Harry P.

Supposed to be 55-60 tomorrow. WOO HOO! Maybe those snow mountains on each side of my driveway will get a little smaller!

But in your defense... I admit I also filled sink marks on the frame rails and made styrene sides to hide the gas tank seam. It was my first Pocher RR. But if I had it to do over again, honestly... I wouldn't bother. Never going to see either of those things on the finished model.

Cato... no intent to dis you or your work. In fact, someone who sweats the details the way you do is to be commended! But I'm going from personal experience... I've built quite a few Pochers, and quickly came to the realization that the transmission case I had so carefully filed, sanded, filled, filed, sanded, filled again, etc... wasn't ever going to be seen on the finished model! So now, with a boatload of Pochers on my resumé, I know where the extra effort will pay off... and where it won't, so I divvy up my time and effort accordingly. Example: I've decided that my Sedanca will have the wheel covers, so I won't build the spoked wheels–they'll never be seen! Like I said... ya gotta pick yer battles... But that's me and how I go about it. Not necessarily the way you or anyone else should do it. Everyone has to make their own priorities.

I heard it was the number 2 top-grossing movie this weekend.

Of course, once the kit is built, you'd never see any of those sink marks. They'd all be hidden from view by the fenders and running boards. Just sayin'... With a Pocher kit (or any kit, for that matter), you have to pick your battles. Spending endless hours tending to things that won't be seen on the finished model isn't my idea of time well spent. For me, I'd spend my time and effort on getting the body panels aligned, the interior looking good, etc. Stuff you see when the model is on the shelf. But that's just me. Your opinion may vary...

Those two guys are good. They used to be regular cast members on Mad TV for years.

That tank is one of the best I've seen. Very effective weathering, It just looks right.

There's a demand for them... from a very small group of pickup builders. Not enough demand from the general model building public. You're absolutely right... if the kit manufacturers felt that a new pickup kit would be profitable, they would make it! But obviously they feel there's not enough demand out there to justify the cost of tooling up a new pickup kit. Remember... you and all of your friends may want a new kit of a modern pickup, but that group is a very small part of the overall model building consumer base. That's why new pickup kits are so few and far between.

I found the home page of the Aston kit... says the kit is only available in the UK. http://www.007db5.com/ Can't find anything on any company called D'agastino. Do you have the website address?

Did you make the wooden base too? Or is that store bought?

The Fiat generally goes for around $400-500, sometimes less. Way less than any of the other Pochers kits. There's one there right now for $500 or best offer. I built the version where the chain parts are metal and you have to assemble every single link and roller... just like a real chain. I remember that being a somewhat less than enjoyable process...

The best kit for someone wanting to try their first Pocher classic kit is the Fiat. Relatively simple to build, yet looks pretty good. No wire wheels to build, no doors to hinge, etc. And fairly cheap (by Pocher standards). The toughest part is building the drive chains link by link, just like a 1:1 chain. Definitely the "entry level" Pocher classic kit.

"I honestly think it makes the builder look lazy,not the model, the fact that they have brought the same model untouched to the same contest the last three years." For what reason other than trying to win would you enter a contest?

I've read your post twice and still don't understand what you're saying. Are you talking about aftermarket suppliers or model kit manufacturers?

Why don't they just make a simple rule... any model may compete in this event ONE TIME ONLY. The people putting on the contest can keep track of the entries, and the next year they check last year's entries to see if anyone is trying to enter the same model again. Problem solved. But... if there is no rule prohibiting a person from entering the same model in the same contest year after year, then you have no basis for a complaint. It may be tacky... but it's not against the rules. Change the rules and eliminate the problem.

Tedious? You don't know tedious until you start building those wire wheels!

As far as the kit tires go... if you are buying Marvin's replacement set because you think they look better, that's your call. But if you're buying them because of their advertised flexibility and ease of installation (Pocher kit tires are notoriously stiff and almost impossible to slip onto the completed wheel), you can get Pocher tires to behave very easily. Put a tire into a small bowl of water and zap it in the microwave until the water starts to boil. Depending on the size of the bowl and the microwave's power, about a minute and a half. The tire will be very flexible and soft, and can be easily pulled onto the rims. Better to go with a shorter time in the microwave to start... if the tire is still too stiff, back into the microwave for another 20-30 seconds or so.

The Pocher screws are very brittle, and trying to force them to go into the hole will result in a snapped-off screw head about 90% of the time. Much easier to use the "melting" method. You start the screw in the hole, just enough to get the thread started, then touch the screw head with the tip of a hot soldering iron while gently pushing. The screw will heat up enough in just a few seconds that you will be able to use the tip of the soldering iron to push the screw home. You eliminate reaming out about a bazillion holes to accept the kit screws, yet the screw can still be removed if necessary (the hot screw melts its own threads into the plastic).

As a point of reference, the wheelbase of the two kits in the photo is identical. Anyone have the 1:1 wheelbases?

Fuman/Bandai/Entex Mercer (yellow) vs. Aurora Stutz. Both supposedly 1/16 scale.

You mean Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band!

No personal experience, but I do know that it's practically a slam dunk as far as successful surgery goes. Pretty routine these days, and the outcome is overwhelmingly positive.

Undecided.

Funny, but reading your post I got a flashback memory... I tried the same thing! The building we lived in when I was a kid had a basement that was five concrete steps down from ground level (yes, after all these years I specifically remember five steps)... Anyway, what I found out that day was that, no, you cannot successfully ride a tricycle down a flight of concrete steps! What was it with me, tricycles, and stupidity? Between the concrete steps and that fiasco at the city park, it's a wonder that I had the nerve to ever ride a bike again!

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