Re:I Emailed Scale Auto Magazine

[john2]

I have taken that mag off and on for years.  Not much of interest in it anymore for me. 

But when Anne and I married, and she wanted to build,  she wanted us to subscribe. 

So, I wrote the editor and asked that they do some sort of article on non NASCAR short track racing from the years 1950 to 1985.  Jalopies, modifieds, street stocks, late models, or non winged sprints.

We'll see.

[sentsat71]

Sill be curious to hear if they get back to you.....

Some things I've written to them have been answered and some not....

[Olderndirt]

 I've been a subscriber for many years, and am growing quite disenchanted with their magazine of late. I have no interest in modern European exotics, Asian rice rockets, or 1960's  American land yachts, station wagons, and bread trucks. I must assume the model industry has become suicidal, and Scale Auto has decided to follow them into their grave.

  Olderndirt

[TonyK]

I subscribe but most issues aren't that good. Tired of the articles with models where someone used expensive machines to create their own parts and such. Amazed at their talents but too many pages wasted on a model that most of us can't relate to.

I've written to Scale Auto asking for more reviews of kits....especially now with our situation. I have decided against buying certain kits and buying kits because of these reviews. Very helpful.

[sentsat71]

Not to mention almost a third of what R2/AMT is reissuing is all Coca Cola. Which is for Coke collectors, not necessarily builders. And of course, with the Coke artwork, etc. they have to charge a bit more for the kit.....
And R2/AMT likes to back date kits to the original release,. In some cases I feel that going back to the original from the '60's they go past what version(s) I'd like to see.
Another one AMT backdated was the Grant King sprint car. No big deal that they made it a 2n1 kit by adding the supermodified partts, but they dropped the simple wing and side air foils, That doesn't bother me, but they back dated the hood to the original instead of cloning the latter hood from the "Polecat"  & "Drifter" releases in the latter '70's which had the molded on down tube shroud, that was more aerodynamic of the latter part of the '70's.....When it was announced that AMT was going to reissue the GK sprint kit in the mid 2000's, They (AMT) asked what builders wanted for front tires. Of course we builders wanted the narrow front tires, which AMT/DTR put in the boxes, but they did NOT create the narrow front wheels to go with the narrow tires,....Grrrrr!!

This is the hood of which I mentioned above


This is the original hood, sans glue on shield (disregard the "roof" piece)

[sentsat71]

Tony K

I agree with you on both points.
Some kits that may have interested me, their reviews made me lose interest in some of them.
As for all the super detailed builds, yes some of those are interesting, but I am NOT a fabricator in that regard... Sure they are nice to look at, but I am not near any of those shows from where SA's pics are from.
Now I like those here that are into creating builds of their favorite driver/team and I applaud them for going that route,
But for me, even if I wanted t try and recreate some of the old modifieds of my youth, I could not do it, as there are not enough pics out there for an exact replica. There was a Late model from 1971 that I saw run, that I had thoughts of trying to create, but there again, a lack of all over pics that included sponsors, etc. or even the right model year....

There are some GREAT fabricators here on this sight, and I'm not trying to put them down, I enjoy seeing their WIP's followed by the completed build. It's what keeps me checking in here most every day!! Y'all know who your are.....

These following pics are as far as i even went in trying to create something that I saw race, except fo the GK supemodfied...

First up my 1st true kit bash


then my one and only attempt at a "wedge" shaped hood.


And finally, the  last non prototypical wing for the GK supermod version