Harry P.

Different contests have different rules, simple as that. There is no one definition of all classes that everyone agrees on. Check the rules of the contest you plan to enter before you enter.

Don't know about the others, but I do know that the Beetle was redesigned to try and make it look more muscular, to try and draw more male buyers... that's why the lowered, longer look. I think it looks pretty cool, actually.

I'f be willing to bet that you liked different music than your father did... BTW... the last original member of the Ramones just died.

You make some good points (1 through 4). But I don't think cost is the killer when it comes to new people entering the hobby... after all, a game console and a bunch of games isn't exactly cheap, but look how popular that is with kids today. I think it's more of a generational thing. Like I posted earlier, the world has changed, and today's kids are living in a very different world than the kids who built models in the '60s lived in. PS: Yeah, I know GTA is more about, um... "other things." Bad example on my part. GT is probably a better example of what I'm talking about.

Is there even an actual paper book encyclopedia still in existence?

Well, in my case I picked this hobby back when I was a little kid and video games didn't exist... and just sort of stuck with it. If I was a kid today, I'd probably be more into video games than building models.

But what culture is more heavily into electronics and gadgetry than the Japanese? Yet they also have a love of building models, and model building is very popular there. They can do both. So could we... but our kit manufacturers heads are stuck in the 1960s.

Because they're all playing video games! Put a model car commercial in the video game!!! Sell model kits that tie in to video games!!!! Hello!??? Model Kit Company Marketing Department??? To steal a line from Pink Floyd... "Is there anybody in there????"

Interesting story. I never knew a "real" Tucker convertible existed.

I'll never understand why they didn't make the headlights the car's "eyes" and put the eyes in the windshield instead. Is the grille and headlights not the "face" of the car? Putting the eyes in the windshield is just weird...

But have they really tried to market kits that today's kids would be interested in? Or do they endlessly recycle old kits that kids wanted in the '60s and '70s and wonder why today's kids aren't interested? Think about it.

I'm talking about a joint venture between a kit maker and a video game maker... it has nothing to do with "TV cars." Let's take GTA, just as a hypothetical example. (Again, that's probably shooting a little high for a kit manufacturer, but just as a hypothetical example)... GTA has had numerous versions released, right? The game is centered around cars, right? The game is incredibly popular with kids and young people, right? So what if there were a line of kits where your typical GTA fan could build an actual 3-D version of their favorite game car? Is it possible that a lot of GTA fans would think it's pretty cool if they could have a replica of their favorite game car sitting on their shelf? I have to think, yes. What if there was a commercial at the beginning of the game that told people they can build their own version of their favorite GTA car (an ad for the kit manufacturer, essentially)? And what if those GTA kits had a sticker on the box that said there was a coupon inside that gets you a substantial savings on the next GTA release? Yes, of course it would entail tooling up a new kit (or kits), and creating the commercial for the game... but is that not a win-win situation for both sides? Of course, the trick is getting both a kit maker and a video game company to agree to the deal. And I assume the video game manufacturer would be a bit skeptical about what sort of "help" a tie-in to a model kit manufacturer would be...but seeing as how it's a win-win for both, and a very low-cost proposition for the video game maker, it seems to me that if you had a reasonably competent marketing team on both sides, a deal could be hammered out. Call me crazy, but if I owned a model kit manufacturing company, I'd be working this deal hard.

You, sir, are a lucky man! Incredibly fast service at a super reasonable price.

That Tucker convertible is a beauty! A Photoshop job, or did someone actually hack up a real Tucker? Or is it a fake/clone/replica... BTW... I agree that a scale Tucker would be a good seller. And there's no better (or more likely) company to do it than Moebius. If we saw a Moebius Tucker in the future, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised...

Oh Skip.... almost forgot. Since you "enjoyed" our critiques of the Letterman show, let me add that I can't stand Paul Schaeffer or Schafer or however you spell it. He is the epitome of "smarmy."

How many times can you go off topic before you wind up back on topic? You know, like if you make four right turns you wind up back where you started! BTW... I saw Joan Rivers on Letterman the other day. She was hilarious. She's not really my cup of tea... but I hafta say she was funny on that show. And yes, I DVR'd Letterman specifically to be able to fly past all of Letterman's schtick and just get to see her. How on earth did we ever manage to watch TV without a DVR (or VCR before that)?

Well, I'm no video game expert, that's for sure, but isn't the whole "Grand Theft Auto" series pretty popular? Now I'm not saying tie into that game... that's probably too big of a title to have any chance of working a deal... but there are a lot of car-centric video games out there. What about drift cars? Or street racing? Like I said, I'm not a video game guy, but I'm sure a deal could be done between people who know the subject matter and who want to make such a deal. I dunno... seems like a no-brainer to me, and I have to agree with you... why hasn't it been done?

Maybe something more along the lines of the type of cars popular with American kids today would work. Here in the US, I'm talking about. I still think if done correctly, a model car/video game joint promotion would work. Maybe not a super-smash hit, but at least good enough to make a few bucks and maybe stir up some interest in model cars among people who might not have had any such interest previously. I guess if I was head of Revell or AMT or whoever, I'd have my team looking into such a deal very seriously. Video games are hugely popular. A big chunk of youth culture revolves around them. So if you can't beat 'em... join 'em!

Yes, exactly my point. Giving a 5-year old a model doesn't seem like the best way to go.

Could the fact that it was called "European Racers" have anything to do with it? Hello? Marketing Department? What's that? They're all out to lunch? Ok, thanks..."

Agreed. And I agree with Tom... if the model exists as either a diecast or in resin, buy it! Diecast not detailed enough for ya? Take it apart and detail it, for cryin' out loud! Resin kit too pricey? Stop stockpiling hundreds of plastic kits that you'll never have time to build in your lifetime anyway, save up a few bucks, and buy the resin kit, fer pete's sake!

I think it's a pretty safe bet that posting a topic on an online discussion board always has a certain probability of sliding off-topic... especially one in the OFF TOPIC area! Not exactly a surprise...

If tying together models and video games is such a success in Japan, why don't any of our manufacturers do it here? If the Japanese can do it, why can't we? I suggested a model kit/video game combo long ago, but was "debated" down. I still don't see why such a promotion wouldn't work. Hypothetical example: Kit maker A and video game company B decide to run a joint promotion... specially marked kit boxes will have a coupon inside for X amount off the price of video games from company B, while game company B markets a game (or games) that features and promotes vehicles in it that kit maker A will produce.

Building model cars may not be dead, but it'll never be as popular as it once was. Never. Not with all of the things today that kids are into... facebook, twitter, etc... the internet in general... video games... back in the "golden age" of model cars, none of that stuff existed. There simply wasn't that much other stuff to attract kids, so more of them built models back then. Heck, even something as simple as watching TV is way more diverse now... we used to have 4-5 channels... today we have hundreds! As far as building model cars as a hobby, the numbers have been dropping steadily since the '60s... yeah, there will always be certain people who build model cars, but never again in the numbers there used to be. It's a different world now, and today's kids have a lot more varied interests. No way will any one particular pastime dominate kids today like model building did in the '60s.