as any regular readers to my posts or blogs will be well aware ...

i start far more projects than i finish - we'll get all the ideas sorted eventually!!

here are a few picks of some recent ideas for trackside scenery



i have done some sketches and am 'designing' to go within one of my trackside dioramas a
mid '60s feel soap box derby race - a mini game or interactive trackside scenery if you will

the intent is to use some simple ho bodies fitted with a 1/32 child driver head and bust (the current
adult pilot was temporarily plopped in because it was conveniently at hand) atop some heavy brass
weighted chassis (no ho motors) - the diorama will have a non powered 'gravity race' set up

the design will call for a small hill with some spectators and entourage - a starting line atop the hill will hold 3 - 5 soap box conversions
with their drivers and weighted chassis - a start lever will roll them all down the hill, gravity powered - to a finish line somewhere down the road

the 'track' will be grooved wood sections just large enough to take the ho guides - no need for copper tape or braids here

just one more idea to keep the infield or perimeter of one of my future 1/32 slot tracks feeling that more alive with 'in period' race day activities
(and an excuse to incorporate another vintage batmobile - now my son LOVES them too! and for a little activity he and his sisters can enjoy -
at a much simpler level than racing the slot cars)



also in the photos - from tinkerings at the same time - a mid '80s Britains Deetails plastic military refueler who has now lost his head - i figured
i could likley get him to look perhaps somewhat 'period correct' for a mid '50s lemans crew member - what do you think?? the above photo
makes the figure look more like 1/24 scale or larger !!! but he is 1/32 - the camera / perspective is just distorted

i really love the mmk c jag - just seems the best to date and 'right' to my eye for some reason



then there are some o or s scale railroad street lamps i have lengthened with styrene rod - another experiment - will repaint them with some more detailing
perhaps banners or birds on wire ... we'll see - i may shorten them up a bit yet too - undecided ...





and finally - at the local hardware i often grab paint sample cards - an easy way to visualize some color musings for trackside surfaces etc etc
just thought others might get a kick out of that approach

opinions and comments please!

regards, Ron

hi all - just some reference photos of the revell 1/32 ferrari 250 gto in its various colors
from back in the day -



as best i can tell ... the first body kits were always the red plastic - with one and perhaps
two interior tray mounting types



blue as a uk issue color? - likely from home sets rather than kit or rtr boxed car
and i recall mention that they may have done in dk blue too?



just noticed the blue one has the wrong wheels on it (those are revell '65 stingray wheels! - and
clearly i knocked the glass and interior out of place too - ooops!!)

dk green - perhaps a uk issue color or scandanavian issue color? - have never seen another in
this color so don't really know!?!



the white and yellow versions as home set cars (the interior trays have a raised box area at base
windshields, i believe for needed clearance for an updated larger motor underneath



looks very sharp in white!



also - in at least red, the 'tupperware' type plastic with black nylon chassis - were there versions
of this in white and yellow as well??

no matter which color - a very nicely done car that certainly holds its own even today



cheers, Ron

hi all - related to a fourm thread we had going - and some static kit converts i am tinkering with

here are some scans of some of the better (in my opinion) 1/32 '32 deuce model kits from back in the day











will post more on mine as they progress - and scans of the great box art too

happy reading and deucing -

Ron

here and there in posts i have mentioned ideas i have for my future diorama(s) / layout(s) and figured
it was time to set up a blog section where i can store them for myself for reference (i have a habit of losing or misplacing things)
- and for the mild entertainment of others who care to check in now and then

over the years my 1/32 slot interests have become married with interests of a wider range -
trains, planes, boats and many other toys and things 1/32,

fond memories of growing up in a small farming community in the center of the continent
have i suppose created my 'vision' of what my slot layout might be,

it most likely started with 'revellside raceway' - a layout that i doodle on, forget and come back to year after year -
designed as a showcase for the full range of the fantastic revell track and accessory system bits and pieces

added to that was a highway backdrop and a couple of railway lines - that allows for the display of more vintage slots and scratchbuilds,
as well as my 1/32 hudson steam engine and some auto carriers and flat cars etc - modelling trains is always fun too

then came a 'dinner train' service from downtown smallville (smallville currently consists of designs for union station
and an adjacent '30s union tower for the rail tycoons, a '50s / '60s style city hall, tiny's used cars, tubby's donuts, salty's subs & drive-in
and the smallville police station ... and growing) to revellside raceway

with the dinner train .. an aristocraft doodlebug to fill with passengers, and a design for a platform stop / grandstand alongside the raceway

enter a love for airplanes and great memories of building kits decades ago - some 1/32 planes and now a design for capital city jetport -
just down the highway from smallville - on the boards to go along with the airport ... scratch in 1/32 some of my favourites ...
a dc3, a dc 9, sr-71 and yes with a compliment of cars ... a bristol superfreighter too

add to that an interest in early aerospace and space programs - and capital city jetport now has a design for a rocket launch tower ...
and a titan iii rocket with an x24a (lifting wing x plane) payload on its nose

this leads to doodlings on 'area 32' - a top secret military base somewhere nearby - with reverse engineering undertaken by the military
on all sorts of x-craft as well as a rumored 'moon base' in testing as well

and threaded through it all an ever growing range of odd and interesting 1/32 slots, areas and characters

ridiculously big plans for perhaps someday a garden railway and entourage - an excuse to exercise some training in
landscape architecture, architecture, 3d modelling and real world modelling -
an escape from the real world where rules don't matter and where my imagination is allowed to roam round and round

so be warned - if you check in here you can't ever really be sure what to expect, except that it will most likely be content most would think odd
for a middle aged man to be spending time on ... but oh well - once you realize you may be a bit different sometimes you just have to roll with it -
and i suppose there are far worse ways to spend ones time!

so welcome to the beginnings of my digital 'sketchbook' for smallville and its surrounds!!

in no particular order of course ...

at hand tonight - some projects for 'area 32' -

a man of mystery - to be left un-named for now - races through the countryside in his legendary d jaguar -
for a rendezvous at an undisclosed location away from prying eyes - test flights have commenced for project code name 'delta wing' -
more of which will undoubtedly be revealed in the near future







the saucer is a current release from pegasus models - and when i learnt of them - couldn't resist as they will fit right in with my 50s/60s smallville world ...
cold war ... ufos ... etc etc

the saucers come in pairs and are a great scale for 1/32 converts - i have a fleet underway - and I will frankenstein some figures / pilots to go within

they are manufactured more like unassembled toys than models - very clean and thick plastic pieces and perfect fit - simple and easy -
with options for landing legs down or enclosed panel in place during flight - very cool!

the other craft is an x24b from a 1/72 dual kit (which i purchased primarily for the x24a - to use as a guide for my scratch build of it in 1/32 -
but more on that later)
at 1/72 i thought this one would be fun to use as the 'delta flight' leader ...

the mechanic is an older marx(? i think) figure and the soldier from a great renwal ontos kit from back in the day -
you'll see more of his mates at the moon base eventually too ...

well there you have it - a short bit of oddness and an introduction to smallville

don't worry - there will be plenty of slot car content here too and plenty of exploration on techniques and possibly development of some products to be
made available to fellow slotters and their versions of smallvlle!

more to come

cheers, Ron

what on earth is that 'thing' dropping in from above you say???

why it's a Kaman H-43B Huskie of course - a Hawk model kit in 1/32 circa 1961 in this case



ok ... another 'trackside' accessory excuse

i have always been curious about the old hawk kaman huskie helicopter kit

an interesting subject - and a very interesting machine





this kit was done in early '60s in 1/32 with beautiful box art variations (one kit was even motorized!)
and although testors re-released this kit in white in last decade or so (still very easy to find one for very cheap)
i have been wanting to track down the early example - molded in silver plastic





i've set into mine two pilots (one an older white metal helicopter figure, conveniently used here as a front end weight ... as the twin tail boom tail makes this chopper back end heavy )



yikes ... where did i put those white metal arms !

the nose cowl, as with the openable clam shell rear doors - are currently tacked on with silver duct tape so i can
still get in and out to fiddle around - and the top rotor assembly also lifts off

i wanted to see what the original quality and detail were like and i must say this kit is superb! very very well
thought out and engineered and went together beautifully (i did add two small struts to the rear tail fins - as they are quite delicate and i snapped one original tab)

very detailed instructions and very thorough decal sheet



the kaman huskie was a mainstay for air rescue on airforce runways and aerospace launch pads in the early '60s and also played a vital role in the vietnam war

mine will serve double duty ... on standby at 'smallville airport' watching over the xplane test pilots (don't ask ) and ready to drop in at the nearby raceway should an emergency airlift be necessary ... one of the local racers
has been seen measuring the rear bay to see if he can transport his midget racer within ... ... ...



this one is a real ugly duckling - maybe one of the ugliest helicopters i have come across ... i like it!!! the model has working rotors ... and when i turn them my brain still can't quite process the 'intermesh' as they counter rotate and clear each other - interesting indeed



now ... what was i going to load it up with ... ... ...





ok - back to slot cars - and maybe some more magazine scans at long last

cheers, Ron