1/25 Tucker 48/Torpedo -- "Coming Soon" at SpotModel

[Matt Bacon]

Well, it ain't cheap, but whoever thought we'd get a detailed 1/25 kit of a car they only made 51 of?

https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info.php?products_id=60262

I don't know who Red Wheel are, but it certainly looks like a pretty impressive kit in the photos!

best,

M.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2024 by Matt Bacon

[Dave Van]

That makes my Danbury Mint version look cheap........and my Modelhaus resin kit a super deal!!!!. 

[niteowl7710]

Red Wheel is based in the Ukraine. For some reason everyone in the former Soviet Satellite states learned CAD/CAM, and now it's where most 3D files seem to come from...the guy is on FB and the kit is a few bucks cheaper if you order it directly. He already sold the entire first run in a matter of days.

For anyone who trades in the deep end of the resin pool these days knows the price is what a full-on multi-media kit costs now. If you want a Tucker that isn't a diecast or an old resin piece that's going to look like a $10 slush cast piece (in comparison) then this thing is going to be worth every penny.

Edited May 3, 2024 by niteowl7710

[Dave Van]

How does all this product come from a country so deep in WAR the US has to fund it??? During WW II no one was allowed to produce anything not needed for the war effort. Not political.....just wondering???

[stitchdup]

10 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

How does all this product come from a country so deep in WAR the US has to fund it??? During WW II no one was allowed to produce anything not needed for the war effort. Not political.....just wondering???

its a big country (same sizea s texas) and the stuff they are producing is all exported. the farmers are still planting grains too. as it happens all the peppers and lettuce in my local supermarket is from israel and they're also at war. business carries on if it can as getting foreign money from exports buys more weapons than they would get if the product was sold local. then its not really making money but more moving it around. and local currency is worth less if the countries at war so any way to raise foreign cash helps as its a more stable currency.

[iamsuperdan]

21 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

How does all this product come from a country so deep in WAR the US has to fund it??? During WW II no one was allowed to produce anything not needed for the war effort. Not political.....just wondering???

Debated within myself whether to answer...or whether to hide your post.

But here goes...the war isn't affecting all parts of the country, or directly affecting all residents. If another country invaded the east coast of the US, would people in California or Washington be directly affected? Or would they be able to continue their daily routines?

 

Anyway, kit looks great, and that is the going price for resin kits. Just look at Alpha Model's pricing. Or even PZY, who should be cheaper because they just copy Alpha Model. Or A&N Model Trucks.

[Mike 1017]

Send an E-Mail to USCP. Ukranian Scale Car Production. I am sure that they can explain their situation.

Mike

[Dave Van]

I think we are all being scammed..........sorry.

 

[Richard Bartrop]

The US shutdown during WW2 was mostly vehicles and large appliances.  If you look at a magazine from that time, there were still plenty of goods for sale.  The model company Guillow's kept going right through the war, though they did switch to paper because balsa was considered a strategic material.

8 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

Well, it ain't cheap, but whoever thought we'd get a detailed 1/25 kit of a car they only made 51 of?

As all those race car kits show, what makes a subject interesting has very little to do with how many were made.  Tucker's one of those makes that's always generated a lot of interest, and is usually high on modeler's want lists.

The kit does look pretty nice.  I would have liked to have seen a full engine, but that is still a very nice underside.  As for whether it's legit, we'd certainly find out soon enough.

[Dave Van]

28 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

The US shutdown during WW2 was mostly vehicles and large appliances.  If you look at a magazine from that time, there were still plenty of goods for sale.  The model company Guillow's kept going right through the war, though they did switch to paper because balsa was considered a strategic material.

 

Lionel trains, AC Gilbert and MARX all had to shut down toy production for the duration, as did many other small companies.  Lionel was hired to make small die cast parts for planes.....but the only toys during the period were a paper  train set'.  Balsa was vital but also anything using hardwoods could not be made.  I realize it's a different time and all..........but.....

[Tabbysdaddy]

Maybe they can be the ones to finally give us a Checker.

[dodgefever]

28 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

Lionel trains, AC Gilbert and MARX all had to shut down toy production for the duration, as did many other small companies.  Lionel was hired to make small die cast parts for planes.....but the only toys during the period were a paper  train set'.  Balsa was vital but also anything using hardwoods could not be made.  I realize it's a different time and all..........but.....

 

That was a world war.  Of course governments would mobilise industry to the war effort, but this is probably one, maybe two guys working from their homes to make some extra cash and presumably in an area not directly affected by the confilct.  Not comparable at all IMO.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Oy vey...

ANYWAY, here's what your $180 + shipping gets you.  It's a stunner, VERY competitive in the biscale resin arena. 

Considering the nearly-flawless rubber Firestones with wide white masking collars, the photoetch, the precision in every resin piece I've test-fitted so far, and the literal menagerie of smooth, super-fine 3D printed parts with spares, this thing is a flat bargain by any reasonable assessment and I'm delighted with it.

 

[Dave Van]

1 hour ago, dodgefever said:

 

That was a world war.  Of course governments would mobilise industry to the war effort, but this is probably one, maybe two guys working from their homes to make some extra cash and presumably in an area not directly affected by the confilct.  Not comparable at all IMO.

I have no ill will here. Before all this BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH happened I was emailing some of these Ukraine model companies showing how I converted some of their kits to civilian use. They were very nice people....even saying they hung some of my photos for insiration. The people are great. The situation is horrible and confusing. Thanks

One of my conversions

 

 

[Rob Hall]

8 hours ago, niteowl7710 said:

Red Wheel is based in the Ukraine. For some reason everyone in the former Soviet Satellite states learned CAD/CAM, and now it's where most 3D files seem to come from...the guy is on FB and the kit is a few bucks cheaper if you order it directly. He already sold the entire first run in a matter of days.

For anyone who trades in the deep end of the resin pool these days knows the price is what a full-on multi-media kit costs now. If you want a Tucker that isn't a diecast or an old resin piece that's going to look like a $10 slush cast piece (in comparison) then this thing is going to be worth every penny.

I have been impressed by the quality of product I've bought out of Ukraine in recent years... I don't have any interest in Tuckers, but the items I've bought originating from Andrey Berezodny designs, USCP, and DioLex have all been excellent.. it is interesting how Ukraine seems to be a hotbed of 3D designers of vintage American products... 

Edited May 3, 2024 by Rob Hall

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, Chuck Kourouklis said:

Oy vey...

ANYWAY, here's what your $180 + shipping gets you.  It's a stunner, VERY competitive in the biscale resin arena. 

Considering the nearly-flawless rubber Firestones with wide white masking collars, the photoetch, the precision in every resin piece I've test-fitted so far, and the literal menagerie of smooth, super-fine 3D printed parts with spares, this thing is a flat bargain by any reasonable assessment and I'm delighted with it.

 

i really like how they did the printed parts, the frame around them is such a simple idea but will save a lot of broken parts. plus it looks very professional and just kinda cool.

[stitchdup]

3 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Lionel trains, AC Gilbert and MARX all had to shut down toy production for the duration, as did many other small companies.  Lionel was hired to make small die cast parts for planes.....but the only toys during the period were a paper  train set'.  Balsa was vital but also anything using hardwoods could not be made.  I realize it's a different time and all..........but.....

manufacturing was much more labour intensive during ww2. during that time it took a factory full of staff to make a toy, now i can set my printer running and carry on with my day. all i have to do is pour some gloop and press a button. also a lot of what was made in ww2 didn't make it to europe so much more was needing made to make up for that and that needs raw materials so toys and civilian (i believe farm tractors and some haulage were exempt from this) tyres are among the first to disappear. all that tin from the toys kept our boys fed in spam and corn beef tins

[iamsuperdan]

Okay. 

That's enough everyone. 

Let's stick to the Tucker discussion before this thread has to disappear.

[Little Timmy]

I'm not that familiar  with the inner  workings of a Tucker, but I see two steering wheels, and three driveshafts.

Wasn't the motor in the rear ?

( I do know the engines were war surplus helicopter engines.)

 

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Yup!  This is a curbside kit comprising around 135 parts, so there's no full engine detail.  But there's a crisp 3D-printed engine lower that fits the resin chassis plate perfectly.  The suspension and exhaust system detail are multi-piece and pretty complete.

The steering wheels are the same, so one is a spare, as is one of the driveshafts, tailpipes, front suspension arms, headlight lenses, and a few other parts.  You do have some options on interior trim, cranks, and pedals.

The instruction booklet

[niteowl7710]

12 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Just look at Alpha Model's pricing. Or even PZY, who should be cheaper because they just copy Alpha Model. 

That whole side circus is providing one of the most audacious real time "Pot calling the kettle black" I've personally witnessed. Alpha is Hobby Design, and HD got their entire start via being the biggest, rootin'-tootin'est band of IP Thieves the hobby ever has seen. Now because they insist on over promising and under delivering their product line they're up in arms spam-posting their little manifesto about being copied by PZY. If you sit both 911 GT3 RS kits down side by side they break down slightly different and PZY's offers options the Alpha kit doesn't. With the Ferrari SP3 Alpha promised that almost a year ago...this isn't the world of "normal" Model production where a licensor wouldn't grant two competitors license to do the same thing and the same time. They're both making boot leg products probably from boot leg 3D CAD/CAM and bickering about which one of the illicit copies is legitimate. 

[Big_John]

11 hours ago, Little Timmy said:

I'm not that familiar  with the inner  workings of a Tucker, but I see two steering wheels, and three driveshafts.

Wasn't the motor in the rear ?

( I do know the engines were war surplus helicopter engines.)

 

Actually not "war surplus".  They did use a modified helicopter engine that was originally intended for a Bell 47.  The final engine design was quite a bit different.  Preston Tucker bought the engine company (Air Cooled Engines in Syracuse, NY) and the family owned it for years after his death. That company was formally known as the H.H. Franklin company that built Franklin cars until 1934. 

It's a really interesting chapter in the Tucker history. Wikipedia barely scratches the surface on the history, but it does summarize it fairly well. 

I've been a Tucker fan ever since I saw one when I was a kid and yes, it was being driven like a regular car at the time. The last I saw that particular car, it was sitting with a bunch of junk cars behind a body shop. I have no idea what happened to the car after that... Hopefully it's still around. 

This particular kit looks nice, but I can't justify the price tag. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Engine_Company

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_48

And here's a pic I took of the engine in the prototype Tucker chassis in the Hershey AACA museum.  https://www.aacamuseum.org/exhibit/tucker-automobiles/

And the prototype chassis.  

[my66s55]

Here is what is probably the 3d file. It would take me less than a month to make this model.

[webestang]

20 hours ago, Chuck Kourouklis said:

Oy vey...

ANYWAY, here's what your $180 + shipping gets you.  It's a stunner, VERY competitive in the biscale resin arena. 

Considering the nearly-flawless rubber Firestones with wide white masking collars, the photoetch, the precision in every resin piece I've test-fitted so far, and the literal menagerie of smooth, super-fine 3D printed parts with spares, this thing is a flat bargain by any reasonable assessment and I'm delighted with it.

 

Scotty in LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[iamsuperdan]

Last warning. 

Any more politics, and 30 day bans will be handed out and this thread disappears.