edboys

Invite to all who can attend. It's been a long time since Glue Brothers - Des Moines, IA has held an auto model car event. Check out our flyer here on MCM Forums and hopefully this show may fit into your busy summer schedule. We look forward to all who may attend.

Jesse Chavez - been a long time since YahooGroups. I moved over to Facebook's Dedicated to the Preservation of Drag Racing Models. I check in periodically here to keep abreast of things. Good to hear you are still around.

Jesse Chavez - still have any of my resin engines? My knowledge is that Atlantis has people working on the issue of making new tires. However, it is my personal hope that the new tires won't be a 90's or newer style slick put on a 70's FC. Everybody hates those old kit slicks that came in the kits. I would fill them with a foam donut to ensure a proper inflated look as well as to keep them from collapsing. Here's another concern: If Atlantis makes a new slick for the 16th scale kits and this is seen in the new Elephant FC kit release, are they also going to use the same slick for say the FE dragster kits. Cause that would be inappropriate for use on the FE kits. Garlits brought the inovative RE dragster to the scene in '71 right around the same time the Slicks were undergoing a lot changes. Do a google search and compare the size of the slicks used in 67-69 and then those on RE dragsters after 71. So, will Atlantis make the same decision that Revell did and run with a one-size fits all approach or give us 2 different slicks to better represent the eras that these kits deserve. Revell did it to conserve on costs. Afterall, it would cost Atlantis more to produce 2 different slicks, having to produce 2 molds that will equally fit into the production process. We will have to wait and see.

Revell Tires. Hear's a bit of info about my involvement with Revell's kit wheels/tires. Been a 1/16th Drag Race modeling enthusiast for 30 yrs now. Have had many chances to interact with Ed Sexton at Revell over the course of that thirty years. Started slow with personal contact meetings at events like IPMS National Conventions and sometimes a Regional, a Milwaukee NNL event, etc. Communication between myself and Ed progressed over time where I felt I had his ear, (even if that was very limited) and he became interested in the information I wanted to share. Often those disucussions involved what Revell could/can re-issue in 1/6th scale. I have always hoped that my involvement in encouraging Ed to convince Revell to release more of their 1/16 Drag Race models. More front engine dragsters please, so out comes the Tony Nancy, Beebe & Mulligan, and eventually the California Charger. Prior to each of these releases, I would send Ed some reference materials as well as some more discussion of encouragement to go forward with more releases. Unfortunately, 1/16th scale is esoteric at best and doesn't always equate to a money making venture for Revell like other more common scaled model production runs. Always planting the bug in Ed's ear, like all the other 16th enthusiasts out there who also voice their likes with Ed especially at public events. We all wanted to see some more parts in these kits. Best scenario would have been a whole new kit using a newly tooled body, like a Cuda or Camaro. Never going to happen, said Ed so many times I quit asking. I found out through some discussions that Revell (Group of individuals who decided what Revell was actually going to produce) wouldn't even cut a new proper Hilborn 4-hole injector and intake scoop for the Beebe and Mulligan kit release. Said it was too expensive to do considering the margin Revell works with on 16th scale kit releases. What a disappointment. Back to the Tires. Ed contacted me for some info regarding their upcoming release of the new '72 Hawaiian kit. I was very adamant about Revell doing the 71 Hawaiian as Roland Leong repeated his Winternationals win with that car. Ed informed me that there was a need for doing new wheels and tires for this new release. Apparently, the tires that came in those 1/16th Drag kits came from an outside contractor and they were no longer able to provide those tires anymore. This also opened the door for the opportunity do new wheels for the kit as well. BANANZA!!!!! Ed wanted information about possible sources he could explore during his research. Names started flying off his screen as I replied in earnest for possible contacts. Tom West already has the drawings for those wheels and tires from when he worked at Aurora and he eventually chose Steve Reyes for the box art photo. Ed knew of my involvement in producing resin parts in 1/16th scale and wondered what I might have. I sent him examples of what I had done as well as some other items acquired from other individuals like Paul Rowe. I also sent him info regarding tire size measurements from that era in drag racing. The previous tires were always undersize for the Funny Car kits so asking for a better, more correct tire would be paramount to this new release. As you all know, when the '72 Hawaiian kit came out, the new wheels and tires that came in the box is what we got. Now here is the remainder to this info. Revell was going to do another release, only this time that kit would have Halibrand slotted rears and kidney bean fronts. The question that remained was what kit to do that used those wheels. It was a real research challenge because Revell only offered the Vega, Charger, Grand Am and Duster bodies. So finding a race car/team that was using these wheels on their car during this era. Those ET Trick wheels became very popular during the early 70's and that is what comes in these kits. I proposed 2 cars to consider; 1) Braskett & Burgin Vega or 2) Drag-On Vega. Unfortunately, Revell never got to do this other follow up kit release because of the bankruptcy of Hobbico, which owned Revell at the time. Revell has since been sold off to a German investment group and those 1/16th Drag kit molds have been sold off to Atlantis. Where are those newly tooled tire and wheel molds? I suspect that they reside in China and according to my sources those molds now belong to the Chinese Govt. So there's my story. Hope it helps in some way. P.S. Haven't had much contact with Ed in almost a yr now and Atlantis has made no effort to contact me even though Ed said he would pass my name along as a source contact.

It is a shame we can no longer acquire Ambroid's Pro Weld liquid cement. However, Micro-Mark sells a new product, unbelievably called 'Same Stuff' and claims to be the same formula as Pro Weld. I have purchased and used this new Same Stuff cement and it is just like Pro Weld.

Have fun with the engine. You have the Ford 9" sent to you following your latest purchase. Just to let you know I finished the later version of the Ford 9" and now have both early and late style rear ends. Revell's 34 Ford is a nice kit, however I wish Revell would have opened the doors and trunk like other large scale kits. I spent a lot of time getting that detail into the 34 and yet it sits in the 'never to see the light of day' stack of unfinished kits. Good luck with your project, I will be following along.

Gone.

Gone.

Maybe one of the 3-D print creators could endeavor to make some front ends and rear tail light/bumper panels so the 76 - 78 Trans Am version could be done using this model. Hmmm??? Interior options aside, having these parts would greatly increase the interest in this vehicle. How many of you modelers out there would pass the opportunity to have a Bandit Trans Am in 1/16th scale. Shame on Round 2 for not updating this model to include the iconic Bandit 77 Trans Am in 1/16th scale.

Mike - AMT would have to tool up a new mold and we all know that won't happen....too bad too. I intend to create a 1/25 version now that the Snake Wedge kit is out, combined with the Mongoose RE kit recently released. Would look pretty cool having one in 16th and 25th scale sitting side-by-side.

Wanted to share some pix of the 1/16th Snake Wedge I did a few years back, although it is sans decals/graphics. Because I can't seem to post photos please click on the link below. https://imgur.com/a/AjLCT

It's okay. Don't like the combining of parts into sub-assemblies. Example; combining of the rear fenders and the truck bed, previous kits separated such parts. The running boards are combined with the truck bed floor. The roof of the cab is a separate part, and I understand that the underlying structure is the interior headboard. My critique as I like kits with lots of parts broken down into smaller sub-assemblies or better yet greater detail without all the masking needed to differentiate parts.

Would be nice if the name of the kit was mentioned here. Just saying.

A great new kit to offer would be the 70 Javelin SST and then follow it up with 'Mark Donahue' 70 Trans Am Javelin.

Fifties era Pontiac, Olds, Buick should have another serious look. Any of the Jo-han models that haven't been re-issued in years would qualify as possible good sellers; i.e., Maverick/Comet, Cadillac, Pontiac, Olds kits. Nobody so far seems to have acquired the Rights for these kits and whoever has those Rights doesn't seem to have the where-with-all to produce them at this time (as far as I know). Seriously, a Yugo. I know it may have been suggested as a joke, but come on.

Condolences to his family and friends. Still need to inquire as to the state of his business, does it continue in any way....or....on hold for now? I wanted to get some of his product and that is why I am asking about the future.

Wow, seems like a lot of work to go thru in order to get this material ready for use? And how much did that body cost you? If model kits contained this same material, requiring all this work & expense in order to get the product into the same surface consistency styrene plastic already exhibits.....I don't think anyone would continue to purchase kits under these conditions. 3D printing has made significant progress in providing better materials displaying smoother finishes, but they are in no way able to create a smooth, glass like finish...yet. That said, good luck with your project and hopefully in the future we will see an immense improvement towards smoother surface perfection in all 3D processes. I do purchase 3D printed items, but not bodies because of all the extra work it takes to make them usable. And because I build in 1/16th scale, the cost of a body can reach $600.00 and that doesn't include that extra work mentioned above.

I don't know what Hobby Lobby is thinking charging $39.99. Auto World has it priced at $26.99 and Model Round Up (Model King) is priced at $24.99. Even if you use the 40% off coupon (which I did because I wanted one now) it prices at $25, so what gives here? If Hobby Lobby continues to escalate the cost of kits like this they will soon find themselves without sales. NOTE: here is a pic of a real Enderle 3-hole bugcatcher. It has flat sides, not rounded sides like that of the Revell bugcatcher commonly found in most kits...Ugh!!! And these hats do indeed have a lip on the front horn. Do a simple Google search to get the facts right.

I take full responsibility for my errors and have made amends where possible. I've ended my association with Ted at Ted's Modeling Marketplace and here on the aftermarket list. None of you here on this thread know anything about how I operate, it is not an established business like Comp Resins or Altered States, but as stated taking money does indeed make it a business venture. I build in 1/16th scale and began offering some of my scratch built parts to like minded modeling enthusiasts through sites like Yahoo/Groups and now Facebook. I never established a website or regularly attended any swap meets to sell my resin. Every transaction was on a personal contact basis and I would refuse to take funds until the engine package was ready to go out the door. Ted Bowe convinced me to offer them through his website so the general public could have access to my resin. I knew what I was up against by offering my engines to the public and that is where a lot of the confusion started. I'm not sure where the loss of communication took place between me and Ted, but as customers placed orders with Ted I kept telling him that I did not have professional equipment to meet mass production goals. All of my engines are custom made, pinned and test fitted before they went the door. A slow process I know no other caster even attempts to provide for their customers. A ten day delivery time frame was supposed to be stated and I kept to that schedule until recently. Ted would put in an order for 7 or more engines so he had some on hand as orders would come in. At times the customer would request a specific engine tailored for a particular vehicle and most times I accommodated that request because of the extensive amount of parts I have created. These orders took more time to get done. However, the customer(s) always seem to think these items were sitting a shelf somewhere that could be immediately put in box and shipped right away. Some customers didn't like this third party interaction and would contact me directly for better communication during this process. Well, as it turns out this venture did not work out as planned and I have marred my own rep in the process. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused. For every person here who has posted there have been 10 who have come to my defense contacting me not to give up my offerings. I am returning to that core group and will in the future only cater to that fraternity of fellow modelers in 1/16th scale. Nothing more to be said I are done here.

Well, since my rep has been destroyed here on MCM here's my side of the story. Please ask Chris Sobak why he didn't answer or reply to any of my attempts to contact him by phone on several occasions. Left him messages with my return phone number so we could talk in person. A mutual friend of mine Mike Garland, who speaks with Chris was always telling me not worry as Chris was tied up with his Army Vega project and wasn't in a hurry to get to his next dragster build. Chris does his own parts in 3-D now so why does he need a caster anyway? Teresi - I sent him a parts list when he was building his Stage Coach project and he instead decided to go with TDR, so he has NEVER ordered anything from me. I would discount any comment he would offer up as he is a friend of Chris Sobak and is obviously riding the friendship train here. Some of you model builders who have never created, molded, casted resin parts have no clue as to how intense this process can be. It is time consuming and pays pennies an hour unless you approach this as a full time business. Don't own a pressure pot or vacuum chamber so this isn't no business in the true sense. More like a fraternity effort, just trying to help people get some of the same parts I create for myself. I made enough to pay for more materials so continuation of the process would go on. Trust me I will show you my records for the last year - would like to see anyone live on that income. Now a little back story - I started out offering parts in 1/16th scale, mainly drag race subject matter. Since I build in that scale for myself, many parts were being created for my own projects and it wasn't difficult offering some of these parts to like-minded 1/16th enthusiasts. I belonged to a Yahoo group that later went over to Facebook and have sold many engine packages/parts for over 15 years. I have never had anyone request a refund or demand their money back because of poor quality. Contact the Facebook site; Dedicated to the preservation of 1/16th drag race models and ask anyone on that site about me. I am done with this business. I made that announcement 4/27/16 and have been trying to tie up loose ends ever since. Do I get to leave - NO - because people keep contacting me about product. Even Ted at Ted's Modeling Marketplace continued to take orders after I informed him I was out. I want to build my own projects again and not spend any more time fulfilling other people's desires, I feel I have contributed enough and want to get out of the resin side of the hobby. Will see how this goes as I have created many friends that will continue to have some business dealings with me on a personal basis. As for Ted Bowe, we had a pretty good run. He convinced me to provide resin for his website and I had to inform him that my engines are custom tailored and that each order would be done on an individual basis. I can match up almost all the parts any modeler would need to build a vintage race engine from my stable of parts. All that was needed was an email from the customer informing me of the build/vehicle they intended to build. Example: I have 3 superchargers to choose from with up to 9 different end plates to pick from. My 392 Hemi engine has more choices than any other engine package and I just couldn't get Ted to have his website reflect these options so the customer could make better choices while making a purchase. Now lets talk a bit about some of you customers. Ted would send me an order, I would send him that order in complete form and then get an email informing me that many parts were missing upon arrival. I know that those engine packages were complete when forwarded to him and towards the end was taking photographs before being shipped out. So, between my sending Ted the parts, he mails them to his customer only to be informed that parts didn't arrive and now I am supposed to replace these at my cost as well as Ted's. THIS GOT OLD REAL FAST FOLKS. In closing, I apologize to anyone I have slighted by being late in shipping product. I have no excuse for the 3 yr wait I put Chris Sobak through. I did follow through with his order and still owe him the hi-rise manifold for those Donovan 417's. It is in the works and I hope it gets done before he orders that same part from TDR. For those that have been loyal to me for the past 15 yrs I say THANK YOU. For those of you here on MCM who do not know me, but decided to deride me and sully whatever rep I might have in the modeling world - BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH OFF!!!

Rest in Peace Chuck.

Kevin, I don't believe I am, cause I've been tested. Can't speak for other people, but I do suffer from AADD (adult attention deficit disorder) and PMS (plastic modelers syndrome) though.

Chris, Thanks for the kind words. I would like to get back to this project along with a variety of others as well. Any one of them a great choice to work on. Brad, Good to hear from you again. Hopefully I will still be offering resin as I always sit on the fench when demand disappears like it has lately. I have been gettin a lot more bench time for my own projects. Michael, I specialized in 1/16th scale because the more common 1/25 - 1/24 market is pretty well covered. Just wish there was more subject matter to work with in 1/16th so that more cars/vehicles could be replicated.

Chris, might my 1/16 BBC engine help in your effort to build the wheelstander?

First time commenting. Absolutely amazing work! Your comment about putting in 25 hours to make these parts provoked me to reply. That amount of time can be related to and compared to the amount of money you have invested in your project. Once approached a machinist to cut a die for doing aluminum velocity stacks and his charge was $100.00 an hour and he estimated a minimum of 2 hours to complete. I deeply admire your dedication and efforts to completing this project. I tip my hat to you and can't wait to see the 'J' in final form.