Ace-Garageguy

It works great. It's not cheap.

Something else for modelers to consider...true cellulose acetate is biodegradable, and the packaging even says "compostable" sometimes. This means it's not as stable as high-quality petroleum-derived plastics, and as most of us old fossils know from experience, "acetate" plastic promo bodies from the 1950s and early '60s are mostly either turned to dust and chunks by now, or warped beyond recognition. I'd say that this point in time, either PETG or polycarbonate would be the best choices for model windows, as acetate will eventually self-destruct, and styrene sheet tends to be soft and scratches easily during handling. PETG is probably the ultimate, as it can be had for free, it can be heat formed fairly easily, it's reasonably scratch-resistant, and reasonably stiff for flat windows.

Thanks for your background info. Always fascinating to me to know how guys got into doing world-class model building.

I know some of you guys watch Uncle Tony's Garage on YT. Check out his vid from 2 days ago (4-23-24). I'd put up a direct link, but even though it's true history and the simple facts that any of us in today's American independent and aftermarket automotive businesses deal with daily, I'd probably be banned for making a "political" post.

Newborns have a lot more awareness than some people give them credit for, which can lead to unfortunate conclusions.

Undercarriage is where you put the really ugly mutant baby.

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