Gregg

I've been turning for a little while, have most of the basic tools, it's neat with the Sherline though, I can make exact straight cuts across the pen like a straight razor!!!! She likes the no gloss finish, bare wood, I am tending to agree. Thanks, guys! Will see if she wants to cough up the dough...

Has anyone picked up one of these? https://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-x-12-inch-bench-top-wood-lathe-95607.html It's super cheap, and Kelly wants to get into turning pens, don't want to use the Sherline for this. Also, we don't have a Harbor Freight here, so..... :-) I know it's cheap, $80, and shipping would be about $110, but then, it's cheap.... Thoughts?

Should have been more clear, again, sorry I sent postcards out to those who expire with Issues 198-202 To US Addresses only As you know, sending anything over the borders by US Mail is cost-prohibitive Thanks

I had sent out renewal postcards a little while ago, but honestly, I don't remember seeing that many, if any, returned. Have any of you received the postcards? They were sent as a postcard, the small size, no envelope, with the info on the back. I'm curious. I did see one at GSL, Mike L showed me one he got, but I think that's the only one I have seen. Let me know! Mahalo.

Mike, can I use the pic for the t-shirt page on the site? Yes, you'll get royalties, but you have to sign your life away with a release!!!! :-) Love the workbench! Yes, mediums are in the next batch/run to do, blacks for now, Ash/grey next time I can only scrape enough pennies to do this a bit at a time Not made of money, (I wish!!!), just trying to squeeze every last nickel I can to get through each day. Getting there, slow but sure....

My T-Shirt guy sent proof, two versions, for the ash and/or white shirts. Need y'all's input on this.

Thanks, Michael! I didn't put two and two together for you on that one. Ordered the 3XL and the 4XL today, and Ash Large, XL, and 2XL It will be up to my printer guy now, he turns them around pretty quick, and his work has been great!!!! I may even use him for some graphic stuff here as well. Mahalo nui loa!

Strange, there are only five lower vertebrae!!!! :-) Two too many, that's the problem!!!! Sell them on eBay!

Okay, fixed it That was so weird!!!!! Computers.... DAVID!!!!!!! :-)

I'm looking into this. Also, t-shirt sales/shipping is to US Addresses only. Sorry, I assume that this would be known, that's what I get for assuming, yes?

That is bizarre! Never saw that one before. I checked the URL redirect after sale, it should go to plain paypal thank you. I wonder if was an old cached page from your browser? Did anyone else get a redirect after purchase like this?

I know, I messed up I had set up the shirts on PayPal as a Shopping Cart, it should have been Buy Now. It's fixed. Thanks, Mike and JB Yes, I'm that brain dead....

That should be the way the cart works. It's the same cart/system as the sub renewals. Let me know if still a problem. I didn't do a test with my other PayPal account.

This has been brought up before, and honestly, the response was not what we had expected. Now that we are trying to get back on our feet, we need help in getting things more in tune with the way the site should be. When I talk about the site, I am referring to the main site: www.modelcarsmag.com, not the forum. The main site is where the "public" usually goes to first, or when they want to find something What I need is an updated index of MCM. I had started one years ago, and a couple of failed attempts at updating has been done since, but nothing to write home about. The index was like this: 82 November 2002 Features 10 What A Gas A quick look at Gassers, Fuelers, and Coupes 36 Lookin’ Back Dennis Doty looks at the history of ITC Remote Control Model Kits 38 Sketch Pad Jairus Watson sketches up the Black Force 40 Prototyp Ryan Hicks offers a different medium for building models 42 Model Trucks Return Tim Ahlborn returns with Truckers’ Corner, a look at two of his trucks 57 Collector’s Showcase Wayne Moyer calls this the Golden Age of Model Car Collecting How-To’s 12 Don’t Give Me Any Lip Adding a lip inside the trunk of a Karmann Ghia 18 Bite The Dust Polishing out those pesky little dust bunnies in your paint 20 Subaru Impreza WRC Opening the doors with a Renaissance trans kit Contests 24 Showdown 2002 From Irving, Texas 29 Adios Amigos The last Lower Left Coast Model Car Contest, San Diego, CA The formatting has been removed, here is a screen shot of what it looked like: If anyone wants to help, then updating the index from 105 to date would be a great help. It would probably be best to work backwards, from 203 to then, so the site can list the back issues that are more recent/current. I have the file as a Word file. There a lot of other things to do as well. I've had some help with the phone (Thanks, Rich!!!!), and hopefully I'll get more of my brain working where I can get objectives/outlines done so we have a clear track/road on where we are going. Let me know Please, use emails, I don't check the forum/site that often. gregg@modelcarsmag.com or modelcarsmag@yahoo.com Sometimes the MCM server emails get blocked by some IP/Internet providers.

I have one 4XlL from before, do think I should do a dozen each, of 3 & 4? Not sure if the image would be proportionally or whatever the word is, to fit the bigger size I'll ask my new friend, see what he says, see how much more the bigger sizes are. I know the 2XL was $3.39 more, I assume 3 and 4 a lot more I'll check, and update As an update on me, still no change, I go in July 13 for the spinal stimulator implant trial, our Tom V says it should be good, hope and see...

I got someone here (who turns out to be a modeler also) to do our T-Shirts once more! We have started with three sizes, Black Hanes Tagless, Large, X-Large, and 2XL. They are $18 for Large and X-Large, $20 for $2XL Shipping is $4. I will post the shirts on the main site, with a PayPal link. He says we can start doing other colors soon.

I have locked the forum, it seemed to start taking a another direction/turn. Thanks for all the input, I will be working on all of this over the next few weeks Thanks for the support, it means a lot.

John, no, digital is a tool, note a replacement. I also have digital copies via the main site: Digital copy but so far, I have only been able to put one issue up. This falls back on me. I still can't sit up for any length of time to do this type of work I may go back to the bed desk situation, to get all the time-consuming work down. A lot of good input so far. I like the idea of a poll for the extra content, but then, most of the ideas are there Like I had said, I was looking for not just ideas, but actual ways to do things. Someone who has done this like taking the new registrars, creating a script, sending them an email, etc. or, doing data dumps, comparing that to MCM subscribers, sending out sub notices/cards things like this actual work

Brian, are you still getting destroyed issues? That's why I went to the polybags, this should be eliminated.

So, with all that has happened in the past couple of weeks, it's time to look forward. One thing that I started going over was of course money. A lot of talk has been said for years about web site page views, unique visitors, analytics, etc, and although I have a negative 25 IQ (I spelt my name wrong and put down the wrong date on the test), I'm a fairly good study when it comes to the certain things, when I can sit up and study. After doing research on the sites (modelcarsmag.com and the forum), I found that it has impressive numbers. For the months of January 2017-March 2017, there were 700,000-800,000 unique page views (my misteak, I wrote unique visitors the first time) to the site, per month. This blew me away. I have known that the site had over 1.4million views a month, but the unique page views is what got me. That's a lot! So, with this many unique page views, why aren't those unique visitors converting into subscribers? Is it time to set up a paywall for non-subscribers to access all this great information on the site? Or, is there something else that can be done? With those numbers, there is definitely something that can be done about this. But, alas, it's above my negative 25 IQ. If anyone has some insights into this, I mean actual working knowledge of how to turn the numbers/unique visitors into conversions/subscribers, please let me know. I don't mean to sound harsh, but ideas or Google search results are not what I need. I need facts. What actually works, what has worked for you, or if you have done similar projects, any help would be greatly appreciated. Yes, the Google Ads bring in some money, and honestly, it pays the server bills, and upkeeps, but it could do so much more. Please send your thoughts/ideas/proposals to me by email: gregg@modelcarsmag.com Mahalo nui loa ps. The new visitors are 55,580, returning 103,459 per month of March. Thanks for pointing this out JB

Thanks, Guys. I really appreciate the support and patience One thing I never really went into before was this: Golden Bell had a full-time staff to do everything, circulation, billing, invoicing, renewals, mailing of renewals/invoices, back issues, filings (USPS and local), plus all the bookkeeping. Now, it's just me. So, from what, six, maybe more in the office, to one crip, that's a huge drop in man-power, or menehune power.... Someone brought up in an email that I'm terrible PR/customer service. Yes, I am. If you do call me, 80% chance I'm in bed. If I'm in bed, two things: I'm not at the computer, and second, I won't remember anything that was said. Emails are best, there are issues sometimes with my replies blocked by certain providers, then I switch to the Yahoo account to reply But again, for all biz/office/production/circulation/accounting/filing/renewals/dealers/back issues/web, it's just one person Yes, we should hire someone, but I don't know anyone who would work for free. I'm not complaining, just being honest with what I'm working with. I have had some screw ups, all my fault, lost a lot of time, and money, but that's part of this, a learning curve/experience. I actually love it, the biz side. Yes, I miss building, but I still can't sit up and build, so there's that. Have faith, Yanagi!!!!!

Peter, one thing I haven't done is to get renewals out to over the border/seas friends. (you are good till #208) We can do the renewal at GSL, I will have card reader and computer with me. No, I'm a Delta guy, all the way Although, this flight is Hawaiian, to Portland, and me and Jairus are driving down Getting a mini van so I can lay down/sleep the whole way I know, Jairus driving.... could be worse, right????

Thanks, Tom! Much appreciated I started sending out small renewal postcards this past week The postcard shows your expiration issue on the label. I know there was some issues (pardon the pun) on the mailing label of the mags, some showed nothing, some showed the issue This is still all a work in progress. Yes, the mag is late, has been for so long Do you want to complain? Or do you want the mag to survive, and grow, and be even gooder than it has been? It would be so easy just to shut everything down now. With all that has happened in the past week, I don't think anyone would say anything But, like I have said many times before, I don't quit But, with all the bitching and moaning about the mag, being late, etc., it really takes a toll, especially from all the trolls. Yes, I'm a poet, and no one knows it. Going from nine issues to six should help, but remember, we are still carrying 5,000 copies to print and mail, with so far, only 485 renewals. The numbers need to go up If the mag goes away, I can almost guarantee this forum will become history also, either that, or paywall type of site. No, I won't go pure digital. Digital is a tool, not a replacement Print is not dead, far from it. It's just more work. And, now, it's even more work, and more and more and more. My goal is 20,000 circulation Is this unrealistic? I don't think so My idol was up to 80K-90K in the middle of his run with his mag. Can I do the same? No, but I can try. Especially with the technology we have today Yes, I still can't sit up and work like a "normal" person, this response/reply has taken two lay down's, and that's the way it will be for a while, until surgery #8 more likely than not (probably in a few months) So, we will move forward, get bigger, get gooder, and pay tribute to those who have helped us along the way. Mahalo nui loa, Harry!!!!

Info on service: Harry's Service