Wick Humble

Began playing (learning) electric bass in 1953 with a Supro 3/4 scale solid body that was 'way beyond it's prime, went through Harmony (work you to death), Hagstom (fast, but junk electronics) and to my wonderful old Hofner "Committe" model semi-acoustic, c. 1962, It's a beauty, nicely use-worn, with LOTS of mother of pearl, fancy binding, and crystal scratch plate. It plays very well, and has that Hofner 'bull fiddle' sound like the McCartney violin body style, both of which -- old school -- had the cantilever neck tail that didn't touch the soundboard. I got mine in 1970 from and Air Force lifer who had brought it back from Germany wrapped in a GI blanket, so natch the scratch plate was broken. Played gigs for a few years, then hung it up. Sorry, no pics. I now lug around a Dean Playboy acoustic-electric (black, custom pinstirped by "Rebel One" in CA, and am starting a DooWop revival band locally. Wick Humble

Congrats, VW Dave: Lowes still has the "Furniture Nail. Smooth -- Nickel, p/n 532632, 25 count, made in Taiwan" for sale, and cheap. As in the 'sixties, with the pin cut off they make GREAT baby moons for 1/25-1/24:1 scale cars (Sorry Parks). I'd give them a bit of wax before cementing on, to protect the plating; nickel dulls, which is why most cas makers since the 1930's have overplated it with chromium. Wick Humble

Good sources; I was wondering if the upholstery tacks were still available -- I discovered them about 1962 (no kidding) and thought that maybe they had been obsoleted by now. Chevy made some nice ones with the 'bowtie' embossed on 1:1 cars back in the late '60s; I wonder if any of the kit makers picked up on those? When I built my T-bucket from the AMT Double-T kit back at the original release, I used AMT Model A stock headlites (trimmed) for moonies; not too bad a fit! And they're still on the model, 53 years later... I couldn't find finned heads for the flattie'(from the '40 coupe kit) back then from AMT/SMP/etc. so I adapted a pair from I think it was a Revell Deuce kit, and faked a 'trimmed' 4-71 GMC blower as a S.C.O.T. or Italmeccanica huffer. I need a set of 1/25 baby moons to finish building a replica of my '65 Pontiac Tempest Custom -- college car and date-mobile for my soon-to-be wife -- converted from the GTO kit. It was a two-door HT, 326 with 3-speed, and it proves how much in love I was that I didn't put a Hurst floor-shift in it to discomfit my Benita! But I digress; I'll try Parts by Parks. THX! Wick Humble, author of HOW TO RESTORE YOUR DATSUN Z-CAR (1991 and still in print) and recently, the '59 Impala development history for "Street Rodder" last fall.