Harry P.

Got it today! WOO HOO!!!!!

Dave, you made a fantastic choice on the color... I couldn't have done better myself!!!

You guys got it (well, most of you)... It's REAL! Next ROM coming MONDAY!

It's patterned after the real thing. Here's a 1951 model:

New styles come along all the time, not only in the automotive world, but in fashion, architecture, everything. It only becomes a "stereotype" after time has passed and we come to associate that style with its particular time period. For example, pretty much all of you know the "Art Deco" look... swoopy, curvy, "aerodynamic". It was all the rage in the 1930s... they even had "aerodynamic" toasters! The Chrysler Airflow is a good example of a car done in the Art Deco style. The Empire State Building is a good example of Art Deco architecture... especially the top of the building, with its curved setbacks. When we think about the 1930s, as far as design goes, we think "Art Deco", and it has become symbolic of the era... a stereotype. But of course, back in the 30s it was all very new, groundbreaking and cutting edge. It was a decided break from the past, and was considered very "chic" and forward-looking. Every new style will eventually become attached to, and a symbol of, its time, as the years go by. So the answer is, no, we'll never be rid of design "stereotypes", because all new design genres will eventually be linked to the era in which they appeared, and will become synonymous with that era... in other words, a stereotype.

Don't know about Imai, but I've built several of the Imex Harleys, and they're fantastic! Great detail, easy to build. I've added some additional detail and/or customized these to some extent, but still, out of the box they're great!

San Antonio? South America? Sexaholics Anonymous? Something Awful?

On our license plates it still says "Land of Lincoln", and old "honest Abe" still has his face on the plates, but I think it would be a lot more accurate to change the plates. Maybe a picture of George Ryan, Rich Daley, Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris... and a new slogan: "Crossroads of Corruption"!!! Maybe they could also sell vanity plates with special designs... like the kind where the money goes to a certain cause like the environment, breast cancer, University of Illinois, etc. We have all of those and a lot more. Maybe we need to add a new vanity plate... with a picture of the corrupt and/or convicted Illinois politician of your choice on the plates, and the money raised going towards their legal defense or appeal funds!

Problem is I was never part of the family. I gotta talk with "da boys" and see if there's any chance for me to get in...

I'll ask my esteemed Senator Burris about it... if anyone can explain Illinois politics to me, he can...

Don't try to replicate aluminum panels with real aluminum... it's way too labor intensive and not worth the hassle. Use either thin sheet styrene or acetate sheet. Use Testors Metalizer aluminum paint to give it the look of aluminum. Much easier to work with styrene or acetate sheet. Styrene sheet, of course, can be glued with regular styrenen cement, acetate sheet with CA (superglue) or epoxy.

How come everyone else gets theirs before I get mine? Doesn't being on the masthead come with any perks at all???!!!

I'm with ya on that ONE!

You could buy a cow, build a barn for the cow, feed the cow, milk the cow, then churn your own butter. But sometimes it just makes more sense to buy the butter at the store... know what I mean?

Yeah, but you still hafta buy the butter...

Also, if you try and make them yourself (and why you would want to do that, I have no idea), your chances of cutting the free-flowing curves smoothly, without interruptions in the curves as the radius changes, are practically zero. Here's a set of 4 at amazon for $4. Heck of a lot easier than DIY! http://www.amazon.com/C-Thru-French-Curve-Set/dp/B001CE7BEG

Ditto times 1,000!

Yeah, I also answered him question by question... it took a while! sigh...

Jim? Jim who???

There was a topic here regarding someone new to the hobby who had a list of 8-10 questions regarding getting started, what tools and supplies would be needed, etc. The person posted the same questions in two different forum areas, so I figured I'd "clean up" things and merge the two posts together, so all the answers would appear in the same place. Well, uh... instead of doing that, I wound up deleting the whole thing! So, if the person who made that post sees this, please re-post your questions (in only one place this time!) Sorry about that... I got a little trigger happy and hit the wrong key. I hope Gregg doesn't take my badge away...

How about it? Real or model? The answer: REAL!

Sprue ("sproo") is the "framework" of plastic that the parts are connected to. I use a brush to paint small parts, number one, because it's quick and easy, and two, using spray paint to paint small parts is a waste! 90% of the paint goes right past the part! For little things like engine parts, suspension pieces, anything small, I use a brush. You can use spray, that's up to you... but I prefer to brush small parts.

When brush painting small parts, what I do is this: remove the parts from the trees, clean up any flash or sprue connection points, then I take some scrap sprue and using a small drop of superglue I glue the part to the tree in such a way that the glue spot is on an area that won't show when the part is installed. Now I have a handle (the sprue) to hold on to while I paint the parts.

My 2 cents: This forum seems to have a pretty high percentage of experienced, contest-quality type builders as members in comparison to other places. I don't know exactly why that is, but it is. Given that fact, this would seem like the ideal place for younger or less experienced builders to hang out and soak up as much as they can. Even just looking at the various models posted here is an education! As far as not being as "social" as other forums, well, that depends on which forum you're talking about. Some are nothing more that glorified chat rooms, and if that's your thing, then by all means enjoy it. But you won't find a lot of idle chatter here. There don't tend to be a lot of "nice stance, bro" type responses here, because, let's face it, what does a response like that actually add to the conversation? Not a whole lot, and our members apparently realize this. Now, that's not to say that we shouldn't give out pats on the back and attaboys where deserved... it's just that comments here tend to be a little more "evolved" than that... and that's a good thing. What's going to help a new builder more... a generic "whoa dude, that's awesome"... or a more detailed comment regarding accuracy, color, details, whatever? Again, not to discourage the casual "nice build" type posts... those are fine. But I think that here you'll generally get a lot more meaningful interaction than that. And regarding people who post but seem to get very little response... don't forget that sometimes it's simply a matter of time. It's very rare that a post goes for days without any response, but sometimes it takes time for enough members to see it. The number of people actually active here on a regular basis is less than on some other forums, so it might take a little longer for the responses to start coming in... but eventually they will. I don't think people play favorites here... everyone has an equal shot! Sure, some guys' posts seem to get more responses than others, but as mentioned above, it's because what they're posting is different, eyecatching, or unique in some way... not because they're forum "pets." Bottom line: We have a higher percentage of experienced builders here, but that's not a bad thing for the younger or less experienced guys... it's a good thing!

My son and a friend of his bought a late '90s SHO a couple of years ago, they paid $900 for it. They kept it for about 2 weeks, then sold it for $1200. That was our first Ford ever in this family!