Hello, everyone -

I wanted to drop a line to all of you and tell you that I have officially joined the editorial team at DieCast X, along with my Car Room Magazine compadres and close friends Marshall Buck and Mike Zarnock, under the magazine’s new Editor-in-Chief Andy Goodman.

I am extremely happy, and very, very proud to be a part of the “ultimate diecast magazine”. I’m looking ahead to great times working with Andy and the staff of DCX’s parent company, Air Age Media, as we advance this title, and the hobby of collecting model cars. Our pre-production discussions, shared passion for collecting, and editorial choices have resulted in a publication that will have a new focus and direction going forward. The original DieCast X was great. This one will blow you away.

Andys’ talents as a brand builder and his reputation as a well-respected collector make him ideal for the job, and his energy and insight will help us bring the hobby of collecting out to the American public in ways that will bring new collectors in, entertain the existing collectors, and re-engage collectors of every age and walk of life who have lost touch with the hobby.

My good friend Bill Bennett and trusted colleague Wayne Moyer will remain with the title as part of the team, and I can’t wait to add my input alongside these well respected model car historians and scribes. Other contributors will also add their perspectives and opinions to the pages, and I’m sure that I speak for all involved when I say that we all will bring our very best writing and photography skills to each issue, starting with the Winter 2011 magazine, available on October 4, 2011. Around that time, plans are in place to debut a new series of video reviews, which will reflect the content of the title, and will be produced and edited at the Air Age Studios in Connecticut. We will start production in mid-August.

I am also extremely pleased to announce that, thanks to an arrangement with Air Age Media, all outstanding subscriptions from The Car Room Magazine will be completely fulfilled by DieCast X, through extensions of existing DCX subscriptions, or via new subscriptions for those persons who did not already have an existing subscription with DCX. In that the creative core of The Car Room has been brought to the new DieCast X, I think that collectors will be well pleased by what they see, read, and experience on the web. We will be sending letters out to the subscribers within the next couple of weeks to tell them the news.

This hobby has long needed a quality title that reflects the passion for collecting, from the smaller scales and mass-manufactured replicas to the exquisite scratch built models that so few of us would ever see, were it not for their inclusion in a quality publication. We tried with The Car Room to bring those elements to the hobby, but our small size, limited budget, and inexperience as publishers kept us from doing what we had hoped to do. The marriage of talents, passion, and vision that will emerge from between the covers of the new DCX has the potential to do all of those things, and more - and, thanks to Andy Goodman and the Air Age staff, we have the people, the ideas, and the corporate organization in place to bring those things before the world. The world starts here: I’m asking my friends to “like” the DieCast X Facebook page so we can keep you informed as we put things together. I’d also ask you to have a look at the all-new DieCast X web site, at www.diecastxmagazine.com, to read our blogs, see some new model reviews, and get a taste of what we’re cooking.

On a personal note, I’m deeply moved by, and thankful for, the chance to once again work alongside my dearest friends and collecting brothers. Mike Zarnock and Marshall Buck shared a dream with me, and though I’m no longer at the helm, it is one of my greatest life rewards to know we’ll be shoulder to shoulder again under a common banner.

I am extremely grateful to Andy Goodman, and to the wonderful family and the people who run Air Age Media, for this opportunity to once again come before you and smile.

Long live the little cars - and those who love them.

See you in DCX.

All the Best,

Joe Kelly, Jr.

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