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kay wrote:

Idris wrote:I think he would fit in here extremely well, is there anything we can do to encourage him to sign up?

Once a year he's giving a presentation during the Albuquerque Matchbox Gathering, but I think that's the only public appearance he wants to do.
Usually Bill, Greg, Jim and I get a copy of his presentation - and he gave us his approval to use the contents whenever we think it is appropriate.
We have already tried to get him here a couple of times, but with no success so far.....

Kay

Is this Jim Reid by chance?

Tinman wrote:

kay wrote:

Idris wrote:I think he would fit in here extremely well, is there anything we can do to encourage him to sign up?

Once a year he's giving a presentation during the Albuquerque Matchbox Gathering, but I think that's the only public appearance he wants to do.
Usually Bill, Greg, Jim and I get a copy of his presentation - and he gave us his approval to use the contents whenever we think it is appropriate.
We have already tried to get him here a couple of times, but with no success so far.....

Kay

Is this Jim Reid by chance?

No, our friend lives in the LA area.....

Kay

kay wrote:
No, our friend lives in the LA area.....

Kay

Thanks! I know Jim Reid has spoken at some recent gatherings and "Hoveringham" is the main part of his email address, so it was a guess.

Tinman wrote:
Is this Jim Reid by chance?

J.P.: I can see where you would think it might be Jim Reid and I certainly would call him a good friend that I've had the opportunity to have a long acquaintance with thanks to the ABQ Gathering (as well as Jim G., Kay, Greg, Hans, Steve B., Tom L., Larry V., Bob, .......... and many others). I also hope to see you there again one day or catch up with you in Florida.
I am continuing to communicate with the aforementioned source of this subject information while hoping that he soon will become much more active on this site so he can share his extensive knowledge, history, and perspective of this subject we love== Matchbox!
Thanks,
Bill

Thank You Bert for that picture of your Brother's model. I missed your earlier Post till tonight, but that is exactly the view of the brace I needed to see. As Antonin has pointed out, this front support is quite rare to find, indicating it was a failed mid-production replacement for the early clear green or white plastic front springs. I just found a pretty nice example of this rare version 1 1/2 years ago, but our front axle is also bent, which seems pretty typical from these Forum member's pictures. Our model is the first with that narrow front axle support I had ever seen in 53 years of turning these Hoveringhams over. As Nick states in his Guide, the later wide front metal axle brace are the easiest type to find, followed by the white spring codes that are also very common. Because the clear green spring versions are also quite hard to find for sale in the U.S., I now have a lot of these early castings and versions with them to now search for. My Thanks again go out to Bill and his friend's truly fine work on this "common" Lesney Model's precisly written History he has agreed to share with us on our Forum..... kwakers

It's difficult to get some collectors into the fold (so to speak). Jim R. was a very active member of the mcch (and even helped as a moderator). He signed up here in 2015, has never posted and still has PMs he has never logged in to pick up. Oddly enough, he's never visited since signing up. I think it's safe to assume he's not lurking either.