sjordan2

Let's just see how it goes. I agree with Jon that choice is a good thing. No harm in that, and revisions can always be made.

Wow. I got up this morning here in Knoxville and noticed some things had been blown around a bit, but no damage. I slept through the whole thing.

Canadian police seized $2 million worth of vehicles after a road race on a Vancouver highway. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/02/police-grab-2-million-worth-of-cars-after-canadian-street-race/?hpt=hp_bn5

No, as I said above, it means that only a few might participate. Under franchise laws, individual operators cannot be forced by the parent company to participate in promotions. And some may have their own unique promotions. As my original post suggested, you need to contact your local HobbyTown. All I know is what I got in my e-mail.

Well, I just received a back-up version of the Jo-Han Mercedes 500K Special Coupe to fill in the missing parts from my original Gold Cup version, and this later issue (as I was warned above) isn't as nicely molded as the original and has a lot more flash. Also, it doesn't solve the body problems because I wanted to keep the original burgundy body color and this one is bright red.

Any idea how much the round case version might go for on eBay? My neighbor has one that's missing one car.

As I understand it, HobbyTowns are all franchise operations, so some stores may have the offer and others not.

Just got an e-mail from HobbyTown USA saying they have a Labor Day discount offer, 15% off everything in the store. Sept 2 -5. Check with your local store.

Love your graph, which seems to be more accurate than being a satire. Interesting how this subject keeps popping up on different threads, and is now occurring on Tips, Tricks & Tutorials.

It's a good thing this isn't a German forum. They capitalize regular nouns, too, not just proper nouns.

I thought it was a clean, simple design for what they used to call a "world car," maybe a tiny bit bland, but it was a perfect canvas for juicing up in many ways. I still think it's a cool-looking car that has withstood the test of time. To me, if it had a different approach to performance and image, it could have beaten the pants off of failures like the Buick Reatta, Cadillac Allanté and Chrysler Maserati. Another noble failure was the Merkur.

I never understood why they didn't do the concept car, which was beautiful even as a 4-door. Maybe Chrysler management just didn't get what this car was about.

That was always my wonder about the current Charger. It's like today's Chrysler management never understood the allure of the original and the loyalty of Charger fanatics.

Wildly flamboyant and expensive cars like the Mercedes 540K obviously exist in another world where practicality and space efficiency really don't apply and I 'm sure everyone knows that. But it's interesting to note that Mercedes has always been aware of the need for storage space. For example, some SSK models from the late 20s had special doors for tool kits in the cowling, and the 1928-33 710 SS offered optional running boards containing large storage areas behind doors on each side. In the 540K below, you'll see a storage door in the fender in front of the spare tire (of course, this was a one-off hunting car for an Indian maharaja, and included spare fuel tanks on each running board). Plus they offered custom-fitted luggage to make the most of storage space and large trunks. except for models with rumble seats.

Thanks, Art, I'll have to check that out. But, boy, those are expensive, and they're 1/24.

So...going back to the original question, does anyone know of a 1/25 tire that might have a tread closer to the original photo I posted and different from the Jo-Han example I posted? Honestly, it's not a huge deal for my satisfaction with the build, but it could be a nice improvement.

I'm sure this is no consolation, but as they say, "It's not the destination, it's the journey." Meaning that, in regard to the model building part, all your hard work eventually paid off in good times, fine work and a good ride while you were building, though it's all gone now. Glad you're all safe and sorry about your losses.

That tread may be slightly more aggressive than what I'm looking for.

Yes, as I mentioned on another thread, I contacted the Mercedes Classic Center for information on a number of cars and they said they lost most of their prewar records due to Allied bombing. The best they have are well-known and easiy available specifications.

This is the Jo-Han tire.

The 1/25 Jo-Han 500K special coupe has very inaccurate tires. Does anyone know of a source with tires that have a tread more like this? My experience is that tire suppliers like Satco, who said their tires fit 1/25-1/24, are too large for 1/25 and are generally for 1/24.

??? Not on my browser. I use Firefox on Mac. What are you using?

That is absolutely spectacular all around. Great work on the grille and the top.