Ace-Garageguy

"Need" isn't the same as "want real bad, Mommy, and I want it NOW!!!!!", but there's no shortage of 'adults' who don't grasp the difference.

I would if I could, but I don't have access to the kind of people who can throw away a hundred grand on a spoiled banana, or anyone with enough sense to pay what one of your models is actually worth in applied talent and skill. Some things in life just defy logic. People pay what some "expert" with a good line of gab tells them to pay.

And don't forget how important it is to signal to the rest of the herd how you support the "consensus" and whatever the current "thinking" on everything is.

Quit yer...whatever you was doin!!!

There are a few subtle things going on with that car that aren't readily apparent to a casual observer, and that enhance both its performance and appearance. For one, the wheelbase has been stretched as much as is possible without getting weird. The front axle centerline has been pulled forward, and the rear has been moved backwards to center it in the fender. Compare the stock axle centerlines with the black rod above. It's hard to really see the front on the rod, but trust me, the front axle is definitely a little forward of stock. The other thing is that besides being about as low in the chassis as you can get one without dry-sumping, the engine is farther back than what you see in most V8-powered rods. The firewall has been tunneled to allow the engine to go back as far as possible without making it a nightmare to work on. Compare the black rod above to this more typical engine placement. The effect of the slightly longer wheelbase on the black rod is improved high-speed directional stability, while the engine setback improves cornering response by reducing front end weight, and slightly improves weight transfer to the rear under hard acceleration. And it looks cool.

KInda funny that in what a lot of people view as the dark ages of vehicle design, two of the favorite phrases were "that big car ride" and "a heavy car holds the road". What kills "ride" to a large extent is a thing called "unsprung weight". The higher the percentage of unsprung weight to overall vehicle weight, the more something rides like an empty old truck on stiff springs, crashing and banging on every road imperfection. The huge wheels / tires that are fashionable today are very heavy, account for a good bit of unnecessary unsprung weight, and have a lot to do with many late model vehicles having a rough, jarring ride. Yeah, making the overall vehicle heavier is one way to decrease the percentage of unsprung weight to make something ride softer. But it's the idiot's way. Far as "road holding" goes, weight, any weight, is the enemy. Just look at Can Am cars for any proof you might need. 700-1000 HP, 1500 pounds. PS: My light little Neon on 15" alloy rims rides remarkably well for a cheap small car...because its unsprung weight is pretty minimal considering what it cost to build it. The rear suspension is an independent lightweight affair with tubular control arms that would be right at home on a real race car.

"All the reasons which make the initiation of physical force an evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral imperative." Ayn Rand (italics mine)

^^^ Next conversation I have with the neighbor's dog, I'll tell him you said that.

Genuine all steel '31 Ford coupe, chopped 2.5", 383 stroker smallblock Chevy, 5-speed manual, Ford 9" out back. It belongs to (and was built by) a friend of one of the guys at the shop...and it's VERY fast. Hot rods don't get much more real than this thing.

You never know. There might be someone who'd rather have a beautifully built Guthmiller for a few thousand $ than a rotten banana taped to a wall for a hundred K +. Just get a critic somewhere to convince the world that what you do is Greate Arte.

I recently bought a few vintage Train Master/Train Miniature reefer kits, supposedly NOS, for $5 each. They're very nice kits of a style of wood-sheathed refrigerated car that was used well into the 1960s, with some remaining in service into the '70s. Unfortunately, when I got them home, I found these two had been relieved of their main underframe sills and bolsters. They go for $20-$30 online, shipped, so they're still a deal. This one has the part, the black spiney thing, so all I have to do is make a couple from styrene. Again unfortunately, Hobby Town was out of everything in Evergreen or Plastruct I need to build them. But not to worry. I found some stash I'd never really put in stock here, so away we'll go.

Disassembly continues. I got most of the gloo off of the inside of the roof casting, got the chimney out intact, started chasing the recess the new soffit will nest in, and started fixing a crack I didn't realize was there. The white rod across the top of the green part is to hold one wall in alignment while another repaired crack sets up. Patience required, but much of it is still coming apart without serious damage. I was able to get the green upper storey walls apart, clean up the bevels, and put it back together with liquid cement. I did break the door threshold, so I made a new one. Weight keeps everything square while it sets up. Beginning repairs on the gutters that had been broken off. Big ol' gloo fingerprint on the right is going to take some finessing, as will the squeeze-out from the crack repair on the center panel First storey brick walls are apart, beginning the cleanup process. Happily for me, the original builder didn't overdoodoo the gloo on the beveled edges. The brick wall section on the paint stick has had its holes filled and its mortar joints partially chased just to see how well it could work. I'll need some Tamiya white putty to finish the hole patching, but my old tube had turned to a rock. So it's not done, but I shot it with Duplicolor red primer to get an idea of what the end might look like. The color turned out to be perfect for brick, and the hard old plastic doesn't craze under it. I think we'll have a winner here...

Standalone for a while, but the first bit of trackage will be a yard, and every yard needs a tower, right? I'm testing some materials and techniques on this one, 'cause I have a fair bit of other railroad plastic that needs restoration, upgrades, and weathering.

Insanity is using the same painting procedure that made a horrible mess the last 10 times you tried it and believing "it'll work THIS time"...but then again, that may just be stupidity.