Mr. Frankel was sued for mail fraud by the late Bernie Thomas on behalf of NASG. There was no way he could have produced what he was advertising; apparently he had tried it in O scale circles before then.
Mr. Al Hall and the shop in St. Albans were a very valued source in those days, I never had a problem with him and his mail order service. Apparently, IIRC, he had bought the old LeRoy Vavrinek estate (out of Chicago?) and got his start from that. Those were high school days for me and oh what fun it was to mail-order stuff all the way from the Iowa corn fields and the shadow of the Maytag water tower. Several years later it was Walter Graeff and his Ace company. ----- Original Message ----- From: Thomas Baker To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 8:37 AM Subject: {S-Scale List} RE:Spring 1964 issue of S Gauge Herald To those who were modeling in S in 1964: About 1967 when I still intended to strip and repaint Lionel stuff, I responded to an ad in MR to purchase a single copy of the S Gauge Herald. I sent my twenty-five cents and received a back issue for spring 1964. I still have the issue and thumb through it every now and then to see what people did back in the days when S really was a craftsman's scale. Among the items, some of which raise questions or stimulate thoughts: 1. On page eleven is a brief article about The Hobby Shop in St. Albans, Vermont. I would not expect a hobby shop in St. Albans or at least not one that catered to S-scale modelers. In any case, the place apparently had a truckload of Perma Bilt kits. In time I acquired two or three of the kits. By today's standards, the kits don't cut it, but if a decent end and a proper roof could be cast in plastic, the cars would be tolerable. I have two I plan to make and one I would like to unload. 2.On page sixteen an article refers to a Mr. Frankel of Scale Line Trains promised to give S scalers the world: E-8 locomotives, heavyweight and streamlined passenger cars, wagon top and round roof box cars, and some structures. Whatever happened to this guy? I have never seen any of his products. 3. On page 19 three photos featured the models of a Bernie Fate. Two of the photos show a N&W 2-6-6-4 he must have scratchbuilt, a beautiful piece of work, even by the standards of today. 4. On page 18, Regal kits advertises a 50-foot SS box car with GN, WP, or UP decals. Regal kits were available from 706 Colfax in Benton Harbor, Michigan. I live about a 15-minute trip away from the place, but of course Benton Harbor has changed since then, and Mr. Regal moved elsewhere eventually. 5. Page 20 features a photo and an article about the editor, Frank Titman. Now there's a great guy. I have three of his kits waiting to be built. Frank has significantly contributed to the survival and growth of S scale. 6. Inside the front cover is an advertisement from Enhorning, at that time in Chicago. The ad lists the variety of F7 diesels available in about 28 road names. Did this outfit sell very many? Well, it's all idle prattle but interesting stuff from back in the day. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
