i jus tbought a couple of buildings from big al. they are quite nice and he has a good selection. people may or may not have seen him on ebay which is where i bought these. a bit pricey but they add just what i needed fo my infield. check out his site. mj
http://www.big.als.slots.4t.com/

Nice stuff.

Here's a tip for customizing store bought or your own home grown billboards (like the ones I made from old 5.25" and 3.5" PC case floppy disk blanking plates)...

Instead of permanently mounting a picture or graphic on the billboard, fit, cut, and glue some magnetic "vent cover material" like sold here (http://www.cetsolar.com/ventcover.htm) or at your local hardware store to the billboard. This creates a magnetic surface that you can affix a rotating collection of custom billboards to instead of only having a single graphic per billboard. There's nothing slicker than doing up your track with race specific billboards before a race to capture the unique theme of the race event.

The most secure adhesion occurs when you cover the entire back surface of your graphic with the same magnetic vent cover material. But even a couple of slabs of the material will hold the graphic to the billboard quite well.

Go wild, try turning some pictures from your printer, vintage automotive brands, or contemporary racing artwork into one of a kind billboards to add a little spice to your layout.

Nice stuff.

Here's a tip for customizing store bought or your own home grown billboards (like the ones I made from old 5.25" and 3.5" PC case floppy disk blanking plates)...

Instead of permanently mounting a picture or graphic on the billboard, fit, cut, and glue some magnetic "vent cover material" like sold here (http://www.cetsolar.com/ventcover.htm) or at your local hardware store to the billboard. This creates a magnetic surface that you can affix a rotating collection of custom billboards to instead of only having a single graphic per billboard. There's nothing slicker than doing up your track with race specific billboards before a race to capture the unique theme of the race event.

The most secure adhesion occurs when you cover the entire back surface of your graphic with the same magnetic vent cover material. But even a couple of slabs of the material will hold the graphic to the billboard quite well.

Go wild, try turning some pictures from your printer, vintage automotive brands, or contemporary racing artwork into one of a kind billboards to add a little spice to your layout.

Brilliant idea - I'll file that one for future use. :thumbsup:

Nice stuff.

Here's a tip for customizing store bought or your own home grown billboards (like the ones I made from old 5.25" and 3.5" PC case floppy disk blanking plates)...

Instead of permanently mounting a picture or graphic on the billboard, fit, cut, and glue some magnetic "vent cover material" like sold here (http://www.cetsolar.com/ventcover.htm) or at your local hardware store to the billboard. This creates a magnetic surface that you can affix a rotating collection of custom billboards to instead of only having a single graphic per billboard. There's nothing slicker than doing up your track with race specific billboards before a race to capture the unique theme of the race event.

The most secure adhesion occurs when you cover the entire back surface of your graphic with the same magnetic vent cover material. But even a couple of slabs of the material will hold the graphic to the billboard quite well.

Go wild, try turning some pictures from your printer, vintage automotive brands, or contemporary racing artwork into one of a kind billboards to add a little spice to your layout.


Call your local sign shop and ask if they make magnetic signs the type people use on there cars, if they do drop by and ask in person. ( I have had much better luck this way) And ask if they have any scraps of the stuff offer to pay for them. ( I have not paid for any scraps yet) You may find as I have they produce lots of interesting scraps of material like sheet pvc, and the most incredible plywood I have ever worked with I think they call it MDO?

Mike

Especially the Beatles

Especially the Beatles

one doesn't sell enough or high profile enough to get caught. mj

I've seen his stuff on the bay. I'd like to have a souvenir stand if I never get around to making my own.

Especially the Beatles
Sadly all it takes is one Copyright lawyer from GM or Ford to find his stuff online and it will be gone. Happened to a friend of mine selling decals. Tiny little insignificant decals on an oscure little slot car site and he got slapped with a Cease and Desist order. Really petty stupid stuff but it does happen and the lawyers are ruthless. :rolleyes:

I've seen this guys stuff on EBay many times. Great looking stuff but very pricey if you ask me. You can find those snack stands all over the place and could make them whatever you wanted for probably half that price or less.

This is who i purchased my buildings from on ebay.These are some really nice buildings.I have a two more on the way.I'm eyeing the restrooms next for my track.:thumbsup:

Wow, I wonder if Ford and GM secretly get a kick back for every used car sold with their logo on it? I mean, gees, there must be some special set of rules just for the hobby/toy industry. Maybe a decline in the hobby industry is REALLY what put them in this financial crisis. All, the money they're NOT getting from all those unsold diecast vehicles on the toy market. IT MUST BE JUST KILLING THEM!!! I guess that's what shut down the mom and pop Tshirt shops too.
Remember the thing about used CD's? Garth Brooks and friends wanted to sue CD Warehouse for percentages of sales of his CDs because it was cutting into the record industry's profits. Used CDs changed the record industry. Now, if your Cd had one hit song, and the rest sucked, your CD got traded in for someone else to buy who knew the rest sucked. I thought it was a fair deal. Good CDs don't get traded. Yeah, Garth thought that was bad, enter the online era.
My point is, GM and Ford must just shake their heads at Barrett-Jackson auctions and wonder why they haven't received a percentage of the sales. I guess the next step for eBay Motors would be.....
You pay the listing fees
You pay the selling fees
You pay the Paypal fees
AND you pay Ford, GM, etc.....

Shhhhhhh don't give them any more ideas!!!!!!

Rich

This is what happens when a company forgets what it's core business is. Chrysler, Ford, and GM are in business to produce and sell cars. Generally, when a company offers a quality product at a competitive price, they will sell their product and make a profit. How many lawyers does the big three employ so they can extract their pound of flesh from hobbyists? Would the companies be better off by replacing the lawyers with engineers, stylists, and manufacturing experts so they could compete in the world market? I would think that is the case. But they're paying people six figure salaries to chase pennies down the sidewalk. This shows that you can't make good decisions when your head is shoved up your anal orifice.

This Hutt says concentrate on making better cars and leave hobbyists alone!
:drunk::hat::freak::dude:

yeah they are a little pricey....but a few clicks of the mouse button and they arrive at my door ready to rock!! kind of like i dream of jeannie.......but slower. yes i could build them........... but mine would s%ck. mj

You can't buy the plastic for what he sells the models for - face it

A sheet of .060 polystyrene at the hobby shop is 9-12 bucks - What is your time worth?

How much do you LOVE pushing on your fingers on an Xacto knife till they ache and then still sliding offline from the cut and ruinin the piece?

Any scale kit is worth every penny - if you can't work for an hour or two and pay for one, well you got more to worry about then ;-)

I was more wondering about the copyrights like Scott obviously is aware of -

You can't just post that crap and sell it for free without somebody comin a knockin

Most of his stuff is from atlas kits that run about $7.oo, looks like he may combined a couple of kits for some and only 1/2 a kit for others. The decals are a nice touch.

Most of his stuff is from atlas kits that run about $7.oo, looks like he may combined a couple of kits for some and only 1/2 a kit for others. The decals are a nice touch.

yeah they are casts made from atlas kits that he assembles and details. the decals could be a little more crisp. but at the distance they're viewed at its no problem. i'm happy with mine despite the price. they're $7.00 if you can find them. i'll send pix. mj

A sheet of .060 polystyrene at the hobby shop is 9-12 bucks - What is your time worth?

How much do you LOVE pushing on your fingers on an Xacto knife till they ache and then still sliding offline from the cut and ruinin the piece?



My time is invaluable, but I gladly give a lot of it away here, always have. I can get Evergreen .030, which is what I make my scratch built stuff from, for $5 for 3 sheets. I buy strips now instead of cutting my own stairs and seats but I still will buy ready-made rails, ladders and walkways.

http://sequoiaspeedway.googlepages.com/MVC-002S-2.jpg/MVC-002S-2-full;init:.jpg

I've been a scratch builder and modeler for 40 years, I have won more than 20 IPMS plastic model shows Best in Show, and I have no idea how many smaller shows. The ONLY thing keeping me from doing things like this grandstand is an inadequately stocked hobby shop. This grandstand took maybe $20 in materials and probably 6 or so hours, but it is unique and the showpiece of my track. I have standing orders from others that I eventually will do pretty much for cast-off cars and parts.

For me it's not so much what you put into it as what you get out of it. I like seeing my stuff in other peoples hands, being raced, on a track scenery. There's no way I'm paying my bills with what I do in and for the hobby, even if I charged for everything I made. So I just cover my costs and have fun with the rest.

beautiful grandstand!!!!!! i figure that if i have the money for a $25.00 piece to decorate my track i can definitely afford the materials to build one....but i don't have "mad skills" like pete and a lot of other folks around here. i would spend a lot more in wasted materials, time, and fustration to come up with a product that i wasn't nearly satisfied with. i want a certain level of style in my track (there are much better tracks though) so i go to the guys with the skills and pay them for the things i can't do. petes grandstand is a great example and is worth much more than most people will pay for it. not for the materials or the time (time is money) but for his knowledge, skill, and artistic flair. the same goes for so many artists out there....... they deserve more than cost plus labor. mj

It don't really take skills, I just looked at pictures of local tracks and went from there. We've all built balsa planes at one time or another, this is the same sort of thing but you're making your own seating and supports. There are mechanical diagrams available that show that stuff, it's just a matter of using those as a parts list.

It don't really take skills, I just looked at pictures of local tracks and went from there. We've all built balsa planes at one time or another, this is the same sort of thing but you're making your own seating and supports. There are mechanical diagrams available that show that stuff, it's just a matter of using those as a parts list.

you're a humble guy as well.......or kidding. i am a photographer, and i do traditional darkroom black and white photos. at shows people always ask me "how do you do what you do?? its amazing, you see things and manipulate your media in a way i could never do" thats what you do. all of us (though some don't know it) have something that we do that no one else does in the way we do it. when you "just look at diagrams" and represent that in balsa you are doing somethins many of us (like me) could never dream of doing. you do it with an ease that makes you feel that there are no extraordinary skills involved in doing it..... but there are. keep up the good work. mj

Sorry, but there is no way that is only 20 bucks in sheet plastic - Evergreen girders and truss sections are about 5-6 bucks a piece alone even online....
Most people would want .060 to prevent warping and distortion unless you double up sections and that is about $9 bucks a sheet, maybe 8 online, but then you have shipping. If you own a hobby shop and buy everything from the supplier you might have under $40 in that build - but I still would much rather buy a $50 or $60 kit and save myself all the brain damage of cutting it out


If you can build that thing in 6 hours I would be surprised - most master modelers couldn't put together a moderate skill level kit with accuracy especially if even simple detail painting was involved in 6 hours....I know I couldn't and I have been doing it for over 40 years too - Heck it takes 5 minutes to properly clean out an airbrush


You could probably make a couple hundred bucks a pop putting together dollhouses for people in about 20 minutes if you can scratch build that in 6 hrs ;-)

Very nice looking piece though....

Sorry, but there is no way that is only 20 bucks in sheet plastic - Evergreen girders and truss sections are about 5-6 bucks a piece alone even online....
Most people would want .060 to prevent warping and distortion unless you double up sections and that is about $9 bucks a sheet, maybe 8 online, but then you have shipping. If you own a hobby shop and buy everything from the supplier you might have under $40 in that build - but I still would much rather buy a $50 or $60 kit and save myself all the brain damage of cutting it out


If you can build that thing in 6 hours I would be surprised - most master modelers couldn't put together a moderate skill level kit with accuracy especially if even simple detail painting was involved in 6 hours....I know I couldn't and I have been doing it for over 40 years too - Heck it takes 5 minutes to properly clean out an airbrush


You could probably make a couple hundred bucks a pop putting together dollhouses for people in about 20 minutes if you can scratch build that in 6 hrs ;-)

Very nice looking piece though....

Dude,

Pete put the grandstand together while in the hospital while recovering from a near fatal hit and run that claimed the life of one of his best friends. You obviously didn't know this. Skilled people working off major stress can accomplish amazing things. Please chill out. If Pete says it was about six hours and 20 bones, accept it at face value. It was a lobor of love.

Russ

I do agree that for the amount of work that guy puts into his stuff they are certainly worth the price. Time = money. :thumbsup:

Bottom line with Copyright law is licensing. There's no way around it. Why do you think Bill Gates is so rich? He stole most of his GUI interface stuff from designs created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak at Apple but what made him famous and stupidly wealthy was the licensing contract agreement he put in place for anyone designing software for Windows. He saw the future in Windows. Business genius at work... ;)

He stole most of his GUI interface stuff from designs created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak at Apple

... but only after Steve Jobs "stole" the whole notion of a windowing and object based UI, complete with mouse, from Xerox PARC. But "stole" is too harsh a word because all artists steal, or is that "interpret," whatever has intrinsic value and there's still a buttload of work behind what it takes to plop a "window" on a video display.

the licensing contract agreement he put in place for anyone designing software for Windows

Actually, there are no license fees for designing software for Windows. None. Microsoft makes money by selling product licenses. The lack of development fees is part of the massive success of Windows. Having millions of software companies and individuals developing millions of applications for the Windows platform helps create an ecosystem that provides for both those who produce and those who consume.

In fact, Microsoft gives away everything you need to develop professional quality software applications for the desktop, mobile, and web platforms in the form of their Express Editions. That's for anyone, for students they give away not only the free Express Editions, but the full blown big dollar versions of their top development platforms and operating systems. Add to that the wealth of free training that Microsoft gives away through users groups and free seminars in most major cities, plus their free online based training. What does Microsoft get in return? A huge market share (90%+ worldwide) and more copies of Windows, Office, and other application and technology product licenses being sold.

Bottom line: you need to have an ecosystem where there are producers and consumers, where everyone can join in, where everyone can achieve rewards for their efforts. These same principles apply to our own little hobby. To sustain the slot car ecosystem you need producers from the one guy hobby shops to the myriad of tiny to small companies who deliver products and services into the hobby. You also need consumers in the form of your fellow enthusiasts, racing buddies, and members of the virtual communities like we have here. Encourage people to get plugged in by creating a warm and inviting atmosphere, whether at the track or at the keyboard.

Sorry for crushing the soapbox.

Shop around. Balsa wood is easier to cut than plastic and is way cheaper. i made this from leftovers from an airplane project. Look into it. It ain't got to be plastic always.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/Building1.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/building2.jpg

Seriously, $20 or very close to it. And I'm not counting drying time in the 6 hours but that was only over 2 days. I make vacu-form molds in a day for slot cars too, I've gone from the first glued piece to drawing bodies from them in as little as 8 hours working time. And I have done dollhouses in a weekend, white glue just dries so slowly sometimes. :)

The steps are 0.030 V-Groove I scored, separated and glued in "L" shaped strips, backed those up with I beam and C channel. The rails were preformed but all the steps were just sheet stock. If you look at it it's not that technical of an assembly. Most of it was done using thick CA and zip kicker. I'd say one package of V-Groove (3 sheets), one package of clap board (3 sheets) and then one package of I beams and one package of C channels. And then the two packs of girders. OK, maybe almost $30, but I doubt more than that. I gave Sarah $50 and she brought me back the stuff to build that and a Wendy's triple burger meal so it wasn't anywhere near that much.

The thing about building this was I wasn't tied to a plan, I was able to free build the whole structure. While one thing was drying I was building other parts. There are guys with skills I don't even pretend to understand, but I can walk buy something architectural and just get it right away. I don't have any training like that but I welded a kids tower out of rebar and sheet steel when my daughters were growing up that was 30' high. Yeah, great parent huh. Anyway, that was 20 years ago and that structure still stands and can hold my 300+ lb frame and 3 of my 250+ lb buddies and a case of beer. No plans, just looked at the bars and built it, used a tractor to stand it up and sunk the bottom in concrete.

How heavy was the case of beer?

How heavy was the case of beer?

Maybe 12-15 lbs. Long neck bottles. Was OK until the wife caught us peeing for distance one night, she walked out of the tool shop and almost caught spray. The interesting thing is that it was a lot easier to climb up than down even with the circular ladder. We quit going up there when it got struck by lightning for a while. I'll have to go out there and get a picture, you can see it from the main road.

My time is invaluable, but I gladly give a lot of it away here, always have. I can get Evergreen .030, which is what I make my scratch built stuff from, for $5 for 3 sheets. I buy strips now instead of cutting my own stairs and seats but I still will buy ready-made rails, ladders and walkways.

http://sequoiaspeedway.googlepages.com/MVC-002S-2.jpg/MVC-002S-2-full;init:.jpg

I've been a scratch builder and modeler for 40 years, I have won more than 20 IPMS plastic model shows Best in Show, and I have no idea how many smaller shows. The ONLY thing keeping me from doing things like this grandstand is an inadequately stocked hobby shop. This grandstand took maybe $20 in materials and probably 6 or so hours, but it is unique and the showpiece of my track. I have standing orders from others that I eventually will do pretty much for cast-off cars and parts.

For me it's not so much what you put into it as what you get out of it. I like seeing my stuff in other peoples hands, being raced, on a track scenery. There's no way I'm paying my bills with what I do in and for the hobby, even if I charged for everything I made. So I just cover my costs and have fun with the rest.

I still love that grandstand, its a beauty! you need to post the blueprints!

[hi-jack]

Last hi-jack for me guys, sorry; AFXToo- thanks for the info correction about Microsoft. I watched the movie they made about Gates and his background with Apple called "Pirates of Silicon Valley" and apparently I got it wrong. :rolleyes:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/

[/hi-jack]

No problemo, Scott. Yeah, I'm a nerd, or it the correct word - geek?

Must let you know how happy I am to hear you are on the mend and coming back stronger than ever.

That's very cool of you, thanks. Didn't know you were aware of my health issues. Yes I'm Back in the Saddle and getting better after some very trying times. Getting old sucks sometimes. :(

-Scott

Here's a small, trackside First Aid building I made from an aluminum fence post. The top is the post cap with a little paint. I masked off a door way, which I left gloss white, then added some plastic strips for the frame. I sprayed the sides with textured spray can paint to give it a concrete or stucco look. Added a couple of black lines for the door frame and cracks... RM

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc196/kwikdeals/026-1.jpg

That first aid building is way cool Randy...as usual.

B:)b

What about that van in the background! How'd you mask that off?

hey rich!i know it's O/T,but i PM'd my addy to ya!sorry to bug ya!neil

NT,the ambulance is an AFX piece.Tom