Harry P.

99.5% positive feedback. I'd say the guy knows what he's doing... and it's working. And he's laughing all the way to the bank...

If you can make money doing it... more power to ya! Buyer beware, as they say. If someone is dumb enough to fall for it, they deserve to be taken for a ride.

Yep. First master the basics. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

It takes guts to admit that publicly.

Amen, brother! You nailed it.

And just so you don't think I'm slamming your model... I love how you did the piping on the seats. Another great interior from you.

I'm only saying this because I know you'll take it in the spirit intended, and not get all "offended." But those wheels just don't make it. Not style-wise, not color-wise... not on this particular model, at least. In my opinion, mixing silver and gold is always iffy... it just doesn't work. I don't know if you're up for considering a wheel swap, but if it was my model I'd definitely be looking at some chrome wheels, or maybe better yet, polished aluminum, to play off the silver portion of the body. Even black wheels would work, but those "lowrider" style gold wheels seem out of place on this particular model. Just my opinion, of course. In the end it's your model and your call.

What's that old saying? How do you make a small fortune in the hobby shop business? Start with a large fortune...

Hard to say. Impossible to say, really. What you would need is demographic data showing you the buying habits and interests of people in the area... that might help you determine whether opening a HT would be a viable business. For example, how does the population break down, agewise, in a 25 mile radius of the proposed location? Mostly older people? Mostly younger people with kids? Near a major college campus? In any case, these are tough times to be opening up a brick-and-mortar hobby store. If it was me, and I wanted to get into the franchise game, I would look elsewhere... probably fast food. No matter what the economy, people will always need to eat, but they don't need to buy model cars.

I don't think I'd ever want to own a retail store of any kind. Way too many headaches... all the local/state/federal government paperwork, red tape and all the goofy rules and regs, dealing with employees and all the government red tape and paperwork that goes with that... insurance... health care... dealing with distributors and suppliers... that is all WAY more work than I would ever even consider doing just to make a living.

It's a random choice from my extensive stash of Palmer kits...

They didn't cut plastic... they melted it. Use a razor saw on straight cuts, or scribe the panel lines with the back side of an X-acto blade until the piece you want to open is removed.

Actually that happens when you get eleventy-seven...

Yep, once in a while I still like to go "old school"...

If it was me, I'd do it this way: Mask off everything but the "stainless steel" area. Then use fine sandpaper (or maybe even coarse steel wool) to create that brushed steel texture into the roof, spray with Testors Metalizer and gently buff it out with a soft rag.

Ah.. ok, I see. Never mind...

You must not be a very good online shopper. I find that in almost every case I can find a kit cheaper online than in a store, even with the S&H added, especially if they will ship several kits for very little extra S&H... sometimes none at all. In store = kit + sales tax + gas you burned to get there and back. Online = kit + S&H. Works for me in just about every case.

Are you going to do the brushed stainless steel roof?

Ok then, a more direct comparison: Michael's and Hobby Lobby. All their locations carry the same inventory, more or less. I'm not saying you're wrong, just saying that to me, a franchise business that allows its franchisees to stock whatever they feel like (or don't feel like) doesn't make sense to me. Like I said, to me the whole point of a franchise is that it provides uniformity of product availability from one location to the next. And a place that calls itself Hobby Town should, in my opinion, at least keep common everyday hobby items like small drill bits in stock and not act as if I just dropped in from Mars looking for something they've never heard of! I suppose that HTUSA does what it does because it works for them, otherwise they wouldn't do it. But from a consumer standpoint (me)... I don't like the idea that if I go to a particular HT looking for something that I know I have bought before at a different HT, they might not even carry that same item. It's not the end of the world, just a little frustrating... especially after going to the same HT on three different occasions looking for three different but very common items, and each time being told they have never had anyone ask for those items. Yeah... right.

I guess I'll never understand that business model. To me, the whole point of a franchise system is uniformity. Go to a Subway in LA or one in Chicago or one in New York and you'll see the same items on the menu. I would think that the "mother ship" would want all of their locations, whether owned by the corporation or by an individual franchisee, to uniformly and consistently uphold the "brand" so that whichever of that franchise's locations a customer happens to go to, they know what they can expect. I understand how the HT system works, but I don't understand why it works that way. Doesn't make good business sense to me. One "bad" franchise location (that has lousy inventory, for example) reflects badly on the entire brand.

I guess. But it's like one McDonalds has certain things on the menu, and another McDonalds has a completely different menu. I would expect them both to have pretty much the same menu. At least the guy could at the "bad" HT have been helpful instead of implying that I'm sort of kook. Instead of telling me that I was the first person ever to ask for those items (which I highly doubt), maybe a smarter response would have been, "Sorry, we don't stock that, but I'll be glad to order it for you." But the guy wasn't too smart. And as a result he's lost a customer for good.

HobbyTown's kits are expensive, I never buy a kit from them, but they do have a good selection of tools and materials. That is, one of the Hobbytowns near me does. It's weird... there are two Hobbytowns near me, both are about the same distance away. Since they are both Hobbytowns, you'd expect them to carry pretty much the same inventory... but no. One of them has a very limited inventory of supplies. In fact, there have been three separate instances where I have gone there looking for very common items (small drill bits, Testors Transparent Window Tint spray, and I forget the third thing). Each time I asked the guy there about the items I was looking for, I got the same answer: "In the six years we've been here, you're the first person who's ever asked for that." In other words, he was trying to make it look like I was some sort of weirdo looking for some crazy stuff that no hobby shop would possibly carry. Well, let's say I learned my lesson, and I will never set foot in that particular Hobbytown again. And yet, that other HT near me has an excellent selection of things, and I've always found what I came for at that location... including small drill bits, Testors Transparent Window Tint, Evergreen or Plastruct items, brass and/or aluminum tubing and rod, etc. Weird how one HT is useless, while another is well-stocked.

According to the magazine article posted early in this thread, the car had a full (real) frame, running gear and engine, although whether the car actually could be driven is uncertain.

You should try Asti or Sonoma...

Looks like someone is just the teensiest bit confused...