Mike999

Lindberg/Round 2 has some of those molds and still re-issues them. In 2008 it re-issued the ex-PYRO Model T shown below, along with some other former PYRO 1/32 kits: '32 and '36 Ford roadsters, '40 Ford coupe etc. Back in the 1980s Lindberg re-issued a bunch of the old PYRO kits, including the '32 and '34 Plymouth roadsters. Those kits had 1/32 scale 6-cylinder engines, often swiped by military modelers. Many of the PYRO 1/32 kits haven't been seen since the 1960s and are probably gone forever. Like the '34 Plymouth 4-door sedan and the '52 Chevy station wagon (which was a fictional 2-door wagon that Chevy never made).

Yes it does. I just checked an original kit. The headliner is a ribbed pattern, running back to front, molded into the roof. Looks like it wouldn't be too hard to remove or cover up. A few years ago, a resin caster offered some nice stock door panels for this kit. Not sure if they're still available, but somebody in here might know. Did any re-issues of this kit include the side-mounted spare wheel and the chrome hand tools?

Very sharp, clean build, especially that interior. Here's a green one I found at a flea market recently, along with a '60 Plymouth. The sagging rear ends aren't a custom touch; the lowering blocks have come unglued.

I was also in Berlin during the summer of 1990, on vacation from Saudi Arabia. One neat souvenir you could buy was a small chunk of the wall, with a 1/43 scale Trabant climbing up it. My Mom has one on display in her house. The amazing stuff for sale was all the former military gear. The East German Army and the Potsdam garrison of the Red Army both seemed to have giant clearance sales. Street vendors were selling everything from complete General's uniforms to medals and everything else (except firearms). I got a tanker's helmet and some other stuff.

Italeri. They did the 3-ton Blitz in 1/35 and 1/24. Here's a 1/24 civilian version, in a Revell box. Italeri has done it in several different boxes with different decals. As you mentioned, they also did it as a fire truck.

Agreed. I spent some time on their website and looking at their stuff on eBay. Their resin kits look like plastic kits. Thin castings, no or very little resin flash, etc. They do some really stunning 1/32 scale aircraft kits, like this beauty:

Newer modelers, watch out for this dog in wolf's clothing. This Monogram "Classic Cruiser" '32 Ford roadster clearly says "1/25 scale" on the box. You might think you're getting a re-box of the excellent Revell 1/25 scale "Highboy" roadster, or at least something in 1/25 scale. Nope. Inside that box is the ancient 1/24 scale Monogram kit. It can only be built with the full fenders because it doesn't even have a chassis. The front/rear suspension is glued to the fenders.

Thanks! I may use that. Another good use for fine-grit sandpaper: quick road (or runway) surfaces for diorama bases. It looks a lot like asphalt. Just glue it to the wooden base and instant road surface! I've seen it used for cars, armor and aircraft. In this pic, the carrier deck was made from a piece of sandpaper. Notice how the builder added skid marks, painted lines, etc.

I know it's extremely unlikely, but I can dream. ICM did scale up some of their 1/35 cars to 1/24, like the Mercedes G4 and Opel. Those Model T's are also done in both scales, though the 1/35's are all military versions so far and the 1/24 kits civilian. So maybe there is a little hope.

The Polish company Lukgraph is releasing 1/35 scale resin kits of the Nash-Jeffrey Quad 4WD trucks. The kits have full engine/chassis detail and photo-etched parts. They even include the shovel, ammo crates and other stuff in the bed! Lukgraph is doing several different versions. The one shown below is a Marine Corps truck. They also do a kit with a full tarp over the bed, an ammunition truck, etc. Historically, the Quad was a very important vehicle, used in the 1915 Mexican Punitive Expedition and WWI. I'm hoping ICM or Roden will take the hint and do these in plastic, and in the right scale. ICM already does 2 different versions of the Liberty WWI American truck in 1/35. A quick look at eBay shows these Lukgraph kits going for $90 to $125.

I visited Hungary in 2008 and there were still quite a few Trabants running around there. Went on a tour of "Statue Park" outside Budapest. The Hungarians took all the huge Soviet statues out of the city after Communism collapsed, and turned them into a tourist attraction. The park also has a copy of Stalin's giant empty boots, commemorating the tearing down of his statue during the 1956 revolution. A blue Trabant was sitting outside the souvenir shop, sort of like a "gate guard." Here's a pic of it (not mine, found on the internet).

Thanks. Revell sure has worked those Trabbi molds! They've re-issued it for almost every Berlin Wall anniversary, including the 20th and 25th. I'm guessing this is the "new" Trabant, with engine detail. Their original Trabant kit, issued in 1990, was a curbside with no engine. But it did have a big roof rack, which isn't in the newer kit. Here's the 25th anniversary kit: Wrong scale, but for the 30th anniversary, AFV Club has released a 1/35 scale kit with 3 sections of the Berlin Wall:

Same here. If the kit is really big and/or heavy, I put a warning about that right in the eBay listing. I sometimes have "sticker shock" when I'm buying and see the eBay shipping price. So the warning is my way of saying, "Don't blame me, blame the Post Office." This was sort of weird: I did a trade in here once with a guy on the West Coast. I'm on the East Coast. Both boxes were pretty big. I checked his USPS label when my kit arrived, and we had both paid exactly the same amount in shipping, right down to the penny: $17.30.

Preiser makes "G" scale figures (1/22.5 scale). But they also make figures in 1/24. And almost every other scale, including 1/32, 1/35, 1/48 and 1/72. Their "Adam" and "Eve" multi-pose figures are really neat, if you can sculpt your own clothes out of Milliput or something similar. They come as "academy" (nude) figures. This is the 1/24 "Adam" set:

Probably so. Looking at various eBay selling boards, the general consensus is: the best time to end an eBay sale is on Sunday night. Everybody sure seems to believe that. I keep my eBay "Sort" of Models & Kits set to "Ending Soonest." On Sun. night, the auctions end so fast it's hard to follow them, within a few seconds of each other. Before retirement, I had my auctions end on Sat. night. That gave me all day Sunday to pack everything and cram the car full of boxes. On Monday I'd go to work and hit the Post Office on my lunch break. After retirement, I've usually ended them on Sun. night. I have experimented with ending auctions in the middle of the week and other times. I do seem to get more action ending them on Sunday. I have an eBay sale all ready to go, and almost put it up 2 weeks ago. Then I remembered it would end on Labor Day weekend. That seemed like a bad time to end an auction, since most people are traveling or doing outdoorsy stuff. Not sitting in front of a screen watching eBay.

Stopped at the closest Hobby Lobby today, nothing left on clearance. Used the 40% off coupon for the Round 2 '32 Ford Sedan Delivery "Coca-Cola" kit. I know its shortcomings, but might still try to build it stock-ish. Or if I really get crazy, something like a fictional US Army experimental radio truck. One of my favorite books is Fred Crismon's "U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles," from the good old Crestline book series. Crismon found photos showing all sorts of oddball cars and trucks the military used between the world wars. Like a gorgeous 1937 Ford convertible, used as a Marine staff car at Headquarters--Fleet Marine Force Atlantic. EDIT: And the fe-mail carrier dropped off a Round 2 Subaru Brat, 78 Dodge D-100 pickup and a Moebius '66 Ford F-100 Flareside Pickup. I have a bad habit of saying "I'll get that later." Then forgetting until the kit becomes Unobtainium. I wanted to make sure I got those 3, so ordered them from an online vendor.

Same for Pegasus, located in Montclair, just outside Los Angeles. For anyone going to SoCal on vacation, do not miss the Pegasus store. And for a great double whammy, visit when the Pomona Swap Meet is happening. The Pegasus store is only a few minutes away from Pomona. Take a camera to the swap meet, and you'll get enough reference material to last a lifetime from all the cars on display. But then you won't have time to hit the non-car vendors, and find those old kits somebody just pulled out of their garage...

Get the Italeri if you want a 6-wheeler. I've owned both and the Italian job is a lot less clunky and better detailed than the HiPM kit. Italeri did a basic SdKfz 232, and an upgraded kit that's really nice. It has a resin engine and interior, with both the front/rear driver positions. Even a photo-etched instrument panel with an acetate sheet for the gauges. I think it's out of production but turns up on eBay pretty often. Here's a review of it: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/it/kit_it_6445.shtml

Historic Plastic Models was (is?) a Czech company that issued its first kits around 1998. They specialized in oddball armor/aircraft kits no one else was making. Along with a whole series of Panzer I variants, they did the early Sd.Kfz.231 & 232 6-wheeled armored cars. Scalemates shows them as still in business, but I'm not sure about that. The link takes you to a page showing all the HiPM kits. Scott Van Aken summed up their kits pretty well, in a review of their 1/48 scale MiG-19: "Mention 'HiPM' to anyone who has actually built one of their previous kits and you'll have to calmly talk them out of the fetal position. Actually, they aren't that bad, but they aren't that good, either." https://www.scalemates.com/brands/historic-plastic-models--1116

If I ever get up the nerve, I may try combining the really good Dragon early Panzer I with the really bad Historic Plastic Models Panzer I "Modificado." That's a PzI used in the Spanish Civil War, modified with a raised turret and a 20mm cannon. I don't think any major company has ever done that one. If they did it could save me a lot of work. The HiPM kit may not be all that bad, but it looks like a short-run kit. Lots of flash, thick plastic, etc.

Looks great! I have this one in the stash, and now have a better idea what I'm in for. Gulp... I call this the "Driver Training" version of the Panzer I. Before the Tristar kit, the only way to build this version was by using the ancient ITALERI Pz. I and doing a lot of scratch-building, including the whole interior. Some really good builders did that back in the day. If anyone wants one of these, you can find the same kit today in a Hobby Boss box. Tristar went out of business a few years ago and Hobby Boss got their molds.

Start saving (or taking out a loan) now. ? When HL opens a new store, they move FAST. My closest Hobby Lobby took over an old K-Mart. After the announcement in the local news that they had signed the lease, they had the place refurbished in Corporate Hobby Lobby style and open in just a few weeks. I wish their kit selection was as uniform as their décor. Not true, as this thread shows. That gets a little frustrating, reading about the new kits in other HL's around the country that never seem to show up in the stores near me. And there are 3 HL's within a fairly short drive. I got so tired of waiting for the Revell Porsche Tractor, I ordered it online. Naturally, about a week later, the closest HL got that kit in.

Yep, LHD/RHD dashboards included! Happy to see that. The link below goes to Spotmodel, which shows the sprues and instruction sheets. Markings/ building versions for British, German, Belgian or Spanish vehicles. https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info.php?products_id=52192

They never have, compared to other Jo-Han kits. A few years ago I paid $50 for a mint flat-box '64 Rambler American, and had to think more than twice about it. What finally sold me was the opening trunk, complete with luggage. Weird, I know. The Jo-Han flat-box "Custom Series" kits are also rarely seen, but don't seem to bring any higher prices than the regular kits. Which makes sense, AFAIK the kit inside is exactly the same as the regular issue. At least this '68 Eldorado is. Jo-Han just played up the custom building option. Great box art, though. Reminds me of the '66 Toronado in Stephen King's novel "The Dark Half."

We could go crazi(er) figuring out all the different versions of these kits. I have the AOSHIMA Nissan Terrano in the box shown below. This is kit number #044155, "The Best Car GT #98." It doesn't have the extras you mentioned, like grilles, bumpers, wheels or off-road stuff. It does have LHD/RHD dashboards, with both on the same gray sprue. But they aren't mentioned on the instruction sheet! The instructions only show the RHD build. The ITALERI (ex-ESCI) Range Rover Police has LHD/RHD dashboards, and also the right front suspension parts for either version.