Ace-Garageguy

Beautiful kits, beautiful work, maybe the coolest side-gig ever (to a model geek, anyway).

"Sense" wasn't required to post IIRC, just a "sentence", which is widely disregarded, so just go with the flow.

Sure hope you can find a way to save it. Pretty nice layout for 3-rail O-scale enthusiasts. Sadly, most everything like this ends up scattered, or worse, in a landfill when the last old guy passes on. At current asking-prices, the $5k is cheap for everything that's there.

Excellent choice...and exactly what I'm going to do to the Az. house as soon as I'm landed there permanently.

Them World Products fellas make some really trick engine parts. (My personal favorite is the smallblock Chevy block clone that lets you run LS heads...best of both worlds). https://billmitchellproducts.com/product-category/engine-blocks/chevrolet-small-block-4/sb-chevy-cast-iron-w-ls-heads/

Welcome to my world. People who don't make things that have to function just have no idea what it's like. EDIT: And it's particularly disappointing that in many cases, like THIS one, ZERO spec-compliance verification was done by the importer/retailer prior to selling the dammmmed thing.

Yours truly expected some resistance to that, but for proof, just look at drag and road-racing and roundy-round "slicks". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_slick

For best results, it's often wise to not be in a hurry. I tape or otherwise fixture window-size clear parts when using any of the PVA (white) "canopy" glues that dry clear. Using a quick-set epoxy is another option. Let it tack, then mount your "glass". But the best way, in my opinion, is to make up retainers from strip styrene that will allow carefully-fitted windows made from clear sheet material to snap in place, often eliminating the need for adhesive altogether.

Sorry to be pedantic, but while it's entirely true that many things are called by the wrong names, real clear cellulose acetate sheet is still widely available, as a google search of the term "clear acetate sheet" will show (clear sheet made from PETG, styrene, acrylic plastic, etc. is usually correctly labeled and marketed under the correct name of the material it actually is as well). Genuine cellulose acetate clear sheet is even marketed for specific aircraft uses, and in aviation, you can't call stuff by the wrong name. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/mepages/acetatesheet.php Here's just one of at least hundreds of commercial sources. https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-us/grafix-clear-acetate-pad-11x14in-003in-25-sheets

Bald tires have better traction on dry pavement than treaded ones do, honest.

That was the way it was when it was that way, you know, the thing, and back then, well, things were different.

Time and tide and the one-sentence game wait for no man.

"Missing on one cylinder" doesn't seem to be a well-known concept these days, 'cause I sure hear a lot of cars running like that.

I haven't been directly involved with aviation for some years now, but when I was, the ATC software was built on top of "legacy" programs, patches on top of patches on top of patches, and none of the then-current crop of IT guys had any working knowledge of the underlying system, and the geezers who did were either dead or gone fishing. Probably getting AI to design a completely new system would be the hot setup now, as AI could also build insanely complex simulations to debug it before launching it into real time. HOWEVER...I may be giving AI at its current level of development too much credit, but it seems awfully capable to me. The problem remains though...GIGO...and that's where biased or just second-rate humans in the loop can ruin what AI is capable of on its own. Air Traffic Control needs to be the absolute BEST system people and machines can devise, and there's simply no place for ANY focus other then robust excellence across the board.

It's often pretty straightforward to swap wheels from kit to kit, even when the design of the backs is that different. ONE way with those would be to cut off the protrusions the metal axles plug into from the kit wheels, and attach them to the wheels you want to use...paying attention to axle width and the resulting depth of the replacement wheels in the body. You may need to measure and add spacers to get everything right. OR...you could make receivers for the metal axles from appropriately sized styrene tube, and just glue them to the backs of the new wheels. Those are just two possible solutions. There are many ways to do it, clean and easily.