My fotki

I have been working on loading my photos to fotki on my personal account. This means I am sharing photos of things I haven't shared online before. I will have all of the same photos as I did on Drastic Plastics' club fotki (model cars) and photos of vintage toys, marbles, bicycles, skateboarding, guitars, antiques and much more. I have always had a hard time sticking to ONE thing....so I have much to share!

http://public.fotki.com/trakburner/


Stop by frequently, I have thousands of photos to load. Sign the guestbook and make comments, I don't mind! :-)

Box Art Puzzles!

I ran across a neat web site with software to make your own puzzles. I thought what better to use than BOX ART? I luckin' fove box art and who doesn't?

http://thedpmcc.com/puzzle.html

Please share the link!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The way things were

It's undeniable that most of us antique freaks love to reminisce over things we remember from childhood and throughout our lives that have changed so drastically.
If you bring up smoking , someone will start talking about how it was allowed to smoke in grocery stores and doctors offices. If an old car drives by you can't help but to say "they don't make em' like that anymore".
What is it that connects you to the things you collect or sell? What stories can you think of that hold dear to your heart? Would it be your grandma wearing an apron around the house cooking pies all day? Or would it be the smell of pipe tobacco that seemed to drift in the air from your neighbor?

I can think of so many things, but one of the things that sticks out the most to me is the way kids used to be. What it was like being a kid before the internet, before video games, before paintball and insane sports. Even in MY younger days as a child, people were so much more active with family and friends. I remember how the telephone or writing a letter was the only way to communicate with long distance friends and relatives. Most people wrote letters as long distance at the time was expensive! Now days, not many people have a wall or desk phone. Cell phones are in nearly every pocket, bag or purse. Even kids have them! My kid has one. It feels like everyone's lives revolve around their computers and cell phones. Is it true? Yeah it is somewhat. You can do anything with internet, other than hug someone, smell a flower, eat the food you see and so on. I don't know about you, but I sure miss the days when family or friends came over to sit on our porch in the evening to talk and watch cars drive by. I would take that back any day!
As a child before the internet, I rode my bike to my friends houses to see if they were home. I didn't call, not all of my friends had telephones and they just weren't used by "kids" so much back then. If I was lucky enough to find someone to hang out and play with, we did things that required work. Most all my friends liked to ride bikes and build dirt jumps or some type of course to ride on. If we didn't ride bikes, we would walk to the local ballpark and watch baseball games on the sidelines where the fence was. A lot of times someone would offer us a drink or hot dog. Do they still offer things like that to kids these days? I doubt it....we are very careful who we talk to these days. We are so careful, that we are accustomed to ignoring strangers walking by, simply pointing our eyes away or looking down. That actually bugs me. Does it bug you? I prefer to keep my head up and look at people in the eye when walking by, saying hi or hello and maybe smile and nod. That's how I grew up. We are losing the "goodness" in our lives that we so much want to have back when we reminisce like this.
I hang onto old things from my past because they remind me of how simple things seemed to be and how much nicer strangers were to each other. It just seems that's how it used to be. Or is it that as you get older , the more you realize and life is one big complication? If that's true, then that's why I miss the old days.....the days before I knew how cruel and impersonal this world really is. I hope that's not the case!
I think I have a pretty kind heart. I am forgiving. I forgive everyone for their fears and ignorance, so next time you see me.....won't you smile and say hello? :-)

Site Exposure

Getting web site exposure can make or break your business in this day and age. I don't run a business online, but I get plenty of exposure. My web site(s) are among the most popular in the world for model car building. I provide free services to the whole hobby and everyone in it. Doing this and providing service that has never been supplied over the internet has landed my site(s) among the highest , probably the most visited model car hobby sites in the world. Though I don't make money off my site(s), I have enough visitors to start a business and be successful at it quite easily. If it ever came to it, I could sell my domain since it's proven it'self time and again to be desired.
Number one, I have been building an instructions , box art, decals and built box art models archive over the last 7 years. It's so often referred to , through so many web sites that I can do google or any searches and find my name, my models, sites and it still amazes me!
I keep my photos on www.fotki.com and host them on my site(s) from there. I have been a paying member since 2005. My fotki site is for the use of Drastic Plastics Model Car Club "Gold Members". These are the people who help keep the site(s) paid for each month and year. I can't take total credit for how much traffic we get, afterall they have photos there too and people come to see their models.
The biggest part of the club's fotki site is the instructions, box art etc...reference section. I do take great pride in the work I have done over the years. I am the only one in control of it and I own all site(s) under the name Drastic Plastics, Traditional Rod and Kustom in scale, Low Down Creations, www.thedpmcc.com and more.
The model car hobby might actually be pretty small compared to everyhting else going on in the world. I run into people all of the time that didn't know model kits still exist. With that said, it does amaze me that our fotki is among the top 5 most visited in the world every single day! Once in awhile Drastic Plastics Model Car Club is at the very top and that reminds me of all the hard work and all of the people who helped make it possible.....and how much more work is still yet to be done LOL
In order to get site exposure, make sure you are submitted your URL to search engines like google, yahoo, bing etc.. When ever you get a chance, tell people about your site. (like I am doing right now) Use sites like craigslist or iantique to share the link to your site and draw attention to it. It does take a little while to get a steady flow of visitors....so keep in mind, they will not come back if the site is not updated on a regular basis! My fotki gets between 700 and 1,000 visitors a day and that's what keeps it at the top of the list!
My site , thedpmcc.com is linked 684 times through various web sites and has more than half a million visitors. Really guys and gals...if a "plastic model car" site can be that popular....YOUR site can be also! You can contact similar interest sites and email them to "exchange links" which will help increase traffic also.
Spread the word about iantique every chance you get...it will not only increase membership and visits to this site, but it will also open more chance for you to expose your site(s) and to gain much more! Just by being associated and active here can lead to sales, good buys and new friends!
TIP: Offer something to your visitors that doesn't require money or a lot of "skill" to use. I see a lot of antique and collectible sites offering reference material.

I hope that anything I have said might inspire you and added information to what you already knew....as well as made you think more positively about your future on the web. My talking about my sites was mainly to be examples and yes to be able to tell you about it's success. :-)

Monogram the OMG of all the Rod kits!

I am happy to announce that I have FINALLY gotten a box for my built up! I have asked around for about 4 years now and even remind everyone I am looking for one......just a BOX for this kit. I have seen them sell on ebay and I won't pay $30 plus shipping for a freakin' empty box. Here it is, I just scanned the damn thing and it's online for the FIRST time digitally! It took me over an hour in photoshop to splice the two scans together correctly. This box is too big to fit the scanner glass.
This is the first time I noticed discrepencies in art from a kit box. The slight blur in the image below is exactly how the art on the box looks.....I have seen more clear examples but I am NOT bitching....just an observation.

 This is kit #PC257M-298

Now check this out! The other issue without the advertised electric motor has a slightly different box top and kit numbers. I don't have the other one, but after viewing good photos of it I was able to just "crop" mine and viola! I have a scan of the other kit #PC57-198.

AMT '64 Ford Galaxie 500XL

Saying goodbye is such sweet sorrow. This is the lid to a kit , no longer with me. Dig that Kandy Kolor!

You just never see anyone build convertible Grand Nationals these days.

From a guy "who was there" (old entry saved)

In the past year or so , there has been a lot of controversy over the term "rat rod". In the modeling world, this is pretty hard to define since a lot of guys that build these "Sewer Dwelling Mammal Rods" , are just ordinary model builders and don't necessarily stick to one style of modeling ,nor have any experience with 1:1 rods. Anyone can throw a '49 Ford together with black primer and red rims and WHAM!, all the sudden a new "rat rod" is born......I tend to disagree with that. I thought to better confirm my thoughts and opinions on this matter, I should ask "a guy who was there". I called on my friend Darryl Gassaway, who was born back in the day and was raised around the real thing in California. Darryl has pretty strong feelings about this as any real rodder would!Bob B.- Darryl, I would like to know your opinion on hot rod modeling. Since you were there, please tell me your opinion on "rat rods"?Darryl G.- Rat Rods, are they good or bad for the hobby?I know my stand on the issue of "Rat Rods" may not be popular, but it is based on the fact that I grew up in Southern California during the 50's and 60's and saw the real thing. The people that build rat rods think they are reliving a part of history, but in reality they are living a lie. They have developed a lifestyle that never existed. Yes, the guys wore levis and had cigarette packs rolled up in their sleeves of their T shirts or in their socks and yes, some even had a few tats, but that's where it ends. The girls have gone off the deep end with the tattoos and strange makeup.When it comes to the cars they really missed the boat. Yes, there were many unfinished cars on the road, but they were just that, unfinished. They were never intended to be left in bare metal or primer as a matter of fact they were never left in bare metal overnight because they would rust. Early rat rods were daily drivers that were projects in work. Yes, most were built with junkyard parts because that wasall that the owner's could afford. In those days owning a car was something special. Most families were lucky to have one car and if a kid in high school managed to own a car it was because he worked to buyit.That's where the rat rod look was born. Everyone wanted to have a cool ride so they started modifying their cars as soon as they got them. Engine modifications were expensive, but not unheard of. A trip to the local junkyard provided the car owner with inexpensive parts to hop up the engine. Body work was another thing all together. Fenders were removed in many cases, roofs chopped in some and forthe truly adventurous bodies were channeled. All of this took time and time was something that wasn't available when the car was a daily driver. This meant there were many cars in primer that were on the road.The attitude of the owners was different as well, they wanted their cars to look good not hideous. No self respecting car builder left weld seams showing, left rusted out body panels or drive his car without the protection of primer over bare metal. Their cars were their pride and joy and every cent they had went into making their car the best it could be. Every time I see a steel body hacked up to make one of today's rat rods I want to cry. It's one thing to make a hot rod, but quite another to make a P.O.S. onpurpose.When it comes to model building I've heard people say it's harder to make an accurate modern rat rod than a shinny hot rod, to that I say "no way". The products to make rusty bodies and weld seams have been available for all modelers to use for years. Has the rat rod fad been good for model car building? That question has yet to be answered, but it has gotten people building. Unlike most of therecent modeling fads I don't see rat rod building adding to the number of builders. Lowriders and tuners brought many younger builders to the hobby. As their modeling skills improved many graduated to other styles of model car building. Here in Southern California where the lowrider fad was started I see manymodelers who originally built lowriders now building customs, hot rods and even race cars. They learned how to build first then took what they learned to other types of models. I have never seen someone who wasn't a modeler first make a rat rod. As I see it building a rat rod is something you do when you want to do a quicky build where you don't have to spend hours detailing and polishing.There is one thing good about rat rod building, it keeps some modelers who otherwise wouldn't be building models building. Just like the 1:1 builders I think it's a waste of good plastic to take a perfectly good body and ruin it by going over the edge with body modifications. The only thing I have to say about rat rods is this fad too will pass and become less popular. Personally I can't wait for the day.Bob B.- Darryl, thank you for your time in responding. I see that , even though we are about 3 generations apart, we see pretty much the same thing. I don't know if i would call myself a true hot rodder....but true hot rods are what i like. I have to say one thing about rusted rods though...."in progress builds are cool, but taking something outside of automotive parts like a 5gallon bucket and using it for a seat just to see how "low buck" you can make your ride...is pretty lame."