Tom Geiger

I had a great time. It's not the number of people there, it's that the right people are there! I spent the day talking to folks I know from boards and don't see often. I too bought some great 'junk' from the parts type vendors. It was a great day out and I thank the Mama's crew for their efforts!

I'm amazed the truck is marked. It might as well be painted "Steal Me"!

Very nice work! Just the right amount of everything. You really got it! Now let's see another!

There have been people building models of their transportation since the Roman chariots, so I don't see car model building dying all together. Recently we had a fellow contact us through the NNL East website, asking for a Tuner Class. It was too late for this year, but at the show I learned that he and his friends, guys in their 20s, had started their own model car club. These are nice respectful guys you'd want in the hobby. We started to think that we need to invite younger builders into our fraternity on their terms. So I let these guys know we'd have a Tuner Class at NNL East next year, as long as they agreed to spread the word and invite more builders like themselves to the show. Now it's up to the guys at the show to accept and encourage them! Heck, most guys in the hobby build hot rods and shiny replica stock cars. And they all put up with me and my rusty old beaters. So how far off is it to welcome guys who are passionate about their own subject into the group? You don't have to be into the subject matter to appreciate nice builds and the passion of the younger guys! In fact, we need to!

That's a famous photograph. I used to know someone who had that framed in their office. Still, you can't stop looking at it.

I used to drive in the demo derby in NJ back in the 1980s. For every seemingly nice car that made it there, there was a story of a guy who tried to sell it to someone who would restore it for a year before giving up and taking it to the demo. I once had a '73 Cougar that people yelled at me about. Well, my friend paid $100 for that car and both he and I tried to sell it for some time. Fall came and I needed it off the property. So I let a Cougar guy take everything he wanted off the car, and we took it to the demo.

Cool. Never saw that pic before. Ida Automotive is up on Route 9 not far from Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. They are the folks who were cranking out new Tuckers not too long ago.

I dunno guys. I had this image in my mind for a very long time. When I looked at the flyer for the MidAtlantic NNL and saw the theme was 60 Years of Corvettes, I had to do it. I only pulled the kit from the basement on Wednesday and laid all the parts out on my kitchen table. This was the old MPC Streaker 1967 Corvette kit, circa 1972. I bought it in a disintegrating box for $5 years ago. I was sure it was a parts kit, but a quick inventory showed it to be all there. So I decided to see how quickly I could build... So off I went to get the rusty and dented Corvette image off my bucket list. By Wednesday evening I had all the parts cleaned up and primed. The chassis was assembled and the interior parts were painted and ready for detailing. I decided to add some character by opening up one headlight. It wasn't hard to cut out. A funny thing, in all the cars for sale on eBay, there wasn't one shot with the lights open. So I went to the parts section and found several headlight units for sale to use as reference. The lights are from my parts box, I would have preferred clear lenses, but that's all I had on short notice. I had some great front tires prepared. One white wall on steel rim, and a baldie on a rusty mag. They proved to be too tall to sit in the body, so I substituted the kit wheel / tire in at the last minute. I will do something different here. The rear received my favorite Surbanite snow tires. This build just needed those tires! A blue replacement hood was added to break up the red color. The kit included both the grill I used and one that included the front bumpers. Once I had the dent on the nose peak, I decided to forget the front bumper. Right side has a dented door. I see I lost a wheel on the back. Birds eye view. Interior was fun to build. I tore up the drivers seat and added some 'stuff' to the rear area. One slight time detour was in fixing the console. The kit had a flat one without the parking brake. Since the interior didn't have a lot of parts to begin with, I made the console piece and added a parking brake. The door panel detail is also weak so I may go back and add some photo etch door handles and such. The interior was done by Thursday night. Friday night was final assembly. And just to let 'em know that I know. A few confessions. This is the quickest model I've ever built. I credit my participation in the 24 hour build with teaching me to build quickly when necessary. This model isn't absolutely complete. The engine is still in pieces on my work bench. My intent was to build it clean, like it was just rebuilt and popped into this beauty. Then again, this car in this shape doesn't even need an engine. The chassis / interior / body aren't glued in their final configuration, just popped together for now. Friday evening I saw that I wasn't gonna make the full build in time for the show, so yea, I fudged it. Also, I want to go back and add some more details to the interior and fix a few things. So I did achieve my goal of having a car on the show table.

Ron Hamilton has an interesting story about Mercur Scorpios if he wants to share...

I agree that International shipping is not a problem. I've always shipped anywhere, and have never had a package lost. I've had them take a long time, where we thought they were lost, but they always showed up! I've even received eBay purchases for my Aussie friend and forwarded them on when he encountered sellers who wouldn't ship to him. The only issue is that postage costs have gone through the roof, probably doubled in the last few years which is probably why eBay is doing this shipping deal. Opening the bidding up internationally does a few things for your auctions. First, there are things that sell better outside the USA. For instance, I've shipped a lot of older Japanese kits. List one of those 1/32 Maverick kits and I can near guarantee someone in Brazil will buy it. They love Mavericks and are big on slot cars. The last one I sold went for $50 plus the $15 postage. The dollar is down in many countries, so US goods are cheap to them. For instance the Australian dollar used to be 50 cents US. Now it's pretty much even. That's like a 50% off sale to them! The deal is that when International buyers bid, the price goes up. Sometimes they don't win, but they drove the price up for the US buyer. As far as shipping, it's really no problem at all. I just sent out 30 packages with an NNL East shirt internationally. Filling out each customs form took me no more than a minute each. Not more complicated than that.

The lot is sold so obviously it was that valuable to at least two people who ran the bidding up! I think the price is relative to your tenure in the hobby and your location. This may be a smokin' deal for a beginner who doesn't have any of the kits, in the middle of Montana, where there is no hobby store and you'd have to buy them one at a time on eBay with postage costs. Others around the country have local hobby shops, some driving a good distance, where the kits are average $25 each. So this lot could be like Christmas for these guys. Then there are those of us who are in areas where there are a lot of clubs, shows and swap meets. We have access to a lot more and most important, cheap kits! I'm used to buying kits at $5 to $10 each for my inventory, parts and such. So not a good deal for those like me!

Eastern Pennsylvania... It will hit 82 tomorrow! Was supposed to rain all week, instead we got a couple showers, enough that I could skip moving mulch. Tomorrow will be a mulch day!

Call it a Tempest. Nobody will be able to tell with all that body damage!

Hey Dan, your PM is broke! Tried to send you two over the last week and it says you can't receive PMs.

and what's wrong with Harry Chapin?

Very cool build and I love the back story. Cars like that existed back in our era. Love the Bondo sponsor decal. And Iike the repaired spots, that's just like guys used to tape it off. But I can tell you're from Florida, not nearly enough rust for a Jersey car!

It's the same collection of kits every one of us has as extras! There's nothing there that I would want or need.

See I told ya we needed a special cat category!

This will be interesting. I think this is in response to the steep increase in International postage costs that the USPS has instituted. eBay probably will gather up the packages and ship them in bulk to the receiving countries and then put them in the local mail streams there. And you know with the volume they will generate, they'll get the very best rates.

I thought Harry finally put his own picture in his Avatar!

I love to grill stuff. Above are kabobs with marinated chicken and kielbasa. If you've gone to GSL you have probably had a Crown Burger. I made some at home. It's basically a cheeseburger with pastrami on it. Really good! My secret weapon. Cajun shrimp kabobs. The shrimp are rolled in the cajun spices and then wrapped in bacon. Yum! I also love to make my own wings on the grill. Man, now I'm hungry.

Cool space. You are waaay more organized than I am!

I agree Steve! Don is a great guy and never stops! Years ago he came to NNL East and we had dinner the night before the show. It was fun hearing his stories. The year they debuted his display at the museum, he was out there the entire day as all the tours went through. He got back to the hotel late and I spied him grabbing a late dinner in the hotel bar. I thought he'd be tired and want a little privacy but he waved me over. It was nice to share a quiet little meal with him once again.

Chas, come to NNL East next year! It's an off year for GSL so you need to do a trip in April! Look forward to seeing you too!