VRM

I'll be releasing a Mod decal sheet that has all 3 patterns. The art should be done this week,so hopefully Cartograf will be done in early Feb.

They have plans, but some of it may depend on how well the kit(s) sell.

Casey, I was one of the folks (with help from some guys in my club) who had input into this kit, and I think the 2 scoop hood and separate console were among the things that made it from my parts suggestions (for this release). More importantly, I made a business case that proposes mandatory parts and then optional parts for any given release. They only have so much room inside the box, so for another issue they remove the 'custom' inserts and add the 'drag' inserts (S&M hood, rear leaf, high rise manifold, roll cage), and stock insert (set of steel wheels and spoiler). Now, if you want steelies and spoiler with two scoop hood you have to get 2 kits, but you can still build something cool with the remaining parts. Notice that the engine is an 'insert' also - remove the Hemi, the shaker hood insert, custom K frame, add 340 engine, AAR hood, spoiler and exhaust. I outlined a whole plan (including a convertible, but not a Foose) for a handful of releases with 'must haves' and 'it would be nice to have'. We will see where they go. I suggested that they keep the engine mount points between this kit and the Dart or Charger the same so that engines could be swapped around. The seats are also an 'insert' - this means possibly bench seats, Gran Coupe, or even the checkerboard cloth and vinyl! This sort of design lets them get great mileage out of a single kit design - they can add or delete various 'inserts' while still using the same basic pattern. Their goal is to have us buy as many kits as possible, and they can do it ( I think) by giving us all the parts we want, but in different boxes. They wont all fit in the same box anyway. Also look at the '72 Olds - they could redo the grille (they were not aware it was wrong for the 442), revise the tail lights and have a '71 '442 for little investment. Add some different colour stripes, and you have a whole new release that can be parts swapped with the '72. And with the lack of '72s on Ebay it is pretty obvious they are nothing close to market saturation. I sent a similar letter or email to AMT about their Duster in 2011 or so - suggesting they do a Demon by adding Demon body, grille, etc, and also by adding the correct interior that would still be compatible with the Duster. The Duster is advertised as a '71, but I think it has '72 door panels. Doing a Duster based Demon with correct '71 doors and 'custom' (in addition to stock '71) 72 seats would allow us to bash two kits and make a Duster from one year, and a Demon from the other - especially if they made the trunk lid with crease a separate part. Add '70 door panels and seats and you have a whole new Duster also! I'm very curious to see what the Demon looks like.

Chuck, I would not worry too much about the website - like i said - it functions quite nicely and that is key. You have good pictures and that is always helpful with resin products. The design is easy to use, makes sense for navigating through, is friendly for Chrome, Firefox, and IE, and also looks like it is already optimised for mobile. Your 'stumbling' is a helluva lot better than many other sites. And I like the new tweaks you made. All in all - really good job! Looking forward to getting the new toys!! Steve

Ok - purchased a Firebird (Formula hood please) and Maverick. I would list the Firebird 3 times with a different hood for each version. That way you have everything right there and you will not have to rely on emails/phone calls to figure out which hood people get. The fonts are kind of boring, but they get the job done. I'm also not a fan of the slow fade from page to page, but again - personal preference. Otherwise the site looks pretty good and functions well. Steve D.

Anybody else get a response yet? My PM is still unread, and Chuck seems to have logged in frequently. Steve D.

PM sent...

Will the '55 interior be correct? The 55 looks like this: The '56 looks like this: Steve

Tom, I've been waiting for a $100 order for almost 14 months. I've received nothing but excuses. I am a very patient person, and I understand that the resin business can be very slow. Its all about setting expectations. If your website tells me you ship in 4-6 weeks, then I expect to receive my product sometime during the 7th week. I have requested twice that he either refund my money or send me what I ordered. He agreed, and then followed that with more excuses. I understand that life catches up with people, but if he can't keep up he should shut down the payment options on the website to prevent new orders until he can get caught up. He should also refund when requested to any customer whose product he cannot ship. Anything else is dishonest, and not a good way to treat customers. Paypal will not help - they are only good for a short time. I can file in small claims court, but that would be expensive for me as I live out of state. My last option at this point is to file wire fraud (similar to mail fraud, but Internet related) charges against him. I've been reasonable for 14th months with no results. Time to start being unreasonable and see if that changes anything. Steve

Kevin, What sort of stuff will you be offering? What are you basing your wheels on, and do they fit the kit tyres?

I'm now at 13+ months for a $100 order. I've requested a refund or my parts - nothing but excuses so far. I understand the people have problems in real life, and I am willing to be understanding and patient, but his website STILL says 4-6 weeks. Steve

I use Scenes Unlimited for 1/25th, and Missing Link for 1/24th.

Let Revell know. I was one of the folks providing info and research for the '70 and during the course of that I mentioned that a good '68 would probably also be well received. I was told that there had not been any real interest in a '68 Cuda. Send letters/emails to Revell and tell them what you want! Tell them how many you personally would buy too.

So is there really an interest for good and accurate Mod Top pattern decals?

A 340-6 would be appropriate for an AAR. The previous releases of AAR were also kinda 'funky' and Revell knows this. As for Mod Top - I've been unhappy with the ones currently available, so..... Oh, and decals work very well for vinyl roofs - I do them in 5 parts. I use low tack masking tape to make a pattern for each section. First is the A pillars, then the outer sections including the sail panel, then the centre section. Apply them in that order and give them a coat of semi clear. If a car does not originally have a vinyl roof, just make one with the smallest Plastruct half round for edge trim, end a thing strip of plastruct for the seams. Steve

Hi All, Vintage Racing Miniatures makes decals for 50s and 60s race cars. Our primary interest is sports and GT cars (Ferraris, Cobras, Corvettes, etc), but we are starting to expand into Classic Muscle and Historic Trans Am. All currently available (and all future) sheets are Cartograf printed - these are high-quality screen-printed sheets and all are jam-packed with lots of details. Some of our sheets feature chrome logos - our Cunningham Corvette sheet was an industry first that took Cartograf almost a year to figure out how to make it work. We also recently released two sheets of decals for Revells Midget race cars that take decals to a whole new level with the jewel-like engine turned pattern and the ultra-fine sponsors, chassis plates, Zsus fasteners and snaps. Cartograf told us that this was the most difficult job they have ever done, with the Cunningham Corvette sheet in a close second place. Available at www.v-r-m.com Look for us soon in the ad spaces of Model Cars - I guess this means we are finally hitting the big time!! Steve DeVaux Vintage Racing Miniatures 'Making a Little History'

The website is www.v-r-m.com. The Midgets and 300 SLR decal sets just got posted last night and are ready to go. Ferrari GTO, Cobra, and 250TR on the way soon. You guys make some good points - it is expensive, but there is a whole bunch of value for the dollar. Early Indy cars, NASCAR, street rods, drag cars - there is lot lot there for a lot of people. One of the guys in my club put one of the engine-turned numbers on the rear of a midget. It looks even better on the curved body when it catches the light. Here are a few more shots, courtesy of Brian Austin.

My wife is listing the Midget sheets and the Mercedes SLR on the VRM website right now. Should be up in an hour or two. The 250 TR, 250 GTO and Cobra sheets will also be posted, but they will be ready for sale till after I correct an artwork error. The Midget sheets and SLR sheet debuted at the NNL East yesterday, and they were very well received. Thanks to all who showed up and said 'Hi'. Steve

Well, the Midget decals for the Revell kits from VRM have finally arrived from Cartograf. Normally I would think it is kind of tacky to review my own product, but these sheets are just stunning and really showcase what can be done with technology, creative thinking, and a whole lotta elbow grease. Each sheet features period markings for 6 cars, along with along with detail decals such as chassis tags, engine tags, snaps, and Dzus fasteners. Also included are a bunch of period accurate sponsor markings and some generic numbers that can be used to create phantom race cars. Each sheet also features a layout booklet with information on each car presented and guides on the extra detail goodies. Well, that is the type of stuff you usually get from VRM anyway - what sets these sheets apart (and also why they took so long to develop) is the 'engine-turned' effect on many of the period cars (Caruso and others) and the generic numbers. The engine turned effect is done in gold foil and has a very scale look to it. The downsides (trying to be objective here...): The price - Each sheet will retail for $21. It's expensive for a decal sheet, but the value and detail presented are second to none. The colour flashes - Many cars had colour flashes painted on the primary body colour. These are not included. It was decided that because of the complexity of the many body panels it would easier to mask and paint, and also achieve a better overall result. The photo shows a corner of one sheet. The area inside the numbers and the 'Caruso' script are gold foil and are very bright and shiney. The pattern in the photo is the engine turning. It is really tough to get a photo that shows the shiney foil and pattern in the same shot. They will be available at the NNL East and on the VRM website on the NNL East weekend (April 21/22). A third sheet in already in the works with 6 more cars (3 offy, 3 V8-60). Feel free to offer suggestions (Roger Ward Lime Rock and an Aussie car with a US flag motif have already been selected). My thanks to Cartograf for doing such an amazing job with these. Steve Vintage Racing Miniatures

I'm really pleased that this kit is going over so well. It has long been one of my favourites. Just a few comments on some of the posts made in the thread. Hoods - there were only two hood styles used on the coupes with fender flairs. The one with the louvres in the front and sides (as seen in the Revell and first AM kits) and the one with the openings only in the front (as seen in the Nassau version by AM 2-3 years ago). The AM Nassau hood is not right - Historic Racing Miniatures does make a corrected version. The hood with front and side louvers was on all three cars at Sebring, but I have seen photos of #3 (the blue Revell kit) and #4 (original white AM kit) with the side louvers taped up with tape that closely matches the body paint of each car. The hood in the '67 coupe shown above is very similar to the Nassau hood - and is probably better done than the one originally in the AM kit intended to be the Nassau version. The Penske Sunoco roadster (dark blue car) and Wintersteen roadster (white with blue stripe) both had hoods like the one in the Revell Penske Corvette kit. Both roadsters had L88 motors when they had those hoods. The early cars (pre fender flairs) had 'stock' ' hoods, but with various scoops and intakes 'glassed in depending on the race. BTW - Historic Racing Miniatures has released a transkit of the early Grand Sport (pre flairs), and Vintage Racing Miniatures should have early GS decals probably in the fall sometime. Regarding the GS kit decals - how do they look? Are they Cartograf? I do not have a kit yet and I (VRM) provided the artwork for the decals for the #3.

Nic, I agree - I think that the Mecom car is one of the best looking. I am stuck on one of the sponsors though. I've been trying to figure it out for about 4 years now. It's red and white and is right next to the Champion on the right side. Any ideas?? Steve

Nic, I went looking for some photos of the Fujimi 250GTO cause I though it looked a bit like the old Protar kit and I thought it might have been just a Japanese rebox, and came along to this thread. Wow! A new GTO! In answer to your question about decals - yep! If the GTO is any good Vintage Racing Miniatures will do up a few sheets - particularly cars from LeMans, Daytona, Goodwood TT, and Sebring (though a certain white GTO from Riverside will end up on one of the sheets as well). I already have a few GTO decals that I measured up for the Gunze body as it was the most accurate (but not perfect) of the plastic kits available. I will resize them for the new Fujimi kit as soon as I get my hands on one. Feel free to offer suggestions for specific cars! So much to do! I'm about a week away from getting my first 250TR sheet sent off to Cartograf, and the second is about half done. I just never seem to get caught up before somebody releases something really cool! Steve