Gentlemen of a certain age find themselves in the basements of their homes. Some noodle around with tools building furniture of questionable utility and unique design; others build model railroad train layouts whose complexity rival an Amtrak timetable; and then there are those who recreate the Indianapolis 500 with electricity and plastic. For those of the latter stripe, the scale of our dreams has only grown cooler since we were youths. The whining, whizzing speed demon that beats in the heart of every full-scale driver can find outlet in 1/32nd scale on a pair of plywood sheets.

The English first started building tracks to race model cars, though the tracks did not have slots and the vehicles had remote steering. The main goal at the time was to successfully complete one whole lap with your miniature auto. Americans brought the hobby home after World War II and added a few innovations: a groove in the track that kept the cars in a single lane; and racing. Throughout the fifties, the hobby grew despite a tendency for the cars to burst into flames (most were still home assembled out of available materials like old model train engines, balsa wood, and glue).

Throughout the 1960’s, the hobby grew like an alligator on a sheep farm. Various companies began producing finished cars and tracks for home play. Chains of commercial raceways appeared in the growing suburbs. And, much like Putt Putt on ESPN today, tournaments were broadcast on national television hosted by the likes of Johnny Carson and featuring prominent racers like Jackie Stewart. For a brief, tire-burning moment, slot cars were more popular than model trains or bowling.

Then the moment passed like a tiny Aston Martin shooting off the track on a reverse-banked turn. AMF (the bowling chain) started buying up the public racetracks and closing them. Public interest turned in other directions- the magazines and manufacturers that served the hobby followed all those home tracks into the national attic.

Today, public raceways crop up and disappear as mostly hobbyists try to expand their circle. Scale Auto Racing keeps an eye on the current state of, well, scale auto racing, including film of national tournaments. Non-U.S. companies like Carrera , Ninco , Scaleextric still produce race sets. Ridge Road Station (16131 Ridge Road West, Holley) has a nice selection along with an elaborate model train setup. Once you start working in scale, it seems hard to stop.

January, 2006

“Whether out of fear or self-protection, we rarely present our true face to the world. Mexicans are secretive by nature. Our formality is a shield against scrutiny. We use masks all the time,” says Father Sergio Gutierrez. Perhaps this explains the wildly popular sport of Lucha Libre [free-style fight].

Throughout human history, wherever two or more have gathered, wrestling has followed. Seventy years ago, professional wrestlers in Mexico began wearing masks, subsuming their own personalities to a character inspired by their new face. Records do not convey whether the acrobatic style associated with Lucha Libre immediately followed, though one can well imagine the freedom engendered by hidden identity. Soon, luchadors were flying through the air and appearing in innumerable films.

Hulk Hogan and the Rock can only dream of a film career approaching the greatest of all screen luchadors. El Santo (1918-1984) first starred in El Emascarado de Plata (The Silver Masked Man) in 1952. Within a decade, he was an action star ala Batman or James Bond, with his Bentley and his amor de dia. El Santo chose to remain enmasked throughout his public career, only revealing his identity (Rudolfo Huerta) after retiring. Thousands followed his funeral procession through Mexico City to the Mausoleo del Angel where he was buried in his mask.

Father Sergio Gutierrez began his ministry caring for children on the streets of Veracruz. After seeing the wrestling films Fray Tormenta and Fray Tormenta in the Ring, Gutierrez began raising funds for his orphanage by wrestling as Fray Tormenta [Brother Storm]. In recent years, he has become a mentor to a younger group of devout wrestlers, such as Sagrado and Mistico. And he inspired a new Hollywood movie starring Jack Black.

June, 2006

Once upon a time, when a child wanted a doll, someone made a doll (or they didn’t and the child did without). In those days, such a doll would be called a “doll” and would be well-used. Maybe, just maybe, some adult would make a particularly beautiful doll and then they’d get a reputation as a “dollmaker.” Today, we manufacture mass quantities of these dolls in plastic and call them “action figures,” since everyone was afraid that the parents of boys would not buy their male offspring a “doll.”

And your local “dollmaker” has transmogrified into a “customizer.” Indeedy do! A customizer is a creative person who makes action figures in the privacy of their own secret laboratory. And then they display their creations on the internet often accompanied by the “recipe” used to cook up their monstrous creations. “Classic Catwoman: This version of Selina is made from a Tekken figure. Her head was quite tricky, using a very sharp x-acto I sliced the original figures head in the center of her forehead. I then took a[n] abandoned Catwoman head and did the same. It was then a simple task of lining the two pieces up. The hair came from the same head and putty was used to fill in gaps to make it appear as one piece.” (Brad McCurry) [defunct link led to the quote at the CustomCon website]

Visions of unclean plastic surgery by mad scientists working in Sculpey dancing in my head, I visited the official site of CustomCon 13. People have done some horrible things to G.I. Joe is all I can say. Matt Caulay, who apparently uses the nom de plastique of Iron Cow, has made numerous unique figures covering James Bond to Caddyshack. He seems to be living the dream as he has worked professionally with Art Asylum on their mass-produced Battlestar Galactica figures. The entire subculture receives its monthly due in Toyfare magazine, a far more entertaining publication than the topic merits.

February, 2006