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I have a die cast, highly detail model of the Miss Thriftway (approximately 6" long) that I think I bought in the 1990's from the Hydropane & Raceboat Museum.  It seems to me that several other hydros were offered at the same time.  I have never seen any of them offered again.  Does anyone have one of these excellent models or know what happened to them? 

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hello, i too bought 2 of these thriftway models along with 2 gale V's. they were the 1955 boats that competed in the gold cup that year. they were going to put out 2 new ones every so often (i forget the time range) it was such a hard thing to make that they gave it up. i received my four boats in the mail. they were in blue boxes with foam inside to protect the boat. when mine arrived they were rattled loose and broken up. i did not want to complain so i just stored them. a little while ago i came across them. and i was wondering if there is anybody who would know how to restore them. i would appreciate help. thanks

Craftworks Model Hydros

I think this is the place.

no, the are not craftwork models. i know about the craftworks boats. these came from the museum i'd say late eighties or early ninetys. the boats were assembled when they arrived. nice work, really detailed

I have a copy of a letter dated April 12, 1997 from David Williams. The letterhead is Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum, 1605 S 93rd, seattle WA 98108. The letter says:

"After eight months of broken promises and missed deadlines, Puget Sound Scale Models (the company we hired to assemble our scale models) has officially defaulted on their contract, and returned all of the partially assembled die cast models to us. We were shocked to find out that Puget Sound Scale Models had not progressed nearly as far on the project as they claimed.

Over the past few months I have sent you newsletters and other correspondence with optimistic estimates of when the models would be finished. All of these estimates were based on information from Puget Sound Scale Models. They have failed to live up to their time table. This has been embarrassing for us and I'm sure frustrating for you. I apologize for any misinformation that we may have given you in the past.

We have now turned the assembly contract over to a company called Spice Manufacturing. They have begun working today. However, we estimate that it may take us two minths or more to finish the models.

We know that this is a huge disappointment to you and ask your continued patience. To show how much we appreciate your patience, we have included a gift set of trading cards as well as a free museum key chain with this letter.

If you are tired of waiting, and want to finish the assembly yourself, we can send you the partially finished model. If you have lost all patience and just want your money back, we will refund your money.

We are still working (with a different manufacture) to produce future models, and fully expect the second and third sets in this series to be available by summer.

Once more I thank you for your trust and patience.

 

Sincerely

(Signed)

David Williams)"

 

I am not sure if this was the last word on the models, but I did eventually receive both the 1/48 scale 1955 Miss Thriftway and the 1955 Gale V in excellent condition. Is it possible that Tony's were returned partially assembled? That would explain them being in pieces. The foam packaging was so tight on mine that the models could not possible have been damaged without destroying the packaging too.

I also have a copy of the brochure offering the models and other items for sale. The trading cards were $15 per 25-card set. There were six sets offered.

The models are very fragile and I keep them in a closed clear-plastic display case. They sold for $60 each or $100 for a set of two.

I do not recall ever seeing an offer for the follow-on models mentioned in the letter.

 

Glenn

glenn, thanks for clearing it up for me. i really don't remember to much about what went on back then, but that could have been.



Tony Bugeja said:

glenn, thanks for clearing it up for me. i really don't remember to much about what went on back then, but that could have been.

Since I do still have the models, I might be able to help you restore your models. It depends on the condition. Let me know if you are still interested. It has been a while since I looked at this forum. I am in Kirkland, but sometimes come down to the museum. I will check back in a couple of days.
 
Bob Senior said:



Tony Bugeja said:

glenn, thanks for clearing it up for me. i really don't remember to much about what went on back then, but that could have been.

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