Harry P.

Very impressive work!

Did really good work. They are out of the diecast model business now.

How did you do the shift linkage? It looks fantastic!

Nicely done on the revised shots. As far as sunny vs. cloudy days... does your camera have a setting for those two situations?

That's not a good idea whether you're being videotaped or not...

The storm has weakened, downgraded to a tropical storm from hurricane, and after it passes over the Big Island it will head west and miss all the other Hawaiian islands.

Inflation is the sustained rise in the cost of goods and services over time, measured as an annual percentage increase–that percentage being the rate of inflation. Inflation is actually a decrease in the buying power of the dollar over time. If the inflation rate is running at 2% annually, an item that costs $1.00 today will cost $1.02 a year from now. The higher the rate of inflation, the less buying power the dollar has over time. From investopedia.com: To measure inflation, a number of goods that are representative of the economy are put together into what is referred to as a "market basket." The cost of this basket is then compared over time. This results in a price index, which is the cost of the market basket today as a percentage of the cost of that identical basket in the starting year.

Did you happen to read post #16?

This one wasn't as close as I thought it would be. Final vote: 43 REAL, 9 MODEL. And it's REAL!

You can't take the price of one particular item and tie the cost of everything to the rate of the price increase of that one item. The price of a lot of things has risen more than the rate of inflation. Like gas. And model cars. Not everything rises in price to correspond directly with the rate of inflation. And some things, factoring in inflation, actually cost less today than they did years ago. But model cars, to name one, have definitely risen in price at a rate that is higher than if they had only risen in price at the rate of inflation. To put it another way, the inflation calculator I linked to tells you that you would need $14 of today's dollars to buy what $2 bought you in 1968. So if two bucks bought you a model kit in 1968 (and it did), then if model kit prices had risen only at the rate of inflation, that kit would cost $14 today.

It's a worse deal. The price of model kits has risen more than the rate of inflation. $2 kit in 1968... factor in inflation, that kit would cost $14 today. Obviously new kits cost a lot more than $14-15. http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

I buy old, out of production kits (large scale) almost exclusively, so what they "should" cost is whatever I'm willing to pay for them.

Get a big sheet of white paper (or thin posterboard). Put the garbage can up against the side of the house. Tape the top of the paper to the house, let the lower part form a curve and sit on the garbage can lid. Place model on the horizontal part of the paper that's sitting on the garbage can lid. No more garbage can, no more wiring on the side of the house, no problems with a "bad neighborhood" or being a renter or any physical problems you have.

No matter the product... model kits, microwaves, Ginsu knives... the bottom line is units sold. What the consumer does with it after they buy it, the manufacturer couldn't care less. Sure, there may be individual employees in isolated cases who "care," but the manufacturer as a whole cares about one thing: units sold.

Car sheetmetal isn't stamped out of iron oxide. It's stamped out of steel.

I agree with that 100%. That "dipped in syrup" look may work for a show rod, but not much else. Especially a factory stock model where the real car didn't even have a clearcoat at all. Ah, ok, I get it now.

Show me one person what? I don't get it.

See post #5. Pretty self-explanatory. I said what I said... nothing more. Any further inferences you draw is beyond my control. Those high-end diecasts have literally flawless finishes. And no matter how good you are, you can't beat flawless. You can equal flawless. A lot of people can. But you can't beat it.

Generally I'd be the first to jump on here and refute what you said, if for no other reason than just to play devil's advocate... but I can't argue with anything you said. It's pretty much exactly correct.

Fair enough.

I'm not disputing that. Heck, I don't even know you, so I have no reason to say otherwise. My comment was specifically to answer the blanket statement that anyone can get a better finish on a plastic kit than any mass-produced diecast. That's just not so.

Where you buy them is irrelevant to whether they are mass produced or not.

Assume they're all liars and vote for the one with the best hair!

I'm aware of the fact that there are builders who can do a heck of a paint job. I put together a model car magazine every month... I don't need to do any "internet research" or "get out more." I'm very familiar with some very talented painters, including David Eicherly, who can put down a paint job that is spectacular. But thanks for the tip.