Harry P.

Not ignored. Just can't do anything about it.

Nothing special. Shake, point, spray. When I can get a 12 ounce can of Rustoleum at the local home center for $3.44, vs. $6-7 for a 3 ounce can of "model paint," well... my decision is obvious. Of course, I realize that sometimes you need a specific color that is only available in "model paint," but for me, building these old brass-era cars, I don't need to be all that fussy about perfectly matching any specific factory color... so when I can find the color I want in Rustoleum, that's what I'll buy. This is the specific stuff I use. It costs $3.44 at Menards (a regional midwest-area home center, like Home Depot or Lowes)...

Looks good, but I couldn't deal with open shelving. The dust would drive me crazy. All of my models are in glass-front cases.

I have a few of those. Nice models.

It's all one piece with the gears. Hard plastic.

How do you deal with dust on open shelving?

That's a very nice looking model.

There's no distributor... the ignition wires go from the left side spark plugs to the right side spark plugs!

That's a good looking truck!

Not going to happen. There are too many categories already, no way we're going to add even more. If anything, we'll put all competitiion models into one category, not separate categories for every different competition type.

I don't think Valiants were available with a leather interior...

Super crisp and clean. Love the detail... beautiful work.

Is that a Valiant? Nice car! Better get busy with that shovel!

Gotta love the body color wipers, door handles and emblems! Very "professional!" Looks like this "professional" builder also forgot the radiator hose...

A pickup truck is a truck. That's why it's called a pickup truck and not a pickup car. An El Camino or Ranchero is different... it's a car with a cargo box. It's based on a car, it sits on a car chassis, it has car mechanicals. Some people post them with the cars, some post them with the trucks. It can go either way, but a pickup truck belongs in the Trucks section. And if I see them posted with the cars, I'll keep on moving them. That's what we have a truck section for.

I got the lower body and floorboards installed. The body is painted Rustoleum "Ivory." The "rubber" on the floorboards is masking tape painted with acrylic black craft paint, while the "brass" strips on the floorboards are gold BMF. The brass rub strips on the edges of the body sides are real brass... self-adhesive brass tape I found online (it's used in making stained glass art)... it's actual brass, not just brass-colored, about as thick as aluminum duct tape. The "wood" steering wheel rim was created the same way as the wheels... first brush painted acrylic "Ochre," then Varathane Warm Mahogany stain (this time brush painted instead of dipped like the wheels, because I had to keep the spokes brass colored). The foot pedals were painted metallic silver, then transparent black window tint to bring out the ribbed surfaces.

Thanks, Skip. The simple engine is exactly why I decided to go with all the added details. It just looked so empty under the hood! And besides, I found some fantastic engine shots online, from virtually every angle, of a restored Model 14 that was for sale at the Volo Museum (a local collector car museum/showroom). Those photos made adding the details pretty easy.

Pickups go in the pickup section. We already had the big "Rework the Trucks section" discussion, and the Truck section seems to be working just fine now as it is. No changes coming in the Trucks section, especially now that people are used to looking for pickup trucks in the Truck section.

I decided to detail the carp out of the engine just for the halibut...

No doubt that Walmart carrying model kits gave them exposure to a huge potential customer base, and probably snagged quite a few people who had never built a kit into buying one. Millions of people who may never have built a model kit may have seen them and given it a try. Any time a product is only available at a certain, limited location, logic tells you that fewer people will ever see it. If model kits are only available at hobby shops, the odds of a person who has never seen or built a model kit walking in the door and buying a kit are far lower than that person "running into" the model display at Walmart. Less exposure = fewer buyers. I agree that the loss of exposure in Walmart was a huge nail in the model building coffin. Sure, the people already involved in the hobby still know where to buy kits, but many casual or potential first-time buyers have been lost.

That little red pinstripe is the secret...

Bruce, that's a beauty!

3D printing is going to fundamentally change the hobby as it exists now. But drawing new people into a hobby they previously have not been a part of is a completely different story. Look at it this way... say that someone invented a new table saw that was way better than existing table saws. It would change the woodworking hobby... but it would have no effect on people who are not already into woodworking.

Loving that Comet!

Wow! That could easily pass for real. Very impressive... even more so being scratchbuilt. You have some talent!