Tom Geiger

I think I'll chime in... Like most of us I built models as a kid. My results were pretty much the cars we toss into the Purple Pond today. Then I grew up and got side tracked by girls, cars, school and work. I tried to get back to model building several times, and I'd cruise the model aisle in the local toy stores, occasionally picking up something interesting. Then I'd try to build again. My results were the same as when I was a kid, same skill level, and I'd get discouraged and pack it away. Repeat process several times. Then I was in my late 20s, had a wife and two kids when I went on a business trip to Boston. There I found Scale Auto Enthusiast Magazine in a book store. I was amazed that the hobby was alive and well and populated with adults. In that first issue I saw Joe Cavorley's scratch built NYC bus. I was floored. Little did I know that later I'd be friends with him and he'd coach me in the fine weathering arts. In the back of that very first issue, was a small ad to join the Tri-State Scale Model Car Club. I sent in my self addressed stamped envelope, got a nice reply that said they'd be throwing a little show in a few weeks and I should come. Man, a model car show. I had wanted to attend one of those since I was a kid! That was NNL East 3. I went, was amazed by the models I saw and immediately wanted to be involved, so I joined the club, The trick for me was joining the club! The guys there took me under their wing as 'the new guy' and taught me the tricks and techniques. I realized I wasn't stupid or unskilled, I just hadn't learned all of this on my own! My models became better overnight and kept getting better as I worked and seeked out more advise. That was 25 years ago and it's been a long strange trip, but I wouldn't change a moment of it.

I hear it really worked too, but you can't get the plutonium anymore!

A few answers (I also responded to your PM)... Mirrors- Many kit mirrors will look 'close enough'. Look through your kit stash for a suitable pair. Mud deflectors- Just cut the shape from either very thin plastic sheet, light card stock etc. Once you paint them flat black, they'll be convincing. The good part about scratch building things like this is that you can try it over and over until you get it right. It's not like you are going to ruin your one good kit part. Shifter - See below photo. I did the same thing with my truck. I left my column shifter on the column but had it sag down as if disconnected because a buddy o mine had one like that. Just cut yours short to leave a nub there to be the removed shifter. Then you just need to find a suitable shifter to glue to the transmission hump. That should be easy. Red oxide is a fairly common car primer. I like Duplicolor brand automotive paints, you can buy red oxide primer at any auto supply store. Oh, one important detail when looking for the custom wheels. Your Chevy pickup had 6 lug wheels, and many kits have 5 lug wheels.

Phil.. before you paint it... what era is the Caddy to be from? Figure it's a '32 so maybe around 1940 or so? Note that they didn't have radios in police cars or tow trucks yet. Nor did they have 7 digit phone numbers.

It's good to see you back on this project my friend! Hopefully this was another good paint day for ya!

This one!

Agreed. This wagon is spawned off the custom Merc that came with the Caddy 8. The molecularity (I typed modularity, darn spell check!) between the two is what made the kit cost feasible. And Revell figures we all know where to find a flatty!

For both Russia and China, these are countries where cars were scarce and nobody had drivers licenses. Suddenly they become prosperous and everyone gets a car. The problem is that nobody there has any driving experience, kinda like a country of 16 year olds!

Kinda the same theory... the shelves directly over my bench are all my unfinished projects. If I put them away in the closet, I'd forget about them. Sitting on the shelf right in front of me, every so often I pull one down and finish it!

Thanks, It's a favorite memento for me, having met Bob Paeth and having him tell me the story about his involvement with this kit, which was my favorite kit as a kid, mainly due to that artwork. Since in this hobby we get to meet some of the movers I've had a few more things autographed. I have one of the Johan '59 Rambler wagon kit boxes signed by Okey. I also have a Tom Daniel signed box, and if I'm lucky enough to see him again, I'm hoping he'll sign my original 1968 TJ Taxi box. Ronny signed this for me many years ago in New Jersey. The signature is on the box, under the shrink wrap. I carefully cut it off to cover just the box top and put it back on once he signed it. That is a complete kit in the box. It's just neat stuff I enjoy having.

Robert, understand that Al is not running a full time business here. He's doing it because he's an engineer and is interested in improving the technological issues. The quality of his stuff is first class, since it's really an experiment in progress. One of the things that slows him down, aside from his heavy real work schedule with travel, is that his process for the rubber parts has them sitting in his one pressure pot over night. That limits his production to like 6 wheels an evening, IF and when he's home. When guys order 5 sets of everything, well that's when things come to a standstill. If you've seen the things he's been working on with 3D printing, it's absolutely amazing. He's near ready to have complete kits ready for some very interesting subjects like the Mormon Meteor, '73 GTO and Amphicar... all nearly perfect. If you noticed, the cost of the parts is about what it costs him to make them, so think of it more as if you asked a friend to make you a few parts, than as if you are ordering from a full time mail order house.

I'm enjoying this project. You are tempting me to pull my old '28 Lincoln truck project down from the shelf!

My portable workstation is the board you see here on top of my work bench. It was scrap wood from breaking down an old kitchen cabinet. It became my work surface to protect my kitchen table back before I ever had a model room. Back then I'd put it up on top of the refrigerator every night so my little kids couldn't get at my model project or tools. Those kids are 25 and 29 now. Today it protects my bench (which is an old hollow core door covered with brown paper). Still if I decide to work elsewhere, I'll take the board with me down to the kitchen table, out on the patio table and I've even taken it on vacation with me. It's turned into a lucky charm for me considering I've been building all my projects on it for 30 years now!

Since my club is in New Jersey, we had a discussion a while back as to where exactly in Union, NJ Pyro was actually located. Note that on their kits, they merely listed their address as "Pyro Park", which obviously doesn't exist anymore. Dave Wood is a long time resident of Union and started to ask around. Consensus was that the factory didn't exist today, and it was "somewhere off of Route 22". Recently I found this image, which is from one of their instruction sheets.. that peeked my interest so I was off in search of Pyro... I found the site Historic Aerials.Com and pulled up Route 22 in Union. It's not a big town so I thought I stood a good chance of finding it. I knew the plant existed back a bit, so I went to the 1954 maps, before the area was populated. Bingo! There she was. I matched up the roof elements from the factory sketch to those on the roof in this photo. Next step was to lay in all the then current and future roads to get my bearings. By 1966 suburbia exploded! Note all the houses that were built in the later part of the 1950s and everything else that popped up. I used this 1979 view since it was in color. Note that by 1966, Pyro had added onto both sides of the building (the white roofs). This was also the last year (of the provided pix) that the factory building exists. And he we are today... Costco! You can see the three smaller buildings in the upper left corner are still there from the Pyro era. Nothing like progress. I thought you all might enjoy that bit of history. A bit more history... was we thought of Pyro as a minor player in the model field, the owner William Lester actually was a pioneer in injection molding technology back in the 1930s. Pyro's main business was selling molding equipment, and in the early 1950s they were the largest seller of military toys in the country. They also did sci fi stuff, and their ray guns are big collectibles today. Bill sold the company back in the early 1970s because he wanted to pursue an emerging technology, blister packaging! He was truly a plastics guy!

This is the first time I've seen it done, you nailed it as usual. Great model!

Manny, you need to hit that "Buy It Now" button before someone else does! Truth is, eBay is running a free fixed price listing promotion right now so we'll be seeing more listings like that through the end of the month. I call it 'trolling for morons'.

I bought this box on eBay because it's my favorite box art of all time. Note that Bob Paeth signed it for me in the lower right corner in the sand. There's a great story there, and this is one of my favorite hobby possessions! Aside from that, I've bought a few more of my old favorites, mostly when I saw them cheap at a show. I have a few on display across the top shelf in my model room.

I love the color on your build. I think many of us were first exposed to the Europa as a Matchbox car. I know it was one of my favorites back in my childhood. I still have one. I used to work with a guy who was into sports cars. He said he used to have a Europa and it wasn't a great experience. First it had the British curse of Lucas Electric. He said it didn't work more than it did. He also said the driving experience wasn't pleasant as you are crammed into the thing and can't see worth a darn out of it. Since it didn't have air, it was hot and stuffy inside too. I forget what he had when I knew him, but I remember it was still British but a convertible this time!

Very nice model! Chrysler could've sold a bunch of those in 1:1 for sure!

Nice work. That is a pretty darn cool model, far from my own building style, but I can dig it!

Interesting picture. You did get us with it. I thought it was a kit on sprue sitting on my patio table! Moses had a Mini that he drove across the sea!

Come to think of it, I did use it as scale bird poop on one of my builds!

Experiment if you will, but any time you introduce a new material and different material to something, you have more chance for it to react with the next coats. For the same thing, I use primer. I use Duplicolor gray for nearly everything. When I have slight imperfections etc that I wish to fill, I'll take the primer, spray a bit into a small cup, and wait for it to start drying. Once it's thick, then I'll dab a little into little sink marks and other minor things I hope to correct. It IS primer so it will sand right, and there's nothing different on your model to cause a bad reaction later.

Here's a game I'll revive from another board on another planet, a long time ago! You are going to a desert island and can only have one kit. You can have cases of them to build any way you like, and you'll have all the supplies, tools etc. you'll need. What kit would you bring that you'd be content to build over and over... and why? Me? Mine would be the AMT '53 Ford pickup. I just love that kit and would be happy to build a bunch of different light commercial variations, drag trucks, rods and customs! There's enough in that kit to keep me happy for a long time. Okay, your turn!

Ray, mine are packed away so I can't look. Ones that are listed on eBay right now say the manufacturer is Unique Replicas. Average selling price is $50-75. So back when I wanted one I was bidding $22 on all the ones listed and never winning one. Imagine my surprise when I logged in and found I won three of them!