Tom Geiger

Hi Glen, follow the forums, join a local club and you will see your modeling skills soar! The difference is the techniques and tricks people will teach you that you just never figured out on your own. I know that was my experience!

You did good at $5 a kit for those kits, all of them are winners. Those are all kits you'd want to build, or great sources for parts!

Looks great. Wood looks super. I had to read back to see that it was actually white plastic. Would have believed it was really wood!

I did that too, wound up with three of these. Enough of a bargain that I kept them!

Here's my work bench back in my old house in New Jersey. Pay particular attention to the bottom shelf. We went away for a weekend and returned to find this mess. All the shelves had come tumbling down. I had the rails up with short screws that pretty much were just into the wood paneling. And I had heavy things up there like reference books. Lesson learned, the screws I use now are so long I and into wood beams, so long I was expecting to see them sticking out of the side of my house! And the purpose of this post... a miracle! That bottom shelf fell quite a distance and lodged on top of a couple of boxes, most notably my eXacto knife wood box. It left just enough room that the models at the back of the bench were spared. The '50 Ford pickup had it's front bumper surgically removed, but went back on easily. The Ranchero body next to it was unharmed and is my 1960 Ranchero police car today.

Here's some shops I know... Hobby Masters 62 White Street, Red Bank, NJ http://www.hobbymasters.com/ This is a two story hobby shop in downtown historic Red Bank, NJ that has been around forever. It shares the building with their Toy Masters store. The model section is upstairs and there is a fair selection of trains and models. The focus here is more military as one of the owners is a big IPMS guy, so you'll find some military subject aftermarket. Kit wise, they do have a large selection of car kits, including Japanese subjects etc. They don't weed out older stuff so you may find some surprises on the shelf. Occasionally they take in old kits on consignment. They'll shrink wrap these, and there will be initials on the price tag. You can count on them to have supplies, paint and such and keep the racks stocked. They don't stock car specific stuff like Bare Metal Foil or our favorite magazines. The Hobby Shop Strathmore Shopping Center, Route 34, Aberdeen, NJ This was the shop that was closest to my home when I lived in New Jersey so I'd run in there for glue, paint and such. This is a very generic shop that has the very basics for just about any hobby. They recently expanded their train section, but again still only have things a novice would need. They also have a large crafts section, Boy and Girl Scout supplies, toys and comics. They have a good size RC section and repair area which seems to be a focus. The model car section shrinks regularly and they only get one or two of each new release, as their wholesaler ships them. So they never benefit from a good selling kit. The couple who own the shop are nice, but obviously not hobbyists, more retail folks. Stop there for supplies if it's convenient, don't go out of your way to go there! Avenel Hobbies 1111 St Georges Avenue (Route 35), Colonia, NJ This is the best choice for model car guys. The shop is owned by a model car enthusiast so the shelves are well stocked. The largest double sided aisle of model car and truck kits of any NJ shop. There are also some older kits mixed in, so look good. They have a good stock of supplies including Bare Metal Foil, the glues and putties we specifically use and most hobby paints. This location is close to our Tri-State Scale Model Car Club meetings and our members hit this shop before and after our meetings.

and do not tip over the small jar of lacquer thinner onto your lap! It'll burn yer bobbit! Ask me how I know!

A buddy o mine had a '73 Impala coupe that was dark blue with a puke green interior. We figured the only way to save it was to paint the car a color that contrasted with the green since it would be too hard to change out the entire interior! He never got that far, sold the car to buy a Firebird.

I just spent some time examining your latest photos. I enjoyed watching the progress as you built, but I was satisfied with the project as a photo back drop, when you changed direction and went for the full diorama. It is cool to watch progress, changes in the original idea, and changes made along the way. It's all part of the creative process. You really pulled this one off! It looks simply smashing! Thanks for bringing us all along for the ride!

It is pretty incredible. Which makes me wonder why I haven't built this kit yet! Guess I need to pull one out if I can find a few square inches on my bench!

Very nice work for an experienced builder, let alone a newbie! I'd be happy to have them on my shelf!

Most digital cameras have a macro setting. Check through your settings for a little flower which generally represents Macro. And per Harry, let us know your name and a bit about yourself. We may know folks in common. There are a number of Aussies here on the board. And we know your name isn't "Spot". My dog isn't even "Spot", he's "Ted".

There are two versions of that kit, marketed as 64s and 65s. One is the stepside and the other has the flat sided bed. Note that mine is the second. Both have the larger rear window. As someone said, that shouldn't be hard to create. It may be as easy as attaching some round molding to the center of the existing clear back window to represent the small rear window, then masking it off so that you can glue the entire piece in place and paint it with the body. Your other questions are V8 or six, and auto trans or manual. The model came with a V8 / Manual. The correct Chevy Six is in the 1960 Pickup kit. Those mirrors can be sourced from other kits, and an antennia can be made from wire. The rest depends on how much detail you wish to build. Good photos can be found on trucks for sale on eBay Motors. Here's a decent engine bay photo I used for my build... Here's my build album, you may find some details here to help you in your own build: http://public.fotki.com/ModelCitizen/model_cars/my_model_cars/my-finished-models/1965_chevy_pick_up/

Way to go Skippy! Let's run them all off! Until you Googled the image in an attempt to upset the board, nobody else made that connection. When I saw the image, it registered nothing more sinister than Little Debbie. And I'm sure the originator just wanted the image of a smiling girl. I'd better let you go now, there's still thousands of people here on the board to chase away!

Mrs. G came home one day and found a shipment of 5 copier paper boxes on the door step. She blew a gasket upon finding out I had bought someone's car brochure collection for $200. She never apologized when I sold a not even quantifiable amount of these on eBay the next month for over $1000. But she did cash the checks!

Many years ago a group of us drove up to the Masscar show in my old Dodge Caravan. We were all practically drunk with laughter after the ride. Some of those guys just cracked you up. We got to the hotel and were checking in and bringing some stuff inside. The late night hotel clerk was not amused with us. One of our guys was going to do some vending and insisted on bringing his stuff inside the hotel. As he walked through the lobby carrying a large box, the hotel clerk stopped him and asked "What is in that box?" We looked over and saw he had written "BODIES" on the side of it. He just kept his composure and answered "BODIES" and walked on. We all lost it!

Fred, that was the Monogram era where the models were more like unassembled toys than model cars. Even the interior is fairly simple, and I pretty much keep my hood closed to hide the molded in details. Still, the body builds up to be a nice replica. I plan on using that separate chassis on another build someday.

Great modeling Tulio! It's very interesting to see the South American variations of US car designs. Not only the Galaxies, but everything from Willys cars and pickups, Mavericks, Novas and the cars spawned off the old US Dodge Dart! And I've been meaning to try to build one of the old Chevy pickups of the late 1950s to early 1960s. Considering the short distance, I'm surprised these cars haven't made it to US car shows.

Not Nick, but... my model room is a spare upstairs bedroom. I built myself a spray booth with a fan in it. I keep it running the entire time I'm working. So I've created a good flow in the door of the room, and out the window. It keeps the smell contained.

Exactly what I was thinking. I'd do the conversion and get a good resin caster to make you copies to modify into each of your Brazilian cars.

Very cool build (pun intended!)

Maybe we just need to mail our bodies to Dan and include a note what color, and how we want them painted!

I did t-tops on the new Camaro for a club build. I never made the tops, just went for the open air look.

Very cool! Especially the RHD conversion. I did the same thing you did with the chassis. There's my chassis, looks like the same truck! Friends of mine took a Ramcharger of that era back to Perth from the USA about a dozen years ago. They had also taken back a bunch of pre Ram era Dodge pickups over the years since both Chevy and Ford pickups were sold there,but no Dodges. Alan from Perth who is on this board knows who I mean. They got pretty good at doing the RHD conversions, even made a fiberglass mold for the dash board. The big problem they had was that the air conditioning wouldn't fit so they were installing Vintage Air street rod AC systems in them. Cool stuff!

I hear ya Rich! I'm the victim of the weather you send east! My main issue is that I bought 20 gallons of deck stain to do my large deck, my bridge (yea I own a bridge) and other wood stuff near the pool. For each step, I need about 4 days without rain. Figure two days for the wood to dry out enough to paint, and the instructions say it will dry to touch in 24 hours, but needs 48 hours to dry completely. Who knows when that will happen!