Tom Geiger

Ron it looks like you're on your way to being good with BMF. It takes practice, the good part is that if you screw up a piece, you can peel it off and try again. With that patience, you can get really nice results. And don't forget, that when you get frustrated.. walk away for the evening! It will work better tomorrow when you are in a better frame of mind. I like the Revell snappers. They are great just for what you are doing, practicing new skills, whether it's new paint techniques or BMF. I used the '63 Corvette convertible to practice some minor body mods and try out Duplicolor paints. It came out sooo nice! The Revell kits are proportionally nice, have great engraving and make overall super shelf models! Where we will ask for a specific, and sometimes odd subject, I'd be happy to get them in this fashion!

Welcome! International members are most welcome here. What type of cars do you like to build?

Tom- You are too late! A bunch of guys PMed me that they'd be here in the morning. Figure with that sized crew we'll be done by noon and can spend the rest of the day in my model room

I just did something you'd never think of... I bought 10 yards of mulch on-line and paid for it with Paypal. So anyone with nothing to do Tuesday afternoon, just be here when it's delivered!

I remember when the Maverick first came out with the big ads for $1995. I was 11 and very into cars, and new car unveilings. So I knew all about it. My great aunt got a red one and when we went to visit her, I told her all about it. She gave me a promo that the dealer gave her with the car. I was stoked! Funny thing, I remember getting it but I don't remember what I did with it (you don't think I left it stock do ya?) nor it's final disposition.

Thanks Mark that is the bumper / connie kit from the Revell '59 Chevy convertible kit. I molded in the lower valance from the kit too. The tail lights are AMT '57 Ford with a Revell '59 Caddy bullet mounted in the center. I've been playing with this one since the late 1980s. The body was a slush cast blob from a long defunct company. It was a hardtop but the pillars were so thin I just broke the roof off. There was a ton of slag attached to the rocker panels and the rear quarters were short shots. It was a mess. It took a lot of on and off work just to make it look like a nicely cast resin body! I believe I will finish this one. I recently found a set of custom pattern seats I wanted to use in it. As far as explaining the chassis, I do have some Cuba license plates... somebody built up the Buick convertible on an available Chevy chassis.. yea, that's the story!

Lookin' good so far! Love the color choices on the body.

I always prime everything after I clean up the parts. It helps you get a uniform color coat if you've added putty or if the parts were an odd color. I like to use Duplicolor automotive paint in spray cans. So I use their primer gray on everything. I've had much better success with the auto paints than Testors.

As we say every time someone creates something cool.... You should've had it cast! I can't wait to see it finished. It would be a treat to see it sitting on a show table and gauge the reactions of guys when they see the four in there!

Dan, that is a very nice piece. Everything from Missing Link is top notch! As far as bucket seats, a quick look on the Internet shows them as an option to allow for the floor shifters. A quick look on the Internet shows that the bench seat is pretty common in the Grabber. And it probably was in the kit they copied. Here's what the Grabber buckets look like. I didn't think they'd recreate the wheel, so I took a look at the same year Mustang.... Bingo! Same seat, just a different upholstery pattern in the center.

but nowhere as cool as ATMs and GPSs!

The best shelves for model cars are glass. There will be no chemical reaction (yes I once had a model solidly affixed to a painted shelf by a paint / tire reaction) and if you light the case, the light can travel from top to bottom. I recently had shelves made for two curio cabinets. Cut to size and finished edges, about $5-10 a shelf. So it's not expensive.

I agree. And some folks are looking for some human interaction, or someone they can ask a question or ask for further detail of the tip. That's the difference between reading something in a magazine or a message board. The one thing I don't like on this board is when someone asks a question and a moderator takes that new thread and adds it to the end of some five year old thread on the same topic, that has 10 pages of inside jokes and missing photos. Nobody wants to wade through all that. And a newbie maybe won't find it and think you deleted his thread. Oh, and don't discount a thread because you think you know all the answers. Sometimes someone has come up with a new solution / product to solve an old problem. Especially the newbies. Don't assume they are know nothings new to the hobby. A lot of board newbies are accomplished modelers who just happened to stumble onto the board.

Things I need to build... my glasses! My cushion handle eXacto knife. Zap-a-Gap, Dixie bathroom cups, tooth picks and my very favorite battery power drill. Oh, and my lucky pink board! My Chopper II is one of my best tool investments. Under it is an old hacksaw blade that I use as a straight edge and can't forget Squadron Green Putty. Matching Gerber's jars that probably date back to when my kids ate the stuff (they're in their 20s). One is lacquer thinner and the other is good ole turpentine. My spray booth My assortment of 1x1 squares of sandpaper in varying grits. And my several Flexifiles. and my 1/25 scale ruler! And with all of the above, I'm pretty much good to go and can't forget my sidekick sleeping under the bench!

Thank you! Just in case there's any doubt it's in scale, here it is next to a '61 Ranchero.

as far as the chrome trim lines on the fins, they are pretty much non existent on the original kit. I just checked the above car as well as another untouched resin body I have. Very faint lines on the top, nothing on the underside. On the 1:1 car, the top and bottom of the fin are two different pieces and are pinch welded and unfinished under the chrome. And here's a shot of the 1:1 1960 Electra 2 door hardtop I used to own. Should have kept it!

Back when I decided that I needed to get some experience working with basswood I decided to build this in 1/25 scale. Everything you see is basswood, except the tire which came from my parts box, and the climbing pegs are Evergreen rod. The slide surface is BMF. The original was in a 1970s Popular Mechanix Magazine. The entire set of plans was there with dimensions. I just built it in 1/25 scale instead of 1/1. I got the experience and confidence to work in wood. I've done a few things since, but this was the initial project.

I love the pair. They'd be welcome on my shelf anytime!

Here's some compacts I own but didn't build... 1962 and 1963 Chevy IIs 1961 or 62 Buick wagon. I have both years somewhere! 1962 Tempest A pair of 62 Ramblers. The white one is a kit, the other a promo A long line of Falcons Comet 4 door sedan promo. (Ignore the Galaxie) Original 1971 Duster kit. I had one of these when I was a kid. In 1970 Dusters were selling so well that my uncle waited near 6 months for his. A 1961 Valiant. I have a photo of all the years of Valiants in one long line but Fotki is holding it hostage right now. a '62 Lancer

This was my first display case, an old china cabinet. Cost? Free! I've had it since my kids were your kids ages and never did a little hand get onto a model!

True! I got these at my local Giant supermarket. They were $3.99 and I made a mental note to get some. The next time they were on sale for $2.99 with your Giant card so I backed the cart up to the shelf and bought all they had. These are 16 quart, 6-3/4"x 12" x 7" (larger than 4 kit boxes) and stack nicely. I use them as my junk yard boxes for different kits and large hoards like tires. The boxes in the photo are marked "Dodge Vans", "1920-34 Ford" and the last box is "1950 Ford pickups". I dumped 5 unsealed kits into that one. Cheap and organized.

Here's another tip. My wife is a Swiffer fiend. She's always mopping around the house with these buggers. Note the perfect blue box with a clear lid that they come in! The box in the photo perfectly holds a model project. There is also a more shallow box that is perfect for parts. The best part is that you can look in the clear lid and see the contents. Here's one holding my '61 Ranchero resto project. (model is long done!) and here's the two different size boxes being used for parts... And here's my work bench with the unfinished projects all neatly in these boxes on the shelves.

Here is a resin '59 Buick body over the Revell 1959 Chevy convertible chassis. First, it's too short. I lengthened it over the front wheels to get it to fit the body. Second, it's absolutely the wrong chassis. I got wacked on the board for it, and lost enthusiasm for the project. So it sits waiting for a better idea. and here's a picture of the stock AMT chassis that is under the AMT 1960 Buick. I'm not sure if this is right for the '59

I like it a whole lot. I hate wiring the buggers myself! His boots are very nicely to scale. The ones I had been making from heater hose are too big. I will use this sample he gave me on my next V8 build.

I don't think 1970-75 were sad years. There were still a lot of neat things going on with American cars. Cars became less exciting around the time of the first gas crisis. And that low point went all the way through the 1980s. Even so, I do stop and look when I see an old car from that era today, some of which I remember with affection. And as things go, these cars will be collected and enjoyed by those who remember them from their youth. Somewhere someone is doing a ground up restoration on a 1984 Dodge Caravan just like the one mom used to own!