TransAmMike Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Does anyone know how to actually contact Modelhaus. When clicking "Contact" on the website it comes back "We couldn't find the page you were looking for". Anyone buy from them lately? Need red-line tires for my '66 Chevelle builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calb56 Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Modelhaus retired I believe. Back in 2018... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64SS350 Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 His son still makes the wheels and tires... Modelhaus Tires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransAmMike Posted August 9, 2022 Author Share Posted August 9, 2022 Well you can put tires in the cart and give order info but I'm reluctant to send the info without talking to someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyser Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Forget if site is secure, but if it is, I’d be fine. I trust that family beyond anyone. Use PayPal or non debit. Hth. Geez I miss those guys. Hope Don and Carol both enjoying life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 1 hour ago, keyser said: Geez I miss those guys. Hope Don and Carol both enjoying life. I'm still kinda surprised nobody's taken up the gauntlet, bought at least some of their tooling, and brought some new pieces to market. With as many highly-skilled old-school modelers as there are who like to work really hard for minimal return, you'd think folks'd be standing in line. Oh wait...that's in a different reality. Never mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsmodels Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 I've ordered from Modelhaus Tires a few times since Modelhaus closed and had no problem at all, and the tires always arrived very quickly. I've noticed they don't always have everything in stock but seem to replenish their supply on a regular basis. -Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransAmMike Posted August 10, 2022 Author Share Posted August 10, 2022 I appreciate the comments everyone. 16 minutes ago, rsmodels said: I've ordered from Modelhaus Tires a few times since Modelhaus closed and had no problem at all, and the tires always arrived very quickly. I've noticed they don't always have everything in stock but seem to replenish their supply on a regular basis. -Rich Any idea when the last time was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsmodels Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 1 hour ago, TransAmMike said: I appreciate the comments everyone. Any idea when the last time was? Yes, it was March 27. I know the website is a bit strange, it almost seems like they aren't operating any more but it's been like that every time I've ordered. There always seems to be a lot out of stock or low in stock but they do update and replenish. I've received my orders quickly every time, usually within a few days. They send an email when the order is shipped. I would trust Don and Carol's son as much as I trust them and they never let me down. -Rich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 17 hours ago, TransAmMike said: Well you can put tires in the cart and give order info but I'm reluctant to send the info without talking to someone. I have ordered from them probably 6 or 7 times, never had a problem, always got my order within 10 days. Last order was earlier this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 15 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said: I'm still kinda surprised nobody's taken up the gauntlet, bought at least some of their tooling, and brought some new pieces to market. With as many highly-skilled old-school modelers as there are who like to work really hard for minimal return, you'd think folks'd be standing in line. Oh wait...that's in a different reality. Never mind. The problem as I understand it is that the molds have a shelf life and only so many parts can be made before they have to be replaced. Now that 3D printing has emerged as an alternative to molding and casting, I wonder how long before resin vendors decide it isn't worth the work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64SS350 Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 The same as with casting or other professions and processes, there are consumables and repairs. I would think it would be similar for either of these. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, mikemodeler said: The problem as I understand it is that the molds have a shelf life and only so many parts can be made before they have to be replaced. Now that 3D printing has emerged as an alternative to molding and casting, I wonder how long before resin vendors decide it isn't worth the work? Yes, resilient silicone molds deteriorate with use. But hard masters last virtually forever (unless they're acetate originals, in which case permanent copies should have been made), so the tooling "library" remains intact. If you know what you're doing and are set up to do it, it's less than one full day's work to pull an entire set of new molds from existing masters for one typically simple early annual, Modelhaus-style kit. A mold is good for anywhere from 20 to 300 casting cycles before it's too degraded to use, depending on a variety of factors like the materials used, the quality of the mold, the complexity of the part, and the care and skill of the person doing the work. The Modelhaus catalog contained many models scaled directly from factory blueprints, as promos, and as such were very accurate...more accurate than a lot of the shiny new stuff we see today that's been deformed by either the math-challenged, or "creative interpretation" of reality...and some of the printable files available just aren't that great. I wish I'd invested heavily in Modelhaus kits when the company was still in business, but I procrastinated and lost the opportunity to build my own tooling library at moderate cost. Scanning, CAD, and 3D printing are wonderful tools to have in the box, but they're not the be-all-end-all answer for everything, any more than a computer is a replacement for a pencil and paper. Edited August 10, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy CLARITY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 16 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said: I'm still kinda surprised nobody's taken up the gauntlet, bought at least some of their tooling, and brought some new pieces to market. I thought the same when Fred Cady retired. I was positive someone would buy up his silk screens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 1017 Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 18 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said: I'm still kinda surprised nobody's taken up the gauntlet, bought at least some of their tooling, and brought some new pieces to market. With as many highly-skilled old-school modelers as there are who like to work really hard for minimal return, you'd think folks'd be standing in line. Oh wait...that's in a different reality. Never mind. If I remember right, they did try to sell the business. But had no luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 1 minute ago, Mike 1017 said: If I remember right, they did try to sell the business. But had no luck. That's what I mean. And I wonder what the licensing situation is, with many of their existing masters and tooling that represent old cars made by major manufacturers who now want to squeeze every last nickel out of their long-obsolete designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 1017 Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 3 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said: That's what I mean. And I wonder what the licensing situation is, with many of their existing masters and tooling that represent old cars made by major manufacturers who now want to squeeze every last nickel out of their long-obsolete designs. They did post a detailed account here about closing down the business ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 11 minutes ago, Mike 1017 said: They did post a detailed account here about closing down the business ? I don't recall seeing anything like that (but I might have missed it), just that they were closing so get your last orders in quick kiddies, and I believe they kindly postponed shutting down in order to cope with the last-minute rush. Anybody have any more detailed info on this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfhess Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 19 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said: I'm still kinda surprised nobody's taken up the gauntlet, bought at least some of their tooling, and brought some new pieces to market. I remember seeing a post about their attempt to sell. IIRC It was a package deal that included the business, all molds and masters, along with the Holthaus' property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 (edited) 8 minutes ago, sfhess said: I remember seeing a post about their attempt to sell. IIRC It was a package deal that included the business, all molds and masters, along with the Holthaus' property. I missed it...but it would take a very special combination of financial resources, a hands-on work-ethic, a high degree of mechanical aptitude (or the specialized skill-set necessary to make molds and castings), and a non-crybaby attitude towards working around smelly and potentially "dangerous" chemicals. One wouldn't expect to find a LOT of people with those qualifications, but in a country of 350,000,000, I'd have thought there'd be at least one. Like I said earlier...maybe in a different reality. EDIT: Had all this happened 20 or 30 years back, and had I still been involved in hobby modeling at the time, I would have seriously considered being that one guy. But when it all went down I had already committed to the course the end of my life would take, and re-launching somebody else's business was at the very bottom of my bucket list. Edited August 10, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 (edited) Don and Carol are personal friends of ours. Don told me that in the beginning there were a few interested in buying them out until they found out that in order to keep up with demand they both often worked 12 to 16 hour days seven days a week. No one was willing to make that kind a commitment in today's world. It took them over two years to fill the flood of orders they got. Edited August 10, 2022 by misterNNL 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 12 minutes ago, misterNNL said: ...there were a few interested in buying them out until they found out that in order to keep up with demand they both often worked 12 to 16 hour days seven days a week. No one was willing to make that kind a commitment in today's world. It took them over two years to fill the flood of orders they got. Yup. Of course, one way to deal with that, classic business-think, would be to raise the prices until demand slowed to what somebody was willing to produce. You make the same money, you work less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 Just saw a Modelhaus '57 Mercury went for north of $500 on feepay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyser Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 Won’t find one elsewhere for any amount of money. Surely not with that quality. Like a plessey pump or weslake 35/40 head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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