Seattle Mike

Regardless of the outcome of this whole episode, it will probably be the final goodbye for Mosley. It doesn't seem to matter which race series you look at, if the FIA is involved it has problems. Because they couldn't bear to have the Group C and GT class sportcars be more popular than F-1, the rules were made more and more ridiculous, causing everyone involved to get out. That is the main reason the ACO chose to thumb their noses when it came to the rules for LeMans. They are now setting the rules for the European and American LeMans series, both of which are doing quite well. They understand that the fans want to see the best cars and best drivers. They realize that the teams need to be free to innovate within the bounds of the rules. They also make sure that the drivers are accessible to the fans during race weekends. When was the last time any fan ever got close to a F-1 driver? I say good riddance to the pompous fools at the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone - they've done nothing but line their own pockets at the expense of the sport they were supposed to nurture!

Thanks Ed - but I've had my share of management time with Saturn. I learned a long time ago that common sense is not held in high esteem by any large corporation. It's no wonder that so many big companies are in so much trouble.

Both the Solstice and Sky were being built at the Wilmington, Delaware plant, which is being closed down permanently. With Pontiac going bye-bye, and Saturn going to Penske, the Kappa platform is done. While the cars were fun to drive, they were not very practical. With the top down you had nowhere to even put an overnight bag. The turbo versions were a blast, but compared to other 2 seaters out there, they were too big, too heavy and too expensive to produce. The Astra was a good idea, as the Ion was a piece of junk. During my time at Saturn (9 years as Parts Manager), I saw a large number of Ion's coming back for warranty work. You would think that after producing cars for nearly 100 years, GM could have produced something with turn signals that didn't ###### out almost immediately. We used to go through 20 to 25 gets of headlight assemblies a week, until GM finally recalled the silly things and came up with a better and more permanent fix. The interiors were the sorriest design to ever hit the streets. The Astra suffered from too high of a price point. Because they were built in Belgium and shipped over, they were saddled with a base price of over 16k - too big of a jump over the 12K base of the Ion it replaced. Saturn's problems could be traced back to a management team that had no clue, a marketing team that was even more clueless, and a false sense of self importance. Saturn was brought on line to be a cheap, reliable alternative to entry level Japanese cars like the Corolla and Civic. Because GM refused to fully support Saturn during the early years, the brand fell far behind the competition. The decision to move Saturn upmarket to take over the position that Oldsmobile had was another huge blunder. Hopefully Roger and company will be successful with the brand in the future. It's ironic that the GM brand designed to combat the foreign makers is now going to be the one bringing more of them in!

To set the record straight about S&S. When Russ dropped out of it I renamed the company Detail Resources, and continued on for a couple of years. After that I was joined by Greg Tufford, and Detail Resources morphed into Auto Dynamics. We finally called it quits a few years ago, and I sold the business to Duane. Sadly, his severe health problems have kept him from following through with a lot of the plans that he had for the product line. The items in the photos were our nicle silver fasteners. We also did them in brass to simulate the cad plated units found on a lot of cars. Norm Veber does have several different sizes of fasteners available.

The Camaro is being built in Canada, as it has for a long time. The platform it's being built on is a version of the Holden, and so it spent a lot of development time in Australia. We had been considering getting rid of our 97 Firebird convertible, but maybe now we should hang on to it. It's sad to see Pontiac disappear, but like so many others have pointed out, their product line has been pretty unexciting for a long time.

The process to make the emblems is called metal deposition. The artwork is very similar to that used for photoetching. The image is used on specially treated material that then has metal deposited on it. The metal can be chrome, gold, or metallic red, black or blue. By the way, the adhesive has a limited shelf life so you may need to improvise after the sheet is no longer new.

Billy - the emblems are self adhesive. You simply cut out the emblem you want to use, keeping the emblem attached to the clear carrier. Peel off the blue backing paper to expose the adhesive. Carefully line the emblem up to the spot it's going to live on and press it down. Take something like a paintbrush handle to burnish the emblem down and then carefully peel the carrier film off and you're done. Be really careful when rubbing the model down after the emblems are attached, as the edges can snag the cloth and be peeled up.

Awesome job Dave! I'm looking forward to meeting you at Sexton's in April.

I've built a number of models for Revell and Monogram throughout the years, before I moved to Seattle. Generally I would get a package with 2 test shots and a list of the colors they wanted. Usually the kits were second round test shots that were almost ready for production. In some instances I was able to make suggestions for better color combinations, but usually I did them the way that Ed Sexton or Bill Lastovich requested. Usually I would only have a week or 10 days to get the model finished and mailed back - and yes Virginia, I was paid for the work. Some of the models I've done include the drag version of the '68 Charger on the latest release, the metallic orange '69 Vette on the California Wheels release, the red Dodge Magnum, The black and red Porsche 911's on the original boxes, the red Acura NSX on the original box, the original tan '69 Dart, the Marina Blue '67 Chevelle SS and my favorite, the '66 Chevelle Wagon. The wagon was a pet project, as I own the real thing. As a matter of fact, all of the measurements for the tooling were done by me from my car, so that kit will always be near and dear to me.

I just checked the Qwest Field website, and they do not have the Seattle Roadster show listed for the dates that I was given. It looks like it may not happen - bummer! I was looking forward to attending it for the first time since moving out here!

I see that Portland has 2 car shows - the Portland Rod & Custom Show in February, and the Portland Roadster Show a few weeks later in March. Which one of the two shows is the better one to go to?

Actually, it will not be a coupe - Audi is sticking with the open cockpit format. The R15 will debut at Sebring in March, and then won't run again until L:eMans. The R10 will still be entered in the ALMS events at least until LeMans.

Awesome job Ken!

I just found out that Jerry Churchill died last Saturday after a brief illness. Jerry raced in several types of events, including ARCA, the Carrera Pan America in Mexico and the big rally in New Foundland. I met Jerry several years ago, as he wanted replicas of his Carrera '63 Impala built as gifts to his crew and sponsors. We met at his garage where he let me and my daughter have free run of the race cars, which we photographed the daylights out of. Jerry went on to win the Carrera a couple of years later with the Impala. He was truly a nice guy, and will be missed.

My first kit was one of Hawk's 1/32 Mercedes 190 SL kits. I was 5 years old, and had to have my mom read the instructions. I seem to recall that I had a miserable time with the multi piece bodies. As if that wasn't tough enough, the second model was one of the Monogram 2 1/2 Ton army trucks. I don't remember how that one turned out. Sadly, by the time I was able to read the instruction sheets by my self the model companies went to the numbered sheets and got rid of the words! To think, that was only 48 years ago - seems like only yesterday!

After more than a year of unemployment and moving from Michigan to Seattle, we decided that another cruise was in order. My wife and I will be flying to San Juan Puerto Rico a year from now, and getting on a ship for a week long cruise. New islands to see, more scuba diving to do, and a lot of relaxing. I'm hoping to get a chance to meet Ismael when I'm in San Juan, as we will be flying in a day early.

If I recall correctly, both versions were released in 1968 or 1969. The box art is very similar to other AMT releases from that time period. AMT's first "real" truck kit, the Pete 359 came out about 2 years after these hit the shelves.

I have yet to find a type of clear that is safe to use over urethane clear. I tried lacquer one time and ended up starting over with a new body - it was that bad. I haven't tried acrylic, but I don't use acrylics for color or top coats because of their generally terrible finish.

I wish you guys had done a better job of publicizing the show. I just found out about it, and now it's too late for me to make the 3 hour drive down from Seattle. There's no mention of where the show is being held either. Maybe next year!

Generally the fit of the parts is pretty good. Be aware that the first releases had no mounting pins for the front suspension parts at all, making there placement a bit more difficult. I filled the hollow frame rails with plastic strips first, and then puttied them over. This eliminated a lot of the shrinkage. At one time someone was resin casting the filled in frame, but I don't remember who, or if it is still available. Take your time with the headers and side pipes, as the joint between them is less than great. The engine builds up pretty nice, but you may need to shorten the distributor a bit to get it to clear the hood. Also, be really careful about the fit of the fuel lines and linkage, as the location and fit is a little iffy. The complaints about the rider height are valid, as mine sits like a 4X4. I have the Paddock/Friedman book on the Grand Sport, and the cars definitely sit lower. I did a more in depth building review in Scale Auto when the kits were originally released. I don't remember the issue, but I'm sure one of the board members can help with that.

You should try to go to shops that have them (hobby, art supply, craft, etc.) and at least get a feel for each brand you're looking at. I use Badger 155's because I found that I like the balance and the way it feels in my hand. Other builders swear by Paasche, and others Iwata. All of them work pretty well, and will give excellent results with a fair amount of practice, so concentrate on how comfortable the brush is in your hand before you decide on which to buy.

I usually do - it seems to help with the coverage of the metalizer, as well as making it easier to see where you've painted and where you haven't..

Ron - where would I look for "bonsai wire"?

I started at the tender age of 5. The first model was a Hawk Mercedes 190 roadster, followed by Monogram's "Eager Beaver" 2 1/2 ton army truck. I couldn't read the directions at that point, but followed the photos as best I could. By the time I could read the instructions everyone switched over to the ones with only numbers!

Check the Revell 2002 Camaros and Firebirds - I'm pretty sure those have the T-56 tranny's in them.