Sunday, August 11, 2013

1968 McLaren M7A


Up till now I've been building more or less modern F1 cars. The last kit, the Audi, was a rally car. This time I'm back to doing F1, but a little bit different - a 1968 McLaren M7A. Should be a fun little build.

1981 Audi Quattro Monte Carlo Rally Complete





Fixed the windows, added the window brackets and the hood pins. Finally this is done. Will find time to take some better pictures with the good camera later.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

When postal service can do a better job than premium shipping


I am a big fan of Model Art Magazine's Auto Modeling series. So, when a new issue is released, I'll purchase a copy. I usually have 2 ways to buy. One is from Hobbylink Japan, the other is Amazon Japan. Hobbylink Japan uses International EMS to ship, which is much cheaper. However, a lot of time things got sold out and need to reorder. The other is the Japan arm of the global retail giant Amazon. Good thing about Amazon is the availability of things. But the down side is that for international order, they only ship using DHL which means shipping cost is crazy expensive.

Last week, I all of a sudden remembered that the newest issue of Auto Modeling should be out. Went to Hobbylink's site... bummer sold out and need to wait for them to restock. So I hopped over to Amazon Japan and ordered it. It's very typical Amazon, they have things so integrated that I was able to track the package with almost real time status.

Yesterday, according to DHL, the package was delivered. I was all excited but when I went home from work, I stop by the mail room to pick up the book, the said there wasn't any DHL delivery! Since I just moved, I thought, may be I did not update my shipping address. I checked the order detail, it's all updated. Called DHL, they said the air way bill also has my new address. What happened? Where is my magazine?

Then I looked at the delivery confirmation online, it was signed for by Rivera. The mailroom lady is Korean and there's no one named Rivera there. The only Rivera that I can think of is the girl in the mailroom of my old building a block away. So I ran over and knocked on the door. DHL managed to deliver the package to the wrong building even though the shipping label clearly has a different address on it!

I only had a few DHL shipment every year. It is very unlikely that the DHL driver would remember my name and associated me with the old building. Also, shouldn't a professional delivery person deliver packages according to the address shown on the label?

Despite all the things people say about US Postal Service, they have been doing a darn good job and the price is much more reasonable than these expensive premium shipping that charges people through the nose but provides service not even up to USPS standard.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Return to the workbench

Even though I still have a shit load of boxes to unpack, I returned to the work bench and worked on the Audi. Didn't do much, but it's a start.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Attention Deficit Disorder

The main reason that I have not been updating the blog was because of the moving. I was too fed up with the old apartment being flooded too many times. Looking for a new place, packing and moving took up most of my time. Now that things are more or less settled down, hopefully, I'll be able to finish up the Audi, and start building something else.

When I was packing, I was shocked to see the number of kits that I have. And I thought they are enough to deter me from buying new kits. That was true for a short while. And very quickly, I have forgotten.

Last week, I saw the news that Tameo's accepting orders for built Red Bull RB9 German Grand Prix, I know they're going to release the kit soon. So, I placed my order with my supplier even before Tameo's announcement! It will take some time before it is ready to ship. I can wait. May be the next project will be building RB6, RB7, RB8 and RB9 all at once?