Harry P.

How ironic... a post that was off-topic to begin with has gone... off-topic!

The perfect example of a "clown car!"

I talked to him. Nice guy, but I didn't realize that he makes his wheels from scratch, they're not cast resin or anything. I thought he would be an aftermarket source, like Pegasus or something along those lines. I don't think I want to spend that kind of money on a set of wire wheels. Not that his price is unreasonable... I know there's a lot of work that goes into making wire wheels from scratch, and I'd charge as much, if not more... but it's more than I want to spend on these particular kits. But thanks very much for the reference... I may use his services in the future.

I never realized what a good looking car a 1970 Wildcat was! Especially the side view. Nice job, man. The foil trim really does the trick on this one!

What are they made of?

Well, it is what it is. They knew how to draw circles, but they never developed the wheel for use in a transportation device. They did have small toys of animals on wheels, so it looks like at least they understood the concept of the wheel, but for some reason they never applied the wheel to a full-scale transportation device. Explanations here, if you're interested: http://www.precolumbianwheel.com/

I would probably try making them myself, but I don't have any of the tools needed. The only 'power tool" I have is a Dremel! I have no way of turning the rims and hubs, no way of indexing and drilling the spoke holes. That kind of precision is impossible with just simple hand tools and a Dremel. I wish I had a lathe, a milling machine, etc. Maybe some day...

So the October issue really does exist!!! I hope I see mine soon...

Apparently they understood the concept of a circle, but not of a wheel.

I'll contact him, thanks!

Never seen a TVR in plastic kit form. You're in for a whole lotta scratchbuilding if you really want one in 1/24/25 scale!

His website requires a log-in!???

Thanks, guys. I'll check out the wire wheel guy. Andy, I remember that kit! I built it years ago. I'll check ebay and see what I can find.

It wasn't a debate until the others made it a debate. I sure didn't intend to start one. Since the question was about the availability of '50s kits, I was just answering the question by saying that Modelhaus has a good selection, but I figured that I ought to point out that while Modelhaus has a wide selection of kits, there are no photos of the kits on their site... but despite that, Modelhaus has a great reputation as an aftermarket resin caster! That's all I said. But apparently several others here read those words as me saying "Modelhaus sucks because they don't have pictures on their site" and thought it was their duty to point out to me the high quality of the product, what fine people Don and Carol are, and all the many reasons why it's good that there are no pictures for the consumer to see!!! So who made it a debate? I'm with you, Dave. Let's talk health care! First of all, this "public option"... Oops... I forgot. No more of that stuff allowed here. Dang!

I just picked up a couple of kits today, the Lindberg 1/16 scale 1914 Stutz and 1914 Mercedes Grand Prix racers. Here's the Stutz: I know they're both reissues of very old kits, and they both have incorrect wooden spoke-type wheels (they should be wire wheels). Anyone know of a good source of 1/16 scale wire wheels/tires from that era, either in a kit or aftermarket?

How did this get from me saying it would be nice if the Modelhaus included photos of their model car kits on their website to "Harry's crazy because he's blasting the Modelhaus?" Can any of you ardent Modelhaus fans show me an example of where I ever cast aspersions on, denigrated, complained about, cast a bad light on, questioned, complained about, or in any other way made any sort of negative comment about the quality of the Modelhaus's products? Anyone???

Sorry, I missed that part. Could you please show me where in my post I ever said anything to the contrary?

What are you guys smoking???!!! Unwarranted criticism? Huh???? I'd prefer that you not put words into my mouth or "quote" things that I never said. No one "insisted" on anything. All I said is that for the price their kits go for, a photo of the product on the site is not an unreasonable expectation. I'm not slamming Modelhaus... heck, I was the one that pointed out that they have a reputation as one of the best in the business! Apparently some of you suffer from "Selective Reading Syndrome." I can't believe how many of you are jumping all over me for stating the obvious... a company that sells products online should have photos of the product on the website. Is that some sort of crazy, lunatic-fringe, unreasonable demand??? They're "too busy" to do it? Hire some college kid with a camera and let him do it. "Too busy" to upload the photos? The same college kid (or another one) can do it. They're "afraid" that if there are photos on the website that they'll be overwhelmed with orders??? Well, in my book more business is a good thing, but if they want to keep their business down to what they feel is a comfortable level, fine... they can always respond to any orders that overwhelm them with a simple "Thank you for your interest, but our current production schedule makes it impossible to fulfill new orders at this time." The point isn't that they are so successful that they don't need new customers, the point is customers would like to see what their $60-70-80+ is getting them. To all of you people who know Don and Carol personally, or who know of the quality of their products because you've seen them in person or bought before, that's great... for you. But for all the people who have never bought a Modelhaus kit, is it really that crazy to think that a photo of each kit along with the written description would be a welcome addition to the site? That idea puts me in "unwarranted criticism" land??? Come on, guys, really.

First of all, they may offer thousands of products, but I'm talking specifically about model car kits. They don't offer thousands of model car kits, and at the price they go for (and I'm not saying they're not worth the price, not making a value judgement), I think a photo on the website is a perfectly reasonable expectation. So it might take them a few days to shoot each one and upload a photo... in the overall scheme of things is that really such a hardship? I don't think so. I think anyone who sells a product or products online owes it to the customer to have photos of the merchandise available on the website. You may be one of the many people who have seen their products up close and personal, but how about all those people who never have? They're just supposed to buy, and hope for the best? I realize that Modelhaus products are among the best available, but I see no real reason why they don't have a photo of each kit. Many other aftermarket outfits do.

I don't have an extra pair of hands around, but I think I might have a few brains in bottles down in the lab. I'll check...

I'm thinking that at between $60-100 a kit, there should be a photo of what you're getting! That's a lot of money to ask a person to fork over sight unseen.

That's not my personal opinion, that's the reputation they have. I just thought I'd mention that, because they don't have any photos on their website, so if you buy from them you're sort of buying blind. I figured that mentioning they have a great reputation would make up for the lack of photos. If it was me, I'd add photos of every kit. I don't understand why they don't have pictures on their site.

Neither of them have any '50s models... that's what we're looking for here.

I don't think I'd use the word "beauty" when describing this... uh... creation.

Actually the concept behind Wheel of Fortune (solving a letter puzzle) is pretty simple... even a Mayan could have understood it. The problem would arise when the Mayan MC told the Mayan contestant to "give the wheel a spin," at which point the Mayan contestant would say "Wheel? How the heck can I give the wheel a spin, you moron... we don't have wheels!" So you can see that "Wheel of Fortune" was probably never shown on Mayan TV... However, given the popularity of human sacrifice among the Mayans, one of the more popular TV game shows was "Take My Wife... Please!," which was hosted for many years by Quetzlcoatl "Henny" Youngman...