Straightliner59 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I was looking at this thread: I don't know where the dead link above led to, but, here's the story of the Aurora Racing Scenes in Tom West's own words. I formerly published it on the old StraightLineModeler website. He was gracious enough to write this piece, and email me a bunch of his design drawings for the series. Tom is missed. He had a great love of drag racing, and had a ton of stories, as well. He was a great guy. I hope you enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I bought the Pinto version when they first came out, what a great kit it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Straightliner59 said: I don't know where the dead link above led to, but, here's the story of the Aurora Racing Scenes in Tom West's own words. I formerly published it on the old StraightLineModeler website. That's exactly where the link led to. Once that website/forum went under, so did the link. Thank you for posting the article in its entirety, Daniel. It's always interesting to read the history and details behind the products, and how the different companies are interrelated, even if only through their use of the same facilities, such as Binder Tool & Molding in Windsor, Ontario, also discussed here: The "History of Drag Racing Models" three-parts series published on SAE in the '90s also touched upon a few of the things mentioned in this article, but not nearly in depth. Was it you, Daniel, who wrote those articles, by chance? Back to the 1/16 Racing Scenes kits, they really were designed by an expert hand, as you can see once the parts are in your hands, but there were some compromises in a few areas/parts, which left me a bit disappointed. The main chassis structure, for instance, was a one-piece affair, unlike the Revell Funny Car chassis, which consisted of several pieces, and main right and left halves. Considering the real Funny Car chassis was constructed from round tubing, the Revell design was the way to go for realism, but the Aurora chassis was designed for ease of manufacture, as the 'inside' of the chassis (where the driver's seat and engine fit into) had flattened tubing walls, so the cross-section of the tubing was D-shaped, instead of the correct O-shape. Maybe not a deal breaker for some, but is just looks wrong compared to the Revell chassis. I was never a big fan of 'working' engine features, either, as the engine is never going to actually work, so I would've been perfectly happy to see those inner parts left out, but they make sense when viewed in the big picture of the Racing Scenes as a whole, and especially the Speed Shop kit. Now, the rear M&H slicks, front tires, and American Racing 5-spoke spindle mount wheels are some of my absolute favorite model parts of all time, and the Donovan engine was not too shabby, either. The seated and standing driver figures, as well as the Funny Car body kit figures, are all very well done, too, and fit perfectly into the time period, as they should. Speaking of the time period, the canard wings made a very brief appearance on Funny Cars (and T/F, IIRC), then disappeared just as quickly. I believe Tom West photographed the Radici & Wise Vega F/C, which was using canard wings at that time, so that might explain their inclusion: Edited January 31, 2019 by Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) two other Aurora kits worthy of discussion. Edited January 31, 2019 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Keeping in the 1/16th this one has been reissued, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 15 minutes ago, Greg Myers said: two other Aurora kits worthy of discussion. In a topic about the 1/16 Aurora Racing Scenes? Not to mention you've posted those at least twice in other topics... 14 minutes ago, Greg Myers said: Keeping in the 1/16th this one has been reissued, It shouldn't be difficult to read a post title and understand what the O.P. is wanting to discuss. If you don't have anything to add related to the topic being discussed, fine, but show a little respect for what others do wish to discuss, and for those who do have a legitimate interest in discussing the topic at hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) I don't recall who posted these images (or maybe a link to them?), but if my memory is correct, they are some of Tom West's reference photos mentioned in the article Daniel posted above, and were part of the SLM article: Edited January 31, 2019 by Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 The History Of Drag Racing Models series was written by Tom! Yes, those are Tom's reference photos. I had those linked with the Article. I know that Tom was disappointed in some of the compromises made in order to keep the kits simpler, but, they were paying him, so Aurora called the shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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