Harry P.

There is no "moral decision" to be made here. I buy a product from a seller. At their price. Fair and square. I now own that product and am free to do with it as I wish. Use it. Give it away. Throw it in the trash. Or resell it at any price I want to charge. "Morality" doesn't come into play here.

I don't get it.

Yes, a perfect example. Say I buy a house from Acme Home Builders for their selling price of $250,000. The I turn around and sell it for $275,000. Is this immoral? Am I "taking advantage" of the builder? Of course not! The builder got the price he wanted for his house, and now that the house is mine, I am free to get the price for it that I want. I see nothing here as far as "taking advantage" of anyone.

If somebody orders a ton of stuff from Modelhaus with the intent of reselling it at a higher price, why is that wrong or immoral? Who gets hurt here? Certainly not Modelhaus. If anything, they got an extra large order, which means they made more profit. And once the purchaser has paid for his Modelhaus products, those products belong to him, and he can do whatever he wants with them... including reselling them for a higher price. Art collectors do it. Stamp and coin collectors do it. Car collectors do it. Seems pretty clear to me.

A very interesting man, a very talented man. I wish I could have met him and talked to him. He is one of my favorite artists.

You said "Hey Guys, just thought I would let you know of a new release from Danbury Mint." I just wanted to make it clear that there are no more new releases from Danbury Mint, as they are out of the model car business now... just in case someone thought that maybe DM was back to manufacturing new models. I'm sure you knew what you were talking about... I just wanted to clarify for others.

Same level as Danbury Mint? No.

Just starting to dig into this kit. There are more than a dozen parts trees, molded in black, red, dark gray, light gray, brown, and a satin chrome look. Absolutely no flash whatsoever... I've rarely seen a more cleanly molded kit. Even the various thin linkages have no mold misalignment... they are perfectly round, with no mold seam line to clean up. Every kit should be molded this well. Major assemblies are meant to be assembled with screws (like a Pocher kit)... but this being "only" 1/12 scale, the screws are tiny! I'm sure I'll need my magnifier lamp to install these tiny screws.

I knew it was a model. I had seen this photo (and more more of his work) before. But as good as he is, there's one thing that makes his photos look odd... there are never any people in them.

Custom Clinic Contest results will be in #202.

You have to build the drive chains link by link, just like a real chain...

The kit is nicely packaged... and includes a plastic box full of tiny screws and miscellaneous hardware, wiring, tubing,etc., a clear plastic stencil so you can spray the "FIAT" logo on the radiator, and of course a decal sheet...

This is the 1/12 scale kit of the 1923/24 Fiat Mefistofele, by Italeri. This kit was originally released by Protar as a die-cast kit, then converted to an all-plastic kit and re-issued by Italeri in 2015. The Fiat Mefistofele began life as a 1908 Fiat SB-4 chain-driven Grand Prix car, with an 18 liter engine with two individual but linked-together cylinder blocks. By 1922 the car had come into the hands of John Duff, who was racing it at Brooklands when one of the cylinder blocks exploded, separated itself from the rest of the engine and flew skywards, taking the hood and several other supplementary components with it. Duff lost interest in the car after that, and went off instead to help start Bentley's winning run at Le Mans. The shattered remains of the Fiat were acquired in 1923 by British race car driver and engineer Ernest Eldridge, with the intent of building a car that would set the land speed record. He looked at the remains of the18-liter engine and decided that it was a little on the small side for his plan, so he managed to acquire a 22 liter Fiat A-12 World War I airplane engine. The Fiat A-12 was a liquid cooled in-line six with a single overhead cam, and put out 260 hp. This engine was so long that the car's chassis had to be extended, using bits from a London bus chassis! The rebuilt car was given elegant new bodywork, and Eldridge modified the airplane engine. In modified form it had four valves per cylinder, and 24 spark plugs fired by four magnetos, with four carburetors. The modified engine now put out 320 hp at only 1,800 rpm, with a 5 to 1 compression ratio. Still chain-driven, with mechanical brakes on the rear wheels only. The car weighed two tons, and must have been a monster to bring to a stop. On July 12, 1924 at Arpajon, France, Eldridge broke the absolute land speed record by achieving a top speed of 146.01 mph, but the record didn't last very long. Fellow Englishman Malcolm Campbell broke the Mefistofele's record in September, 1924. In 1969 the car was bought from Eldridge's heirs by Fiat, when it underwent an extensive restoration and was repainted red (it had originally been painted black). It is now part of Fiat's historic collection in Turin, Italy. Here is the restored car as it exists today...

There is a big difference between dishonest politicians using their clout and influence to dishonestly line their own pockets at the expense of the governed, and someone who legitimately bought a product and sells it to a willing buyer at a profit. Two completely different things. Crooked politicians influence my life without my consent. They raise my taxes, or pass legislation that directly affects me, without my permission or approval. I have no choice. Modelhaus resellers are selling to willing buyers who have a choice whether to buy or not.

It's also human nature, and it's not going to change anytime soon. So get used to it. Or start your own new civilization on another planet.

I like REM...

Actually Danbury Mint is no longer manufacturing model cars. They are only selling this one on their site, it's actually manufactured by Acme Diecasts. I have no idea how this deal came about.

But what about the passenger seat in a funny car?

I saw an infomercial on TV about that. Looks interesting.

Because there is only one of that painting existing. In the entire world. So if somebody wants it bad enough, they will pay the going rate. You might not like it, but yeah, that's the way the world works.

On the other hand... once Modelhaus products are no longer available from Modelhaus, the price of existing Modelhaus products will rise. Just like Pocher prices skyrocketed once Pocher went belly up. It's not necessarily the work of "maggots," it's called "supply and demand." When a famous artist dies, the value of his works inevitably rises because there will be no more work coming from that artist. What already exists is all that exists, so prices will rise. The reason an original DaVinci, Van Gogh, or Dali is so freakin' expensive is that DaVinci, Van Gogh, and Dali aren't around anymore producing new work. It's not an evil conspiracy... it's free-market capitalism at work.

Yes, I am. But if you click on the photo, you'll see it correctly. BTW... what's up with a passenger seat in a funny car???

If the glass fits well without any warping, I flow Future into the joint with a small brush. I also attach headlight lenses by flowing Future around the lens. Sometimes I'll flow a tiny drop of liquid cement into the joint and let capillary action draw it into the joint.

Ok, I think I have finally figured out why Rich doesn't like Future as a clear coat. Yes, it doesn't lend itself to polishing. But the types of models I build don't have that miles deep, "dipped in syrup" look. I try to recreate the appropriate gloss level that is accurate for the era of the model, so Future works perfectly for me. Yeah, if you want that glass-like show car shine, Future probably isn't the best way to go, there are better alternatives. But for what I build, it works perfectly. To each his own.