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Harry P.

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Everything posted by Harry P.

  1. Flint does have a few things to brag about if you know where to look. For example, of all US cities whose name is only one syllable, Flint is the largest! I know... not much to brag about. But hey... at least in one category Flint is #1!!!
  2. Very nice... good attention to detail, like the "aluminum" front bumper. I'd suggest that you add the tow bar brackets in front, though. A simple add-on, and they're very apparent on the real car:
  3. A few years ago I did some graphics work for a guy in Flint. He bought a house with his credit card! He paid $18,000 for it. I can only imagine what an $18,000 house must look like... even in Flint! Must have been a real "fixer-upper"!!! But apparently real estate in Flint is dirt cheap...if you know where to look.
  4. They say that possession is 9/10 of the law...
  5. Just a friendly suggestion... but you might want to seriously consider moving as far away from Flint as possible...
  6. Just a crazy wild guess here... but would this possibly have been appropriate to post in the "Model TRUCKS" section???
  7. Nice job!
  8. I hear you... there's definitely something to be said for the "hands on" approach. That's how I did it for many years, and to be honest, I didn't like the switch to computer illustration at first; it seemed very strange and awkward to me after so many years of airbrush, Rapidograph pens, markers and Crescent board! I missed the tactile experience of actually laying down color on board by hand. But now that I have "mastered" Photoshop, more or less, I have to say it's been a real treat. I do miss the old ways sometimes, but I have never gone back. Probably never will, I guess. In my case I had to make the switch to digital because that's where the industry went (brochures, catalogs, magazine ads, etc.)... it was adapt or die. And in the process of going from "manual" to "digital" I learned how to create illustrations in Photoshop (and Illustrator), and I liked it! Now I draw with a mouse! Go figure...
  9. Nice range of styles there... The "Lil Coffin" style Gremlin could be part of a "Sketchpad" feature...
  10. Once you really get the hang of "drawing" on the computer you'll be hooked! And you'll never have to buy paint or ink again!
  11. Ooops... in my previous post a forgot a word! I meant to say that for me, it's NOT about getting another model up on the shelf... ( I forgot the word "not"... fixed it now).
  12. For me, model building is something that I do because I like the process. For me it's not about getting another model up on the shelf (I only have enough space in my house to display only a small fraction of the model's I've built, anyway). Personally I get no satisfaction from putting an artificial "due date" on any project. In fact, just the opposite... if I tried to force myself into building a model within a certain time frame, it would be more of a hassle to me than a relaxing, enjoyable experience. I have enough deadlines in my work... I don't need to add even more deadlines to my life. I build at my own pace, no particular ETA ever. I have some "WIPs" that have been in progress, on and off (mostly off) for literally years and years! No problem... they'll be finished whever I feel like finishing them. Maybe never! So what? I agree with Dave (davkin)... if you start to feel burned out on a particular project, box it up and put it away for a while. Try something else, or take a break altogether. Works for me...
  13. No offense, Mark... but Art is the first person I think of when the subject of the history of model cars (or the history of full-size cars, for that matter) comes up. I imagine he has so much knowledge of the subject crammed into his brain that his head must be the size of a beach ball... Now that's not to say that there aren't others, like yourself, who also have quite a bit of knowledge of the subject... but come on... in a game of "Model Car Jeopardy", would you bet against Art? I think a "History of plastic model cars" feature would be terrific in the magazine. It could even be an ongoing regular or semi-regular feature... maybe the story of one particular manufacturer each time. Who wouldn't want to read the story of AMT, Monogram, Aurora, etc.? I know that I'd enjoy seeing something like that in the magazine. So let's give Art AMT, and Mark, you take JoHan. Who wants to do Monogram?
  14. Yeah...and with guys like Art "The Human Encyclopedia" Anderson posting here, you'd have to try really hard NOT to learn a thing or two!
  15. One important point to keep in mind: The 1958 AMT "3-in'1"s that were designed and manufactured back in the 50s, as stated, were basically unassembled promos with a few extras thrown in for good measure, and marketed to little kids. Accuracy wasn't exactly number one on the priority list of the manufacturer... making some money by reworking and selling the old product as a "kit" was the goal. So it really makes no sense to criticize those old kits as far as accuracy. BUT... it is legitimate for consumers today to expect much better from NEWLY TOOLED KITS! A new kit, designed and built from scratch in this day and age, has no reason to be inaccurate. Old kits? Yeah, they're quaint and a "window into the past". New kits? No more excuses for bad product! Can we fix the kit's flaws? Of course we can. That's not the point. The point is, we shouldn't have to!
  16. I know... last one was #69, but somehow I skipped 68, so consider this a "make-up exam!" The answer: REAL!
  17. Very nice work! A model you definitely won't see every day! Does anyone else agree that an "Oldsmobile" based on a Corvette is a little... weird? "This isn't your father's Oldsmobile"...
  18. Considering the scale, the detail level on that is incredible! Very cool!
  19. A little more on the beginnings of AMT and the evolution of their early kits: This article was taken from the July/August 1997 issue of The Blueprinter, a magazine published by The Ertl Company, Dyersville, IA Hobby History Aluminum Model Toys From Aluminum to Plastic From Eight Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan to Highways 136 and 20 in Dyersville, Iowa, AMT's rich history spans nearly half a century. A written record of its initial years is nonexistent, leaving the historian to rely on recollections of those who were there during the company's first two decades, the '50's and '60's. Memories and scrapbook archives of former AMT employees like Paul Simon, pattern maker from 1955-1964, bring the company's story alive like no official written history ever could. The result is an intriguing legacy of eccentricity, humor and hard work spun together to create one of the nation's top model kit manufacturers. Decades after the arrival of plastic assembly kits, the AMT name itself raises a curious eyebrow for today's modeler. An acronym for Aluminum Model Toys, it refers to the material used in creating the company's first product: pre-assembled promotional models, or "promos." In 1948, West Gallogly, Sr. began working on a mold for a 1946 Ford, fashioning it from an existing Danish friction toy. The Ford Motor Company was hustling to meet an increased public demand for new autos in this booming period, and a light bulb was glowing over Gallogly's intuitive head. The plan was to create a scaled-down mold, cast the new 1948 Ford in aluminum (the difference between the '46 and '48 bodies was slight), paint it in the manufacturer's various available body colors, and place it in Ford showrooms nationwide. Working from a rented, one-room shop near Detroit, the foundation was set for Aluminum Model Toys. Aluminum was the material of choice because of its ready availability and attractive cost due to the post-war scrapping of warplanes. These new auto replicas were available exclusively through dealerships as a reward for test driving or purchasing the latest full-scale models. A successful lawyer from a wealthy family, Gallogly invested capital that made the infant company possible. Setting up shop on Eight Mile Road in Detroit, Ford became the primary promo subject matter in those fledgling years, due in part to the auto manufacturer's dominant presence in the market. However, according to Simon, there was another factor at work. It was said that Gallogly's grandfather was one of many people who had lent money to Henry Ford toward the construction of his River Rouge assembly plant in the late 1920s. It was the largest industrial complex in the world at the time and a model of production efficiency. As a result, a relationship between Ford Motor Company and Aluminum Model Toys was cemented years later. In 1949, a revolutionary change occurred that shaped the future of promos and, subsequently, model kits. The advent of the high-output plastic mold injection method all but eliminated the use of aluminum. Plastic could now be molded in the desired automotive body colors, cutting back on the need for paint. Small metal parts, such as side trim and bumpers, were still utilized on a diminished level until the mid-50s, but an all-plastic body drastically reduced the cost of creating an aluminum shell. With this shift came a revised company name. Aluminum Model Toys now became the AMT Corporation. Running the business for Gallogly in these early years was an experience pattern maker named George Toteff. "He was the spark plug of the operation," Simon said of Toteff. He piloted the company into the '50s, taking a "hands-on" approach from design to assembly. At this time, much of the actual production was performed by outside sources, leaving primarily design and final assembly in-house. Molding was out-sourced to businesses like Continental Plastics in Detroit, who produced windows and taillights for the promos. Continental remains in business today, manufacturing parts for full-scale autos in the Motor City. Throughout the 1950's, AMT made a name for itself by producing a slew of successful, 1/25th scale promotional models. Sometime around 1958, however, another ingenious light bulb appeared over AMT designers. The existing tools used to create these promos were gathering dust in warehouses, intact and unused. A spark of inspiration - to whom it is attributed, is a matter of debate - provided a new purpose for these molds. Take an existing unassembled model - usually consisting of 15-20 parts - throw some extra parts in, perhaps louvers and fender skirts, and sell them to hobbyists. During the '50's, customizing was on the rise. The days of hot rods blasting across dry lakebeds were now giving way to street cruising and, consequently, an appetite for wild looks to accompany performance. Spreading out from California came a rising enthusiasm for automobile styling that was frequently expressed by hobbyists and their hand-made auto replicas. Customizing full-scale cars and trucks was a passion for many of these enthusiasts, and now there was a new world of possibilities for reworking their scaled-down versions. A '56 Buick could be assembled as a stock, custom or racing version out of one box, leading to the label, "3-in-1 model kit." In fact, Simon recalls the Buick being produced, selling 600,000 units or better. Further innovation was not far in the future and the path was paved for a cast of creative, hard-working characters to inhabit the AMT Corporation, from heads of design to final assembly.
  20. Actually building scale model plastic car kits as a hobby was already underway before 1958. There were unassembled plastic model kits offered years before, like the "Highway Pioneers" series. The AMT 1958 kits, being that they were kits of then-current cars, probably caught the interest of a lot more people, though, and you could say they gave the hobby a "kick start"... A lot more info here: http://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/
  21. There was a lot of "blowing and drifting"... BTW... it's 7 below zero right now. Beautiful weather were havin' here...
  22. To say it another way, a static model doesn't move. If it does have an engine, it's a plastic model engine and is non-operational, as opposed to, say, a slot car or RC car, which are "models" that have operating engines or motors and actually move.
  23. Who's Christian???
  24. We got a bit of snow here yesterday... I had to shovel the driveway twice to keep up. That's my car at the end of the driveway... Man!!! I gotta get me a snowblower... this shoveling business is killing me!
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