Ace-Garageguy

Ummm...can you say IRS ?

Yes, a quandary wrapped in a conundrum.

Yup, that's kinda my point, but you have to have SOMETHING other than gut-instinct to base a product-development budget on, eh?

Another little point...the VW Thing and the Karmann Ghia share the same floorpan, wider in front than the Beetle (and different from the Super Beetle too). A Ghia kit with a new-tool body, maybe? I KNOW somebody made a Ghia...I have a chassis-free one on the shelf.

What's an "enhine"?

Funny thing is that without some actual market research...like, ya know, actually ASKING video game buyers as they exit mall game emporiums, or polling online game buyers at checkout if they'd actually be interested in buying and building models, the "huge untapped market" is purely a figment of imaginative wishful thinking. Other thing is that anybody who tells the truth about market-research knows that those consumers who answer the questions rarely do (tell the truth, that is). And in my own experience, most companies' strategic thinking isn't really all that forward-looking... 5 years out at most, for most of them. Hard to spot long-term trends when trending these days happens as fast as mindless fish schooling. Soooo...it kinda still makes sense from a near-term business profitability standpoint to continue milking the proven sellers to the "dead in 15 years" market, while they're still upright and spending. And streamline the time-to-market cycle, while implementing cutting edge rapid tooling technology, so as to be able to respond quickly and efficiently to a solidly identified theoretical market...with minimized risk in case it tanks. Another salient point is that, in reality, many of the "rat rod" builders of a few years ago have actually learned some skills, some appreciation for form over shock-value, and are maturing into real hot-rod builders instead of assemblers of moving trash-piles. The 20s through 40s crowd are also building a lot of '50s and '60s cars. We had two in the shop just yesterday...a '59 Chebby and a '53 Ford Victoria, both owned by young guys sporting a lot of ink and with plenty of disposable income. Maybe I'm in the minority, but for me, almost EVERYTHING that works on 1:1 cars works on models just the same. I learned to build REAL cars in large part FROM building models as a kid. But that's just me...your experience may differ.

Duplicolor makes a candy yellow Metalcast that might work over chrome or a very fine silver pearl.

pu·sil·lan·i·mous adjective \-ˈla-nə-məs\ : weak and afraid of danger Full Definition of PUSILLANIMOUS : lacking courage and resolution : marked by contemptible timidity

I still don't get this perception. I work in the 1:1 industry (I don't mean I go to shows and read mags for my knowledge base) and guys in their 30s and 40s are building old Fords. A LOT of old Fords.

Ummm...not so hard to build a Baja bug just like a real one...just cut stuff off of a stocker. I mean, really, it's not hard...

I just put it up for guys who might not be familiar with the oddities of flathead cooling systems. Two water pumps and 4 radiator hoses are unusual, compared to, say, muscle cars, and the cast-in necks aren't always obvious to guys who haven't seen the real deal.

Ummm...unfortunately, that only accounts for the LOWER hoses. The water pumps were actually on the lower corners of the block. The engines (both V8 and V12 flatheads) all also have 2 uppers. The driver's side pump is obscured in this drawing. Water has to circulate into and back OUT of the engine. Cooled water FROM the radiator goes in to the engine through the 2 water pumps, and back out the top, TO the radiator. The V12 upper hoses are as shown here for a stocker... And something like this for an alloy-headded hot-rod engine...(the big holes at the top of the heads are for the water-necks that go to the hoses) ...or with cast-in water necks, like zo...

No. The parts-pack 427 represents a pushrod engine, not overhead cam, and it's entirely different tooling. It's an excellent model.

I'm sure Harry meant no disrespect to your brave family members. All he meant, I'm certain, is that France and all the rest of Europe might very well have lost the war had it not been for America's help. There could have been no D-Day without the USA, and the gallant actions of the resistance members of many countries would have been for nothing.

Amen to that.

The last BMW I drove was an E39 M5. If it had fake engine noises, it sure as jell didn't need them. Its V8 sounded like a V8, and it went like stink.

Yup, 427 cammer, and a remarkably poor rendition. I think this is one of those instances where the tool designer didn't really have any idea what the fiddly bits on the real engine were, and the scale representation suffered accordingly. A real one...

Yes indeed, agreed 100%. I DO think that when speech-recognition is sufficiently developed to understand and respond as accurately as an intelligent human who's actually paying attention, that "voice command" can have a positive effect on reducing driver "load", but it's not there yet. Yes, and power-door-closers really annoy me in principle. I mean, do all yuppie soccer moms have broken wrists?? Just more weight and more stuff to break.

Exactly. ALL solvent glues have a "use adequate ventilation" warning, and if you were "uncontrollably shaking" as you say, you must have got a massive dose of the stuff, unless you're hyper-sensitive. Adequate ventilation means, to me..."if you can smell it, AT ALL, you need more ventilation". Concentrating the vapors in a bag and inhaling is the glue-sniffer's trick, idiotic, and apparently you got an inadvertent glue-high. Some applied common sense is necessary when using ANY chemical, weather it's Clorox, ammonia cleaners, or even Windex. THINK. Maybe even only work OUTSIDE, because a respirator and a fan blowing in a CLOSED room will still allow the vapor concentration to build up in the room over time. CA adhesives (superglue) have a chemical that can cause INSTANT sensitization in some people, and lead to long term respiratory problems. SOME epoxies also are known to cause chemical sensitization in SOME people after repeated exposure. Maybe wooden models like ships or aircraft would be a safer alternative for you if you have interest in those subjects. Wood models can be built with water-soluble PVA glues which are very low in toxicity.

To get a feel for what BMW used to be about, I strongly recommend you drive a 2002tii, or a 2800 / 3.0cs. Nothing phony about those cars...nothing phony at all. They're light, nimble, fast for their displacement and get good fuel economy...and TONS of fun to drive rapidly.

One of the easiest ways to distinguish between a '55 and a '56 'Bird is the absence of the rectangular fresh-air vent flaps on the sides of the front fenders...on the '55. Though we can't see the model body in the ebay photos, the instructions depict a fender without the flap, making the model seem to be a '55...not a '56. portholeauthority.com lists the AMT first-gen 'Bird styling kit as a '55, in 1/25 scale. http://www.portholeauthority.com/models/kits.html

Being an anti-progress old fart, I fondly remember when BMW made honest, simple sports coupes for people who lived in reality and enjoyed the driving experience. Cars like the 2002. They weren't about impressing the lower-level yuppie middle-managers...they were DRIVER'S cars. Alas, no more. Just another bloated, overpriced and over-teched status mobile. With PRETEND engine sounds.