New to MCMF. Almost retired (couple years to go), waiting for the time when I can put some time into some builds I have been planning for a long time. Have the usual work/family demands. Worked at OCIR from 1978 to 1984 when the track closed. Had a great relationship with managers Ken Green and Nancy Newcomb, I got free roam of the track, but if they needed something photographed that was always priority. I knew what I was doing as I had been taking professional wedding photos for years and had all the best equipment. Wished I had started earlier because my favorite cars are from the previous 5-6 years. But I was at every race and have some awesome memories of what real drag racing was like. I want to get a website up where I can share the images, also brought my brother on board in 1980 and he recorded a lot of audio from that time. So I want to combine images and audio into a fun place where chirps and full track burnouts were commonplace. My brother is still shooting at Famoso, the NHRA is tough to get press passes for, even at Famoso, he has some local connections at the track. Leslie Lovett of the NHRA was a giant in drag photography and a very kind and generous man, he got me into a couple events at Pomona, had a great time. I was a "freelancer" and did not even try to apply for an NHRA press pass, Les was a gentle man and I really appreciated our discussions when the track was recovering from an oil down. When the Super Track closed I focused on work and have never looked back. Wished I could have seen Jungle.
I want to build a couple of starting line dioramas for the 1/25 and 1/16 cars I am building. Want to stage the typical 1/25 monster matches, Snake v Mongoose; Jungle v the Shoe; Ace v Snowman, etc. In 1/16 Snake v the Hawaiian; Jungle v Ace; and in front engine TF Snake v the Loner. All Revell stuff. I just got a 1/25 Competition Resins Arrow which was typical of what was running when I was just getting started at OCIR, got the TV Tom decals from Slixx...one of my favorite cars. I would like to do a another CR Arrow but can't find any Lil John or Snake Arrow decals; I think I looked on Slixx years ago and they were there, but it seems like some licensing stuff came up and a lot of decals have become scarce. Would like to find an aftermarket source. I got these cars off of Ebay many years ago when Ebay first started and am happy that I did.
I would really like to find an Aurora 1/16 Vega to be able to compare with the Revell stuff. I am willing to pay a fair price for the car, so if anyone has one taking up space that you want to part with, I am interested. I am wondering what the Vega body matches up with the real FC builders at the time, it seems like Aurora did not want to deal with licensing, etc. Whose body was that? Where could I get decals? Who ran that Vega body? My hope would be that it would match the one that Snake ran with Bob Brandt, etc.
Its just amazing how far Force has come since his early Corvettes. I think the Leo's Stereo car was one of the best FC paint schemes ever created. Again, in another life, I thought I saw Leo's Stereo decals on Slixx at one time. What Corvette FC would I use? I remember those early days, he always got an A+ for effort; luck was rarely an ally. We all pulled for him, but Lil John and Chi Town were the out front crowd favorites. I remember Chi Town was very late for a 64 Funny Car event, the sun was going down and I saw the top of the tow ramp truck pull up behind the staging lanes. They did not have an enclosed trailer so the car looked like it had come all the way from the East (it had, must have been a real conversation starter on I40). Everyone else had done one or two low stress test ("qualifying", for 64 FCs) passes down the track during the day....the Chi Town guys drop the car and start pushing it to the staging lane. I think the BBs were coming up but they wanted to get one run in before the BB/FCs started eliminations. The track was dark enough to start showing header flames well, Pete Williams does a hair raising half track burnout to get the car and the crowd warmed up; remember they just got to the track and put fuel in it. The crowd, which was already feeling really good about this time for a variety of reasons (OCIR was a fun track) came to their feet with the burnout. The usual chirps and Williams stages it alone. I don't remember the exact ET but it was the LOW ET of the meet for the AAFCs. What a class act, I'll never forget that run. Austin Coil would graduate to being a major reason why John Force is the legend he is today.
