always impressed by the guys who put an ad up to sell their own car.. and they spell the car name wrong! Camero, Valient etc. You've owned the friggin car for how long and you can't spell it??? And it's the same guy who can't take a picture of the car. The ad contains photos that show sky, the ground, part of the car. How can you aim the camera at the car and miss?? Over and over??

Actually if the owner wants to ship this to me for free... remove the wheels and put on something more fitting. Remove the intake and get that all lower so you can see. Put a decent seat in there, add a decent pickup bed and I'd keep it.