Round 2

With the aquisitiion of all tooling and rights to the AMT, Mpc, and Polar Lights names by Round 2 some modelers think it's the best thing since sliced bread. However it is a business venture to make money. Some builders think that there is a HUGE warehouse just loaded with ALL the tooling for all of the kits of the past. Not so my friends as much of the tooling has been re-worked to issue other models, some of the tooling has been damaged beyond, repair, some of the tooling lost, and some scrapped also.

While I have enough kits to keep me building for the rest of my life and then some and I don't care if another kit ever hits the hobby shop shelves, there are others with hundreds of unbuilt kits that await the arrival of new kits or re-issues as if they were just finishing up their last unbuilt kit.

It will be interesting to see what Round 2 brings to the table as far as re-issues go as I doubt that they'll ever offer a new tool when they can produce kits from the tooling they already have. Round 2 has been good to us builders so far as several re-issues and maybe more have made many modelers 'happy campers" and with good reason as they have given us some great kits from the past.

I see that I stand to be corrected already as Round 2 DID give us a new tool when we got the Polar Lights Batmobile that looks to be a big hit with a lot of builders both young and old. Like I said, it will be interesting and I'm sure that Round 2 won't disappoint most builders.

Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/989885.aspx

Walt Hansgen Mike Harris Cuth Harrison Brian Hart Gene Hartley

dodge ram pulling truck

So this is the start of my unlimited 4wd diesel pulling truck. i will be using the cab off a vts dodge ram an adding the long box off a snaptite kit. The motor unless someone can line me up with a b series Cummins like 6.7,5.9 C rail,24v,12v any help with that would be great. If not i will be using a cat motor out of a semi scaled down. The frame will be a full tube frame.

 

Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/990181.aspx

Richard Robarts Pedro Rodríguez Ricardo Rodríguez Alberto Rodriguez Larreta Franco Rol

Lewis Hamilton centre stage in F1's Indian adventure

The Indian Grand Prix was not the thrilling spectacle Formula 1 wanted it to be but if that amazing country is to succumb to the sport's advances after this inaugural race at least it won't be under false pretences.

The packed grandstands - unusual for a first race in a new territory for F1 - witnessed a grand prix that encapsulated in many ways what F1 2011 has all been about.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel strolled to a comfortable victory, taking only as much out of his car and tyres as he needed to. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso - the other two stand-out drivers of the year - followed him home. And Lewis Hamilton found himself embroiled in yet another contretemps with his nemesis, Felipe Massa.

Hamilton, as has been well documented, has not had a great year. There have been some fantastic highs but by and large he has performed well below his superlative best.

On the way, he has been involved in some high-profile incidents, many of which have been his fault. But his collision with Massa in India on Sunday was not one of them.

As Hamilton's McLaren edged alongside the Brazilian's Ferrari into Turn Five on lap 24, it looked as if the Englishman was poised to pull off one of the great overtaking moves for which he is rightly famous. Instead, Massa turned in as if Hamilton was not there, and their races were ruined on the spot.

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Hamilton has had so many penalties from race officials this year that it was perhaps no surprise that up in the commentary box Martin Brundle said he thought this might lead to another one.

But it became clear from replays that this time it was not Hamilton's fault.

He was virtually completely alongside Massa as they neared the brief braking zone and he was still halfway alongside when they collided despite - as he said afterwards - trying to pull out of the move when he realised Massa was not going to give way.

Massa could be seen looking in his mirrors a number of times, and made it clear after the race that he knew the McLaren was there. But he felt he was in the right because - as he put it - he "could not see" Hamilton as he turned in. As the stewards decided, though, Hamilton was far enough alongside to have a go - and Massa should have given him more room.

The only question you can ask about Hamilton's manoeuvre was why he chose to go for the move there.

The spot he chose is not, as Brundle and fellow commentator David Coulthard pointed out, exactly an easy passing place. With his speed advantage, and knowing that - because of their history this year - Massa was unlikely to be accommodating, it would have been less risky to try the move at the end of the long straight.

For Hamilton, the collision was especially bad news. While he had struggled in the first stint of the race, he was at this stage looking like he might have a shot at a podium finish.

On his second set of tyres, he was demonstrating good speed and, had he managed to pass Massa, he may well have been able to catch Alonso, too. That would have given him third place, assuming he, like the Spaniard, had been able to leapfrog Mark Webber's Red Bull at the second stops.

As it was, it was another weekend to forget for Hamilton, who was downcast after the race.

His father, Anthony, confirmed on Sunday what many in F1 have long suspected - that Hamilton simply wants 2011 to end and to move on to next season.

Hamilton seems to think he has identified the personal issues that have clearly affected him this year. He talked on Saturday about removing all unnecessary distractions and focusing completely on his job. For his own sake - as well as the global audience of millions for whom his aggressive, attacking style is so attractive - one has to hope it works.

The Hamilton-Massa incident provided a controversial distraction in an otherwise largely uneventful race, one of the least interesting of a year that, despite Vettel's domination, has so far generally delivered a fine spectacle.

That was a shame for the one grand prix with which F1 really wanted to make an impact. Nevertheless, while it remains to be seen whether India takes to the sport, the initial signs were good.

There were teething problems in terms of the organisation and track but these were nothing compared with the terrible problems around the Commonwealth Games last year. So despite the tight deadlines, India has now proved that it is more than capable of preparing for and hosting a major international sporting event.

The track was cleverly situated close enough to Delhi to make it accessible. And although the ticket prices were always going to be out of reach of the average Indian, they were clearly affordable to enough people to make attending the race an attractive proposition.

The result was virtually full grandstands - according to official figures, 95,000 people packed into the Buddh International Circuit on Sunday.

That is already a massive step forward from other 'new' races such as those in China, Turkey and, more recently, South Korea. In all those places - and others - F1 appears to have made virtually no impression at all, to the point that many within the sport privately question why the races exist.

Senior figures in F1 were unanimous in their praise for the work done by the Indian organisers. But that is to be expected - they are all desperate for this race to succeed in the world's second most populous country with one of the fastest growing economies.

Perhaps more telling was that the drivers were also effusive - not only about the flowing, challenging layout of the track, which Hamilton said was already one of his favourites, but also for the experience they had had there on what, for most of them, was their first visit.

"There was a big crowd and it was a big success for India," said HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan, the country's first F1 driver. "Having a high-profile event like this gives the country a boost. We are passionate people, we are happy with what we have and it is fantastic to have F1 here."

India has its share of problems - that is well known. Equally, though, if you spend any time there, it is difficult not to fall under its complicated, captivating spell.

After a debut that was unanimously hailed as a success, F1 is hoping that India will come to feel the same way about its new arrival.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/10/hamilton_takes_centre_stage_in.html

Kimi Räikkönen Hernando da Silva Ramos PierreHenri Raphanel Dick Rathmann Jim Rathmann

How to be a safe racing driver?

The FIA and the FIA Institute have published an updated Driver’s Guide to Safer Motor Sport. The Guide aims to both educate younger drivers and remind the more experienced competitors about all aspects of safety. The Guide, which available online by clicking here, provides information and advice on every area of driver preparation and practice. [...]

Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/how-to-be-a-safe-racing-driver/

Frank Armi Chuck Arnold Rene Arnoux Peter Arundell Alberto Ascari

2013 Mercedes SL-Class prepares for launch as last Mercedes SL R230 rolls off production line


Since Mercedes is working away on its next generation SL-Class, units of the current model are fast coming to an end. The last SL R 230 Model Series, unit number 169,434, already rolled off the assembly line at the Bremen plant on November 30, 2011.

This specific SL R230 unit is painted in an Iridium silver exterior color and is powered by a 315 BHP 3.5-liter V6 petrol engine. Unfortunately, no one will actually be driving it because it will be added to the automotive gallery of the Mercedes-Benz Museum, right next to the iconic roadsters that wrote the prestigious 60-year history of the ’Sport Leicht’ range.

Fear not, though, the 2013 Mercedes SL-Class has already been spotted a number of times, each time with less camouflage than before. With this new generation, Mercedes hopes to achieve a lighter sports car. In fact, they have announced that the next SL-Class will be the first Mercedes model produced in large series to use an all-aluminum bodyshell that is about 242 lbs lighter than a comparable steel bodyshell. As a result, the new SL 500 weighs 275 lbs less than its predecessor, while the SL 350 weighs the above-mentioned 308 lbs less than its previous version.

The new 2013 Mercedes SL-Class will be making its world debut in January 2012 at the Detroit Auto Show, but Mercedes will be offering its official specs on December 15, 2011. Stay tuned!

2013 Mercedes SL-Class prepares for launch as last Mercedes SL R230 rolls off production line originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 18:00 EST.

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Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/2013-mercedes-sl-class-prepares-for-launch-as-last-mercedes-sl-r230-rolls-off-production-line-ar121060.html

Rodger Ward Derek Warwick John Watson Spider Webb Mark Webber