HO slot cars & small diecast cars

Gentle reader,

I usually don't do a new post so soon after the last, but the cool weather outside is keeping me inside until it's warmed enough to mow the lawn, hopefully for the last time this year.

Yesterday I photographed the cars located in the top of the custom book/display shelf I made having just found space for four new Hot Wheels cars.

Starting with the HO slot cars which occupy the rear most section of the shelf, from left to right:
These are vintage 1960's Aurora Thunderjet HO slot cars. Tan car is a Shelby Daytona Coupe. To my knowledge, there never was one in this color, all were American racing blue with white stripes. Next is a Porsche 904 coupe. Next is a Ferrari Dino coupe.
Coming next is a red Chaparral, again, they never came in red, pure white only. Then a Lola coupe which was the basis for Ford's GT-40. The white and orange one on the right.
Number 5 is a Ford GT-40 in the Gulf oil racing colors then the ill-fated Ford J-Car. It killed an expert race driver during testing. The J-Car preceded the US-built Mark 4 Ford GT that dominated Le Mans in 1967.
These three are all Lionel slot cars. A 1963 Corvette in turquoise then a Mercedes SLR followed by another Corvette, 64-67 in yellow.
Next the car that set the sports car world on fire when it came out the Jaguar E-Type. Next, bought for Nancy a Ford Falcon, her first real car. Then a Ford Galaxy.
A pretty Pontiac GTO, then an Oldsmobile Toronado, then a 1969 Chevy Camaro.
A Sunoco Camaro race car like driven by Mark Donohue in the Trans Am series. Next a rare tow truck. Then, again for Nancy, who's Dad restored some Ford Model A's the first AFX in the row: a black Ford Model A coupe.
Next we have from Autoworld, founded by: Oscar Koveleski is a track cleaner which has an abrasive stone under the front that polishes the metal strips that transfer the power to the cars.
In the middle, an AFX early Ford Escort Rally car. Then a BRE Datsun 240Z Trans Am race car.
Another Datsun 240Z or perhaps later model, then a Datsun pickup desert racing truck followed by another BRE Datsun race car, this one a 510. In reality it too was white, red and blue, not these colors.
An IMSA Chevy Monza Trans Am race car, a BMW 2002 Turbo racer and a Porsche 908, I think, Tyco made and powered.
A pair of Porshce 908s a little newer and more detailed, then a Tyco Porsche 917. My favorite race car of all time.
Same 917 with their main rivals: Ferrari 512. First is a Tyco, next is an AFX.
Another Ferrari 512 in blue, then the first of the odd-colored AFX Porsche 917s.
The second odd colored Porsche 917 and one in correct Gulf Racing colors. Note the pattern is different than the Tyco. There were three different designs that raced together. This so they could be told apart at a glance. The third simply had a center orange stripe.
Last of the odd colored 917s, then Oscar Koveleski's Chevy powered McLaren Can Am racer with the first Porsche 917 Can Am racers last.
Next, the later, 1100 horsepower Porsche 917 Can Am car that so ruled the Can Am series that it fell apart. The race series, not the car. Next a Shadow Can Am racer, then a Porsche 911 racer, this one an AFX.
The same 911 followed by another, this I think is a Tyco. Then, the wildest of all a Porsche 991s a 935 racer, a Tyco also.
The same 935 with a Lamborghini Countach and next to that a pretty Ferrari F-40.
Last we have a Dodge Viper ACR. Partially hidden behind the Mattel button is a "Lifelike" brand HO 1970 Mustang. Life like except in it's wheelbase. Last made from an AFX pursuit police Camaro, a representation of the 1996 Camaro Z28 I owned.

NEXT is the MANY diecast cars. All called "HO" which is 1/87th scale, none are save the Kodak van at the very end in the last photo. Diecast cars which have been made in the BILLIONS vary in size/scale as you will see as you look at the images. Starting from the LEFT:
A row of Dodge NASCAR racers. In front a Dodge Daytona painted in modern colors. Then some Le Mans racers of the recent past.
The rest of the NASCAR Dodges with some sports racers. Some more racers below. First row is Ford GTs, the front the 2005, the others 1960's vintage. Plus more vintage racers.
Above is several Camaros, either vintage or the 2010 versions.
Below, the left row is the same as the right above. The middle row, below and right, show the differences in scale I wrote about above. The Bugatti Veyron is much larger than the Morgan that sits to it's rear in real life.
Some more Ford GTs as well as other exotics and racers.
Some cool ones, check out that Dragster! Worth some money if the front axle wasn't bent!
One of my favorite modern wagons is top-left, the Dodge Magnum. Behind it is the Audi Avus show car. Closer is the Audi R8 (street car) with a pair of Pretty Audi RS6 wagons. I'll take one each, please, in 1:1th scale.
Three versions of the Audi TT with five versions of the Dodge Viper Coupe.
Tricked out VW Karman Ghia hides behind an original (non-BMW) Mini. Original Batmobile is behind a V8 Vega. Monopoly Viper and Datsun 510 racer (#102).
A whole buncha' station wagons! I had a real version of the lower left one, a Dodge Aries. To it's right, one I'd LOVE to have a real one: 1965 Chevy 300. I'd prefer a '64 though. Red one in back is a Dodge Rampage. Built on the Omni coupe chassis, a small pickup like the VW Rabbit pickup. Yet another one I'd love in real life. Minus the yellow ATV!
Last row is a low-rider 1964 Chevy Impala. My first car, but it was normal, not silly like I think low-riders are. Behind that is a '61 Chevy factory drag car with a 409 engine. Behind that two Pontiac Fieros. Then a bunch of "Micro Machines". In the very rear corner is the ONLY true HO scale car in the lot: Kodak film English van.
Finally and still in the package, the Panoz LMP-01 EVO. An American Le Mans racer of 2002 vintage as it raced and won the inaugural and sadly ONLY Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. ALMS race. I was there and snapped almost the identical photo as the winner came into the pits after beating Audi and all the rest at the RFK stadium parking lot race circuit. Unusual was the Panoz as the engine, while still mid-mounted, was in front of the driver rather than behind as is usually the case. In FIRST photo above of diecast cars in the middle are two coupe versions of the Panoz Le Mans Prototype racers. One white, the other silver.

Thanks for looking!

Scott

Airsoft M1911 pistols: 2 varieties

Gentle reader,

Lest you think I've become a gun nut, fear not. Like most men, inside I'm still a boy. I've always liked guns, just not real ones. My wife, who works in security is the gun nut. She has two 9mm automatics. So far. I've shot them both, but I find real guns so......violent! Not to mention the potential for VERY bad things to happen. Plus they are VERY expensive, not to mention difficult to own, then there's the cost of ammunition, range fees, etc.

Thus, my airsoft ones for me. I've had a full-sized replica of the Viet Nam era M16A1. It is mostly plastic but with a steel barrel. It's a "spring" gun. Which means one cocks it before each shot. In this case behind the carrying handle on top is a lever that you pull back which I think is called a "charging handle". There is inside a rod on a spring. When the trigger is squeezed, it springs forward shooting the 6mm plastic "round" down the barrel and out at around 225 feet-per-second. It is the middle one on the rack below:
The one above is it a WWII trainer rifle based on the 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle. It is wooden and steel. Incapable of doing anything with a bullet. Purely for training. It was out-dated by the M1 Garrand rifle during WWII. At the bottom is my Daisy air rifle similar to what Jim and I played with as kids.
Above and at the top of the page, is my newest airsoft version of the Colt M1911 45 automatic pistol. The real one is 100 years old now and still the basis for most automatic pistols.
You can clearly see that it is quite different from the top one. The top one is a virtual copy of the government issue sidearm.
The bottom is designed (in the real one and airsoft) for more accuracy and control. I can't remember if I explained how these guns work in the last blog. They use "green gas" which is just propane with a little silicone oil mixed it. The gas propels the round, cycles the action (slide) back just like the real gun, which cocks the hammer and advances the next round for firing. Just like the real one. Except no shell casing shooting out, no BANG! and no fire or smoke. Rounds are leaving the barrel at around 330 feet-per-second which is over 200 mph.
A close examination of these photos will show better than I can write the physical differences between the two. I bought them both (barely) used via eBay. The top one was $65 and the bottom was $70. Both well below what they cost new.
Here shows the left sides and one loaded magazine. The rounds are staggered and being only 6mm it can hold 30 of them. The rest of the magazine holds the propane in liquid form.
A close-up of the three magazines. Below from the right side the pistols with the slide back and locked:
Again, major differences between the two. Left sides below:
This is the "business" end of the guns:
Original on the left. The squared off bottom with a groove on each side is a "rail" to attach a laser or flashlight to, just like a real one. The new one is easier to aim with that big sight on the front.

It's fun doing target shooting in the back yard. I'd like to get a full-auto AK74 (yes, 74 or 47 would do) or something. They hold hundreds of rounds and can fire up to 600 a minute at 400+ feet-per-second with great accuracy. They are battery powered and sound awesome!

I've added three photos of a target I emptied a couple magazines into at about 30 feet:
Here's two images from the back:


That's it for now. Thanks for looking!

Scott

Some new stuff: Speakers, stereo equip and LEGOS!

Gentle reader,

It's been a while since I made an entry as State Farm and the body shop needed to see certain photos I'd made of the hidden damage to the Capri.

Now that they have, here's some real bargains that I've found of late:
Above is the electronic stuff. A pair of Paradigm Mini-Monitor speakers, a Sansui Classique T-470 tuner and Classique A-470 integrated amp, A Denon DRM-710 3-head cassette deck
and a Sony 5-disc SACD/CD/DVD changer.
Here is a close-up of the Sansui equipment. They are nothing but re-introduced and renamed A-60 and T-60 models of a few years earlier. I have found no information on the Classique line as to when they came out. The amplifier is rated at 45 watts per channel RMS. Very clean specs and very clean sound. The tuner is very sensitive and really pulls in the stations. It has signal strength LEDs and to the right of that > | < LEDs that tell you which way to tune and that you have tuned it. Amazing sound quality and it makes me wonder whether I could go back to so simple a set up. OR would I be settling and later regret selling the good stuff.
Here's the Denon cassette and Sony changer. I am keeping the Denon and in fact have already replaced the older Denon. The Sony I will sell.
The Legos are from two day's finds at The Village, our favorite thrift store. Paid a total of $70 for well over TWENTY pounds of Legos. If you've priced Lego sets new, you KNOW that was a bargain. Katie and the boys came over yesterday and Anthony was here too. Most of us played with Legos. Some of the boys preferred Light Saber fights.

The boat and other things above I built, just playing around. We started digging for "people" and found at least 30 of them. Legos sure have changed since we were kids.

My brother Jim had custody of our Legos. He graciously brought a large shoe-box full for Katie
and her boys as well as other educational toys. Right up Katie's alley.

Check out that boat! Pretty cool, huh? It has front and rear mounted wind turbines. It's an electric boat, you see. Unique screw drive at the rear. Large multi-sided (brown ball) solar cells too. It has two sets of batteries. One set drives the motors while the other set is being charged. When one set is exhausted, the other takes over.
Once real battery technology is able to allow two sets in vehicles, wind driven and solar charging can really work.
Here's a close-up of the two Denon cassette decks. The newer one is on top. It has Dolby HX-Pro as well as more advanced features. You'd be surprised how good cassettes can sound with a good three-head deck. They each sold for $400 in the early and mid-1990s.

Here is a close-up of the Vifa tweeter(s) I installed in the Paradigm Mini-Monitors. One of the 1" aluminum-dome tweeters didn't work. So, I removed the face plate and carefully cut out the factory cover/diffuser and installed the Vifas which are from a pair of Paradigm Titan speakers. They are 3/4" silk dome units. I then had to enlarge the opening in the grille structure to fit the larger face-plates. Quite a job that was, especially to protect the grille fabric.
Most of you don't know that Nancy has become a gun-owner. She has a concealed-carry permit and now has arrest powers too. She bought a Glock 17 and a Kimber smaller automatic. Both are 9mm. I've fired both and prefer the Glock. The Kimber has one heck of a kick.

Being that although I like shooting, I think there are easier ways to make holes in targets of paper. So, I bought a full-metal gas-powered Air-Soft 6mm model 1911 (Colt 45) pistol. It weighs two pounds six ounces fully loaded with 30 rounds. That's 30 6mm plastic balls. Propane is the gas that propel the rounds and it works exactly like a real gun. The slide comes back every time it's "fired" and locks back when the magazine is empty. I bought a second magazine and a leg holster:
I just won a second one. This pistol was $60. The other is a tactical model which is called "V4". It can be seen on eBay. Just enter this item number on a search page: 160653480420
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

LASTLY, I sold some more cameras and now feel the collection is where I want to keep it:
That's just twenty cameras. Way less than 1/10th what I once had. Not shown is the paper pin-hole camera and the Busch Pressman 4x5" large format and the Bessa R 35mm rangefinder and all it's lenses.

That's all the news that's fit to print. Thanks for looking!

Scott

It jumped up and bit me!

Gentle reader,

Yes, it has been a long time since I have written. Much has happened. I will not go into that now. Suffice to say, I wanted to get these photos and the story uploaded so that my insurance agent and Virginia DOT can take a look.

This morning at about 5:00 AM, I was traveling to work on the inner loop of the I-495 Washington beltway. I'd just crossed over Route 50 and was in the second lane from the right.

All of a sudden, SOMETHING flew up in front of my car and hit it. I briefly saw ORANGE. It scared the heck out of me! I saw to my right a Honda rapidly slowing
and heading for the right side of the road. There isn't much shoulder there.

I wasn't going to join him since I was five minutes from work and the car was driving fine. My heartbeat? That's another story.

Once at work, I got out the flashlight and looked for damage. Whatever it was hit the right edge of the front bumper and traveled across to the left, denting the metal next to the turn signal/parking lamp, breaking it and destroying the left headlight. The lamp is going to be very hard to find.

At first, the headlight wouldn't close, then it started working. I called my State Farm Agent's and reported the incident, but have not yet filed a claim.

I asked all my co-workers, many of whom travel same route if they saw anything. One, who arrived right behind me, saw what he thought was a large cable or hose ten to fifteen feet long on the road and had to swerve around it as other drivers were.

Another reported seeing a VDOT truck with all it's lights going at the location, but no other cars stopped. My thoughts are the VDOT employee picked up whatever it was and VDOT has it.

Once I got home today, I took these photos and then replaced the left headlight and tried to repair the turn signal/parking lamp.

There is orange and white transfer on my car from whatever it was. The beltway is being widened there and chances are it belongs to the company that is doing the work. VDOT will be able to tell me if that is the case. At least I hope so.

I think the metal piece above the bumper needs to be replaced, or a skilled body man can repair it and it plus the bumper repainted. Also the headlight "bucket" is cracked and pieces have fallen off.

NOW, if my car had not had pop-up headlights, which deflected whatever is was, that thing may very well have smashed through the windshield and killed me!

The problem with the car going to a body shop is finding parts. It's 21-years-old and was made in Australia.

I have bid on a lens on eBay ($25.00), but the lamp, I have to wait and watch for. As for the other parts, a parts car? I don't have money or room for such a thing.

The photos:

OK,

Now you've seen the photos, you may be thinking, "That's not so bad." You are right, it's not. However, I love this car and want to keep it forever. I take very good care of it. Today, I made it safe, in that all the lights work and hopefully, the rain will stay out of that lamp until I can get a new lens.

That's it for now!

Scott

Our latest rides!

Gentle reader,

It's been a while since I posted. So, having recently acquired a pair of sporty little runabouts, I thought I'd share them with you.

We have four active grandsons, between almost two and six. ALL of them love CARS.
Being the doting grandpa, I encourage that. As you know, I've been a car nut all my life.

I'd planned to build a gravity or push-powered go-kart or two for them like I did for our kids, but to my delight, found a red Radio Flyer pedal car at our favorite thrift store and snatched it up.
We would have LOVED this thing when we were kids! That was during the Winter and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that they all descended upon us and the weather was cooperating. So, out in the street in the red "flyer" a big-wheel, and a push car.
Even I drove the flyer by pedaling with my hands and steering with my knees! Good thing there were no video cameras going!
Then, last week, I'd made my weekly stop at "The Village Thrift Shop" and lo and behold, there was another one! This one is black and was made in West Germany.
I haven't checked, but I suspect the flyer, like most things is Chinese.

As you can see, I added a "push bar" to the red one. This allows a parental unit to assist the not-not-quite-getting-the-pedaling-thing g-son until they do get it.

I added the central metal piece today which greatly strengthens the handle-to-car
structure.
Can't wait until they come again!

Thanks for looking!

Scott