A special Report from Frank of Model Scene:

It's a sunny day in Gotham. Meanwhile millionaire playboy Tom Lowe and his youthful ward Dave Metzner are taking a leisurely stroll down the aisle of the Chicago hobby expo. But wait! What's this? Mild mannered reporter Frank is taking pictures of the Polar Lights booth. And so they, as they have done manytimes before, turn into CEO and Brand Manager eager to tell me all about their upcoming model kit plans.

No plans for Aurora reissues this year! Warner Brothers will not give them the rights to Wonder Woman (a kit I was hoping they would resculpt and most disappointed not to see.) No to Superboy as Revell as the molds. No plans to correct and Supersize the Batcycle. Possibly Penguin according to Tom but I get the impression not this year.

Tom said the only Aurora left to do would be WW, Penguin and Dr. Jekyll. Note Gigantic Frankenstein is not on that list.

I asked about the Batmobile rights and it seems the delay is that WB does not want to pay Barris anything. I think George Barris deserves something because he did choose the Lincoln Futura for the Batmobile. That and his customizing made the car cool. Any other car would not have been as cool and beloved. My idea is WB probably does not want to set a precedent of them paying artists for work they signed off of. So I think if George agrees WB does not owe him anything, then WB allows him to charge royalties for the use of "designed by George Barris" on the box, it would work out.

PL has new funny cars with Marvel names on them. Marvel Flicker rings that are very cool, especially the Spider-Man ones.

I asked Dave about a larger TOS Enterprise and he said "possibly", and then said he has to sell the (giant box) NX Enterprise first.

I asked a PM rep "Is Chris White here?" (hoping to get autographed art)

Rep: No Chris White works here
Me: ?! But he paints the box covers.
Rep: Oh, then he's an external.

And I thought what a cool superhero name: "Coming this fall... Chris White is... The External!"

Check out Chris' painting of the Klingon starship. Very impressive. Really looks like its coming right at you. This was the art he sneak previewed.

Tom liked my suggestion of a Lincoln Futura slot car and 1/18 scale. They are considering reissuing some retro toys but did not say which. I'd like to see the Remco LIS robot and the 1940s Marx "Superman vs. the plane" tin windup.

At Revell, Bill Lastovich and Ed Sexton displayed the black painted Lincoln Futura, which is really cool to see in person. The Pearl light green Lincoln Futura was beautifully painted with such a smooth wet sanded surface. They have a Frankenstein, Mummy, and Jaws monster truck kits on display too.

One of the things I liked was the "litestage." A box that lights on all sides to take professional photographs of models. www.litestage.com. There's a picture but it's on the side.

The show was smaller this year and PM and Revell were thinking of only attending the Las Vegas show. I think the Chicago hobby show is superior because a) it's only 30 mins from my house and b) They meet the customers who buy their stuff. Granted Vegas has hot bikini showgirls walking around during conventions and while that's enticing, the Chicago hobby show lets them meet their customers who can talk to them person to person.

Thanks to PL and Revell for their time. Hope you readers enjoyed the article.