Pete J.

#8?? or maybe a new body for this one?

This comment was what got me thinking that it might be a 4WD conversion.

I am curious about how the "View New Content" works. Yea, I know, push the button! No, actually it is a little different that that. 99% of the time that is what I select after I log in. I like to see the new stuff and I always scroll down through looking for the stars to see stuff I looked at before. This seems to be an efficient way to view the most posts and catch up on older posts I have been involved in. I then check my posts just out of general principle. Now it would seem to me that this should be unnecessary, because new posts to any prior post should come up on new contest. However I find that this is not necessarily so. So, I guess my question is what are the parameters that "View New Content" uses to select what it shows you?

No but "RELEASE THE RABBITS!" has a certain ring to it.

I knew I had just read something about this stuff. There is an article on Stealth in the current issue of Smithsonian Air & Space magazine. The paint was called iron ball paint which is a bit of a misnomer unless you are a physicist. The paint contained molecules of carbonyl iron ferrite(what ever the heck that is) which when hit by microwave energy oscillate and convert the energy to heat rather than reflecting the energy back to the radar station. Roughly what your kitchen microwave does. The early YF-12As did have a lot of raw titanium on them. Here is another little know piece of info. The project that created the Black Bird was named "Ox Cart". Another interesting bit was that the SRs did not refuel off of a conventional KC-135A. They had their own birds which were KC-135Qs. The difference was that the A models could burn all their internal fuel. The Q's had the center wing tank sealed off that was only accessed by the refueling boom. The 135 couldn't burn the fuel that the SR used and you didn't want to accidently try to switch fuel in flight. The Qs also had a spotlight in the tail to illuminate the SR for night refueling. A black jet at night is a little hard to see.

Got it!

I hope you don't take this a nitpicking. I just enjoy discussing a subject like this. Like most planes that are actually flown, not museum pieces, there are a lot of different shades and sheens. Some comes from wear and tear, some from different materials underneath, and some from different coatings(ie paints). On this bird there are such extreme temperature variation at cruse speed you could run a ton of different colors and be right. I think the red variation is probably more a scale issue. The "no step" lines look very wide to my eye. The lines and lettering, if done in scale would be so small that they might not show at all, or would be too small to print. Still a very nice build.

Very nice representation of a SR. This thing looks like it is going mach 3 on the ground. Just one piece of info if you do another one, and since it is one of your favorite birds, I suspect you will. Most people think the aircraft is black because of the name. It isn't. It is a very dark charcoal gray. A lot of the color is a result of the paint formulation to accommodate some really difficult parameters. The exterior had to stand up to really high temperatures in flight and it also had radar absorption characteristics. It is a very similar color to the B-2. Since someone mentioned the Transformers I though I would throw a photo I took of that bird at Udvar-Hazey. This was years before it became a Decepticon.

Racing is always a combination of factors. That is why it is so much fun to do or watch. Driver is only one factor(granted an important one). The machine, the crew, the weather, the track, the other drivers and of course a little luck doesn't hurt. At the highest levels in all forms of the sport putting together a winning team and vehicle is the highest challenge. Doing it well, consistently is what separates the champions from the also rans. Anyone can win once. But the John Forces, Roger Penskes, Adrian Neweys. Now that is something special.

I suppose it is all relative. If you want to call it the fasted street legal drag car in America that's fine. As you said your rules, your track. My track, Laguna Seca. Rules, run what you brung. No trailering to the track. 10 laps. Ready set go!

Just a little nit to pick with the title of this thread(Other than spelling). "Fastest" vs. "Quickest" I doubt that this is the fastest street legal car in the US. Quickest accelerating yes but fastest would have to mean top end and at 217mph it is dramatically slower than the 267mph Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. I suspect that the plastic body work would start leaving the Camaro at that speed.

Terribly sorry. I forgot my manners. Welcome!

Ah, garlic and artichokes. Great farming country.

Well, I know what it's not! Having trouble coming up with what it is.

Howdy! California is a pretty big place. What part?

It is easy to do. CrazyJim has the basics down really well. I have built a number of them and made one change. I glue mine up. Weldon 3 or 4 will glue most forms of plexi. Cut and sand your edges then flame polish them. I have a very small torch. You can get the edges clear with a few very quick passes. Obviously don't hold it in one place too long or you will over do it. Also don't touch the edge until it is completely cool. This stuff gets very hot and will stick to you! You have never had a burn until you get molten or burning plexi stuck to you. Practice on a piece of scrap first. My local plastic fabricator has a scrap bin and I get a lot of really usable pieces out of it for 5$ a pound.

Mark- It just keeps getting better. Really nice boots!

Ok, tonight was all about test fitting parts. These show the test fit on the exhausts and the engine mounting rings. For size, the squares are 1/2". I still have sparkplug and distribution wires to run and then adding color to the cylinders and exhausts before they can be permanently mounted.

Oh, yea! You can't see them in these photos, but the rear push rods are in. The plugs are turned. I also need to get the main ignition leads from the mags to the front harness. 28 plug wires and 4 leads before I can mount the prop, accessories, exhausts and frame. This is going to get challenging.

I got this one but thought I would share how I found it. Initially I was looking on line and found nothing even close so I gave up. The next day I was relaxing and watching a movie on TV and the car showed up. Julia Roberts and George Clooney were climbing in at the end of Oceans 12. Close up shot as they put the suitcases in the boot and closed it. Bingo!

Well it has been quite a while since I posted on this thread. I've been busy but not on the Black baron. As I mentioned earlier, I have been busy with school. At 64 years old I am back in college taking courses to get my license to teach aviation ground school to budding pilots. I also have another project on the bench which is taking priority at the moment. It is an all metal Zero. This is cast white metal and photo etched. Here are some shots of the engine, so far. A bit different. The small wire in the back ground is how I made the cross over tubes for the oil from head to head.

Man, it is a sickness! Problem is you are talking to the patients in the asylum. Ain't nobody here getting better any time soon!

Proud or recessed you can remove them but you are in for a lot of work and you need to be careful. First, the be careful part. Clear plastic is generally more brittle that other kinds, so it is much more likely to break. Keep the sanding pressure light to medium. By the time you figure out you have used too much it is too late. Also if you press too hard, clear plastic will give you stress fractures and there is no way to fix that except a coat of paint. Stress fractures are little lines that show up in the plastic not on the surface. So be careful how you hold the body and how you press on it to sand. Now, sanding. If the marks stand above the surface, that is good. Use a sanding stick with a medium grit and sand them flush. From there treat it like you were polishing out paint. Wet sand the surface with progressively finer grits of sand paper until you get down to a 12000 grit. Then get some Novis #2 polish and polish it until the plastic comes to a high gloss. If the marks are recessed you have to sand evenly in a larger area to make the plastic thin out progressively to the bottom of the mark. For a standard ejector pin mark I would say about 1/2" around the mark. Then follow the same sanding regime as above. I have never been a fan of future but it will do no harm to coat it. I can hide some of the fine surface scratches, but to me it is difficult to get it even without runs or edge build up. Some modelers swear by it. I seem to just swear at it. Good luck!

Yes-All the above! I do work with a fair amount of thin brass sheet stock and I have to flatten it especially after annealing. I have some round aluminum stock I have turned to about 3/4" diameter and use that as a roller. The smaller the diameter, the more it will cause it to curl. Start with a gentle pressure until you understand how the metal will react and then roll it once or twice and check to see how flat it is. Repeat and flip until you get it the way you want.

Tamiya's forte seems to be Formula 1(though they did a couple of Indy cars), rally cars from the 60's to current day, European sports cars, and motorcycles. I think they have only done one American car and that was a Mustang Cobra R. They have a huge selection from the weird to the mundane but it is all top quality. Go to Tamiya Japan http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/24car/kit24001.htm for a list of what they made. You may not be able to find everything on the market, but they are generally out there. I have been dealing with HLJ for 15 years and had no issues ever. Great company to deal with. They give you access to stuff you never knew you needed. As an aside, I have been building Tamiya models for 20 years and have a huge stock of them in my garage(not for sale). They have always put out stuff I like and never had an issue with fit or quality. If you want to see them at their best, pick up an Enzo or LFA. Yea, they are expensive but I can assure you that when you open the box and see what they do, you will be impressed.