Pete J.

Do you know how to use Excel or a similar spread sheet? If so, what you should do is make up a spread sheet in the scale you are going to work in that gives you fractional sizes, such as 1 inch equals .042 inches. Run it in fractions for 1/4 inch to 3 inches in 1/4 inch steps. Then look at the real deal and see what are common sizes and colors for what you build. Then go by Radio Shack, your local crafts store electronics parts house and by a spool of what you need. You can generally get a near lifetime supply for very little. You can get them from hobby suppliers, but the mark up is significant and the only advantage is that they will tell you on the package what they scale out to. I suppose if you have unlimited money or don't know how to make a spread sheet, then you may want to go there.

I see your point but I think it is too much of a blanket statement. A quick review of the various topics here and there is a ton of builders who comment on accuracy. It may not be the same as military builders, but it can be as intense. How often have you heard," I changed xyz because it had the wrong bolt pattern on the head." or "The AMT kit is a more accurate body shape that the Revell". I remember a real -----storm over someone putting valve covers on the wrong sides of an engine. Yes, it has to look right, but there are a ton of people out there, if this forum is representative, who believe it has to be right also. I would bet that the proportions are within the standard deviation if you compare military and auto modelers. Every guy who pick up a tank isn't going to make it dead nuts accurate. They want shelf models as much as car guys. Just make it look presentable.

Yup! Brain fart. I get to claim on of those a day. Anything else and I need to go see the Doc.

I do understand what you are saying and with our discussion it is unlikely that any of those "serious" military modelers are likely to be swayed. I would point out that the discipline it takes to do the research and take the care to build a perfectly accurate model of a specific Panzer from a specific theater or a specific battle, etc is no different that what it takes to build a perfectly accurate 935 from a specific team, season and race. There are many auto builders who do that with no less skill, discipline and attention to detail as the tread heads. Many of them populate this web site. What I am saying is that the air of superiority displayed by military models in general is unjustified and undefendable. Auto modelers as a group take their craft as seriously as do military modelers. There are some dissimilarities but there are far more similarities as to what it takes to build a quality model in any genera. Arrogance and condescension by any group is unjustifiable as is any prejudice. Heck, I have seen common mistakes such as tanks with treads on backwards, aircraft with brake lines on the nose gear, and ships flying the wrong colors, as often as I have seen the floating alternator or other common mistakes on autos. Military modeling is not exempt from poor modeling and modelers. Just because someone picks up an F 16 instead of a Can Am car does not make them any more or less serious about the craft. What military modelers can't seem to get their heads around is several of the "Art" classes in automotive modeling. Those classes would be custom, low rider and hotrod. Even in these classes there are modification and detail skills need to build a great model every bit as difficult as anything a military modeler would face. Just look as the skills of Augie Hiscano. Arrogant military modeler have no serious justification to look down on anyone. You just can't make a legitimate case for calling one type of modeling superior in skill, dedication and execution to another type of modeling. Anyone with that attitude needs to get over it.

I really don't understand what some of the members are complaining about. There is a plethora of aftermarket stuff for cars! Heck there are long established companies that handle nothing but car stuff. Scale Motorsport, Model Car garage, RB Motion, Pegasus, Ross Gibson, Jimmy Flintstone just to mention a few. I just did a search of Hobby Link Japan the at the first cut there were over 3,000 parts and detail sets listed with just under 1,000 in 1:24 scale. Granted this is a Japanese market, which features non-US cars for the most part, but this is just one source. There are hundreds of suppliers like Indycals and others who make many decal sets for common and obscure liveries. Model Car Garage offers just about everything you can think of in the way of details and detail sets for 'Merican iron. Heck, even Squadron has over 18 pages of Accessories just for cars and bikes. SQUADRON for pities sake! Want an engine swap, Ross Gibson makes enough drag engines to choke a horse. I think what complaint is, is that people want a $35 Ross Gibson engine of $1.25 and that just isn't going to happen The detail is out there, you just have to look for it. Lets face it, the day of the LHS having walls of aftermarket is long gone. You can't walk into Hobby Lobby and pick up a photo etched fret for a 70 road runner any more. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't out there. The LHS just couldn't afford to invest capital in stocking the same amount of stuff as the internet stores. This is also true for the military modeler. I can only think of two local hobby shops that even stock aftermarket for models of any kind, in southern California. That would be Brookstone and Pegasus and this is in all of SoCal. The internet is now the source for this stuff. Harry, I think that your comment on car modeler as less "serious" builders than military is one of the complaints that drove a lot of car builders out of IPMS over the last decades. That kind of condescending attitude from the military side of the house is countered by car builders by pointing a finger at the "Rivet counters" on the other side. This is a feud of Hatfield and McCoy proportions. Of late I have seen IPMS making an effort to overcome that and it has and will be an ongoing struggle. Those of us who are detail fanatics are working on it. Heck, we even have an car guy as the president of IPMS and I was part of a team that recently rewrote the auto categories to more accurately reflect the auto modeling world. There are a lot of us who enjoy the detail oriented end of this hobby and love to stand around discussing the differences in bolt patterns on a Ford Flathead. As the modeling group ages, I think you will see more of us. After all detail, is something that takes time and effort. Something that takes time to develop.

12 O'clock High was most definitely a movie before it was a TV show. Gregory Peck and Dean Jagger. Great flick!

My beagle, who raises a fuss when anyone comes to the door, slept through the whole thing. I have a .45, .38 and several large caliber shotguns and rifles. They don't do _____ if you aren't awake to man them. Also had the entire house alarmed except for the garage.

Brake fluid! Always works on Tamiya paints. Dispose of and handle with care.

Tomato juice! Our dog use to hit a skunk about 3 or 4 times a year. Always kept a couple of gallon cans of tomato juice around. Worked like a charm. PS no V8. Not the same stuff.

What made me even angrier was as you say, the assumption that goes with it. Because of someone's gender bias, they assume that they don't know what they are talking about. When I started working for Sears in the tool department, I had a fellow associate who really knew tools. Unfortunately I spent a portion of my time confirming information that this associate had already given them because she was an African American woman. It just pissed us both off. If you want to question someone's knowledge there are ways to do it properly but don't just dismiss a person because of who they are.

Before I retired from Sears I was keenly aware of the gender bias of many customers. It goes both ways. There were some people who came into buy appliances that would not buy from a man and others that wouldn't buy from a woman. Most just wanted someone who know what they were talking about.

Harry, This one has it's share of gory scenes but again, they move the story line along and are within the scope and reality of the film. Lauda's time in the hospital will make you cringe but then it is a part of the real story and without it the story would suffer.

Just one caution to all of you. Be careful posting photos taken from cell phones on the web. I saw a news segment several months ago about bad guys being able to find the location of cell phone photos. Apparently the GPS location is stored as part of the data of the photo. Now, not that we would have a thief on this or any other site and who would want to steal a bunch of plastic, but I see a number of photos that show really nice tools in a work shop that are theft targets. Use a digital camera and you don't get the same problem. I had my shop broken into years ago and some of my models, RC stuff and tools stolen. It wasn't the dollar amount that bothered me because the insurance covered that. It was that someone got some of the tools I had from my father and some of my prize winning models taken. Stuff you just can't replace.

I had an encounter with a stupid young man on a crotch rocket. The kid is an idiot. I am on an on ramp to a major freeway here in So Cal in my MR2. Typical on ramp that is three lanes(one is the HOV lane) that narrows down to one merge lane. I get on and as far as I can see I am alone on the ramp. Midafternoon so traffic is light so I decide to punch it and get up to speed quickly to merge and have a little fun. About three quarters of the way down the ramp I hear him coming up behind me and see the blur as I get about 50 feet from the point at which the lane is only one car wide. I'm doing 7o or so and he goes blowing by out on the sholder, looks back, shakes his fist and flips me off, then gets on the freeway and pops a wheelie. Are you kidding me! See your picture in the obits idiot.

Saw it yesterday with my wife and son(25 years old) and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. Yes there is some language and nudity, but I really think it is not used gratuitously. I was a young Air Force pilot in that era and the language was in my experience common if not a little toned down. That and the very brief nudity set the tone of the movie to the era perfectly. Ron Howard has a talent for setting the mood. The cinematography was superb. It was really great to see those old cars on the track again. He did a great job of weaving real footage into the new. I believe the only CG was for setting the background. Well there was some "inside the engine" stuff but that was about it. Great story line. I see a couple of Oscars in this one.

Casey, I am well aware that they have value. I have been in United's frequent flyer program since 1976. My point is that they use points or miles to obscure what you are actually getting. A point/mile could be worth anything for 2X points on card A may be the same thing as 10X on card B. They can change the value of points at the drop of a hat so an ad campaign can look better. The ads are basically saying "Our card is better because we give you two times points with your purchase." Is that good??? You can't tell. You don't know what a point is and what it is worth. Couldn't they just say 3% back on purchases? Well yes, but it doesn't sound as sexy as five times points.

Wow! Talk about the good old days. Yea I remember all of this. 12 o'clock High, Baa Baa Black sheep, Combat, Silent running and a lot of "Action" TV. Lots of aircraft and combat gear. Remember Whirlybirds and Sea Hunt? A lot of fodder for the model companies back then. The good side was that it got me interested in reading about it. I read the heck out of the books about this stuff. No wonder so many of us willingly marched off the Viet Nam. We were raise to think this was what men did. This will really get you thinking. Victory at Sea- Music composed by Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame. Three volume set of LP's. My favorite was always volume three. It started off with a volley of 16" guns off the New Jersey. I still have them and play them from time to time. Full disclosure - 64 in 32 days! Never built a drag car.

I suppose this is an indication that I spend too much time in front of the TV but here is one that just irritates the heck out of me more and more. Credit card ads that tout giving you, are you ready for it? extra points or miles! 2 times miles, 10 times points, 15 times celery. Who cares? You are giving me something that is not comparable and has no value the way you just told me. I get 20 times point if I use the card at a restaurant? Really? And that is worth what to me????? So just what is that point or mile worth. Are we all so stupid that they think they can trick us into getting their credit card because they with give us a gagillion points with each purchase? Just plain stupid to advertise points or miles unless you tell us what they are in some real term.

One of my all time favorite authors. I have read most of his offerings. For those like me he has one last treat. One last book, due out in time for Christmas. Rest in peace Tom.

I can't vouch for the rarity of the kit but it took me years to find one. '69 Mustang Notchback. I found one years ago and paid more that I told my wife for it. I wanted one because my first car was a white six cylinder version. It was a good car for a kid to take to college. Dad was smart enough not to buy be something that I would have killed myself in.

I have used most of the saws above and they are very nice for large cuts. For smaller cuts, curved cuts and tight spaces these Hasegawa/Tritool photo etched saws are really great. http://www.hlj.com/product/HSGTP-3/Sup There is a second set also but the photo on HLJ was messed up but you can find it with a little research. I have had a set since my first trip to Japan in 1998. With a little care they will last for a long time. They also make a very, very fine cut. It is so fine that you can easily glue a part back on if you want to without filler. At $10 each plus S&H they are really a great tool to have in you tool chest.

Boy was I way off!! I wasn't even on the right continent. That front end made me think of an older Mazda and the mirrors looked very Japanese. Good one Harry!

Pictures of the real deal! First of all, rally cars run in everything from dust and dirt to mud, snow and all combinations in between. You really have to decide what you are doing to start with. Then collect photos. Then go to a military web site. These guys use every type of weathering you can think of especially the armor guys. There are washes and pastels, powders and paints galore. In general, car guys are not the ones to talk to about this (except Dr. Cranky).

Smithsonian Air&Space, FSM, Hemmings.

Boy Harry, I think you got me on this one. That is a face I can't forget, but can't remember what it is. I've even got the country of origin but that is not helping. Good choice.