Before we start this edition of Modeler's Spoke, I want to thank everyone who has e-mailed me so far. I haven't been able to respond to each one personally (that'd be a full-time job in itself), but I want you to know I truly appreciate your support. Whether you write to tell me how much you like or dislike it or to offer constructive criticism, I look forward to reading it.

    I also appreciate your sharing your experiences with me. After I wrote about my minor brush with Hurricane Floyd, several of you wrote about your own flooding experiences. Most of you had MUCH worse experiences than I had. One fellow in Amsterdam woke up one morning and stepped out of bed into a foot of water in his basement apartment (his next apartment was in an attic.) Another fellow living in Florida when Hurricane Andrew visited had some serious damage done to his home and went without power for nearly two weeks. Still another suffered serious damage to his home and model collection in a flood that left four feet of water in his second story office! What I dealt with was nothing more than an inconvenience by comparison. And believe me, I am still counting my blessings that it wasn't worse.

    I hadn't really though of the emotional aspect involved in losing even part of a long-time model collection to a flood. There are lots of memories tied up in those boxes of plastic. I've been thinking about that more lately, thanks to you. I've also been thinking of how to replace my kits if I ever should lose them in a disaster. Fortunately, I can have them covered by my homeowners insurance. But I have to inventory them and document their values. Two new books will greatly help me with assessing the values. Bob Shelton and Bill Coulter have written The Directory of Model Car Kits with Price Guide for 1/24 and 1/25 scale kits and its companion volume covering 1/48. 1/43, 1/32, 1/20, 1/16, 1/12, and 1/8 scales. By averaging kit values listed in catalogs and other valuation sources, Bob and Bill have come up with very realistic values for virtually every model kit produced by a U.S.-based manufacturer. (Editors note, you can get these handy directories right here from the Model Car Hub. Click Here)

    I just got back from the 20th anniversary edition of the Toledo NNL. As usual I had a great time, met even more modelers and participated in some insightful discussions with builders, aftermarket suppliers, and hobby store operators. The following are some thoughts on the hobby from those discussions.

    One of the more interesting topics was the way the model kit manufacturers' latest wares are being viewed. With the long-overdue release of the 1958 Edsel kit and the impending release of the 1957 Chrysler 300C kit, the resin casters feel that the kit makers are encroaching on their traditional territory, offering kits the adult builder wants. They aren't surprised though. They've known for decades that the kit makers might one day wake up and take notice of the resin casters' success and decide to get in on the action. I'm confident that the resin casters will, as they have in times past, adapt to the changing offerings and continue to thrive. The modelers I spoke with seem to agree with me. They expressed their happiness to have the new kits coming out and their interest in seeing what alternatives the resin casters will provide.

    Modelers in general seem happy with the balance of select subjects coming slowly in affordable packages from the kit makers and the more costly wide selection of products coming in a timely fashion from the aftermarket. The two work together well. They could work together even better if the kit makers and the reputable resin casters were to form some sort of alliance. If a kit maker were to provide test shots of the hottest new releases to the resin casters, detail parts and alternative bodies could be on the hobby store shelves the day you buy the kit. This would spur increased sales of the new kits and the resin products. There are other ways the kit makers and resin could work together to benefit the builders and provide more value with out incurring much, if any, cost.

    Sales of new model car kits help drive sales of alternative resin bodies. Sales of alternative resin bodies, also help drive sales of new kits. When a kit is released, builders like to build more than one. They like to build variations of the manufacturer's kit, so they turn to resin. For every variation the builders want to build, they have to purchase a resin body and another plastic kit to donate basic parts. Resin casters and modelers agree that the kit makers never seemed to catch on to these facts.

    Some resin casters are feeling the die cast companies, in particular the mints, are starting to trample them. One caster stated that he feels as if one mint company in particular is watching his product line and sales for insight to their own product choices. Could be. Launching a large-scale die cast production is expensive and if you can select a subject that is proven popular among model-building enthusiasts, it may well prove popular with those who collect die casts. I wonder how much overlap there really is between the markets. Most builders I know are builders because they want the experience, enjoyment, and satisfaction of building the models in their collections. Most of the die cast collectors I know collect because they don't want to build the models, they want to take them out of the box and place them on a shelf for instant gratification. Under those definitions of builders and die cast collectors, how many die cast collectors would build a resin-based model to get a subject that isn't available in die cast form?

    Some of the people I spoke with expressed their opinion that because of the low number of young builders in the hobby, we'll be seeing a slow down in all aspects of the hobby over the next five or so years. I know we don't see lots of young builders at national gatherings like the NNL, but I think the expense of getting there may be a big factor. Travel and hotel costs are high, even with discounted show rates. What I think we need to look at in terms of the participation of young builders in our hobby, is the local scene - local club meetings and events. Do you see the young builders there or not? If they are there, we may see them at the national events when their incomes can support their participation.

Another hot topic of conversation was the introduction of a new paper magazine, Model Cars. This is actually the latest incarnation of Plastic Fanatic magazine under new ownership. The increased use of color and new format were well received. Many modelers wished editor Gregg Hutchins and publisher Golden Bell Press well in competing with Scale Auto Enthusiast magazine.

    You Heard it Here First: I was recently privileged to get a hands-on look at test shots of the upcoming 1957 Chrysler 300C kit. This is a killer kit! Lots of well-detailed parts. I won't give it a full review, but I will say that if you've been waiting for this one, you'll be thrilled with it.

    I've never had to remove old putty, but I'll give it a shot. Most, if not all, one-part putties (those that harden when exposed to air) are lacquer-based. Lacquer-based putties can be thought of as little more than very thick lacquer paint. So, you should be able to remove the putty with the same oven cleaner you'd use to remove paint.

    Because the putty is much thicker than paint you'll surely have to remove in stages. Place the body in a good pan with a lid (I use a Tupperware container) and soak it with the oven cleaner. Let it set for a few hours, then rinse it off thoroughly and scrub it with an old toothbrush. When the putty stops coming off, dry the model and repeat the process. Don't forget to wear rubber gloves when working with oven cleaner, it is nasty stuff. And be careful to avoid breathing in the toxic fumes.

    Mister Muscle was the best oven cleaner I found for stripping paint, but it is no longer in production. I'm told that Dow oven cleaner is the next best thing.

    If the oven cleaner doesn't do the trick, you might try placing the model in a food dehydrator for about two hours. This has been known to shrink new putty to the point where it falls off a model. As old as the putty is on your 1962 Dodge Dart, it likely won't shrink any more at all. But you don't know unless you try. Be sure to check the operating temperature of your dehydrator before placing such a valuable model in it - you don't want to melt rare plastic. Up to 120 degrees should be safe. But, still, test this method first with a scrap body.

(editors note: commercial floor stripper, from a hardware, then diluted, is a great paint remover. It has succesfully removed some putties. I found this out while trying to strip the paint from a body, and it removed the putty, too. Not the result I wanted at the time, but it worked! Always wear rubber gloves in a ventilated area when using this floor stripper. Thanks to Levin Kates for the floor stripper tip. dj)

  9/30/99

    The answer is, "A hurricane and insane work hours." And the question is, "Where's the second edition of Modeler's Spoke and why is it taking that lazy bum so long to post it?"

    Let's start with the hurricanes. Most importantly, for those of you who live in hurricane Floyd's path of rain, wind, and flood damage, I sincerely hope that you, your loved ones, relatives, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances, all came through healthy and unscathed with no or minimal property damage.

    My wife and I live in a house that, for forty years, hasn't had a drop of water in the basement. I can't verify that beyond the few years we've owned it, but throughout our tenure we've not seen a drop down stairs. When Floyd started raining on us, it was steady and heavy - not a single slack period like the weatherman predicted. We didn't even bother to check the basement before bedtime, we knew it would stay dry. And it did, through the first half of twenty-four hours of non-stop heavy downpour. Then around 6am, we found water seeping in at the center of the East wall. That's the end of the house where my model car kits are stored. Fortunately, I'd learned long ago in a leaky house far, far away to keep such things as model kits off the basement floor. Every kit is on a metal shelf and there are quite a few of those shelves. My wife and I quickly moved all the shelves to the middle of the basement, and then we grabbed every towel we could get ahold of.

    We spent the next 12 hours sopping up water as it ran in. We'd spread 20 to 30 towels (it varied as other, smaller leaks started and stopped) and 5 to 15 minutes later, replace them with another round of dried towels. Between rounds, we spun the wet towels in the washing machine to get most of the water out of them quickly. When the rain was seeping in slowly, we were able to run some towels through the dryer, too. Our work ended only after the rain stopped falling.

    Throughout that day, we reasoned that because another hurricane had passed through just weeks before and we'd had several heavy rain storms in the interim, that the ground was probably near saturation by the time Floyd arrived and that's probably why we had such leakage. It made sense at the time. However, when I arrived home from work the next day, I found that a county repair crew had dug up the storm drain that runs in front of our house. Seems that the drain either burst or had clogged right in front of the East end of our house!

    Now, let me tell you about those insane work hours. The company I work for lives by the contracts it wins. Without contracts for employees to charge against, there's no money for payroll. We were given the opportunity to bid on a big contract and a team was pulled together to write the proposal. For the first month's work, no one gave any though to the fact that I'm a technical writer and that it would be beneficial to have me "help out." And I liked it that way. Writing proposals is such a grueling experience that no one volunteers to do it, unless the alternative is to find employment elsewhere. Eventually, my supervisor remembered (or was reminded) just what it is that I do for a living and called me in under the pretense of cleaning up the finished document and making it appear as if only one person had written it as opposed to the eleven who actually did. So in I went for what should have been a half-time effort over six days. I'll spare you the gory details of what I really had to do to the document and just say that thirteen straight, 12-plus hour days later, I and eight other people completed the proposal in a 23-hour marathon.

    So what's all this sob-story stuff have to do with you and modeling? Well how about, if you store your unbuilt kits below ground level, make sure you keep them off the floor because you might not be at home or awake when that first-ever leak starts seeping in. In all, we got through Floyd very well - no losses, just some sore muscles. As for those long days and weekends at work, they don't happen to me often and I get the benefit of taking those extra hours as compensatory time. So I'm taking off this Thursday and Friday. I'll spend all of Thursday getting my modeling stuff back in place in the east end of my basement and working on a model car. I'll spend all of Friday with my wife as it's her day off. So, the modeling lesson here is you have to balance what's important in life with your hobby. Sometimes that won't be possible, but if you strive for that balance most of the time, you'll do well and be happy.

**********************

    This time around we have our first questions. Tim Vanwerden is having difficulty locating a set of decals for a stock car project. Because stock car modeling is not my long suit, I've included Tim's e-mail address in case any of you have spotted them in a shop and can direct Tim to them.

LVANWERDEN@aol.com wrote:

I need help. I am looking for the #23 Winston No Bull stock car decals made by Private Stock. I can't find them anywhere do you know of anybody that sells these.

Thanks,

Tim Vanwerden

    Although Private Stock (3167 St. Johns Bluff Road South #203, Jacksonville, FL, 32246) sells only to hobby shops and dealers, you may try calling them at (904)-996-7800 to ask who they sell to in your area.

    You might also try contacting large hobby suppliers who sell via mail order. Stock cars are outside my ken, so I looked for some likely sources that specialize in decals or racecar products. Here's what I found (it is by no means comprehensive.)

Blue Ribbon Model Car Parts (4062 West 5615 South, Kearns, UT, 84118-4436, blewribon@aol.com)

Earl's Models (800 North Granard Street, Gaffney, SC, 29341, Ph. 864-488-1778 or 864-489-2413)

Fastrack Hobbies (4886 OakCrest Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030, Ph./Fax 703-359-0363)

Hobby House (30991 Five Mile road, Livonia, MI, 48150, Ph. 313-425-9720)

International Hobby Supply (8839 Shirley Ave., Northridge, CA, 91324, Ph. 818-882-5763, Fax: 818-886-2551)

Model Empire (7116 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis, WI, 53214, Ph. 414-453-4610, Fax: 414-453-8180)

Model Kit Hobbies ( P.O. Box 1012, Clearfield, PA, 16830, Ph. 814-768-7899, mrent@penn.comm)

Model Roundup (443 The North Chace, Atlanta, GA, 30328-4252, Ph. 404-255-1399, Fax: 404-255-2171, roundup@mindspring.com, http://www.modelroundup.com)

Motorsports Models (12 Fifth Street, Bristol, TN, 37620, Ph. 615-968-1100)

Only Race Cars/T'N'T Hobbies (P.O. Box 414, Stormville, NY 12582, Ph. 914-878-4456, Fax: 914-878-7315, racecars@bestweb.net, http://www.tnthobbies.com)

Pegasus Hobbies (5505 Moreno Blvd., Montclair, CA, 91763)

Southern Motorsport Hobbies (111 Floral Drive, Lenoir, NC, 28645, Ph. 828-726-0777, Fax: 828-726-0741, rfan1@abts.net, http://www.smhracing.com)

Trae & Dad's Detailing Supplies (809 Summit Hill Ct., Kingsport, TN, 37663)

Wheel to Wheel Hobbies (508 Loch Alsh Ave., Ambler, PA., 19002, Ph. 215-643-3398).

    To find even more possible sources, check out the Model Car Buyer's guide on-line or in hardcopy available right here on the model car hub.

**********************

    And now, Richard Tilwick is looking for tools parts for opening the doors on his Ford GT kit.

RWMAT@ix.netcom.com wrote:

    I need some helpful tips on cutting out the doors of a Fujimi Ford GT MK II model. I would like to set it up with hinged doors and front and rear body panels similar to those great IMC Ford GT models of the '60's. What type of tools will I need? I remember something called an Auto Cutter that was produced in the '60's. Is anything like that available today, or am I going to have to use some kind of saw? Also, is there anybody out there who manufactures hinges and goodies of that nature?

Thank you,

Richard Tilwick

Dear Richard,

    The Auto Cutter went away when Auto World closed its doors. That's all in the past now. The best tool I've found for cutting apart body panels is a micro saw blade from Micro Mark (340 Snyder Avenue, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-1595, Ph. 1-800-225-1066). These saws are available in .015" or .010" thickness with 24, 30, or 40 Teeth per Inch (TPI). Best of all, they are the same shape and size as a standard #11 hobby knife blade so they'll fit in your current, comfortable handle. They are so thin that they cut inside the panel line without making it wider, so you don't have to go to the trouble of adding material back on the panels edges to make it fit. Check them out on page 53 of their current small tools catalog (items #14345, #14346, #14347, or #14348) or order on-line at http://www.micromark.com/.

Auto World used to sell hinge kits, too. I'm unaware of anyone currently offering pre-made hinges and such. I know one company that looked into doing it and found it too labor intensive to produce them manually in mass quantities. And the potential sales likely don't warrant the expensive of machine tooling to produce them. So, for now anyway, you have to keep on making them by hand.

************************

    Let us know what you think of this column, or anything else of a model car nature. And let us know if you have any questions or need a little advice.

9/10/99

    When the Model Car Hub webmaster and I discussed the focus of this column, we agreed that tips and advice presented in a question and answer format would be a likely starting point. But, it's only a starting point. This being an on-line column in the most fluid medium ever witnessed by man, we need to let it grow into whatever it wants to become. Rigid adherence to a particular focus or format can quickly render an on-line column stale.

    With that in mind we'll not only solicit and entertain your questions about car modeling and requests for assistance in working your way through problematic tasks, we'll also ask that you write to share your views and opinions. Or that you write to present topics that you'd like to see me address (though I can't imagine why anyone would want my opinion on anything) or to instigate an open dialog through this forum with your car modeling peers. Or just write to us for whatever reason compels you. By leaving open the variety of input from you, this column will have the fodder it needs to become whatever it will turn out to be.

    Whatever direction this column eventually takes, it has to begin somewhere. So let's start with some questions for you: What's your preference, shelf models or full-detail? Does your preference vary from time to time? The reason I ask is that lately, I've been building shelf models and truly enjoying it. I didn't start out with the intent to build shelf models, but it's worked out that way.

    A few projects back, I was working on a modern-style street rod model to illustrate some techniques for an article I was writing. The project used an aftermarket resin interior and body. I had tweaked the body here and there for a very nice, custom fit to the chassis. It sat just the way I wanted it to. I must've test-fit that body on the frame dozens of times throughout the project. Even with the fully plumbed and wired engine in place, the body sat just right.

    Once the body was finished, I turned my attention to the interior tub. It simply didn't have the right look for the rest of the car. The tub-style interior depicted a 60's style interior with overstuffed seats and big, billowy pleats -- hardly the kind of upholstery one finds in modern-era street rods. So I removed and altered the door panels and seat and smoothed the floor and put it all back together again. I worked hard to ensure that I didn't change the basic dimensions of the tub, which was designed to fit the body perfectly. I test fit my modified tub to the body several times, widening it here, narrowing it there until it the body fit just like the original piece (I even had a spare interior tub on hand for comparison.) The body with the interior in place fit on the frame perfectly. There was even a little room between the interior's bottom and the chassis.

    When it came time for the final assembly, guess what? The body sat about 1/8 of an inch too high in the front. "What could have happened?!?!", I thought out loud (okay, I may have hollered some expletive at the time.) I knew I'd test fit the body time and time again. I knew beyond doubt that the interior fit in the body. I knew the body fit on the chassis with the interior in place. I knew that the body fit on the chassis with the engine in place. Then I realized I'd never test fit the body on the chassis with the both the interior and the engine in place.

    As I saw it, I had only two options. The first option was that I could try to very carefully cut the floor out of my completed interior tub, then modify and replace it. I would have to do that without damaging the finished body to which it was already epoxied. I would have to also do that without damaging the rest of the interior which was painted in a custom-mixed color (naturally, there was no left over paint.) With a deadline approaching and lots of photos to shoot, this option didn't appeal to me. The second option was that I could simply cut away the top half of the transmission to make room for the interior. Unfortunately, such a hack job would be visible if the hood were to be removed, so I'd have to glue the hood shut. Not wanting to hide the fully detailed engine under glued hood, I quickly assembled, sawed up, and painted another engine. To this engine I glued only those parts that could be seen from below. (Even though the hood was glued in place, the lower portions of the engine and transmission could be seen with the model parked on a table or display shelf.) Not having to worry about the engine and its detailing was a somewhat liberating experience, though damped by the disappointment of not following my plan.

    After the model was completed and photographed, I took it to the next model club meeting I attended and very few people even asked about the engine. In fact, the car seemed to get more attention than any model I'd built in the past. It turned out to be a fun model to display. Since it was fun to build and display that model, I decided to build more shelf models. And each has been more fun than the last.

    So what's the tip or advice in this story? I guess that would be that when your project isn't working out as planned, deal with it. Assess your real goal for the project and act accordingly. If my project had been destined to compete in a contest, I'd have had no choice but to carefully remove and modify my completed interior. I'd have had to mix a new batch of paint and repaint the entire interior, as I'd be unlikely to make an exact match for the first batch (I didn't even remember how I'd mixed it.) But as it was, my project was just a photo prop to illustrate some techniques and the photos would be unaffected by whether the hood could open or not (I didn't need shots of the engine.) I adjusted my project accordingly. I'd have probably taken the same route if it had been destined to simply reside on a shelf.

    Let us know what you think of this column, or anything else of a model car nature. And let us know if you have any questions or need a little advice.

Tim Powers
tepower@toad.net

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