Tom Geiger

I've always disliked where they have classes where a participant needs to declare his level of competence, well because people are less than honest. I remember one show where a seasoned modeler entered the novice class because the description was "for novices - builders who haven't placed at our show before". This guy attended this show for the first time and saw a loop hole. Yea, he won first place and was quite proud of himself. Never mind that he made a total joke out of the intent of the class and probably discouraged some budding modelers. My other peeve is when a six year old shows up with a polished model, engine wired, using photo etched parts. You just know that young puppy didn't build that himself!

Mike, I see lights in the kit and the lamps cut out in the body... do tell. Will they operate up and down as well as work? I have a 1/25 Opel GT that I am placing the lights into the open position. And that's as far as I'm taking it.

I found the same thing when I decided to pull out my old 10 speed bicycle and ride it for exercise. I took it out on the same streets that I rode it on fearlessly as a teenager. I was absolutely fearful! Traffic ran a few feet from me, and I always felt I was about to get hit. I don't know if there is much more traffic today or that I know much more about traffic and people than I did when I was a trusting teen!

Fantastic light commercial build on a very nice kit we don't see built often.

or a refinery fractionating tower or frac column unit. One kind of heat exchanger. I used to design this stuff when I worked for Exxon or below is a fin and tube heat exchanger. Picture a couple of these skid mounted on an open trailer!

You can look up all kinds of industrial equipment on Google Images. If you go into specific manufacturers from there, you can even find dimensioned plans. The good news is that much of it is basic shapes, since it's function over form.... simply entering "air handler" gave me a load of images, including this typical roof mounted unit. Generally factory made and lifted into place.

I wasn't a fan of these back when I was a kid since the subjects predated me and had a British influence, hence cars I had never heard of. Plus I was concentrating on the regular series of Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars back then. Still, I amassed a box of these, mainly received as gifts from elderly relatives.

Yes, it was a bit before we admitted we were there.

Very good observations Dan. People should print it and tack it up over their work bench.

Congrats! I have an interview for a new job tomorrow. Of course I do need to have a bad cold for it.

No this is the Cabriolet with the full Lois Lane style convertible top. It has several positions, and she has it in full sunroof with the back window still in place. Next stop is full down.

And where the heck did WILLIS ever come from??

Great model Harry! Why do I smell Rice A Roni???

My daughter got this one, top of the line convertible, over a year ago and loves it. Nothing has gone wrong with it at all. The dealers are few and far between. None in the area of NJ where she lives, so she came to PA and there's a dealer here in Downingtown that has a ton of them. There were other people from a distance at the dealer that day too. So they are still scarce to see on the road in NJ area she lives in so the car attracts a lot of attention. It runs well, has decent pickup (with an automatic) and maneuvers well, feels good on the road. I fit well in the drivers seat and I get my suits from the Ziggy collection!

Note that today nearly all of us have color printers attached to a PC. But how many guys actually make their own decals? I have guys asking me to make them decals. What stops them from making their own? For some it's the graphics program. Some cannot even scan. I recently had someone who got some plates from the Acme site and couldn't figure out how to reduce them to the correct size. Very elementary things to me, but beyond the skills of some. And for some the road block is spending the $8 on decal paper! LOL And what is the cost of the media to make 3D models? It may be cost prohibitive to crank out parts and sell them. Keep in mind that printer ink is costly today.

I'll agree and put this into the same category as buying a lathe. A lot of guys bought lathes, with a larger group of us balking at the price. Some guys, mainly those with professional background, have done some amazing things with them. While others made piles of metal shavings and gave up. I think the use 5 years out will be pretty visible in the hobby but most of us will be buying the finished parts from the aftermarket. Or the printers will produce masters that the aftermarket will cast resin from. There are already people doing interesting things. For me, I didn't buy a lathe because for the type of models I do, I didn't see the need to learn a whole new craft. If I wanted to master a lathe, I would have worked in a machine shop. But I have bought parts from others. I don't think I'd be one to buy the 3D printer, again I don't think my modeling (and meager production!) would justify the purchase. Again, I'd be happy to buy the parts from others. Keep in mind that we still have guys in our clubs who refuse to use computers and cell phones.

Motor City Resin Casters does the Ranchero and Thunderbird. I hear they are popular with the slot car guys

First time through the car wash... gone!

If you go to one of the uninhabited Hawaiian islands only accessible by a small light boat, then wade to shore and work your way through the sugar cane fields, you will come upon a small bamboo hut where they make the kits!

What no turtles? I LOVE Turtles! Back when I was a kid I had my turtle Peter that I owned for many years. And when we'd set up our little store to sell things to the neighborhood kids, my store was always "Turtle's Trading Post". So when I sold on eBay I decided to use the name. My daughter drew up this logo when she was 10 and it appeared in every auction:

Think about what happened when domestic kit manufacturing ceased and went to China. We didn't see a noticeable drop in kit prices, but due to better skills and newer factories and equipment, kit quality actually went up. With lower labor costs, we saw parts in separate bags and things like cardboard carefully taped in place to protect convertible windshield frames. And this was offset by higher transportation costs, due to distance and fuel increases, as well as higher raw material costs for petroleum based plastics. And the cheese is moved again. With the success in China, their labor force is getting more astute. They are demanding higher wages so that they can become consumers of the stuff they produce. Just like when Henry Ford realized that the men assembling Fords needed the means to own one of their own! So again we're counting on technology and better manufacturing practices to cost less and be more efficient. And we'll need to sell more units to spread the labor costs across. Will kit production eventually have to move to lower cost areas like Viet Nam and Pakistan? Time will tell.

Same here! I've gone to either using Sharpies or masking off areas to spray black.

Another looker Rich! Can't wait to see what you do next. Me? Still battling the Caravans who are fighting me all the way!

Very very cool weathering job on that Duster. I love the choice of replaced panels and the quarter windows too. The summer of 1977 I had the opportunity to buy a 1976 Duster from a girl I knew who had bought it new and got overwhelmed with the payments. It was silver with a red bucket interior, console and red pin stripes. Remember, that was back when the Ford Granada had every car copying the silver and red theme. Slant six auto car with air conditioning. Low miles and $1500 would get her out of trouble. Of course I didn't have the $1500 and my father vetoed it!