THESE ARE MODEL CARS, NOT A DIECAST CAR. WE STARTED THIS COMPANY WITH NOT JUST THE IDEA OF MAKING A DIRT MODIFIED MODEL CAR OR A DIECAST CAR BUT MAKING A CAR WITH EXACT BODY PARTS AND GRAPHIC'S OF THESE CARS. WHAT MAKES THESE CARS TO THE RACE TEAMS, TO THE FANS IS THE LOOKS AND THE GRAPHICS OF EACH CAR SO THAT COULD NOT GET LOST.
IF WE WENT THE METAL DIECAST ROUTE WE COULD MAKE A CAR THAT WAS MUCH STRONGER THEN A MODEL CAR BUT WHAT WE WOULD GIVE UP WAS THE OPTION OF CREATING ALL THE VARIOUS STYLE FRONT ENDS, INNER BODY PIECES LIKE THE TEO PRO CAR STYLE FUEL CELL COVER AS WELL AS THE DIFFERENT RACE CAR MANUFACTURES BODIES THAT MADE THEM THEIR OWN LIKE A BICKNELL, TEO OR TROYER CAR AS WELL AS SOME OF THE SMALLER COMPANIES LIKE PMC AND THEN ALSO GET INTO SAIL PANEL VERSIONS OF THE CARS.
WE LOOKED INTO HAVING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS AND CREATING A METAL DIECAST CAR BUT WITH VARIOUS BODY PARTS MADE TO WORK WITH 1 CHASSIS SO WE COULD HAVE A BICKNELL DIECAST AS WELL AS TROYER ECT. THE PRICES STARTED TO GROW VERY FAST AND THIS WAS STILL IN JUST DESIGNING FEE'S AND MOLD MAKING. THEN WE NEEDED MINIMUM ORDERS OF AT LEAST 1,000 CARS IN EACH AND THAT WAS VERY MINIMUM AND AT THAT NUMBER THE PRICE WAS STARTING TO GET SO HIGH NO ONE WOULD EVER THINK OF BUYING ONE NO MATTER HOW GOOD IT LOOKED AS WELL AS THE CAPITAL IT WOULD TAKE TO SEE THIS PROJECT THROUGH.
AS I WAS LOOKING INTO THE FINICAL ASPECT OF THIS PROJECT, PUTTING TOGETHER THE PIECES TO BRING IT INTO REALITY AS WELL AS WORKING ON THE BUSINESS END OF IT. IF WE COME UP WITH THE MONEY BACKING FOR THIS PROJECT WAS THERE A BIG ENOUGH FOLLOWING TO END UP PAYING FOR ALL OF THIS AND TURNING INTO A TRUE BUSINESS NOT JUST A MONEY AND TIME PIT ? AS WE WERE GOING OVER ALL OF THE NUMBERS IT WAS JUST NOT COMING TOGETHER AND WORKING. THEN WHAT REALLY MADE US REALIZE THIS WAS NOT GOING TO WORK WAS NEW FRONT ENDS, NEW BODIES HAD JUST COME OUT BY THE CHASSIS MANUFACTURES FROM WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT HAVING MADE INTO A DIECAST. WE WERE ALREADY BEING OUTDATED BEFORE THE FIRST PART WAS EVEN MADE AND IF WE WANTED TO GET BACK CURRENT MORE DESIGN AND MOLD MAKING FEE'S OULD BE ADDED ON.
I SEEN THE WRITING ON THE WALL THAT BY GOING THIS ROUTE AND OUR CARS BEING MORE OF A SELECTED FAN BASE THAT NO WAY COULD WE PRODUCE THE KIND OF CAR WE WANTED TO PRODUCE AND THAT BEING WITH NUMEROUS BODY STYLES AND PARTS. I STILL DID NOT WANT TO FOLD UP AND GIVE IN EITHER ON THIS PROJECT AS I BELIEVED THERE WAS STILL A NEED FOR A PRODUCT LIKE THIS FOR THE RACE TEAMS AS WELL AS FOR THE FANS BUT WE NEEDED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY OF PULLING THIS OFF BUT A DIECAST VERSION WAS OUT OFTHE EQUATION FOR US.
HAVING PLASTIC BODY PARTS MADE INSTEAD OF METAL WAS NOW TAKING US RIGHT BACK TO THE PRICES WE COULD AFFORD AS WELL AS KEEP TURNING OF DIFFERENT DESIGNED CARS .
THIS IS REALLY A DRAWN OUT PROCESS TO EXPLAIN AND I GUESS MAYBE TO LONG FOR THIS PURPOSE. MAYBE THIS IS A STORY WE WORK ON FROM HOW IT STARTED TO WHERE WE ARE AT WITH THE DETAILS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED ON SOME LONG WINTER DAY.
BUT WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS FIGURED OUT A WAY TO PRODUCE ALL THE DIFFERENT STYLE DIRT MODIFIED BODY STYLES. THIS INCLUDES GOING BACK INTO THE LATE 1980'S TO PRESENT. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PRODUCING CARS FROM OVER A 25 YEAR TIME FRAME. NOT ONLY HAVE WE DONE THAT BUT PRODUCED AN ASSEMBLY LINE TYPE OF PRODUCT THAT IS STILL A HAND MADE PRODUCT THAT STARTS AS A 1 OFF AND CAN BE TURNED INTO SEMI MASS PRODUCED PRODUCT.
CAN WE TAKE OUR CAR AND RUN OFF A 1,000 COPIES ? NO BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO DO THAT IN OUR MINDS. WHAT WAS NEEDED WAS A WAY TO PRODUCE CARS THAT HAD THE SAME BODIES, THE FRONT ENDS THE GRAPHICS OF TODAY'S CAR AND FROM ALL MANUFACTURES. BE ABLE TO DO THIS FOR AS LITTLE AS 1 CAR OR AS MANY AS MAYBE 40 CARS. WE ARE NOT LOOKING AT MAKING THE SAME CAR OVER AND OVER. WE REALLY CREATED THIS COMPANY FOR THE RACE TEAMS,TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING FOR THEIR SPONSORS. DON'T GET ME WRONG WE ARE HERE FOR THE FANS AS WELL BUT MY MAIN GOAL WAS CAN WE SOME HOW HELP THE RACE TEAMS ? I AM A FAN, COULD NOT DO ALL THIS IF I WASN'T. TEAMS NEEDED SOMETHING BESIDES A PICTURE TO GIVE TO THEIR SPONSORS.
OUR GOAL WAS TO BE ABLE TO DO ANY CAR WE WANTED, WORK WITH THE SMALLEST RACE TEAMS TO THE BIGGEST AND HAVE A PRODUCT THAT CAN FIT ANY OF THEIR BUDGETS AS WELL AS FOR THE RACE FANS. THIS IS BY NO MEANS AN EASY ACCOMPLISHMENT. WE FEEL WE HAVE PRODUCED SOME OF THE MOST ACCURATE LOOKING DIRT MODIFIED MODEL CARS EVER MADE.
NOW PLEASE UNDERSTAND WE DO NOT GET INTO THE ENGINES, WIRING, AND ALL THE DETAILS OF A MODEL CAR. IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS A SEMI MASS PRODUCED CAR OF A 2 PERSON LINE WE COULD NOT DO THAT. WE NEED TO COMPROMISE AND LOOK AT WHAT CAN WE FIT INTO ROUGHLY A 5 HOUR TIME FRAME FROM TAKING A STOCK WHITE CHASSIS AND TURNING IT INTO A FULL BLOWN COMPLETED CAR. KEEPING MATERIALS AT NO HIGHER THEN $12.00 SO WE CAN KEEP THESE CARS PRICED WERE EVERYONE COULD AFFORD ONE.
WE NEEDED TO LOOK AT THE CAR AS A WHOLE, WHAT WAS IMPORTANT TO THE CUSTOMER ? WHAT COULD BE LEFT OFF TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS PROJECT WORK. WHAT WE CAME UP WITH WAS 1 CHASSIS WITH A FEW DIFFERENT FRONT BUMPERS. ONE BUMPER THAT WAS BASED OFF THE TEO PRO CAR AND ONE THAT WAS A MIXTURE OF THE TROYER AND BICKNELL CAR. NOW PLEASE REALIZE THAT WAS IN 2002 WHEN WE HAD THESE PARTS MADE. SENSE THEN THERE HAS BEEN SOME CHANGES BY THE MANUFACTURES TO THESE. COULD WE UPDATE OUR PARTS ? YES BUT WE NEED NEW PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDS MADE AND THEN PARTS. TO BE HONEST THESE DAYS IT IS VERY HARD TO KEEP THIS BUSINESS GOING WITH THE ECONOMY THE WAY IT IS DOING WHAT WE DO. MAYBE IF THINGS MAKE A CHANGE TO THE BETTER AND I HOPE THEY DO FOR EVERYONE WE WOULD DO THAT BUT WE STILL FEEL WHAT WE HAVE WORKS VERY WELL AND MOST EVERYONE AGREES.
WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE IS WHAT WE FEEL IS IMPORTANT TO GIVE THESE CARS THEIR PROPER IDENTITY. THE BICKNELL CARS, THE TROYER, TEO PRO CAR ALL NEED THEIR OWN BODIES AND FRONT ENDS. THEN WE HAVE THE SYRACUSE STYLE BODIES AND FRONT ENDS. THEN WE HAVE ALL THE DIFFERENT YEARS BY THESE COMPANIES AND CHANGES THEY HAVE MADE AND ON AND ON.
I REALLY DO NOT HAVE AN EXACT COUNT ON HOW MANY DIFFERENT BODIES, DIFFERENT FRONT ENDS WE HAVE CREATED TO MATCH ALL OF THESE CARS OVER THE YEARS BUT THERE ARE ALLOT ! WE NOW HAVE DESIGNED AND PRODUCED OVER 660 DIFFERENT DIRT MODIFIED RACE CARS ! WANT TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE HELL OF IT START LOOKING AT THE NEW RELEASE CARS AND YOU WILL SEE DIFFERENT BODY STYLES AND FRONT ENDS JUST USED WITH THOSE CARS. THEN START GOING BACK THROUGH THE DRIVER LINE UP AND THE CARS FROM OVER THE YEARS AND YOU WILL REALLY SEE WHAT I MEAN.
THINGS THAT DO NOT EVEN STICK OUT BUT LITTLE TWEAK IN HOW THE LOWER QUARTER PANEL IS CUT, MAYBE THE QUARTER GLASS HAS A SMALL BLACK OUTLINE, STRAIGHT DOORS OR CUT DOORS. IT GOES ON AND ON THE DIFFERENT BODY PARTS WE HAVE CREATED TO MAKE THE MODEL CAR MATCH THE REAL CAR AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE, THAT IS JUST BODY TEMPLATES, WE HAVE NOT EVEN TOUCHED ON THE GRAPHICS AND ART WORK...LOL. THAT IS A WHOLE OTHER DEAL I HAD TO TEACH MYSELF TO DO ALONG WITH OVER THE YEARS SOME GREAT HELP BY SOME OF THE BEST GRAPHICS GUYS OUT THERE LIKE DAN PILAT OF PILAT GRAPHICS AND DAN GILL OF ATOMIC SIGNWORKS. BOTH OF THESE GUYS HAVE REALLY HELPED US ON THEIR CARS OVER THE YEARS AS WELL AS I MYSELF HAVE DONE THEIR CARS AS WELL AS EVERY OTHER GRAPHIC GUY. THESE GUYS ARE GOOD, DAM GOOD AND TOUGH TO PULL OFF COPIES OF THEIR WORK. IT IS NO EASY TASK RECREATING THESE CARS GRAPHICS AND I THINK WE NAIL THEM PRETTY DARN CLOSE TO THE REAL DEALS IF NOT PERFECT ON MOST.
THIS IS MY FORM OF ART WORK... THIS IS MY SCULPTURE. THIS IS WHAT I PRODUCED FROM A COMBINATION OF COMPUTER ART TO A HAND MADE 3 DIMENSIONAL MODEL. NO ONE HAS ANYTHING ON THE MARKET EVEN CLOSE TO WHAT WE PRODUCE AT ANY PRICE. YOU CAN'T GO TO ANY WALMART OR DIECAST SHOP TO GET THESE... CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH THE LABOR OF LOVE THAT GOES INTO THESE CARS AND THE HOURS OF WORK. IF ANYONE EVER HUNG OUT WITH US FOR A FEW WEEKS AND SEEN WHAT WE DID AND THE HOURS WE WORKED YOU WOULD SAY YOU GUYS ARE NUTS...LOL. WE REALLY DO THESE CARS DIRT CHEAP IF YOU SEEN WHAT WE DO TO MAKE THESE COME TO LIFE.
WHEN PEOPLE ASK JENNIFER WHAT DOES YOUR HUSBAND DO FOR A LIVING SHE SAID SHE TELLS THEM I AM AN ARTIST... I HEARD THAT WHEN SHE WAS TELLING SOMEONE AND SHE EXPLAINED TO ME, ROB YOU ARE. THIS IS ART WORK YOU ARE DOING. YOU CREATED ALL OF THIS IN YOUR MIND AND YOU BRING IT LIFE, THIS IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL FORM OF ART AND I LAUGHED AND SAID... I GUESS YOUR RIGHT.. I NEVER KNEW WHAT TO SAY WHEN I WAS ASKED THAT, I BUILD MODEL CARS NEVER SEEMED TO SOUND RIGHT ... I AM GOING WITH YOUR ANSWER NEXT TIME ...LOL.
YOU ARE BUYING A PIECE OF ART WORK, WE ARE DOING THESE AS LONG AS WE CAN BUT WHEN ONE DAY WE ARE DONE THEY ARE DONE, THAT'S IT. DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER WE CAN KEEP IT GOING BUT WE WILL TRY AS BEST AS WE CAN. WE MAKE THEM AS PERFECT AS WE CAN BUT THEY ARE HAND MADE, PARTS ARE BENT AND SHAPED BY HAND, FITTED TOGETHER PIECE BY PIECE ALL BY JUST US 2. WE HAVE NO EMPLOYEE'S. IF WE HAD TO PAY EMPLOYEE'S WE WOULD HAVE BEEN OUT OF BUSINESS YEARS AGO. WHAT IT WOULD COST US TO PAY PEOPLE TO BUILD THESE TO THE LEVEL THAT WE DO WOULD COST US MORE THEN WHAT WE SELL THEM FOR LET ALONE THE RISING MATERIAL COST. WE DO EVERYTHING OURSELVES FROM TRAVELING TO DO ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHY WORK NEEDED AND THE MONEY THAT INVOLVES THAT, DESIGNING BODY PARTS, GRAPHICS, BUILDING, WEBSITE, MARKETING AND SELLING, WORKING WITH RACE TEAMS EVERYTHING INVOLVED IT IS JUST US 2 DOING IT. SO PLEASE TAKE ALL THIS INTO MIND WHEN ORDERING FROM US, IT IS JUST ME FULL TIME AND JENN WORKING NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS WITH ME AFTER 43 HOURS AT HER DAY JOB. WE POUND OUT ALLOT OF WORK PRETTY FAST WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT THAT WAY AND ALL THE RACE TEAMS IN SPORTSMAN, 358 AND BIG BLOCKS AND RACE FANS TO WORK WITH AND IT IS JUST US.
I REALLY DO NOT LIKE TO GET INTO ALLOT OF DETAILS OF HOW IT GOES TOGETHER. THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO BUILD THESE I JUST STARE AT THE REAL CARS AND FIGURE OUT HOW I CAN RECREATE IT AS CLOSE TO THE REAL THING WITH HAND MADE PARTS AND THEN BE ABLE TO DO IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN AT A PACE THAT WE CAN TURN THEM OUT AT A AFFORDABLE PRICE. I FEEL I CAN DESIGN AND BUILD ANYTHING BUT MAKING IT SO I CAN DO IT OVER AND OVER IN A CERTAIN TIME FRAME AND MAKE IT LOOK CORRECT IS THE KEY. I HAVE NO PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN COMPUTERS, IN GRAPHICS, WEBSITES NONE OF THIS STUFF. I WORKED ON REAL CARS FOR YEARS UNTIL I HURT MY NECK AND BACK TO THE POINT I COULD NO LONGER DO MY TRADE AND THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO LOOSE EVERYTHING BEING OUT OF WORK HURT AND NO TRADE TO RETURN TO.
I BOUGHT A COMPUTER IN 2000 AND DID NOT EVEN KNOW HOW TO TURN IT ON, IN AUGUST OF 2002 I STARTED DESIGNING OUR VERY FIRST CAR AND I HAVE NEVER STOPPED TEACHING MYSLEF AND KEPT PUSHING IT FURTHER AND FURTHER. I HAVE HAD TO TEACH MYSELF EVERYTHING AND DO EVERYTHING BETWEEN ME AND JENNIFER AS THEIR IS NO MONEY TO PAY ANYONE FOR ANY OF THAT. WE DO THIS WORK AS CHEAP AS WE CAN AND IF WE ARE PAYING FOR ALL THIS OTHER STUFF IT EFFECTS OUR PRICES SO WE KEEP TRYING TO TEACH OURSELVES AND KEEP ADDING ONTO OUR PLATE. WE HAVE TO DO IT ALL TO BE ABLE TO KEEP DOING THIS FOR RACE TEAMS AND FANS. WE MAKE THE WEBSITE LOOK THE BEST WE CAN FOR ME HACKING AROUND BUT I WILL SAY I AM PRETTY HAPPY WITH THIS ONE. STILL NOT A PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE BUT IT WORKS FOR US AND GETS OUR CARS OUT THERE FOR YOU TO SEE AND ORDER. I THINK YOU ALL UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE WHAT WE DO AS WE GET SOME DAM GOOD EMAILS FROM RACE TEAMS AND FANS SUPPORTING US AND WE DO NOT FORGET THAT.
BUT TO CLARIFY AS FAR AS ANYONE WANTING TO KNOW AS FAR AS BUYING IT IS A MODEL CAR. IT IS NOT MADE OF METAL AND IT CAN BREAK LIKE ANY MODEL CAR. IT HAS A PLASTIC SOLID TUBE CHASSIS, RUBBER TIRES AND CHROME PLATED PLASTIC RIMS. IT IS A LAMINATED PAPER TYPE BODY USING VARIOUS THICKNESS IN BOTH PAPER AND LAMINATE FOR CERTAIN BODY PARTS. THIS MAKES US ABLE TO KEEP PRODUCING ALL THE VARIOUS BODIES BUT WITH THE LAMINATE PLASTIC COATING MAKES THEM HAVE A PROTECTIVE COATING TO MAKE THEM DURABLE AND LAST OVER TIME.
I HATE HAVING TO USE THE WORDS PAPER AS ANYONE WHO SEES THESE CARS AND HANDLES THEM SEES HOW TOUGH THEY REALLY ARE ONCE THEY ARE LAMINATED IN VARIOUS THICKNESS MATERIALS AS WELL AS JUST HOW THE PARTS ARE ASSEMBLED MAKES A DIFFERENCE. I HAVE LEARNED ALLOT OVER 8 YEARS AND 3,000 MODEL CARS LATER ON WHAT NOT WORKS BUT LAST FOR YEARS. I PERSONALLY HAVE CARS THAT ARE 7 YEARS OLD AND NOT ONE PIECE IS LOOSE. NOW I LEANERED BETTER WAYS TO MAKE THEM OVER THE YEARS AND RIGHT NOW HANDS DOWN WE HAVE THIS PROCESS DOWN.
THESE CARS ARE FOR DISPLAY PURPOSES ONLY....THESE ARE NOT TOYS AND NOT MEANT TO BE PLAYED WITH...THEY DO NOT ROLL OF COME WITH ANY MOVING PARTS. THESE ARE MADE TO DISPLAY ON A SHELF FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOOKING AT ONLY. I DO NOT WANT TO BY ANY MEANS OVER SELL THESE CARS SO I WILL SAY ALL OF THIS SO IF THIS IS A PROBLEM TO ANYONE I WOULD RATHER NOT SELL YOU A CAR THEN NOT HAVE YOU HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU SPENT YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY ON.
WE ARE A LEGIT BUSINESS ON THE BOOKS SENSE 2004 AND REGISTERED IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. THE PRICE WE SELL TO YOU WE STILL HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON IT. WE DO NOT CHARGE YOU ANY TAX, WE TAKE THAT OUT OF THE MONEY YOU PAY AND WE PAY THAT. SO WHEN YOU BACK OUT TAXES, ROUGHLY $10.00-$12.00 NOW DAYS THE LATTER IN MATERIALS OUT OF THE PRICE YOU SEE THERE IS NOT A TONS LEFT OVER. THEN TAKE AN AVERAGE OF 4-5 HOURS FROM START TO FINISH...SEE WHAT I MEAN ? WHAT MAY SEEM LIKE ALLOT FOR A MODEL CAR WHEN YOU BREAK IT DOWN TO WHAT WE ACTULLY SEE AND THE TIME INVOLVED IT REALLY ISN'T. OKAY ENOUGH ALREADY JUST TRYING TO EXPLAIN AS BEST AS I CAN WHAT WE DO IS NOT A MONEY MACHINE BUT JUST A CRAZY RACE FAN WHO TOOK IT A STEP BEYOND...LOL.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR ART WORK !
ROB & JENNIFER MORTIER
