Harry P.

Extremely well done! And the figures look great. Nice job all around!

Crazy Mormons!

The trick to removing those lines is to send them away using progressively finer grits of sandpaper. Each progressively finer grit takes out the scratches left by the previous grit, until all of the scratches are removed. If you go through 3-4 steps using finer grit paper each time, the scratches will disappear. Once you have the scratches out, you'll probably want to deepen those door panel lines. Carefully. You don't want to gouge the surrounding plastic and be right back where you started.

http://www.micromark.com/panel-scriber-for-plastic-models,7194.html

Somebody needs to tell the manager of that dollar store what a dollar store is...

Isn't the whole point of a dollar store that everything costs a dollar???

You guys really should take a quick look before you post stuff. This is already an open topic: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51391

Yeah, I guess you're right!

They've been struggling since GM axed them. They'll probably re-emerge somewhere down the road.

Real or model? The answer: REAL!

Any reason why you posted this topic in the "How Do I?" Q&A section?

Wow... you must spent a lot of time in the bathroom!

Don't feel bad. The highest point in Illinois isn't a mountain. It's not even a hill. It's a "mound!" Charles Mound, to be exact. Yep, that's it. Our version of a "mountain!" Yeah, it doesn't get a whole lot flatter than Illinois!

Yeah, it's a reissue of an old, simplified kit. And if this member had read that thread before he bought the kit, he wouldn't be so upset now! http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51359

Do you ever take advantage of what this forum offers? http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51135

That is a pretty weird spray booth setup... the fan is just blowing the fumes into another room!

Art, all of the history you described was pre-internet. The internet has completely changed the parameters. It's a whole new ball game. The local hobby shop now has major competition from a rival that didn't even exist in the days you talked about, and that competition is driving the old-fashioned "mom and pop" hobby shops out of business, for better or worse. It's a very different scenario today than what is was when you were actively involved in the hobby business. The hobby industry may have been "recession-proof" then, but that was because there was no alternative to the LHS. Today we have an alternative that offers a far wider selection at (usually) much lower prices. Let's face it, people vote with their wallets... and judging by the closings of hobby shops all over the country, the voting is not in favor of the traditional LHS.

I agree 100%. If a person knows (because he read it here) that the Lindberg '48 Lincoln is a horrible kit, and better yet, why it's a horrible kit (because it's simply a re-issue of a horrible kit repackaged and sold under a different name), so much the better! Information is power. And we are in the position to inform each other regarding the various kits out there. No matter what the kit, odds are that someone here has it in their stash and can give us the lowdown on its pluses and minuses. I see nothing but positive coming from sharing that knowledge.

Nobody ever said that old reissues should be judged by the standards of today's kits. That's like criticizing a Model T because it doesn't have fuel injection or a GPS system. The point is that giving an honest review of a kit's shortcomings is a helpful heads-up to potential purchasers. Whether old or new tool, any inaccuracies and fit problems should be pointed out, so that we can make a more informed buying decision. The more information a potential buyer has about a kit before he plunks down the cash, the better. And a forum like this is the perfect way for us to "spread the word" about kits, old, new, re-issued, whatever.

If you go to the LHS, you spend money on gas to get there, and you pay sales tax. If you buy online, you don't pay sales tax, you don't burn any gas, but you pay S/H. If you combine several items in one order you only pay one S/H charge... but at the LHS you pay sales tax on every item you buy. Generally you'll do better, pricewise, buying online. But you miss the experience of going to the hobby shop and browsing around, which some people like to do. Personally I buy wherever I can get the best price, and almost always that winds up being online.

It's a tough call. I can see the argument for supporting a local business over buying online, but the reality is that most people look out for themselves first, and that means buying at the lowest possible price. I sympathize with hobby shop owners who find that they just can't compete on price with online stores... but that's how a consumer-driven capitalistic economy works. Either you can compete and make a profit and stay in business, or you can't compete and you're driven out of business. It's survival of the fittest. It's always worked that way. Yeah, it sucks for those who can't compete, but the system is what it is.

When the economy is in bad shape, like it's been for the past several years, people cut back on expenses... and the first things they cut back on is non-essentials and luxuries... like going out to eat, going to the movies, and hobby expenses. With all of the competition from online stores, it's tough to keep a hobby shop in the black in good times, even harder in tough times... that's probably why there was nobody willing to buy the business.

Right! Which brings us back to the topic of whether critiquing a kit is "bashing."

You can't compare those old "block of wood" kits with a modern plastic kit. The old wooden kits were all about actually "making" the model, more or less scratchbuilding it with a bit of a head start from the manufacturer. Today's plastic kits are completely different... they're designed to be able to be assembled without any scratchbuilding or actual "making" of the parts. All you're supposed to do is put it together. Two completely different modeling philosophies.

Seems to me that a Viper engine would be a very odd choice for a rat rod. I thought rat rods were all about building on the cheap and making do with whatever you can scrounge up. But then again it's your model, so anything goes.