I Can't Believe I Bought It

In further news, after a very, very long period of yearning, I bought myself (with my family's help) my birthday present: an 1880's-era "White Clad" ice box from Shaker Works West.  I will now retire to a darkened room to recover.  Seriously though, there's nothing else on the market even remotely like it.  I've never owned one of Dr. Byer's pieces, but I'm familiar with his work and have always admired it.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Ken Byers

Not only is this the Cadillac of ice boxes, it's the only ice box!  Bizarrely, ice boxes don't seem to be something artisans make--and as Dr. Byers correctly notes on his website, you can't really make your own because the hardware simply isn't available.  The, um, complete and utter desert of misery that is dollhouse hardware is another post altogether.  So when my beautiful new ice box arrives, I'll post pictures and write about it!

It's not for another couple of weeks, but happy birthday to me!

Model Cars That Should Exist

Spending quite a bit of money I don't really have to spend, I (with my husband's encouragement) made up for a truly horrible day by purchasing a few model kits.  I already have a 1:16 Phantom II in my closet (along with my Franklin Mint dolls--tell no one), just waiting to be put together.  And, well, the 1:12 Datsun was calling my name.  I think it'd be an awesome addition to my Horrible Rural Shack.

Which brings me to my first question: why are 1:12 scale models quite so expensive?  I mean, sure, they're larger so they'll cost more...but hundreds of dollars for a box of extruded plastic?  Really?

Second, has anyone else used 1:14 or 1:16 scale cars (or bikes, or trucks, or whatever) in their scenes?  Has it worked?

And, finally, on a really mostly unrelated note, there should be better (or existing at all) kits of the following cars:

1. Tucker Torpedo
2. Stanley K Raceabout
3. Delahaye Cabriolet (the 135 would be OK, too)
4. Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic (or the 735 B)
5. Daimler-Maybach 1889 "Steel Wheel"
6. Phantom Corsair
7. Edsel Corsair (an ad running in "Life" proclaimed that "the Edsel is here to stay!")
8. Jaguar XK120
9. Stutz Bearcat (Mr. Burns owns one, as do Dirk Pitt and several of Anne Rice's characters)
10. 1958 Plymouth Fury
11. 1936 Ford Siebert combination ambulance/hearse (um...great)