Mike999

Search on the term "aerosan" and you'll find a bunch of them. The Russians used several different versions in WWII. But I had no idea they were still using them. Trumpeter and others make 1/35 kits of them. The sportiest one is the RF-8, which was made of non-bulletproof wood. Also notice the radiator is mounted right above the driver's seat. That could get interesting...

I just recently finished that one. Outstanding. I especially enjoyed it since I saw the 3 1-hr. programs about the GSK on the ID Channel. I lived in Calif. when that was going on and remember the panic. At a flea market recently I picked up some cheap aviation-history books. Just finished "The Northrop Story 1929-39" by Richard Sanders Allen. Next on that list will be "The Thunder Factory: An Illustrated History of the Republic Aviation Corporation" by Joshua Stoff. Also working my way thru "Case Red: The Collapse of France" by Robert Forczyk. Very big and detailed history of that subject, with descriptions of individual weapons, aircraft etc. and how they worked (or didn't). Also destroys a lot of old myths about the fall of France, which is always interesting to read.

Not panic buying (yet), with the Thousand-Year Stash in the basement. For right now, I'll just have fun watching the eBay geniuses pitch their '76 Torinos and Broncos as "RARE! OOP!" for $149.99 each. Mark said: "At an IPMS show last month, I picked up three NASCAR kits for a buck apiece." Sounds right. Almost every week at a big local flea market, somebody has NASCAR kits for sale, Revell, old Monogram and AMT . And even more NASCAR die-casts. I talked to an estate-sale vendor once at that flea market who bought more than 1,000 NASCAR kits and die-casts from a recent widow. He paid her $1 each for them, and said he was having trouble even selling them for $2 each.

Congrats on a great job! I have that kit and started to build it several times, since I'm a geezer and remember Fireball Roberts. One thing always scares me off: masking that sharp separation between the red and white paint, at the bottom of the back window. You really nailed it.

Resurrecting another zombie thread. Just last week Mat Irvine wrote a Beetle Bus article for Scale Model News. It includes parts layout and build-up of a "Katch The Kat" metallic-green reissue kit. Also a comparison with the original kit, showing parts from a junked glue-bomb that can't be saved (glued together with 2-part epoxy, he thinks). I'm not a big fan of these goofy Kustom Kitastrophes, but I know a lot of people in here are. So here you go: http://www.scalemodelnews.com/2018/05/show-rod-auto-designer-john-bogosian.html#more Edit: page down from the Beetle Bus article, and there's a review of the Revell Lincoln Futura.

Here's some inspiration for you, especially considering your location. Do a search on "Santa Monica Road Races." Back in the early 1900s, cars like the Lindberg Mercedes and Stutz took part in that annual race. You can find lots of photos and info. Here's a random pic I found. Those cars are racing down Wilshire Blvd., which was still a dirt road:

As somebody else said...the U.S. Air Force did a great service for suffering humanity during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s: it bombed the Zastava factory that built the Yugo. That was a dual-use factory, also making weapons. I believe the plant has since been resurrected and come full circle, currently building Fiats. The Fiat 12X and its uglier cousin, the Russian Lada, were extremely popular cars in Egypt when I lived there from 2005-09. Especially as taxicabs. The Ladas might be rusty and smoking, with parts literally falling off in transit. But they were tough little buggers and harder to kill than a werewolf. They were usually equipped with a giant, knee-killing cast-iron Russian-language taxi meter under the dashboard. I could never understand why the drivers didn't rip those things out; none had worked since the Brezhnev Era. You can see a bunch of the taxis in this photo, the yellow-and-black cars. And to the left, a taxi that wrecked itself on the median barrier. This was shot from the balcony of my hotel in Alexandria. The street is the Corniche, which runs right alongside the Mediterranean Sea, just out of sight to the left.

That looks great! Just replacing the "not-chrome" with shiny stuff makes a big difference. Here's a Maisto '55 Buick that had the same problem: dull gray trim that should have been chrome. On this one, the side trim and the bottoms of the windows are Bare Metal Foil. The trim around the windshield and back glass was done with Molotow Liquid Chrome. I'm working on a longer post with pics/descriptions of this one. I'm not as smart as ranma - I added embossing powder and lots of other interior detail, which can't even be seen.

The ROG Impala Snapper police car did have one big change from the Revell kit: a nice, real decal sheet with markings for a Canton, OH police car. (The original Revell kit only had stickers.) Not too long ago, in its last big kit sale, Ollie's sold the original Revell kit for $7.99.

The Haunebu is great! I'm just glad they didn't pay homage to a trash TV show, and call it the Haunebu-bu. OK, I'll show myself out... Squadron has also released a "post-war, civil passenger" version of that thing (photo below). AFAIK, the first 1/72 Haunebu was released by the obscure "Hand & Head" model company. I have that one. The box art shows the saucer blasting a B-24 bomber. It's a completely different kit from the Squadron, which is their own work. I believe Revell-Germany reissued the Hand & Head kit. Here's a thread about the Squadron kit from Britmodeller: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235013922-172-haunebu-ii-squadron-models-limited-premium-version-now-available/

Steve covered it well. I started building one as a rusty junker, then eventually gave up and stripped it for parts. Wish I'd finished it now. One thing to be aware of - the tops in these kits do not have any options. If you buy the top-up version, like Steve's, you get the up-top and nothing else. If you buy the top-down version, you get a boot and nothing else. The hardtop in the hardtop kits is a separate piece and takes some work to blend in with the body. When these kits first came out, somebody built the hardtop for The Other Model Magazine and did a great job of it. You might also find these Caddies in a "Microace" box, released about 2010 (shown below). These are identical to the ARII kits. Only with great box art, showing In-n-Out Burger! According to HobbyLink Japan, that kit is molded in bright pink plastic.

OK, that makes me feel a little better. I just clicked on his Feedback (9164!) and looked thru 5 pages of items he's actually sold. He sells a LOT of stuff. In scale model sales, not many of the Junkyard Clown Cars seem to have sold. Many sales were die-casts, especially Matchbox, Corgi, Motor Max, ERTL etc. And some plastic deals that seemed reasonable. Also, he accepted lots of offers below his asking price. So other than his fetish for eyesore built models, he seems legit. I know a local estate-sale guy who works about the same way. He lucked into a gigantic stash of old model cars, including some Unobtainium Modelhaus full resin kits. He didn't know much about models, but researched on eBay. So we won't be getting any rare kits for $2.00 from him. But his prices are generally reasonable, and for most things he's willing to take an offer. Here's one of Tom Geiger's favorite kits that he has for sale right now. Buy It Now for $18.99 or make an offer. If you click on "Seller's Other Items" in the listing, you'll see lots of off-topic stuff. But he always puts "model" in his listing headers for scale models. So on his "Other Items" page, just search on the word "model" and it will filter out everything but the kits: https://www.ebay.com/itm/LINDBERG-DODGE-CARAVAN-ILLINOIS-STATE-POLICE-1-25-Scale-Model-Car-Kit-325/382139809808?hash=item58f94ec010:g:HNwAAOSwHLNZT7oC

In 1956 Cadillac sure took "planned obsolescence" to a whole new level. As the Cadillac Database says, the '56 models were only slightly changed from 1955. Until you got inside the car, when you saw the letters "Nineteen Fifty-Six" spelled out in big gold letters across the passenger side of the dashboard. That was the only year Cadillac did that, and it's always fascinated me. That meant all your passengers knew they were riding in a brand-new Caddy. But only until Sept. 1956, when the new models came out. Suddenly you were driving last year's Caddy and risked being mocked at the country club...

For anyone else trying to find those ex-Merit Talbot and Alfa kits, Atlantis has re-issued them. Back in 2012 Atlantis put both kits in one box. They also put a sneaky "Easter Egg" on the boxtop. Notice the sign on the overpass bridge in the background says "MERIT." On the original Merit boxtop, it said "Shell." Atlantis has since split the set and now offers them separately. Found this note about the Alfa kit on the Atlantis website: "This kit is manufactured by SMER exclusively for Atlantis Toy and Hobby here in the USA." That's interesting.

Yep. I see "eBay Fever" all the time at the big local flea markets with model kits. A guy with a random collection of estate-sale junk has a promo, heavily damaged, bumpers broken/missing, warped like a banana. Or a common glue-bomb kit, apparently built by a 6-yr-old with no hand-eye coordination in a waterlogged original box. The sales pitch usually starts with something like "$75 on eBay!!!" and "you'll never find another one!" I sure hope not... I took a quick scan thru that seller's stuff. He's selling a (badly) built Foose Custom '56 Ford pickup, with the usual "Lowrider 4 junkyard Diorama parts restore" sales pitch. For $39.99! That kit was only released, what, about a year ago? Why on earth would anybody pay that? His price is higher than retail at most places for a mint, unbuilt Foose pickup. Mind-boggling. Oh well. As we usually get reminded in these eBay threads, people can ask whatever they want. There are still plenty of knowledgeable people selling model stuff for reasonable prices. I'll buy from them, and use the other guys for entertainment.

The SMER kit is a re-popped Merit and they are the same, dating from the 1950s. The Heller's a totally different (and much better) kit of a 1950 Talbot-Lago GP car. I think it was first produced in the 1970s. I once also got these kits confused on this forum and somebody corrected me.

Avoid anything from Lee. All their stuff I've seen is very poor copies: Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes, several Tamiya 1/35 military kits, etc. I haven't seen anything new from Lee in quite a while, so they may be out of business. If so, good. All boxings of that 58 Cadillac Biarritz came from the ARII molds originally released in the 90s. ARII did 3 different versions: convertible with the top down and a boot; convertible top up (no boot) and a hardtop. The hardtop was a separate piece that took some work to blend in with the body. Along with its other issues, it only has 9 chrome "hashmarks" on the rear quarter panels and should have 10. And the power window switches on the driver's door are in the wrong place. Which is funny, because the side-panel box art (of a real car) shows them in the right place. You might be able to find a resin 58 Cadillac 2-door hardtop kit that I believe was made by R&R Vacuum Craft. I have one, and it's a really nice full kit with chassis, chrome and wide whitewall tires. The interior has a split front seat, as it should for a 2-door. It was obviously mastered off the JoHan 4-door Sixty Special. I know that because it still has the JoHan "Fleetwood" lettering on the trunk, which shouldn't be there. The only Cadillac 2-door hardtops in 1958 were the Series 62 and the Coupe de Ville. The only Fleetwood was the Sixty Special 4-door.

Don't know if you saw my response in "What Did You Get Today." This forum moves FAST sometimes! So I'll resurrect this zombie thread to repeat it: I bought this kit at HL and opened it up. The box says "molded in Black Pearl" and I was curious about that. You will have to prime it if you want any other color. But the good news is, the molded-in color looks pretty good. The "pearl" flakes are in-scale for once, not giant blobs, and it's more of a dark metallic gray than black. I'd be tempted to polish out the bare plastic, except for 2 problems: 1) I just know that Choo-Choo Customs nose will take some work to blend in with the body. 2) There are a few sink marks, especially along the tops of the front fenders. As the box says, the Trail Bike is molded in red plastic, not the same color as the rest of the kit. I'm thinking about building it as a grungy bike hauler.

I thought they might be doing that back in the early 2000s. Around 2004 IIRC, Revell reissued the original Triumph Tiger 100 and the Honda CB72. I was hoping that mean Triumph Drag Bike would be next, and maybe the Honda Scrambler. But the reissues seemed to stop with those two.

Ha! Yep, my geezer-ness is showing. In Southern California in the 1980's, those old boats from the Sixties were plentiful and dirt cheap. Back in those pre-Internet days, I wasted many enjoyable hours poring over The Recycler and Auto Trader and dreaming. I still remember passing a construction site one morning, when I saw some guys piling out of this: a '69 Mercury Marauder X-100. The car was beat up and starting to rust, which is a shame. Those were very rare cars. Of course, some people will probably say they should have been not only rare, but non-existent...

Here's an update from Mike Hanson that I got just this morning (Sat. 5/5/2018). He sent me an email saying my Rampside just shipped. Passing it along for anyone planning to order from him: "Note: We are in the process of preparing to move out of state and our eBay store will be closed temporarily starting approximately in late June for about 6-8 weeks during this transition."

I mostly watch true crime shows on the ID Channel. I like the Connelly books because I lived in Los Angeles a long time and can usually "see" in my mind the area he's writing about. One of his books was set around the Angel's Flight funicular 2-car railway in downtown L.A. TCM recently ran the nifty film-noir "Cry Danger." It was filmed in 1951, in that same neighborhood, the old Bunker Hill/Angel's Flight area. Before the whole area was bulldozed and gentrified in the 1960s, it was a poor neighborhood of old rooming houses etc. Jack Webb grew up there. One police procedural I did enjoy was the 2010 British "Red Riding Trilogy." It's a fictionalized version of the Yorkshire Ripper murders in the 1970s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Riding

I was about to post that pic. As we can see, it comes with the dashboard, door panels and seat/seat riser. From the bestmodelcarparts website, here's the list of everything included in the kit: Body, Seat, Dash, Bumpers, Ramp Side Door, Interior Door Panels, Rear Cab Panel, Tailgate, Chassis, Rear Floor unit, Seat Riser/Front Wheelwells, Wheels and Wheel Backs, Hubcaps, Steering Wheel, Grille Bar/Emblem, Headlight bezel units, Outside Mirrors, Interior Rearview Mirror, and License Plate Lights plus a Gauge Set for dashboard detailing and an Assembly/Paint Guide.

Not much I'm interested in. Maybe the '66 Mercury to build as a "work car." For some of those old molds, maybe R2 should consider a Work Car Series. Throw in the hard-hats from the old Gear Hustler, couple of tool/lunch boxes; ice chest and tools from the Meister Brau/Blazing Bison puller, etc. A sheet of paper donut and fast-food bags and boxes (product tie-in, like Coke!), and Styrofoam cups to litter the floorboards. Etc. Maybe even a sheet of weathering/rust ideas. And this is why I don't work in Marketing... Good to see the vintage Coke machine and dolly again. Back in 1997, AMT-ERTL put 2 of those same Coke machines and the dolly into the '50 Chevy pickup.

Great job on the paint and paneling detail, especially in 1/48 scale. For anyone who'd like to move up to 1/35 scale, Bronco does several different versions. They include the piloted and trainer aircraft. No figure of Hanna Reitsch included, AFAIK, but the towing dolly is. And why did they need a trainer version of something that was basically a kamikaze? Typical German attention to detail, I guess...