hillflyer

I remember this place. Meyers Jacobson proposed moving the Belmont Park roller coaster there, or building a larger version of it.

I knew Pamela. I have a nice picture of Flutterby. Thanks for sharing this.

Instead of matte board for the top cover of the 2-ply styrofoam base, I found some foam core sheets that have a cork topping. I really like it, plus it will make the base even stronger. There was one section that I had to redo since some more photos of that area came to light. Heading up towards the mid-course brake, the track has a more flat approach upward than what I had before. I also found what seems to suit me need for footings (it didn't have them before). I used playdough, and a straw to form them. Before they dry I drive a stick through them. Then I'm going to paint brown.

Restoration of the Airplane model begins again. Well, instead of working on repairing this model of the Airplane, I instead involved myself in writing workshops to prepare for a book I want to write about my experience saving the Mission Beach Giant Dipper. The workshops resulted in my writing 4 short plays for the Old Globe theater (where I work), a few songs and several poems, not to mention a two-part article on early Amusement Park authoritarian Gary Kyriazi for RollerCoaster! Magazine. In spite of being totally burned out on model building after the completion of the Cyclone Racer, I did manage to push out a model (from a kit) of the Jupiter 2 ship from Lost in Space, and a neat 4-trough cardboard marble roller coaster. I have been doing a lot of drawing too. I also have been active in the fight against Covid in the only way I know how. In the meantime, my Airplane model (originally intended to be sent to the Roller Coaster Museum in Plainview, Texas) went from being crammed in my storage unit to being moved to my back yard for several months where it deteriorated a little bit. After my new property managers cemented in my back yard (and the whole property) it has been sitting on my dining room table collecting dust and making my little dining room look cluttered. During the summer, I did at least remove the structure from the original landscaped base which had warped and become soggy from the outside elements, and bought material to make a new base. I also want to turn it from a three-piece model into a two-piece model. Well FINALLY, after actually considering just trashing it, decided to muster up some inspiration and start placing back some broken off pieces to see where this goes. The structure isn't in that bad a shape, just a lot of tiny pieces need replacing, especially all the goose-neck lamps and cartouches, however, I think I'll wait until right before I send it off to Texas before I put those back on because they snap off so easily. Most of the work will be the new base and securing the model on top of it, and splicing the two sections I want to make one.

Found a project that will help keep me busy during this stay indoors period. Dug out the discarded model of my Airplane coaster after nearly two years. For about a year it was out in my backyard area, the last year crammed under my dining room table. I'm going to redo the base using styrofoam (test fit pictured). If that goes well, I'll do some structural repair. If you're seeing this thread for the first time, this is a model of the Airplane coaster based on what it might look like were it abandoned and left to decay in order to make a statement on preservation. One third of the model sits on new base which will be double-ply.. The lift hill. The lift hill and the back spiral sections will become one. Measurements of new base

Brand new video from Cyclone Racer enthusiast Larry Osterhoudt. The question isn't whether or not you THINK this is possible, the question is: Do you WANT to one day see a rebuild of the Greatest Ride in the World? I don't see why any wood coaster enthusiast would say no. Take it from someone who knows first hand that sometimes the most impossible dreams can come true. I know I'll be at that meeting.

The Model was a big hit at the ACE convention banquet. It was then successfully taken to the roller coaster museum at Plainview Texas.

Thanks I appreciate that you never know it may end up at a rollercoaster museum near you one day Last weekend I drove two-thirds of the model up to Buena Park where it sits in storage until the convention

First person to copy and paste this sentence in a postreply gets a free seat. Like this? Yup! Like that! Just send me an image similar to this one, arms down at side or straight up in the air, (higher than this) tcolemodels@gmail.com

Part 2

Happy Birthday Cyclone Racer, you would have been 89 today. As far as I'm concerned, I'm pretty much finished with this model. All I need to finish is one more train and some other little loose details to be straightened out. Three and a half years of working a few hours every day and or night to tackle what I knew would be another long drawn out project. Last Saturday a friend of mine and I took it out for a photo shoot alongside the water's edge. Last Saturday was the last opportunity to do the photo shoot before I drive this thing up to a Buena Park storage facility to store until the Banquet at ACE con 42. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm pretty much finished with this model. Three and a half years of working a few hours every day and or night to tackle what I knew would be another long drawn out project. Last Saturday a friend of mine and I took it out for a photo shoot alongside the water's edge. Those are all on the next page. Here is a close up of one of the trains posed coming down hill #4. Notice the paper cut outs. I soon will have a Go Fund Me where you can buy a spot on the train. First person to copy and paste this sentence in a postreply gets a free seat. Last Saturday was the last opportunity to do the photo shoot before I drive this thing up to a Buena Park storage facility to store until the Banquet at ACE con 42.

The last major part constructed: The sign. Next up: Placing images of my supporters into the trains, to be on placed on the model for display for time and memorial! Are you a supporter? I anticipate the model being finished on Memorial Day weekend! It will be on display at Coaster Con 42 banquet. The Cyclone Racer sign, photo taken after the last day of operation. Photo copy of original sign up against my recreation....close enough. I wish I had to the time and the motivation to light this up. People seem to be more impressed with it when I tell them I spit this out of a 3D printer, which I really didn't it's all hand made. I don't get it. Replacing the little white paper people with images of my supporters. (I just put myself in the front as an example.) Are YOU a supporter? The most intriguing racing roller coaster every built. Hill for hill, you can almost trace the path of the Coney Cyclone.

I'm finally seeing the end of the tunnel. I knew that when I was finally building what I call the spiderweb, where it looks like some of the structure fell on itself. More handrails and a few repairs and adjustments... Movie clip of first drop that was helpful in my recreation below. The spiderweb, an afterthought added only a few years into the ride's operation. The last piece of structure added and tracked. A centerpiece for your next party? Raising the outer rim one layer is foam as the pier's elevation raises up about 5 feet. Getting all the headers in the right place was as fun as a jigsaw puzzle. Ha.

Been a modeling fool this week, in spite of the uncomfortable stent hanging out of my body from my surgery. Trying not to get into panic mode as the ACE convention gets closer. Found a font close enough to use. I put the sign on a light box to trace the letters... ...onto a sheet of polystyrene plastic. modifying just slightly to make it more true to the original. Cut them out. Adding a micro strip of plastic around the edge of each letter lends realistic depth. Trivia about the artist: That little scar on my hand I got in May 1981 from falling with a coffee cup in my hand. Late that night after getting home from the ER I saw a documentary on Fleetwood Mac and fell in love with Stevie Nicks. That's also the time I was working on my first rendition of a section of the Belmont Coaster model. Used a fine tubing (neon) to run inside the letters, blue on top, orange on the bottom. Also added the neon on the pole position. Not really neon, just a painted polystyrene rod. I wish I knew about wiring, I'd make this really light up. The last photo of this section exposed by itself before I layer over hill number 3. More bents for one of three more short runs. Bents above completed, erected, strung together and placed. Only two more short runs left to build! Mounting the middle section on its permanent base. At the last minute decided to paint the inside blue because originally the coaster did stand out over the water, plus a darker contrast is better with the white. Starting the base for under the first turn. The ocean end of the pier was actually about 5 feet higher than the land end, so the white edges resemble that elevation change. So far...what I always called the Texaco star...

It would have been easier to make the lift hills' pole positions look original,which is just a duplicate of the others. But I went with the 1950s-60s updated one instead. Also made a temporary sign to 1) test the font size for a future real sign and 2) keep people who see me working on this from saying, "Oh, Belmont Park", or, " Colossus". Had kidney stone blasting surgery yesterday, that's my 86 year old Dad. Taking an extra sick day tomorrow and work on that sign. The large sign was added along with Jack Ray designed pole position. Minutes away from having kidney stones blasted. That's 86 year old Dad, father of the model maker.

It’s getting to be that time now where I’m starting to fix the frayed ends of where the middle and two end sections of the model come together. The model will come apart in three sections, and I’m making the ends flush so they’ll match up end to end as seamless as I possibly can. More patchwork between two sections, where the trains exit the crisscross and the happy hump. Patching an area with pre track where the model will have to come apart for moving Note the layers of track A clean, flush end. There are 25 patch jobs like this to do. But I did these three in under 4 hours so that's encouraging. I love my job, especially when famous people call! The gaps to be filled in are glaring...

That is hilarious* as I stole MY copy of The Great American Amusement Parks around 1987 from the Oak Forest Public Library. A few years ago I spoke to Gary across facebook (and told him how I got the book!), and thanked him for such a great book. He also shared some great Colossus 1978 stories with me. Last year, I did a true "amends" and returned the book to the library's current manager and made a financial donation/financial amends as well. Yes, about 30 years later... I worshiped that book for a couple decades. *Not saying that stealing anything from anywhere is cool... Wow that's great you did that...return the book that is. Did they frown upon you or just take it in stride? I wondered about doing the same thing. But considering it really pushed me over the top in my love for roller coasters, enough love to spend 10 years actually SAVING one from being torn town, I figure its the least I can get in back return. LOL.

Thanks! Those are fun to watch but it's very difficult to accurately make a scale model coaster and have it run, especially one with a really shallow rate of decline like the Cyclone Racer. My models are all about the art of the structure anyways, which nobody notices if all they want to see is a train zipping around, but I'd like to give it a try some time! I have a design stored away years ago.

Only three months to go before Coaster Con! Turning up the heat on getting this here model done of Long Beach’s Cyclone Racer. All I have left are three small sections of uprights, and track, mending all the gaps between the three main sections so they’re flush, and going back and doing lots of detail overlooked. Mapping out the middle section for placement of three main sections. Comparing... Tracking climb up third hill. The drop coming down the third hill, heading towards the flat then around over the station. On the left is part of the double down on the east run. Third drop tracked. Interesting composition shot mixing sections together. Would like to do more of these. Tracking the double down. Using my map to place pieces for fun for now. The lift hills would be in the middle and the big hole in the structure is where the bottom of the first drop slices through. The red are bents I still have to build and yellow is track nearing completion.

But if it was its own park, wouldn't you have to buy an additional entrance ticket which would make it even more expensive? At least by adding it to an existing park you get better value for money out of your outrageous ticket price. Not another park like California Adventure is a part of Disney, bit a totally separate thing, like Magic Mountain when it was its own thing. Forget Disney.

I hate these comments. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT WALT WOULD DO BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN DEAD FOR 50 YEARS. Also, Walt sold like every inch of the park he could to sponsors. And built an entire land (fantasyland) based on movie properties he owned. All I'm saying is, Star Wars could be its own park instead of cramming it into a park already over stuffed and overcrowded with outrageous ticket prices.

It'd be fine if $tar War$ was an entire amusement park on its own. I don't like how it's invaded Di$neyland. Walt must be turning in his grave.

When I stole my copy of The Great American Amusement Parks from local library in 1977, little did I know 42 years later I would become good friends with the author Gary Kyriazi! He spent a whole weekend at my small cramped apartment among my model Airplane and Cyclone Racer roller coaster parts and we all got through unscathed. He's a really cool guy. I've only three months to finish this thing, before the upcoming ACE convention. Tim and Gary throwing one back at the Coaster Saloon in Mission Beach Gary Kyriazi, from Arizona, enjoying getting his feet wet at dog beach in Ocean Beach, right near where Wonderland used to be. The climb up into hill #3 after the turn and second drop. Hill #8 in the foreground, before I painted the track. Uprights cut Bents made as well as the subtrack. Ledgers, measured, scored and drilled. The next section I’m working on in the blue square, an extension of the previous photo. A photo of the real Cyclone Racer and the section I’m working on. Gary and ACEr Jay Margot and I about to do some dippin'

I don't post a whole lot of photos of the real Cyclone Racer, but this one just came out yesterday. Stunning, one of the best images of the west side in its entirety that I have ever seen. There was no other coaster like it, and certainly no other like it today. A triple stacked racer, from tip to tip. Colossus was barely a double stack. The switcharoo at the exact halfway point of the ride was a brilliant design. While there was no extreme airtime, this ride was safely rideable using no lap bars, which was not all that uncommon back in the day, even Belmont's Giant Dipper had no moveable lap bars nor seat belts from 1925 - 1976. Since everyone is used to lap bars, riding without them today, would certainly offer a really unsettling experience.