1:20.3 OR 1:22.5 SCALE VELOCIPEDE
Manufacturer: Ozark Miniatures, P.O. Box 22, Linn Creek, MO 65052. Price: OM-58 Velocipede kit $19.95 suggested list.
IT IS WORTH reprinting the note Ozark's owner, Carol Herget, enclosed with our sample.
"Dear Mr. ReinBROOK," it reads (with obvious reference to a previous issue where Gus Swanberg heartlessly and sarcastically desecrated my hallowed and venerable surname). "Hi. Thought you would like to see one of our velocipedes in person. The full size one resides in a museum in Fort Bragg, California. There is also a very close copy at the Narrow Gauge Museum in Golden, Colorado.
"The kit can be built to operate if it is built with care. It was intended as a detail part. Scale sizes of some parts had to be made oversize to give more strength and better castability [sic]. However the model conveys the idea of a velocipede. Parts are fragile and a full size person had best stay off of it, huh?"
Good idea, Carol. It was also thoughtful to send a built-up model. Every visitor to the office has admired it, picked it up, spun the wheels, and shrieked with delight upon noticing the mechanism functions. The finished model is a jewel. The oversize parts Carol mentions are unobjectionable. The quality of the castings and level of detail are excellent.
The kit contains about thirty beautiful white metal castings and a few lengths of brass rod. You will need three different drill bits, CA (super glue) and five minute epoxy, a hobby knife, a fine file, flush cutting pliers, and 150 grit sandpaper to assemble it. Experience with a large assortment of Ozark castings suggests the parts will have little or no flash so you probably can begin construction immediately.
The instructions and illustrations are very clear. Assembly probably will require five or six hours. Our photo may do the model an injustice; you really have to hold one in your hand to appreciate it fully. In 1:20.3 scale the velocipede measures 76 inches end-to-end, about 45 inches side-to-side, and about 38 inches tall with the handlebars at their highest point. Dimensions in 1:22.5 would be about ten percent larger.
Has Ozark produced another winner? Undoubtedly. Do I have a criticism? Yes. Ozark should have made the wheels narrower and the flanges smaller; the mechanism may operate in your hand but you would need a living miniature person to propel it around your layout so why adhere to toy train standards? How would I rate the model? Excellent, of course. In a model with so much quality and charisma, I simply yearn for absolute perfection.-RR
