Tom Geiger

I think that was one of those big workshop ideas in Popular Mechanics Magazine in the 1950s. Everyone did it! I still have baby food jars full of nails and screws from my grandfather's basement. Who knows how old those jars are, my father probably ate the baby food!

A new coffee maker! Our old one made the morning coffee and died with a smell of burning electric wires. So not being folks who can do without our morning jolt, we ran out and bought a new Mr Coffee unit. Now here's the quandry... I scratch built this coffee maker using my 1:1 as the pattern. Does that mean I need to scratch build the new one? LOL

Great work Jim! I'm turning in my glue and tweezers! I'll never catch up to you and Mr Hamilton! LOL

Okay I just came across this thread for the first time. So I'll play. I've had this one started for a long time. It's been screaming to get off the unfinished project shelf for a while now... I'll get going on it as soon as I get the '34 Ford rat rod and Dodge Van Camper off the bench.

Welcome from Exton, Pennsylvania, USA

Your thread made me pull out my old '60 Desoto to look it over... This is what I started with. I had destroyed this kit when I was younger, as you can see in this photo. One of the issues was that as I tried to get a decent finish, I kept sanding mistakes and sanded off the detail on the chrome strip down the right side. And of course I was trying to hand paint details with Testors Sticky Silver. It's since been stripped and I completely sanded off all the trim. I am hoping to build to this look, I know this is a Chrysler in the photo. I may do a finished metallic finish roof, but the body will have that sanded primer look. I believe I'm up to the task.

Then you must've noticed how shallow the Volare rear seat bottom is! My first attempt at creating the front seat was cutting one of those out of the tub, but it was a lost cause!

When my younger daughter (now 24) was 4 she sat down at my hobby bench and managed to pour an entire bottle of Zap A Gap into an interior tub. She was working on a model just like daddy!

My modeling year still shows promise since I haven't been up to the model room today at all! We went out to friends last evening and stayed over, staying up until 3am and getting up with 5 hours sleep. Today I checked the boards and sat on the couch to watch Judge Judy with the wife. We both fell asleep until the dog woke us up to inform us it was his dinner time! Nice restful first day of a new year!

Digital versions of the magazines... I like the paper ones because I have near complete collections of both titles. It's just always been that way. BUT, I no longer get a daily newspaper. My routine is to pour my big cup of coffee and sit down at the PC to view the news! I find it's more timely than paper. And with all the digital devices we own now, I can see this taking over.

Sell them! I paid a lot of money for mint old kits for a long time. I have some really neat stuff. A couple things that make me think I should sell them. 1. I noticed that although I have all this great material, I tend to build newer releases and I build stuff from junk! I don't think I've actually built any of those mint old kits. 2. For most of the mint sealed kits I have, I also have rebuildables of the same ones. I like restoring those, so I would be more likely to do that than crack open the minty one. and 3. Many of the ones I spent money on have been reissued over the years, greatly reducing the value. As the companies in charge of the old molds are more knowledgable and willing to invest more in tool restoration than in the past, I predict we'll see more of these reissued. And RM actually retooled the Tijuana Taxi and Rommels Rod, even killing the value on the restorables I own. So I can see myself going through my hoard and selling off stuff like this.

Thanks Ron. I had to move from NJ to PA to get that view from my back door!

Here's wishing everyone a great 2013, and many super builds! 2012 was a stinker in my house, so I'm hoping that 2013 will be a much better year!

I agree that Gary Schmidt and Scale Auto Enthusiast resurected the then dead hobby of model car building. Without Gary taking that chance, the hobby may not have had the comeback and the ride we've all enjoyed the last 25 years! I read BOTH magazines and will say that both entities are doing a fine job working in a market where there is no money to be made. I just read in the last posted circulation statement in Model Cars that paid circulation is around 6000 copies. How do you make money at that number? Both magazines are at the mercy of hobbiests, who are poorly paid if at all, who aren't the best at honoring deadlines or coming through at all. If you've suffered the stress of putting out a club newsletter, multiply that angst by 100. Both magazines can only print what the faithful submits, along with what the one guy, Greg or Jim, can produce themselves. There is no newsroom with 100 reporters like Time Magazine here! If people send in kit reviews, they get printed. (BTW, I saw a ton of them in the last 2 issues of MC too!) If we all were to submit dynamite build articles both magazines would be all the better! The market has changed drastically. How can a magazine that needs to have a 3-6 month lead time compete with the Internet on contest results? Why spend 8 pages on photos of a long past contest when hundreds of photos were available on the Internet that very night? As far as tips and techniques, there are only so many things we can do. And the elementary how-to articles are there for those coming into the hobby. They weren't around the last time the magazine did an article on airbrush techniques, and that article will sell the issue. If all the how-to articles were at a very advanced level, we'd lose the newbies. And we can't afford that at all. And remember that advertising dollars have all but disappeared. Everything is sold on the Internet now. I'm amazed that they can continue publishing. If you really want to see where both magazines are at, go find an old issue of Model Car Science. Talk about elementary! The magazine is written for kids, with heavy influence from manufacturers and is maybe 25% slot cars. The current magazines are light years ahead of that!

It's all a corporate conspiracy. Those millionares in the aftermarket business have it all wrapped up to screw the little guy! Actually as someone involved in one of the largest shows in the country... NNL East, as 99% of the model shows we enjoy, is run by a non profit club. We probably have the most aftermarket companies in attendance and I can say that nobody in that arena is making mega bucks at it. Not enough to buy a show! and the nickel commercial... I love NNL style events because there is no judging. People don't give a darn what you added to it if it doesn't have curb appeal. I long ago lost interest in contests and competing. I still go to the contest events for the social aspect, to see the models and shop the dealers. I may put a model down on the table to participate but I often don't even listen to the contest results!

I feel your pain. I've often wondered why a promo that is so warped the front and rear ends are touching sells for what it does. You just have to accept that people want these things bad enough to pay the money.

Funny! My favorite "LOOKS COMPLETE" auction had one view into the model box. There were just some odd parts, looked like the left overs from a build. No body or chassis in the photo! But it LOOKED COMPLETE to the numpty selling it! Or the shrewdie thought it would look complete to the numpties buying!

I guess we're all just upset that we didn't think of it first!

Off to a good start. I'll be watching ya!

Good to see someone else working on this oldie! A few tips. First, the kit doesn't come with any pedals. You'll need to add them. Second, the trim on the interior door panels is awful faint. Here's what I did to mine. I added some Evergreen strips and a resin window crank from Miniatures & Replicas of MD. Then I carved the arm rest out of a toothpick. I may have the window louvers and front spoiler in my stash. PM me if you want them and I'll look.

This year’s Christmas Amnesty Project is my old '34 Ford rat rod project, which has burlap look seat covers. Since I sectioned the interior to better fit inside the sectioned body, the back seat I had done previously won't work anymore. So I took a seat from a second kit to take six scale inches out of it so it will fit in my modified interior tub. That meant I needed to cover this seat to match. So here we go... This is super easy guys... Materials - One kit seat and Micro Kristal Klear. Elmers white glue will work also, I just had this handy. You'll need a napkin or other suitable covering. This is a Taco Bell napkin. So go to Taco Bell, buy a dollar taco, take 50 napkins and some hot sauce while you're at it. I like their hot sauce. You'll also need a couple of Q-Tips. Before we start, a few things about the seat. I had to cut mine apart to take some plastic out. You probably still should cut it into two pieces. It's just easier, although I've done covers and tucked it into the crack between the top and bottom cushion. Also, check the fit of your seat. If it's already a tight fit in the interior, you will need to sand it down some since we are adding a layer of napkin to it. Take the white glue and give the seat part a decent and complete coating, even around the back edges. Don't thin it out any, nor do we want a lot of glue to soak through the napkin. Now let it sit a few minutes to get tacky. Now take a section of napkin and take it down to single ply. We only want one layer to glue. Just press the napkin into the glue. We don't want the glue to soak through to the face. Now cut the napkin down to the part you will wrap around to the back of the seat and start your wrap. You want to flatten down all your edges that will be visible. This defines the shape. Let it dry. Now roll it over and it should look like this. Add glue to the back. You can even glue on top of the napkin and it will soak through. You can be sloppy here. Let it dry. Now we have the two seat cushions defined and ready to put into the interior. And the end result is worth the effort! I will cover the arm rests to match.

A bit of background... I always have had the week between Christmas and New Years off. Either the company shut down or I just took vacation days. I like it as an end of the year unwind. No work, no house projects. Just perfect time to work on a model. So I started my Christmas Model Car Amnesty Project about a dozen years ago. Just as the president pardons a turkey at Thanksgiving, I reach up onto my unfinished project shelf and give amnesty to one of them for Christmas! There are years I've made the deadline. There was the year I finished one on Christmas morning before the family got up. There are years I finish the model a week or two into January and there have been the years where I've failed! Anyway, here's this year's project. This '34 Ford dates back to 2005 and has been on the bench a couple of times since. I have her out on the bench and the goal is to finish it by New Years Day. I am still working on the Dog House Camper and I have a '51 Chevy custom that someone else built but I'm detailing out on the bench. But at the stage these three projects are at, I alternate while stuff is drying. Here's where I left off in 2005. The body had been sectioned 6 scale inches at the belt line. The Plymouth flatty six was finished and ready to install. The chassis componets are just posed. Here's the difference of what I sectioned out of the body. It was really easy, the two remaining pieces just fit right back together. the good part about revisiting an old project is that you notice things you didn't before. On this one, the car was just sitting up way too high, like a highboy with the chassis showing below the bottom of the body. Back in 2005, I was playing with (and destroying!) chassis and suspension parts. Go to 2012 and I immediately saw my issue... I sectioned 6" out of the body but still had the stock height interior. So per the above photo, I took a second interior tub and cut the corresponding 6" out of it. It was a three part process. I needed the top of the doors since they had detail on them. I needed the lower half of the back for the arm rests. So I cut the floor out, then seperated the doors forward from the back of the tub. I cut 6" from the bottom of the doors, 6" from the top of the tub and then glued it all back together. It worked fairly well. I did have the seats all done in the taller interior, but I needed to redo the rear one from a fresh part. Here it is completed, it's supposed to look like burlap. In reality it's Taco Bell napkin. I can do a tutorial on how easy this is to do with good results if desired. and here's the completed interior. The front seat was previously done in 2005 and was made from the two kit bucket seats. Seat belts are ribbon with seat belt buckles cut off those huge seat belts we find in kits. Flooring is old Turkish carpet that I actually printed to use in the camper. It works here. I also thought the interior side panels were too plain and I had sanded off the very light detail to do the resin handles. So I glued some of the Turkish carpet to thin plastic. Side view as you'd see through the windows. I forgot to thin out the belt buckles so they're a bit thick. Door handles / window cranks are resin from Norm Veber. I did an 8 ball shifter on another car, so here's a 6 ball shifter because this car has a flat head 6 in it. It's green and the number is one of those little decal numbers you find on decal sheets. So that's the progress to date. The suspension just needs to be glued to the chassis, engine will drop right in also. The challenge to finish it is the body and the grill / radiator detail up front.

Okay... screwed myself... since I posted the above, it started snowing here. At least we have nowhere to go for the weekend. Can just stay inside, watch it snow and work on models! Exton, PA Right Now! And it's coming down. (and no the orange thing isn't a UFO, it's the reflection of a light off my window. I wasn't going out there!)

I haven't counted my models and know I'll never build them all. Why put that pressure on yourself? It's a hobby! I had run out of room at my old house because it didn't have a basement and I was leery of storing kits in the garage (mice) or the attic (heat). In my new house in PA I have a full finished basement and took over what was a 12x10 bedroom as the model warehouse. So I have all the room I'll ever need (famous last words) and I stopped worrying about buying stuff. If I see something interesting, I'll buy it. I do intend to organize and cull down the hoard with the intent of eliminating duplicates, upgrading some really beat built ups to better buildable kits, and filling in the holes in my collection. For instance, if I sell 3 of the 6 '61 Buicks I have, I can use the funds to get a few other years that I don't have. And I can get rid of some of the stuff that just doesn't interest me anymore. And the funny thing... I have a great collection of old and rare kits and restorable built ups, but what do I build? It seems my projects either start with a current kit or some old scrap (like my Dodge van camper!).

That's because the other rag is always two months in advance. Perhaps they are off set for a good reason.