Ed... Loved learning the real history on this project. I guess many of us have lost a few bucks trying to advance S scale. Jim and Dan took the BIG risks with River Raisin.
Now the bigger question remains....does all of this make Jim a "Rib-eye" expert, or a "Baby Back rib" expert? Bob H. --- In [email protected], "Ed" <Loizeaux@...> wrote: > > > I still wonder why he chose this particular truck. It was not common on > > any of the BUDD built cars except perhaps a few NYC cars...and maybe that's > > the obvious answer. > > Bob Hogan > > Even though there were several NYC enthusiasts in the Budd Buddies > consortium, they did not dictate the truck selection to Larry Jackman. My > semi-uneducated guess is that he decided the Slumbercoach (aka Sleepercoach) > was the first car Larry wanted to see in production because it had never been > made before in any form -- shorty or longy, wood, plastic, etched, etc. So > perhaps he chose to start with that truck first to go with the car he > intended to first produce. Just a guesstimate.... > > For those interested in S history, when Larry bailed on the Budd Buddies > project it was realized that all the advance funding had been spent on the > trucks and a few other molds for various pieces and parts including an > extruded body which was inspected by Jim Kindraka. Jim actually counted the > small roof ribs and told the Budd Buddies that one rib was missing (or was it > two?). Not only does Jim count rivets, but he has an eye for ribs! > > For a while, Larry sold just the trucks via Bill Wade at BTS for a couple of > years or so. > > Other Budd Buddy funds were spent on general purpose machine shop tools in > contradiction with the contract which called for the money to be spent only > on Budd-specific tooling. > > Since the contract called for an entire train of about six or eight different > cars, lawyers were contacted, a lawsuit was filed, settlement negotiations > began and half the money was returned to the Budd Buddies just prior to Larry > declaring bankruptcy and moving to Florida. > > As part of this arrangement, Larry kept the Budd molds which then found their > way to Des Plaines Hobbies in due course. To the best of my knowledge, DPH > has not made these trucks for several/many years now. Ron seems reluctant to > discuss future production runs and so it is quite difficult to know if they > will ever be made again. > > While the project was a financial disaster, the Budd Buddies can take some > satisfaction in knowing they created a new pair of beautiful trucks that had > not yet existed in S scale. Legally speaking, the Budd Buddies hold the > copyright on the trucks, but have never asked anyone for compensation > (royalties) for producing them. > > Several years later, mold maker Randy Wilson told me that the amount of money > involved would have barely covered the tooling costs for just the observation > car and no way would it have been enough to pay for tooling for an entire > Budd train which was what the contract specified. Live and learn...... > > Life goes on............poorer, but wiser. > > Cheers....Ed Loizeaux > ------------------------------------ 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: [email protected] [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/
