Anyway, new release news:

'09 Estoril - Oct. 25th

'01 Honda VTR and '09 Rossi/Lorenzo set - Nov. 22nd.

There has been a delay in the '04 1/8 Phillip Island helmet, in case anyone is waiting on that.

In other news, I added the pictures of the '05 Laguna Seca helmet.  This pics can be found under TRUE MINICHAMPS tab above, and the helmets link on the bottom of that page.  Still waiting on delivery of the '07 Assen helmet (I have these shipped with other items to save shipping...)

That's all for now.  More news as it develops...

Josh

Anyway, new release news:

'09 Estoril - Oct. 25th

'01 Honda VTR and '09 Rossi/Lorenzo set - Nov. 22nd.

There has been a delay in the '04 1/8 Phillip Island helmet, in case anyone is waiting on that.

In other news, I added the pictures of the '05 Laguna Seca helmet.  This pics can be found under TRUE MINICHAMPS tab above, and the helmets link on the bottom of that page.  Still waiting on delivery of the '07 Assen helmet (I have these shipped with other items to save shipping...)

That's all for now.  More news as it develops...

Josh

GREAT CLASSIC ROCK

Friday & Saturday

August 27th & 28th

The "Surprise" True Minichamps® bike is also up - the 2002 Honda Pre Season test bike with the correct "narrow" tail.  The story is with the pictures under the TRUE MINICHAMPS tab above.

Anyone following on Facebook/Twitter might have seen the displayed 1/12 scale bikes are now up to 79 at rossiminichamps HQ.  It brings up the questions - what should I actually be doing with my free time!!

Josh 

Now maybe we can find out the true about that "secret" Ducati test in 2006!!  LOL!

Josh

Stay tuned, as another conversion in coming up!!

And, start trading all the Yamaha blue for Ducati red!!

Josh

In other news, Minichamps® announced the 2008 Indianapolis "1st Win" bike today(122 083146).  It will have rain tyres and a special "dirty" paint job, similar to the reissue '01 Mugello.  As you may recall, this was VR's 69th win, passing the previous record.  Also announced is the 2010 Fiat (122 103046).  There was no announced release dates on either bike.

Keep an eye right here for new bikes/pics and don't forget that VR will announce his 2011 plans following the race on Sunday!

Josh

Yeah, It's been a while since we blogged.....farming, work & gigs!  Just wanted to add another date,  we will be in williston, at the Moose Lodge for 2 weekends, the end of August, & begining of Sept.!  Gotta love it....We do!!  Hope ths summer is treating all well   The New CD of ours "How we Duet" is completed, and now just waiting for the cover work to get done!!  Should be ready by the end of this month!!  Check back to our site, as a couple of songs from the cd will be added to the "Our songs" catagory!  Have a great day, reader!!

The album contains 14 songs with over 68 minutes of music. 9 original tunes and 5 by other writers.

Former Bismarckers Jody Hanks and Mark Knoll are featured as well on two tunes.

Thanks again for your support!

DW

I spoke with Peter Roach-Atkinson at length about this particular set of decals.  I let him know about this site and that I had more then a dozen questions in a week about his product and I wanted to do a conversion with his product as a review for the site.  As we talked about the 00 PI set, Peter reassured me that he spent many hours/weeks/months researching this and each of his projects and even sent me some of the hard to find pictures of this bike. Another great reassurance with “Decal Model Decyls” products is the satisfaction guarantee and the option that if you mess up and ruin a decal, they will get you a replacement.  With this knowledge in hand, I abandoned my typical routine of ordering two sets in case I make a mistake, and ordered one hoping that I didn’t have to take Peter up on his warranty/replacement options.  He was also more then happy to help me if I ran into any problems.  So, without a product in hand, Peter had received an “A+” in customer service, which doesn’t happen very often!

When the decals arrived, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and attention to detail of this set and the others he sent for review.  Also included was a set of specific instructions that are well written and easy to understand.  As I read the instructions (yeah, I’m the guy that reads the owner’s manual on everything before trying it, i.e. my new lawn mower…), I was thinking of how to make the job easier, which is something else I always do.  When I can typically think of three or four things I would do differently, I only found one with Peter’s set, and it was actually extremely minor.  The instructions state that you should lift the decals off the sheet with a tweezer or knife blade – and I found that working with these is easier if you remove the excess vinyl leaving only the decals on the paper, thus looking like a waterslide sheet.  So, I grade the out of the package product and “A”, and the instructions an “A+”.  So far, so good I would say!

Peter’s decals are designed to either go over existing factory decals or leaving them and adding “Decal Model Decyls” decals to achieve the same effect.  I studied my conversion for a while and decided that I wanted to use all of Peter’s decals for the cowling and fairings to make the bike more uniform and not mix-n-match waterslide and vinyl decals (yet another perfect example of my OCD of perfection on these bikes!!).  The more typical converter would be perfectly happy adding Peter’s decals and achieve the same effect as mine, with about ¼ of the work.

With my three pieces removed and repainted, I started on applying the “Decal Model Decyls” to the parts.  The instructions inform the user to apply these with a mild water/dish soap solution as the adhesive is very strong and can remove paint.  I found that I didn’t need to do this after the first couple as I had a good feel for it.  The secret I found was that you place one corner or edge and don’t press it down into place until you are sure that is where you want it.  I laid out the entire piece before “locking” them in place, but found that a knife edge and tweeter lift them up with ease.  They vinyl is strong and does not contort using tweezers – any little impression the tweezers leave go straight away when reapplied.  Grading easy of use – “A”.

One minor problem I had doing this specific conversion was finish.  Appling a glossy decal to a flat painted bike didn’t look realistic.  I found that a couple of quick coats of Testor’s Dull Coat over the pieces solved that problem.  I am only guessing, but this should not be an issue on a glossy finished bike.

Now, as I mentioned before, these decals are slightly thicker then waterslide, and that was my biggest concern with the product.  However, I am extremely happy with the decals because when I look at my display case where it is between two waterslide conversions, it is practically unnoticeable unless you get very close and look!  Finished product grade – “A”.

There were two, and only two, minor problems with this set that I found.  The first one, which I addressed with Peter, was the black edge around the decals for the screen.  As I correctly assumed, this is an issue of cost as printing and cutting on clear vinyl is much more expensive.  Peter addressed this by combining the Breil band around the screen into one piece (the middle one should be on the screen) on his conversion, and using the screen decals in there correct positions, which looks totally acceptable on his and the ones he sells.  I decided (insert my OCD mentioned above here) to compromise and remove the logo from the factory screen decal (banking on I can find a waterslide someday), and leaving the smaller factory Breil logo.  The second issue, again minor, was when I applied the hugger logo to the re-carboned hugger.  There is a black band around the decal where a waterslide would show the carbon under the logo which is more realistic.  However, there are limits to what vinyl decals can do, and I found that this was acceptable because without Peter and “Decal Model Decyls” I wouldn’t have been able to do this conversion!   I realize that most people aren’t the perfectionist that I am, so I honestly can’t deduct anything grading wise for this two, in reality, very minor issues.

Overall, I give Peter and “Decal Model Decyls” an “A” on these decals.  I would highly recommend them to anyone that is looking for decals that are needed to fill that conversion hole in any collection.  Peter has an extensive catalog of decals for bikes, riders, helmets and resin figures, and is willing to do custom sets, if feasible.  The “Decal Model Decyls” website is in the works and coming soon, but in the meantime you can email Peter at p44ra444@yahoo.co.uk , check out his eBay items by searching for seller 10ra444, or give him a call 01726 814 304.  I look forward to working with Peter in the future to help me add some very unique conversions to the rossiminichamps site, and feel completely confident that he will supply me with a quality product that is extremely easy to use and, if done correctly, can hold a candle to any waterslide conversion in the display case!

Josh

Josh

In other news, the original 2001 NSR500 is up under the TRUE MINICHAMPS tab, the "DECALS MODEL DECYLS" set has arrived with a couple other sets to review), and I hope to get started on that this evening.  Still waiting on delivery of the Bello Models exclusive Honda, and the '08 Barcelona pics should be up early next week.

As always, I'll keep you posted right here (and Facebook and Twitter) with new additions and news.

Josh

I have purchased a set of these new decals for which I have a spare bike lying around here doing nothing.  I will be writing an indepth review of this product as soon as it arrives, so hopefully it will be completed before the end of the month.

That's it for now.  Now I must continue my recovery from the dreaded West Nile virus which I contracted from the state bird, the mosquito, while working in my new back yard...

Josh

The Dean Weisser Band's new CD, "Back in the Day", will be off to the presses in a couple days. Pre-orders can be made by sending a check or money order for $17.50 to:
Brown Derby Productions
PO Box 27003
Golden Valley, MN 55427-0003.
Expect 3-4 weeks for delivery...

Thanks for alll your support!

DW

Remember the show this weekend at Bernies Esquire, on the Street!

Josh

You can find them on eBay (item #160448465046, and no I didn't pay $600), or you can contact Calin directly from the www.bellomodels.com website by clicking Contact Us at the top of the page.  I am also very happy to add Bello Models to the LINKS page as our offical German dealer!!

Pictures will be posted the day the bike arrives at rossiminichamps.com headquarters.

(Good job Clifford!!!)

Josh

A demo of out latest track is now online!  Check it out and let us know if it's any good.

TGC 

After Nashville went to SC and visited Myrtle Beach, and had an awesome time with family and friends.

Concert at church mom grew up in. Met lots of mom's friends when she lived there before moving to North Dakota.

Josh

Update for the June 20th show.  There is going to be a couple local bands from Bis Man and a band from Oregon and possibly one from Wisconsin playing with us this Sunday night.  All ages so bring everyone.  Laterz

TGC