Art Anderson

R&D Unique, who also owned the MiniExotics line, closed up a little over a year ago. Now, the Revell '37 Ford kits have a dropped tubular (CAE?) front axle in them. Art

While the V-85 would fit, it would have needed bulges in the side panels to clear the wider block and heads. But, it's moot of course, as the limit for production-based engines (stock blocks) was 144cid. The Offy midget engine started out at 91.5cid in the late 30's, grew to 110cid by about 1950, later was allowed 120cid in the mid-late 60's. Art

You are right! My bad! The Ampitheater of course. Now, in case you wanna know who promoted the Midgets at Soldier Field: None other than Mr. Grancor himself (who also made a ton of speed equipment for the V8-60--Anthony (Andy) Granitelli! Art

Be advised that the flathead in that kit is the V8-60, a 144cid miniature of the larger 221cid V8-85, but it would be pretty cool nonetheless. Art

With over 600 Kurtis Midgets built (as complete cars, and in kit form--Kurtis-Kraft did make up all the chassis parts in kit form, in case you wanted to weld up your own) from late 1945 into the late 1950's, just about every Indianapolis driver from about 1950 until well into the early 70's drove one at some point in his career, and that includes at least two F1 World Champions (Jack Brabham and Mario Andretti -- legend has it that Phil Hill also drove one early in his racing career as well). Those cars dominated just about every Midget racing circuit in the US as well, coast-to-coast and border to border. The cars were bought, sold and traded for all those years, so a single car might have run under a dozen or more names, in that many color schemes & graphics. It's little known now, but even Nascar, in their early years, had a Midget openwheel class, which supplemented their larger open wheel series (pretty much older Indy cars using factory stock engines), back in the early to mid 1950's. A bit of searching into racing activities in your area (wherever you live) likely will turn up at least something about midget racing back in the day--in the racing-starved world postwar, midgets could be seen racing 5-nights a week in a lot of places, plus Saturday and Sunday events as well. From about 1947, until about 1961 or so, the runup to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race was "The Night Before The 500" midget racing event at "16th Street Speedway", which was right across 16th Street from the South Short Chute of IMS, in Speedway Indiana. It was not uncommon for drivers running each year's 500 to show up the night before, race Midgets, then grab a couple hours of sleep, run the 500 Mile race. Midgets ran all over the Midwest, the East Coast, New England, even in the Far West, Southwest, the Rocky Mountain states, anywhere where there was a 1/4 mile race track. They even ran 1/8 milers indoors! Places like the Chicago Stadium (the show arena at the old Chicago Stockyards, where the Blackhawks used to play hockey!), State Fair Coliseums in places like Indianapolis, Columbus OH, Springfield IL, and in civic venues in Ft Wayne IN, St Louis MO, Des Moines, all in the winter (1/8 mile ovals and LOW rear end ratios). They ran on dirt, asphalt, even revivals in miniature of the legendary 1920's era wooden, or "board tracks". Back in those days, nearly every county seat town in the Midwest had at least a half mile dirt track, holdovers from the days when harness-racing (horses pulling lightweight 2-wheel sulkies) was big, every local horse breeder looking to raise the next Dan Patch (legendary Pacer from Oxford IN, all-time harness racing recordholder). So, these kits really have potential, especially for racing fans wanting something beyond Nascar or drag racing. I can't wait! Art

My headlight is an older Blackburn 4-element unit, uses 4 AA batteries (alkalines work for about 9 months in this unit). It has three settings, all 4 elements full on, center ones full on with outer elements in strobe, and all 4 strobe. It throws a very usable BRIGHT beam about 250' or so out front, bright enough to make oncoming cars flash their brights at me. Art

Never seen any '35 Chevies in 1/25 scale, styrene or resin. But just in case someone does do the bodywork for one in scale, I would suggest the AMT '37 Chevy for the chassis, and the AMT/MPC '32 Chevy Cabriolet for the engine--those should be pretty correct for a '35 I think! Art

Lyle's reply, while curt, is very correct however. I've seen bright sunlight in the summer warp even styrene, especially if it was a dark color, or painted thus. Polyurethane resin, while a great medium for making model car bodies, accessories (even complete kits) isn't as strong as styrene. It can be warped merely by putting the parts or body shell under stress, be that from stuffing it carelessly into a box, a body shell left sitting on an uneven surface, and certainly by allowing it to get seriously warm--all those things can warp resin stuff. In my experience though, the tan resins actually can get harder over time. If you leave tan resin body sitting out for long enough, the resin will darken where light hits it (even the cool light of a fluorescent fixture will do this) and the resin will be markedly harder in the darkened portions. All that said, just exposure over an hour or so, to bright direct sunlight in the summer (no matter that the ambient air temperature was in the 70's!) the infrared rays of the sun heated those parts just enough to allow them to warp of their own weight. An aftermarket resin hood, for example, if it is properly thin, will warp very easily in such conditions--heck, I have seen even styrene hoods painted at all dark, do exactly the same thing. If you had put your hand on say,the hood of your 1:1 car, no matter that the engine was cold, you likely would have noticed that the sun made it pretty hot to the touch. That is what I am talking about. So, best to do just the painting itself outdoors, then take the plastic or resin parts inside, allow them to dry out of the sun--should be the end of the problem for you. Art

You may think low temperatures, but in strong sunlight, in the summer, there can be enough heat buildup even in a styrene part to soften it, cause it to warp, and polyurethane resin is even more susceptible to heat than styrene. Art

I'd be pretty certain that undercoating was optional at extra cost, either done at the factory, or at the dealer's. The reason simply would be that in much of the US, underbody rusting was never a problem--say in the desert southwest, but in the snow belt, a completely different story indeed. Most automakers, from the introduction of steel firewalls (most early brass-era cars had WOODEN firewalls!) seem to have painted at least the firewall in the same color as the lower body, simply because that was quick and easy, particularly with the advent of spray-painting in the early 1920's. In addition, appearance meant a lot back then, under the hood as well as anyplace else a potential buyer was likely to see as the salesman showed him/her the car (the main reason so many engines by the 50's were being painted multiple bright colors). From my memory, 50's Chrysler products all had their firewalls painted with the same paint and color as used on the lower body panels. Most likely, as with just about everything Detroit, the underside of the floorpan was left in whatever color primer was used--more often than not in the 50's, that would have been red oxide primer. Depending on the dedication of the workers in the paint department, there would have been at least a little bit of overspray on the bottoms of the rocker panels, perhaps reaching inward onto the floor pan a couple of inches or more. There likely would have been a bit of overspray at the bottom of the firewall, where that panel met the upward-angled toeboard section of the floor as well. I know Fords and GM cars had this, pretty hard to believe that Chrysler would have been any different. I believe also, that most everyone painted the inner fender panels black, but I could be wrong with say, Chrysler, although I'd been under the hood of Dad's 50's Plymouths more than enough times--you'd think I'd remember stuff like that. Hudsons and Nash's had their engine bays completely painted body color, for the simple reason that they had unit body construction, making the sides of the engine bay, and the radiator core support panel structural members of the body, meaning that they were welded in place, pretty much as unibody cars are made nowadays. I plan on doing my builds of the Moebius kits in this fashion, unless Dave comes up with info to the contrary, puts that on the instruction sheets. Art

Oh yeah, to most it means grilling out, going to the lake and running the boat fast, with water skiers out astern, famly and friends, fireworks and all that. But what does today really mean? Well, for starters, it means a bunch of fed-up colonials along the east coast, from Maine to Georgia, got fed up with a British King who cared not one whit about these shores, save for the taxes he could exact from the colonists' hard work, while denying them real representation in the British Parliament in London. It meant a couple dozen men willing to risk it all, their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor (as they called it so well) to be defiant in the face of an absolute monarch, the king of the most powerful nation on earth, that they were determined to be free, to set their own course, and in that, have all people in England's American colonies (then the crown jewels of the British Empire) be able to determine their own destiny. And to that end, 8 years of bitter war ensued, thousands of brave Americans died to make that dream as reality. Of course, it wasn't perfect, it would take another war for real independence 1812-14, and a horrible Civil War in 1861-65 to cement not only our independence, but set this entire country on the path of equal freedom for all, but on July 4, 1776, those patriots stood up for all of us, then and forever more. This poem gets read frequently at Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue, just before our National Anthem. It was written in 1966 by the late Jack Scott here in Lafayette, a former Marine Corps general and publisher of our local newspaper. By tradition, it's read over the strains of "America The Beautiful" before a football game at home here. Please read, and think about these words--they are profound, I think! "I Am An American" by Jack C Scott Art Anderson

I have been under the impression that the first two years of Chevy small block V8's were painted red, not orange, with Chevy Engine Orange debuting in 1957, on the new 283 ('57 Chevy 265's were a bright lemon yellow that year, the last year for the 265), and then orange for the next 20yrs or so. But perhaps I have been wrong about that? Art

I agree with you about "Department Store" bikes--as a rule they are little more than kid's "sidewalk" toys, often very cheaply built, down to a price point. Not only the mechanicals can be the lowest level, but all too often, the frames themselves are subject to cracked welds and the like--I've even seen my share that aren't even in alignment. While I denigrate "Chain Department Store" bikes as a general rule, my Iron Horse Maverick 4.2 came out of a very large chain sporting goods store, but it was the top level off-roader there, and easily matches the best of them out there IMO. At 24-spds, disc brakes, and fully sprung, it is one great commuter bike, especially on the streets & sidewalks I ride daily to and from work. Some observations: For most people, an off-roader or cross-trainer makes perhaps more sense than an ultralightweight road or touring bike, depending of course on the riding environment. If one has access to really clean, smooth paved roads of dedicated paved bikeways, the lightweights with their skinny tires make a lot of sense. However, in a city such as this one, the frequently dirty streets (patches of sand and gravel seem to spring up from seeds here), chuckholes and such can be not only hard on the bike, but also on the rider as well. Even wet asphalt can be hazardous with the very small contact patch between a smooth tread and pavement. The wider tires of an offroader, hard or sprung, do go a long way to alleviating the hazards of road debris, and the newer Kevlar corded tires are almost tougher than any nail of shard of glass I might encounter as well. In addition, the cleated tread does minimize the chance of a spill should I encounter a ridge or crack in the pavement that is even close to parallel with the direction I am going. Disc brakes you say? with long hills on either side of the river valley here (it's downhill for a quarter mile, then uphill for a quarter mile every commute I make) and discs work infinitely better with that than any caliper-on-wheel rim I have ever had over the past 55-years. In addition, while I try never to start out if I know I am gonna get rained on, in the event that I do, rain absolutely does not affect my braking one bit (Last winter, I got surprised by a wet, slushy 2" snowfall, and nary a worry about wet slush in the brakes either!), where caliper brakes are always negatively affected to at least some degree by water (alloy rims and modern composite brake shoes have reduced that, nothing nearly as bad as rubber shoes on chrome-plated rims of only a couple of decades ago) On the downside, modern bicycle disc brakes do require a good bit more maintenance, in the form of regular adjustments, as their sintered bronze pads not only wear, they also glaze over, are subject to the occasional infiltration of grease or oil (with potential disastrous results) but nothing that an allen wrench, a can of lacquer thinner and a clean rag won't cure. Even so, those pads, in hilly situations like mine, do require replacement at regular intervals--for me, it's about every 2,500 miles or so (about 9-10 months of riding) and I will be replacing the rear rotor by this time next year (Yeah, sintered bronze brake pads will wear hard, polished stainless steel brake rotors, creating a channeling effect that makes it impossible for new pads to seat properly--but even that is a fairly small price to pay for really good, reliable braking). Some thoughts on bike riding: Wear an approved helmet always--God gave you but one brain, and it doesn't like being injured, helmets worn are lots less expensive than a hospital stay with a brain injury, and your memory banks will love you for it as well!. And, for God's sake, if you are going to ride at night, GET A GOOD HEADLIGHT AND TAILLIGHT and use them! No need for generators anymore, and no need for changing out flashlight batteries every couple of weeks either--there are all manner of high brilliance Light Enhanced LED lights for bikes out there now, most of them with attention-grabbing strobe settings available (and I maintain that I would rather grab a motorist's attention a couple hundred feet AWAY from the front of his vehicle!), and these give as much as 400 hours of lighting from 4 AA batteries--not bad if you ask me! And, it goes without saying, obey all traffic laws and signals religiously--the body and life you save will most likely be yours. Bike on! Art

Yup! And here is a great rendition of "Oh Canada" Art

Nice ideas, but not my call. Art

Yeah, Sky King drove a '56 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon for a couple of seasons. Art

A simple solution might well be to get either a metal or plastic round-section O-ring and sand it yourself to a half-round cross-section thus: Take a fresh sheet of 400-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper, lay it grit side up on a smooth (like a formica countertop, or piece of plate glass) with just a bit of water underneath to help it stay in the same place. Then, add water to the grit surface, put your hard O-ring on it, and sand it flat on one side, by moving it back and forth, and alternately in a circular motion on the sandpaper. I've used this technique more times than I can count, to make something truly flat on one side, and to thin down things like foil-cast emblems and such, no reason why it wouldn't work with an O-ring made from a hard, stable material. Art

We've not yet seen the Lonestar mockup in person yet--still a few engine details that needed to be worked out as the engine is the all-new Navistar-Cummins 15-liter diesel. Dave and I both live in Indiana, and both Cummins and Navistar International are in this state as well (Cummins in Columbus, Navistar in Ft Wayne), so he's been getting superb information from all sides. The mockups and tooling for Moebius are being done in Hong Kong, by the same company we both worked with when we were at Playing Mantis several years back--so they are a very well-known quantity to the both of us. With the great distance between here and China, a LOT of emails and pics get sent back and forth in a process like this, but it won't be very long before that puppy is sent here for final review and licensor approvals. Can't wait! (even though I'm not a builder of modern trucks per se'. Art

As I have stated previously: 1) The mockups do exist. 2) The kits will be made (mockups themselves are a very big expense already), and 3) I am not the one authorized to post any pics of the mockups (Dave Metzner has, however, posted some pics of the International Lonestar Semi tractor on another, much larger message board even though they have long since scrolled off there). Sorry you are so skeptical--just hang on for a few more months! Art

Yup Bob, those neat resins have finally met their match I think! Art

Today, I got a good long look at the tooling mockups for the '55 Chrysler C-300, and it's just as awesome as I said the Hudson was! I mean, they nailed the look of the body to a T, and in the engine bay--you couldn't put a scale shoe in there with a gold plated shoehorn either! Underneath, all the greasy stuff is just simply beautiful. Can't wait to see the test shots! Art

Bill, My references (just looking at a reprint of the '55 Chevy dealer order form) clearly show an optional bypass (cannister) oil filter for the 265cid V8. In 1996, I bought a completely rebuilt, numbers correct for the build date of my Sedan Delivery, 283 for my '58 Chevy Sedan Delivery, and it had the full-flow (spin on) oil filter, just as with all other small block Chevy V8's. 1957 was the last year of the By-pass oil filter on V8's, the only oil filter option for 1958 being a heavy-duty one, 1.5 quart capacity in size. Also, Chevy V8's from 1955-57 had a 4-point engine mounting setup, two mounts at the front of the block, two at the flywheel housing. Starting in 1958, they went to 3 mounting points, one on each side, in mid-block, and the third underneath the transmission tailshaft. I would recommend that anyone interested in factory stock Chevies 1953-64 find a copy of "Chevrolet Book Of Numbers Volume 2 1953-64", which is out of print now, but is a compilation of Chevrolet dealer information, giving all models standard features, plus all RPO's for each of those years, including not only the standard full size Chevy, but also Corvette, Corvair and Chevy II. It's a great reference, even shows all the color combinations, both exterior and exterior/interior, even calls out the types of interior upholstery fabrics/vinyl, and what color each part of the interior was, for each trim level. It's been my "Bible" ever since my AAM days. Art

Brookfield Collectors Guild did the '96 Olds Aurora as a promo, in both styrene and a very crisp diecast. It was done in both factory colors and the pearlescent white IRL Pace Car. I don't think any of the versions bring any serious coin today. Art

....pretzel? Art

Yeah! Get it scanned for CAD files, then scale it down to 1/25th please! Art