Olszewski Studios

Note: www.disneygallery.com has a FAQs section dedicated to Olszewski and Main Street USA Program. Click here to take you there.

Q: In response to a few inquiries about by-passing the timer configuration on the Main Street, U.S.A. pieces. Here is what Olszewski Fan Bruce Richards has reported. Should further clarification or questions be necessary, Bruce can be contacted through his website.

A. It’s fairly easy to disable the timers on the Lighting Boards. Pull off the cosmetic base of the piece and locate the circuit board that connects all of the wires. There’s only one so it’s easy to spot. Find the transistor on the board, it’s the small black part sticking up with three leads attached and is labeled “8050”. On the board you’ll find an “E” marked next to one of the three leads. A few of the pieces, like the Orbitor, have the board mounted up-side-down so you have to remove the board to gain access to the transistor. They’re usually just attached with hot-glue so you can cut the glue and pull off the board without much drama – just be careful not to break any of the little wires. Once you have access to the transistor, short the “E” lead of the transistor to the center lead with a dab of solder or a thin piece of wire. Make sure the solder or wire does not touch the third lead of the transistor. The process should be reversible without damaging the board if the soldering/wiring was done with a bit of care.

However, I have told several collectors how to make the modification, but I recommend against it. Many of the lamps used on the buildings have a relatively short life, on the order of a few hundred hours, so leaving the pieces turned on will cause those lamps to fail (it’s a particular problem with the tiny 1.2mm lamps used in the Street Lights). I’m also concerned about the long term effects of operating the lights and electronics on heat build up inside the pieces when running on the AC Adaptors. I tell collectors that if they do the mod they need to monitor the heat of the piece, especially the big resistor on the Lighting Board, and determine if it is getting too hot for their liking. My guess is that heat won’t be an issue when running on the AC Adaptor, but I’ve never tested it so I’m being careful. Heat is not such an issue when running on batteries or the Main Street Lighting Kit

So far as I know, no collector has made the above described modification because of the lamp life issues. But, it’s a safer modification to make on pieces that only have LED illumination, like the Marquee, Rocket to the Moon, Souvenir Stand, and other smaller buildings.

Q: I recently visited disneyland in california and loved your minatures of the park. I would like to start collecting the different pieces., but before i do so i want to make sure i am going to be able to purchase them all. Will the pieces be available. In addition how can i purchase the board and the accessories. Is there a list of all the pieces made so far , listing what is or isnt available? Thank you Steven

A: Steven: Thanks for your email! We intend to continue to have the Main Street Collection go on for many years. All the pieces will periodically come back and be made available. The program is based on a continuity style of release. Not everything is available all the time. It generally takes 3-4 years to re-introduce every design in the collection. This is the same with the Main Street Platform (board). We intend to produce the board as well as the Tree Accessory Packs and Lighting kit periodically. As you know right now Tree Accessory Pack #1 and the Lighting Kit are available. Tree Accessory Pack #2 is scheduled for this spring and then the board for later this fall. Make sure you keep your contact information up to date allowing us to communicate when new items are released. Go to www.olszewskistudios.com/contact.us/php.

Q: Hi to all at Olszewski Studios and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I am trying to find out more about the Snow White - Miniature Casting Process piece that I have seen a couple of times on eBay. I have attached a picture. I am a collector of only Snow White and this would be a terrific addition to my collection. Is it still a retail item? Was it EVER a retail item? Have you any ideas where I could get one from? Thanks for your help in this matter, you would make a SW&7D collector from Great Britain a very happy one! Speak soon, Tony Oxtoby (AKA Magic Mirror)

A: Thank you for your email! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well. The picture you sent is called a "process stick" or also sometimes called a "progressive stick." These were produced for the sales representatives during the Goebel Miniature era when my brother was the Master Artist from 1980 to 1994. There is a lot of information on our website of Robert's nearly 40 years of art. The stages are identified from left to right as: (1) Wax Carving (2) Sterling Master produced using the "lost wax" process (3) Bronze production piece (4) Bronze painted solid white (5) First stage painted bronze (6) Final stage painted bronze

You will find a better write up at this link: www.olszewskistudios.com/TechnicalCreativeProcesses.php The particular Snow White piece is the original from the Snow White and Seven Dwarfs Collection that was sold through Grolier, a mail marketing house. Robert was commissioned to produce the set for Grolier. You will find these marked S-1 through S-8. Later, Goebel Miniatures, acquired the rights to market the item in an extended set of displays and figurines.

Q: How much did the progression (AKA Process Sticks) sets retail for when Goebel made them?

A: The process sticks (AKA Progression sets) were sold to retail dealers for around $125.00. They were to be used as marketing tools to help sell the miniatures. They were not to be used for resale, that is why we have never posted an issue price for these process sticks. Additional information about the progressive sticks or also known an process sticks can be found by clicking this link which will take you to an article published in December 1992 by Collector's Mart magazine. The article was written by Dick Hunt, author of a book published titled "the Goebel Miniatures of Robert Olszewski."

Q: Will the Pirates of the Caribbean scenes be the same size as the Haunted Mansion scenes as I am considering additional Light Displays?

A: The Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC) scenes will not be the same size as the Haunted Mansion (HM) scenes because the the lighting configuration is quite different. The light displays for the HM scenes project from the bottom-up, while the Pirate scenes project from the top-down. A Light Display will be designed specifically for the Pirate scenes. This is available for sale at this link.

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