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.

To Everyone:

I want to thank all of my friends and colleagues who were a part of The Car Room Magazine. Despite holding out hope for a renewal of our print cycle, and having the content and design virtually in hand, we have decided to cease publishing the title, in light of decreased ad revenue and a general decline in the diecast collecting hobby.

We will also be suspending the production of our Livestream and Youtube videos and regular Car Room TV programming while we sort out the finances related to O.K. Daddy Productions, Ltd.

Nuremberg, Part 3, and more….

Nuremberg was already over a month ago - but the videos keep coming! And so do the in-hand reviews. Mattel’s Hot Wheels Elite sent along a ton of 1:43, Sunstar packed up a 1:12 Morris Minor (with a working convertible top - natch), and a pair of spooky old Barris rides from TV’s “The Munsters” are on the table, thanks to Auto World/Round 2. In between, we visit Sunstar, Spark, and more!

If They Build It…

Nuremberg 2011 was a full-on spectacle that featured some of the industry heavyweights and a ton of new models. Some of those cars are starting to make it to The Car Room - and we’re only too happy to share. In this episode: Minichamps, Biante, Hot Wheels Elite, Welly - and more!

Pardon Me, Sir - Are We Speeding?...

It was beautiful. It was exclusive. It cost a princely sum. And it was one of the fastest production cars in the world. Bentley’s Continental R made going fast look good, and did it with an uncanny composure borne of a lightweight fastback body that had been honed in the Rolls-Royce wind tunnel. Mulliner, Pininfarina, and Bentley all had a hand in the car’s birthing, but it’s Minichamps who’ll bring this beauty out in scale (both 1:18 and 1:43) sometime (we hope) in the near future. Joe got a chance to check out a pre-production sample of the larger car at the Minichamps booth at Nuremberg. And no, we didn’t try and sneak it out.

Minichamps, North America

Pretty as 200,000 Pennies

Make no mistake - CMC’s Horch 853 is a riveting machine, thanks not only to its all-copper body, but to the impeccable way these fellows have crammed all kinds of gizmos and gadgets into the car’s build. Working suspension? Check. Steering? Ditto. Put the pencil down… the convertible roof, visors, windows, shifter, door latches, and god only knows what else also slide, click, snick, and blend together in a finger fun festival that plays out in an appreciable 1:12 reduction of the real German machine. At a cost of around 1,900 Euro - figure in the $2,300.00 range - this leather-seated, woolen-carpeted mammoth ain’t a pull toy for junior. But if seeing the magic of this maker’s art laid bare appeals to your inner Rube Goldberg, jump in. Not crazy about the shiny stuff? CMC also makes the old Horch in painted versions, for about the same money.

CMC Models

Build a Better Barge? Yep.

It goes without saying that NEO - that newly minted darling of the resin-bodied model crowd - is capable of making some great, off-center choices when it comes to model cars. This is definitely one of them… a 1974 Buick LeSabre convertible. Yes, you read that right; NEO has tooled up a big old luxo boat from the scary old fuel crisis days, and done a phenomenal job of bringing the car’s mass and grace out in perfect scale. Add models like this to the list of reasons we love the Dutch!

NEO Scale Models

Ralph’s Ride, Righteous in Scale!

We got a chance to spend some quality time with many of the models at the 2011 Nuremberg International Toy Fair, and this series of “Quick Hits” will bring the cars to you! Our first clip features Joe with CMC’s next-up Bugatti Type 57, patterned after the car currently in the collection of superdesigner (and supercollector) Ralph Lauren. 2:12, also available in hi-def.

CMC Models