The WHEEL CRISIS Flipped Upside Down

In August of 2022 I did a post about my fear of shortages of the parts vintage toy lovers like myself need to keep doing restorations and repairs. At that time, a vendor I had been buying reproduction stock-style T-Jet wheels from told me he was out of stock and wasn’t going to get anymore because the chrome plater he was using had been forced under by the scamdemic lockdowns. At the time, I foresaw the rise of a bigger problem and mentioned it. So here we are exactly 1.5 years later, and I fear my prediction may be coming true…

What a difference a month makes! A few posts ago I was bemoaning being unable to get my favorite little 5-lug chrome wheels for my original T-Jets because every vendor I used to buy them from was out. And then I found out exactly what the source of those wheels were-none other than Vincent, and once I had that info, it turns out that they’re still plentiful! Now, in a twist of irony, the same cannot be said of the stock wheels! Now, it appears every vendor I ever bought those from is out! I have sent a dozen emails over the last week to every vendor and every fellow collector I know, and suddenly no one has any NOS or reproduction original Aurora T-Jet wheels! How can something so basic be unavailable all of a sudden???

Suspecting there was more to this than just the aftermath of the lockdowns, I began to do some web searches to see whether there was any evidence that the good ol’ EPA was up to their usual sh**; after all, the Beijing Biden administration has been busy little beavers banning everything they think they can, so it was completely plausible that some little bureaucrat somewhere had issued another edict outlawing something everyone wants. So far I have yet to come across a definite answer, but there are clues. For example, here is a thread from a site for vintage Buick enthusiasts from December of 2023 discussing this very issue…

In addition, I found this interesting site which indicates that, although it may not have arrived at the time this was posted, an industry-wide ban is pending, not on the materials to do the plating itself, but rather on the coating that is applied to chrome plated plastics to seal them after the aluminum powder is ionically applied in the vacuum chamber. Although this post is undated, the website has a copyright date of 2024!

Recall that I’ve made an issue recently out a decline in quality in the latest Auto World T-Jet releases, with one of my principal complaints being that they have switched from chrome plated grilles and bumpers to silver paint. At first I thought this was just a cheesy cost-cutting measure and, yeah, it probably is; but I have to wonder if the the “save the planet” brigade is at it again, forcing everyone-not just toy companies-to abandon something that has been ubiquitous in our lives for over 60 years. I don’t have hard proof of this yet, but we all know there’s plenty of precedent for believing this!

So now, back to Thunderjets and the parts for them. I just grit my teeth and won an auction on ePay and from this, you can see quite clearly that I am not the only T-jet enthusiast who has noticed this shortage:

27 bids! This is freaking RIDICULOUS! Do the math and you can see that, with the tax and shipping cost included, this comes out to nearly $2.13 per wheel! I used to be able to buy a set of 4 for $3.50 and a pack of a dozen for $10! And even with this insanity, I feel like I’m lucky to have gotten this lot! God forbid I scratch or crack one during installation! Question is, what happens when this batch runs out???

Over the weekend I had a discussion with a friend about taking this situation into my own hands; for some time I’ve been toying with the idea of investing in a 3D printer, but a 3D printer can’t do the chrome plating, so the real problem doesn’t go away even if I make my own wheels. A former boss of mine, who I remain on good terms with years after we both left the company we once worked for, owns a business doing a powder coating, and even though that’s a different procedure, he keeps abreast of industry news and trends affecting small industrial coating firms, so I plan to contact him to see if he knows anything, and whether there’s a chance I might be able to find someone locally who can do that kind of coating. I have a feeling I know what the answer is going to be!

Well, stay tuned, slot-heads! I can promise you haven’t heard the last of this issue, and I’m going to keep digging to see what solutions there are to be found! Anyone out there in slot-land who has any ideas or information, please get in touch!