Mike999

Looking good! You should be able to find your bathroom fixtures and everything else you need on Shapeways. If you can imagine/think of it, you'll probably find it there. Here's a toilet: https://www.shapeways.com/product/FTSUSLDEZ/toilet-01-1-24-scale Sofa that might go in your Waiting Room: https://www.shapeways.com/product/SW2R59JJL/miniature-1-24-sofa?optionId=137622589&li=marketplace 1/24 scale folding chairs, pack of 5: https://www.shapeways.com/product/J8DQ6ZWCS/1-24-scale-folding-chairs-not-full-size?optionId=5951267&li=marketplace 010623

Basic detail and a ridiculously small "V-12" engine. I found the Packard at a local flea market. It was in the original box with the instructions but mostly built, in classic Glue-Bomb style. Having never owned one of these kits, I was surprised to see that the body was in 2 parts, split along the color separation line between the Light and Dark Green colors. Even weirder, the 2 plastic colors were reversed in some kits! The article below, by Dutch master modeler Anthony Hazelaar, has some photos of kits in both colors. Also an extremely rare store display build-up of the Mercer kit. The Mercer and Stutz kits were released as slot cars, which I never knew. ""I was working in a pretty good-sized hobby shop in 1966. When those kits hit our store shelves, even though we had a huge section of model car kits and the customer base to support it, kids simply walked right by the Renwal stuff - they couldn't understand even the significance of the marques. Even though this hobby was very much dominated by kids then, there were adult builders who were buying the MPC Gangbusters series, and JoHan's Gold Cup classic car kits, but even adults rather turned up their noses at all but the Mercer and the Bugatti." http://www.drivehq.com/file/df.aspx/publish/tonhazelaar/wwwhome/kits-renwal.html

Back in 2006, when it cost a measly $1.3 million, your Pagani Zonda also came with a set of matched luggage. In your choice of either leather or ostrich hide. Wait, there's more! You also got a pair of driving shoes, custom made by Adriano Stefanelli. Who, at the time, was the official shoe-maker to the Pope. The shoes matched your choice of luggage, of course. https://www.theage.com.au/national/a-car-for-the-well-heeled-that-offers-heart-and-sole-20060210-ge1qe0.html

Finally got this thing nailed together, with it fighting me every step of the way. It's the AMT-ERTL issue of the old MPC '34 Ford "Slammer" dirt track racer, which is being re-issued soon. Needs some tweaking and I may take more photos later. We're having massive thunderstorms right now that chased me out of the basement. I don't like being down there if the power goes out.

Here's another boxing of that Aurora ALF 900 Pumper, the "California Fire Truck." It was issued in the square box that Aurora started using in the late 1960's. I think it was molded in white.

Here's one of the neatest 1/35 scale conversions based on that Italeri hardtop GMC kit: the American Red Cross "Clubmobile," used to hand out coffee and doughnuts. It includes the coffee urns and other necessary accessories. Made several years ago by Masters Productions in France. Lousy pic, but not mine, found on the internet.

I remembered that one vaguely but had to go look it up. It was "The Missiles of October," a 1974 ABC TV movie. I thought Bruce Greenwood played a good JFK in the movie "Thirteen Days," on the same subject of the Cuban Missile Crisis. But the less said about Kevin Costner's attempt at a Boston accent in that movie, the better.

I poke around eBay a lot and sometimes see Palmer kits for outrageous prices. eBay has some well-known old kit dealers/sellers and in general, they don't seem to do that. They know what the kits are worth. The nosebleed prices usually seem to come from Ye Ole Anteek & Junque Emporiums. The wanna-be American Pickers. They're sort of like those well-meaning aunts who bought us Palmer kits for our birthdays. They don't know much about model car kits, and see one kit as not much different from another. So when they see an original AMT '62 Falcon selling for big bucks, they believe their Palmer '62 Falcon should be worth the same price. Maybe even more, because the box art is so exciting!

At the risk of committing blasphemy, I'll say that many of those famous 1/8 scale Aurora figures didn't look much like their subjects. Built-up photo of the JFK kit below. I think he looks more like Jimmy Hoffa. The Aurora James Bond figure was even worse and looked nothing like Sean Connery. At a kit swap meet once, I found the Polar Lights re-issue of the Bond kit with a resin head that does look like Connery. And it included a nice "007" resin nameplate. The seller was asking $10 so I grabbed it.

Or in 1/35 armor kits, the "Panther/Tiger Curse." There are times when I never want to see another scale model of a Panther tank. I've seen so many I have zero desire to ever build one. The closest I'll come is the MENG Panther Ausf. A/G Turret Bunker. That's the Panther turret sitting on a concrete bunker, for static defense. It's a Certified Weird Kit, which always gets my attention. (MENG kit number TS-035s, if anybody else wants one.) The same thing happens with poor releases. Armor modelers waited decades for a 1/35 scale kit of the M-50A1 Ontos. The only plastic kit available was the ancient RENWAL Ontos from the 1950s. But it was 1/32 scale, toy-like, and an early M-50. When a new Ontos plastic kit came out, Academy did it. It was a huge disappointment, with a suspension that still needs much work to look right. But the King Of Disappointment is Dragon/DML's "Black Label" line of armor kits. Known to armor modelers as the "Black Hole Label," who suspect the name may also be a reference to what the Dragon employees were drinking when they designed the kits. The Black Label line is a bunch of kits people have wanted for years: the M-103 and Conqueror heavy tanks, Saladin armored car, MBT-70 etc. The kits all had something, or several somethings that were wonky. Mostly not just nitpicky things, but stuff like obviously wrong turret shapes and major dimensional errors. As you said, vehicles this esoteric are not likely to be kitted by more than one company. So we're pretty much stuck with them.

The $6.00 Sea Fury came today. The seat is glued to the cockpit tub. No big deal, it saves me the trouble. And there was a nice "extra" in the box: a pack of 4 unused, still sealed red-sable paint brushes in different sizes. re the Italeri 1/35 scale GMC Water Truck for $10 upthread: that was a steal! The Italeri "hardtop" GMC's are still highly prized by military modelers. Besides the water truck, Italeri did a hardtop version with a cargo bed. Aftermarket companies have done countless resin conversions for that Italeri GMC: short wheelbase versions, Air Corps bomb trucks, the conversion carrying the huge LeRoi air compressor in the bed, etc. Some builders have even kit-bashed the Italeri cab onto the Tamiya LRDG Chevrolet truck, to make a stock-ish Chevy 3-ton truck. The Italeri kit wasn't bested until Tamiya did its GMC truck, but the Tamiya is still not available as a closed version. Most recently Hobby Boss did a GMC hardtop with full engine/chassis detail. But according to Der Experten on the military forums, the cab has shape/dimension problems. That 40-year-old Italeri kit still looks better. (And costs a LOT less.) Since Italeri re-issued kits from Peerless-MAX, rumors persist that the Italeri and Peerless-MAX GMC trucks are the same kit. The Scalemates site even shows them as the same kit, but that is wrong. There are differences in the 2 kits, which are obvious when you see them side by side. The Peerless kit looks bigger and clunkier, and it has split Timken axles instead of banjo axles. Both types of axle were used on the real trucks.

Great build and I'm very envious! In the Marine Corps about 2 centuries ago, I worked on stuff that went into the RF4-B recon version of the Phantom. When I worked in Egypt, some of my co-workers were veterans of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. They had many memories of Israel's F-4 Phantoms, none of them pleasant. They said the F-4's came after them at tree-top level, firing their Gatling guns and rockets and dropping bombs. One Egyptian said he spent about a week just jumping from one hole to another, trying to keep away from those marauding Phantoms.

Not a fan of any dictators. But I found a use for the Nikita Khrushchev figure in that kit. I'm working on a Cold War diorama in 1/35 scale. So I took the Khrushchev figure, sawed it off just above the elbows, and turned it into a ceremonial bronze bust. I even spelled out "Khrushchev" on the base, using tiny Slater's plastic letters.

Atlantis recently re-issued the Aurora M-46 Patton tank kit in 1/48, originally released in 1956. It's in stock right now at the local Hobby Lobby, so we can hope there will be more to come. One of my favorite Aurora armor kits was the M-109 "dash-nothing" short-barreled 155mm self-propelled howitzer. It even had a figure holding an M-16 rifle. In the early 1970's diorama building got popular, mostly thanks to Shep Paine's awesome Monogram diorama kits. At that time Aurora re-issued its armor kits with vacu-formed plastic display bases. As I remember, they looked pretty good. There's also another "Aurora" company in existence now, a Russian outfit that makes 1/35 scale resin figures. I have to qualify eBay searches for "Aurora" so they don't flood my results.

I just checked an original '27 Police Car kit, #T178-225. It doesn't have any custom wheels or tires either. (Or a dropped axle.) The Model T hot rod engine parts were only used to build the "Police Pursuit" version. So it was sort of a 2-in-1 kit. It could be built as a stock police car, or a police pursuit car with the passenger side of the hood left off to make room for the exhaust header. The original issue of the '27 Phaeton, in the double kit with the XR-6, had stock or "hot rod tub" options. And I think the AMT "white box" issue from the early 1980's was also a 2-in-1 kit with a hot rod version. So those kits may have had the custom wheels and other stuff. It would be nice if Round 2 added those parts to the new re-issue of the police car kit.

Great job on that old turkey of a kit! It's good to see that Round 2 is still getting some mileage (and money) from those ancient molds. The F-94 may have been involved in an early Stealth Aircraft project. Watching an old sci-fi movie recently, the aircraft that took off to intercept the flying saucers were F-94's. But by the time they got to altitude, they had magically turned into F-86's. ? I guess that shows the dangers of using stock footage, and maybe having an editor who can't tell one airplane from another. Here's a short, fun article by master modeler Cookie Sewell, about building his Lindberg F-94 at age 7: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/lin/kit_lin_70554.shtml

Some Europeans: ESCI: an Italian company that went out of business around 1991. Italeri got its molds and re-issued many old ESCI kits over the years. With a few exceptions, like its Renault R5's, ESCI made "curbside" kits with no engines. The chassis are very well detailed and usually made up from separate side rails and cross-members. Its bodies are also very sharp and well-done. Italeri recently reissued the ESCI Range Rover from the 1980's and it still looks like it came from a brand-new mold. ESCI kits do have their quirks, like their otherwise nice Toyota BJ-44 kit with no firewall. Along with Italeri boxes, you'll sometimes find old ESCI kits in Revell of Germany boxes, like the Mercedes G-wagen Fire Department vehicle. That kit has a lift gate/tail gate on the rear end. Rally versions of the G-wagen kit are different and have side-opening "barn doors." Heller: a French company that, like our American kitmakers, has had a lot of ups and downs thru the years. The good news is that Heller does kits of cars and trucks that nobody else is ever likely to make: a series of Citroen C4 vans including a Hotel Taxi, a Mercedes 170 4-door sedan and panel truck etc. According to many modelers, Heller did the best Jaguar XKE coupe and roadster currently available. The bad news is that Heller never uses 1 part when it can use 5. And it often molds interior panels in one big clear piece with the glass. This requires careful masking or if you want open windows, careful cutting. Years ago Heller had a very bad habit: it put the clear parts in a separate plastic bag, but put the "rubber" tires in the same bag. That can cause the dreaded Tire Melt on the clear parts. I always open old Heller kits to see if they did that. If so, I cut the bag open and move the tires to a separate Ziploc bag. ITALERI: another Italian company that has done some nice 1/24 scale kits of its own, like the '57 Mercedes 300SL cabriolet ("the Topless Gullwing"). Also several classic car kits including '33 Cadillac V-16 town cars and a "Maharajah" Rolls-Royce. And from right in its own back yard, quite a few Ferraris that are frequently discussed on this board. I always thought Italeri 1/24 scale kit engines and chassis looked a little soft on detail, but maybe that's just me. And I haven't built any of their Ferraris.

Here are some pics of the '53 Pontiac resin body I have. It looks like it was mastered off the AMT promo, but I know nothing about it. I got it in a big box full of old resin bodies a long time ago. I'm guessing it was done in the 1980's, when resin re-popping was just taking off. It's molded in a strange Metalflake-looking dark green resin. Except for the grille/rear bumper, which are molded in tan resin. Now to find an interior...

I have that Playa Giron book and mostly got it for the pix of M-41 tanks and other armor. A good resource but like you say, not all that helpful for us model geeks. I read somewhere that the M-41's came directly from U.S. Army stocks, with the white stars and other markings quickly painted over. And in some cases, still faintly visible under the fresh Olive Drab paint. If I ever build one, I'll try for that look. After reading at a bunch of BOP and Sea Fury sites, I'm not sure that rudder stripe is right either. But I like the looks of it, so I plan to use it. There was a lot of confusion about those planes. I think the last Sea Fury shipment went to Cuba just as the Batista govt. collapsed in 1959 (along with some Hawker tech reps). There are even arguments over whether they were painted green at the Hawker factory, or after they got to Cuba. At least one grainy B&W photo seems to show a Sea Fury with mottled brown over the green. But the pic is so bad, it's hard to tell if that's the paint or just shadows. I have a special interest myself in all those "little wars" that were going on in the 1960s. Another fun project temporarily stalled: an armed AT-6 Texan used by the Katanga rebels during the Congo Crisis. IIRC, they used bomb racks from Fouga Magisters, hammered in place under the wings.

Unbelievable eBay score last night! I went looking for the old Hobbycraft 1/48 scale Sea Fury, with the Bay of Pigs decals. I know the new Airfix Sea Fury is miles better, but it's also miles more expensive and the Hobbycraft kit suits me. This won't be a super-detail project. AFAIK, the Hobbycraft is the only kit with the correct, 1961-vintage Cuban markings. There are aftermarket decal sets but the ones I've seen are for later Cuban Sea Furies, not the Bay of Pigs version. So I found a Hobbycraft Sea Fury on eBay ending in a couple of hours, with one bid on it: for $5.30, with 8 people watching. With that many watchers, I expected a bunch of sniping a few seconds before the auction ended, as usual. With 1 minute to go, I placed a bid that brought the price up to $6.00. And nobody bid against me! So I got it for $6.00 plus shipping.

The 2 Lindberg boat kits were (re)issued in 2016, the Century Coronado and Owens Outboard Cruiser. So they shouldn't be too hard to find. By 2017, Hobby Lobby had them on clearance for US $6.99. I bought a second Owens Cruiser at that price just to get the outboard motors. My original price was $18.89 for the Coronado and $23.92 for the Owens, from HobbyLinc. (I keep spread sheets of what I buy, when I bought it, where I got it and the price. Geeky, I know.) I checked several online vendors and couldn't find the Coronado. HobbyLinc still has the Owens Cruiser for $21.79. http://www.hobbylinc.com/lindberg-owens-outboard-cruiser-boat-plastic-model-ship-kit-1:25-scale-hl222-12

Well, somebody has to be the cynical opportunist. A few months from now, I predict our thrift stores and flea markets will be LOADED with cheap, partly built kits. Check those boxes carefully, guys 'n gals. They might have a tube of glue and some bottles of paint in them! As for economic downturns helping the hobby, I saw that go in the opposite direction and it was personally painful. Some of you may have read the old "Scale Modeler" and "Military Modeler" magazines. (Both shut down in the 1990s.) You might remember ads for a store called The Black Watch in Reseda, CA. If you painted figures or built 1/35 scale kits, you may have even ordered from it. The Black Watch was owned by a really nice guy named Joe Janssen, and he ran it for over 30 years. He did a lot of business in the early 2000's, selling those big 1/6 scale Dragon military figures ("Battle Barbies!") I visited his store every Friday and it was always full of people buying those things. And they were not cheap. He even supported one customer's Side-Gig: a retired US Navy veteran who took up sewing during long cruises started sewing custom uniforms for the 1/6 scale figures. Along with the Battle Barbies, Joe also sold military model kits, the figures, and lots of books and magazines. From 2005-2009 I was mostly working in Egypt. When I came back to Los Angeles in 2009, after the big economic crash, The Black Watch was nearly dead. On Fridays, nobody came in anymore. Joe managed to hang in until 2012, when a new landlord raised his rent. That finished off the store, since Joe couldn't make the rent with the little bit of business coming in.

ESCI or Hasegawa. Revell re-issued the 1/48 Hasegawa kit in its own box but I've never seen one in the plastic. Aircraft fans say it's much nicer than the ESCI (also released in an AMT box). But it should be, the ESCI kit is about 20 years older. I think the ESCI version has optional weapons, including the great big 75mm cannon that stuck out past the front of the fuselage. IIRC, when that one was installed, the other guns were removed and their openings faired over. Some fans also say the ESCI kit is a quick, fun build that only needs a little putty. ESCI was a real mixed bag with aircraft kits. Their 1/72 scale F-100 was a little jewel, their 1/48 F-100 was a barking dog.

Heller. The latest re-issue of that kit was the first time it had been available for MANY years. It was Unobtainium and fetched very high prices on eBay. Even when it was re-issued not long ago, I had trouble finding one for a while. Not many U.S. vendors carry Heller kits. You can order directly from the Heller website, but they're in France so you have to deal with international shipping. Bbowser said it was "basically a snap kit." Exactly. Back in the 1970's or '80's, Heller did a whole series of snap kits in its "Bobcat" line. This was one of them. HobbyLinc has it in stock right now. If you want one, better snag it before it disappears again. (I have no connection to HobbyLinc, other than being a customer.) http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/hlr/hlr81402.htm