Mike999

Thanks for the info about your local Russian vehicles. Interesting. I couldn't resist the Trumpeter kit shown below - 8 wheels, a 38.9 liter diesel engine, and a BIG gun! I'm thinking about getting the "Rubezh" Coastal Anti-Ship Missile. But I already have the "Smerch" MLRS and SCUD missile. So I'm running short on storage space. And budget! For those who don't do armor, these are pretty amazing kits, with full engine/chassis detail. Even if you can't see much of that detail when the kit is completed.

Had a great trade with carman1 (Troy). Very quick and smooth.

Tokyo-Hobby on eBay is really good, with low prices and quick shipping. I've even found a few older, out-of-production Japanese kits from them on eBay that nobody else seemed to have. Along with the sorts mentioned, I usually keep eBay up all the time, sorted on "Ending Soonest." Because it's fun to do impulse buying every now and then. The one drawback: not much time to check out the item. I've read that Sunday is eBay's busiest time and doing that Ending Soonest sort makes me believe it. On Sunday night, you have to be very quick on the mouse trigger. The auctions end every few seconds. Not long ago on a Sunday, I saw a Jo-Han '76 Eldorado "Rancher" with no bids, reasonable price and shipping. Made the minimum bid and won it. The "A" pillars were a little tweaked, but no big deal for the price ($19.99).

I once linked to an active eBay sale of my own and it got removed pretty quickly. So don't do that. Not a complaint against the admins or anything - I wasn't sure of the rules and now I know.

The Petersen was one of my favorite places to go when I lived in Los Angeles. I wanted to hit it one last time before I moved in 2015, but it was closed for renovations then, IIRC. I really liked the antique billboard with the CHP Harley-Davidson sitting behind it. And the Helms bread truck, a rolling display of master woodworking with all the cabinets etc.

Watch "Viva Las Vegas" and keep your hand near the Pause button during the scenes around the garage. You'll see about a kajillion dollars worth of cars at today's prices, including several Cobras and a 1958 Ferrari 250-GT Berlinetta. Parked outside the garage you'll see a Daimler SP-250 2-seater sports car, a/k/a the Dart. It was powered by a hemi V-8, though a pretty small one (2.5 litre).

Oh boy! This thread reminds me of when the '59 Cadillac hit its popularity peak in the 1980's-90s. Back then I was going to the Pomona (CA) Swap Meet every 3 months. The Cadillac section of that meet was suddenly full of young, annoying hipsters trying to buy nothing but '59 Cadillacs. Those cars had always been despised by many Caddy enthusiasts. IIRC, a famous Cadillac historian refused to even put a photo of the '59 in one of his books, he hated it so much. Then '59 Caddys started popping up in every other music video on MTV, in pop songs, and even a Clint Eastwood movie. Prices for the cars and parts skyrocketed. One contrarian collector in New York had a collection of every '59 Caddy model, including the hearses, flower cars and ambulances. He got written up in "Collector Car" magazine (which later morphed into Hemmings Classic Car). Which reminds me of another Geezer Gripe: almost every movie about a poor, struggling young actress coming to Hollywood shows her living in an apartment on the beach, and tooling L.A. around in a vintage convertible. Here's what those movies don't show: the rent on that beach-town studio apartment would be so high that Struggling Young Actress would need 6 or 7 roommates. And IRL, that vintage convertible would have her spending every weekend in a less ritzy, non-beach part of L.A. - the Pick-Your-Part junkyards up around San Fernando and Pacoima.

Posting this for anyone who wants a 1/24 scale MENG Ford F-350 or Hummer H1. Got an e-mail from Sprue Brothers this morning. They're having a sale on MENG kits, this weekend only: "From now until 11:59pm US Central Time Sunday October 8, 2017, receive an additional 20% Off All Meng Model items! No coupon required - just add to cart and discount will be automatically applied..." Their price on both kits is $57.99, so $46.39 with the discount. The F-350 and Hummer H1 were both showing as "In Stock" just a few minutes ago. They also sell a MENG Hummer H1 Upgrade Kit. That includes a roof rack, giant bull-bar extending up over the hood, and a fording snorkel. Their price is $22.49, or $17.99 with the discount. They don't have the new MENG Jeep kit in stock yet. But they run these specials every weekend, so keep an eye out in the future if you want one of those. I have no connection to Sprue Brothers, other than being a happy customer. http://store.spruebrothers.com/

I asked about that at Ollie's just last week. The employee said they have pallets of boxes marked "Toys," stacked all the way to the ceiling in their stockroom. Getting ready for Christmas. She thought some of those boxes were scale models, but wasn't sure. I offered to help inventory their stockroom, voluntarily and free of charge. She didn't fall for it.:-)

About that '59 Imperial...I bought several when they were issued, figuring they wouldn't be around long. (Though I didn't know it was a limited run of only 2,500.) The Imps still have price stickers on them from a Los Angeles hobby shop. Full retail was $34.99, minus my 20% customer loyalty discount. Three months ago, in July, I put one '59 Imp up for auction on eBay. Set the starting bid at $39.99. The auction ran for 7 days and did not get a single bid. I just checked eBay's Completed Listings for these kits. 3 have recently sold via Buy It Now. They sold for $22.99, $29.99 and $38.00. Some sellers are ASKING $75-$80 for the Model King re-pop. But as always on eBay, what some delusional people ask is a far distance from what the kits are actually bringing. An original '59 Imperial kit, mint in the box, was recently offered for $75. (Plus $21.50 for domestic shipping, so...uh...no thanks.)

Had another great trade recently with Khils (Kevin)! He surprised me by throwing in a nice bonus on the trade.

That's amazing work! Thanks. It will be inspiring the next time I try to make a simple convertible top out of epoxy putty and end up screaming curses at it... Some of you may remember that ERTL/AMT once put 2-part epoxy putty in a few car kits. That was the "Customizing Series" from 1987 or so. I don't think it was a big success.

Got a new Ollie's flyer this morning. No kits mentioned, but they have a load of Rust-O-Leum spray paint for $2.99 a can. I probably won't be buying any. I've had problems with Rust-O-Leum, as described in this 2014 thread on a model-train board: http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/bizzare-problem-with-rustoleum-spray-cans.77196/

One important thing about any epoxy putty, and I use Milliput, Tamiya and hardware-store brands: there's no such thing as mixing it too long. When I first tried to use it, I was constantly frustrated with it not drying or partly drying. Once I learned to knead it in my hands for the recommended time plus a little more, that problem went away. Usually the 2 parts of the putty are 2 different colors, and you mix until you see one uniform color. If you can still see stripes/bands of the 2 different colors, it's not ready to use. Add a little water and keep mixing it. Other things I do with it, which may sound weird: I use a piece of aluminum foil as a work surface. I sprinkle some talcum powder on the aluminum foil, and also coat my hands with talc. Epoxy putty will lift right off of the foil, and it won't stick to talcum powder. Which means it won't be sticking all over your hands and will be easier to form. Here's a guide to using Milliput. Once you have mastered it, you'll be amazed at the things you can do with it. Some of the world's best figure manufacturers create their masters out of Milliput and other epoxy putties: http://www.scalemodelguide.com/construction/techniques/techniques-uses-milliput-putty/

I have the Masterkit Rolls in that exact box. According to my handy Excel spread-sheet, I paid $10 for it at a KCI kit swap meet in Buena Park, CA. Didn't note the date, as I usually do, but it was a long time ago. So 40 Euros sounds...quite a bit high. Also have one of these in the Minicraft box. I think I had some nutty idea to hack them apart and make a stretch limo. Or maybe a hearse. One of the more fun builds I've seen of these kits: somebody turned one into a low-rider convertible. Someone else...maybe on this board...built one rusting in the Nevada desert, with bullet holes in the trunk lid and a skeleton in the trunk.

Check out the Orson Welles movie "Touch of Evil." Set in a "Mexican border town," but actually shot in Venice, CA. Known today as an upscale beach community (and former home of Revell!). You can see working oil wells and puddles of oil by-products bubbling out of the ground. That movie was made in 1958. Not that oil was a problem for everybody. I once had a great chat with an elderly woman who worked as a tour guide at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Her family had been in the city since the late 19th century. Much of downtown L.A. had oil under it, and every month she still got a payment from an oil company for the mineral rights under their property. Those payments had been going on for decades.

Great trade with 1930fordpickup/Andy. Very smooth, just the way it should go!

I'm so old that I still sometimes stretch sprue. To use as antennas, or just where I need small rods that aren't a standard Evergreen size. So I tend to save black, white, silver and clear sprues for stretching. Stretching sprue just involves heating a long straight piece over a candle, while holding it between your thumbs/forefingers. When the sprue gets "floppy," start slowly pulling it. With a little practice you can stretch it to any size you need. Another old-timers use for chopped-up sprue: dump it in about a half-bottle of liquid cement (or MEK, if you can still find it). The melted sprue makes a great filler putty. Since it's already plastic, it avoids the problems of Green Stuff and other putties.

If you like unusual Euro rally cars, also check out REJI Models from the Czech Republic. Very sharp, clean castings, photo-etch included and great decals. Like all resin kits, they're pretty expensive.

Not sure if you check the Trading Post very often. I started a thread in there called "Ollie's Re-Distribution." The idea was to trade kits we got at Ollie's for other kits we really wanted more. Feel free to use that thread for trading Hobby Lobby kits as well. It's not getting a lot of activity.

Our local Hobby Lobby carries only Tamiya Primer, putty and extra-thin cement. Which is great, but I sure wish they would carry the whole Tamiya acrylic paint line. In models, it has a few very old Tamiya 1/35 military kits. Mostly stuff like the M-41 tank, which dates from the 70s. I was shocked a few months ago when they got in the Tamiya M561 Gama Goat kit, a kit that only came out a few years ago. But that's the last new Tamiya kit I've seen. I agree, I'd love to buy their Mercedes Gullwing and some other car kits at 40% off.

Here's a good article from Olive-Drab.com on the military Dodges. Lots of links to specs, tech manuals, etc. "The M-880 is a Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV pronounced "cuck-vee"), a military modified Dodge pick-up truck, procured in the mid-1970s to replace the Kaiser M715 5/4 truck and any remaining M-37 Dodge trucks in military inventory. The CUCVs were an attempt by the U.S. military to use COTS (commercial, off-the-shelf) vehicles with minor modifications in non-combat roles. After the M880 series, the U.S. military procured the M1008 - M1009 - M1010 Chevrolet CUCVs as a second try of the COTS concept. This effort to save money was not very successful and eventually all CUCV units where replaced by HMMWVs." http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_m880.php

Rant: Another big yawn here. I'm older than dirt and try to support the hobby as much as possible on my limited Geezer Income, but I will not be buying this turkey. Not that I just like old stuff. I'd happily shell out for a Snap-Kit Crown Vic with an updated body. Speaking of Geezer Nostalgia - I hope this one is already in the pipeline. But where is the AMT '40 Ford sedan? Hopefully issued in the original "Trophy Series" box with that gorgeous art. With the instruction sheet from the AMT/ERTL Millennium Edition, which explained the differences between a '39 and '40 Ford. Old Man Yells At Round 2 - long as I'm here, those "extras" in the Art Box kits don't do a thing for me. A mini-model box? How about a sheet of real 1/25 scale boxes, that would be more useful. Then I wouldn't have to strain my old eyes scanning and reducing them. Different colored glass? Yawn again. If you want to give us some useful extras, take a tip from the AMT/ERTL "Prestige" series. Throw in something like the Drag Strip Accessories or other Parts Paks. The pad-printed tires are great, though. /rant

Here's one way I avoid that (sometimes): get some "Simply Tacky" or "Blu-Tack" adhesive putty, sold at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc. (Pic below.) I put a dab of that stuff on a toothpick or an old Micro-Brush with the tip stripped off, and use that to pick up the photo-etch and position it on the model. To keep the photo-etch piece from flying when I cut it off the sprue, sometimes I stick it to a piece of double-sided tape. That has another benefit, it leaves a little adhesive from the tape on the back of the photo-etched part. I used that method on one of my worst photo-etch challenges: the 1/35 scale Hobby Boss EBR-10 French armored car. That thing had 44 tiny photo-etched rivets, 22 each for the front and rear hulls. I thought the Carpet Monster had been exorcised when I got a basement with a concrete floor. No such luck. Don't have to worry about parts hiding in the carpet now. But when parts hit that concrete floor, they bounce. Apparently into another dimension...

Woo-hoo! Went to Ollie's in Anderson, SC today (Fri. 9/29) and they had a few of those new kits! Even though our area did not get the circular advertising models. This store had the Revell VW Rabbit and AMT "Nestle" '23 Model T Delivery Van. Didn't see anything else new. Lots of Lindberg 64 Dodge Mavericks, but they always have those. But this sounds good - I asked the checker if they were getting any more kits. She said, "Probably. Our stockroom is stacked to the ceiling with pallets full of boxes that just came in. They're all marked "TOYS," since we're getting ready for Christmas." Told her I'd be happy to help them inventory all those boxes, but she didn't fall for it... Also stopped at Hobby Lobby today. It had the Foose '53 Cad and a couple of other new ones. No '66 Suburban yet, but the slot is marked for it. Asked the lady straightening up the model shelves when the Suburban is expected. She said probably next week, they're expecting more models then.