Pete J.

Yea, that's a fool's errand. $20 or $2,000 worth of tickets doesn't really increase the probability of winning in any significant way. As I said in an earlier post, play and have fun with it. A few bucks for a chance to dream is not a waste for most people. I buy a couple of tickets on every drawing(Yea, I give up a cup of starbucks to do that) and don't change that because the jackpot is huge. For me it is a little entertainment twice a week. The odds I like are 1 in 300,000,000 if I play. Zero if I don't. Viewed from another perspective 10 times a year in powerball in California there are lottery payouts of over $1,000,000. The odds for someone winning is very high. It's fun and I keep it that way.

I grew up on a farm/ranch in Nebraska and learned to drive in a CJ-2a. That vehicle was one of the most versatile rides we had. We used the heck out of it. It had a blade on the front for snow and grading. A power takeoff for running a spray pump and fence winder. The back was large enough to throw a bucket of staples, a few fence posts, a roll of barb wire and fence stretcher in the back to fix fence. We had a 50 gallon drum that fit in the back and used it for a in field refueling vehicle for the tractors and combine. With 4wd it could get in and out of most places and had enough grunt with the low speed transfer case to tow just about anything. We actually pulled a John Deere 4520 out of a mud hole with it once. We also had a small spring tooth harrow that we used for maintenance around the yard. People see these as toys for rock climbing and off roading but in reality they are very useful farm and ranch tools. The ATV people have been trying to replicate them for years and just haven't been able to pack in all the same capabilities that the originals had.

So I ask you this, "would your life improve if you had an extra $50,000 to $100,000 a year?" No, you may not be able to live on that all by itself where you are. But with conservative investment over the next 30 years you could have that and still have the original million dollars when you are 88. It's about being smart with the money.

With a million it wouldn't be all that difficult to get out of town and find a nice home somewhere that it's far less expensive and live comfortably. I live in SoCal and am retired. Houses here are far from cheap but we get along quite well, but paying off our mortgage would take far less than a million and leave a big chunk left over. Paying that off would make things very comfortable.

Ok, I found my model. Now I'm just waiting for someone to say go! I really hope you do the P2P. If not, I still have a very cool model!

This pot is big enough that it wouldn't bother me to split it several ways! Just saying! Most of us could do very well with a basic jackpot of a single million.

I heard a pod cast from Freakonomics the other day about the odds of winning the lottery and it was quite interesting. They took a look at it from a different perspective. There was one lady in Texas that won it three times! The odds against her were one in on septillion(a one with 17 zeros I believe). But then they looked a the odds that someone would do that were one in 200 million. From that perspective, the odds that someone will win is about 1 in 20. I suppose buying a lottery ticket could be seen as a waste of money, but I view it as entertainment. No different than going to Vegas. It's all in good fun as long as you see it that way instead of as a desperate attempt to save yourself financially. As to the money, well that is a different story. If you take the lump sum and pay your 37% federal tax you are left with about $600,000,000. Then depending on the state you live in you may have to take state income tax. Now I'm lucky, California is one of the states that doesn't tax lottery winnings, so I would have that much in the bank. What I find interesting is most people don't have any concept of how much money that is. I remember a finance teacher I had at Gonzaga said most people have the concept of money under $1000 only. Over that they just can't wrap their heads around it. Example: What if you were going to buy a house for $400,000 but the offer was for $410,000. Most people wouldn't bat an eyelash at the difference. However if that was cash on the table, they would certainly understand that. So, lets break down $600,000,000. If you invested it at 5%(which for that sum would be very conservative) you would earn $30,000,000 in interest a year. That is still to large for most people to grasp. So let take it down another step. That is $2,500,000 a month. Still to large. down another step. $83,000 a day. Still pretty big. $3,470 an hour. Ok, so you could spent about $3,500 an hour every hour for the rest of you life and never touch the $600,000,000. That million dollar condo overlooking the mediterranean in Italy? Less than a half a months interest. The Bugatti Veyron! About 2 1/2 weeks. Pay off all you bills including your mortgage? A couple of days for most people. So is it fun to think about this? Oh, heck yea. Go broke buying lottery tickets? Nope, that is stupid, but it is ok to have a little fun and imagine such a life.

I've built a couple of the '69 kits and have a '68 kit someplace. I do recall that the exterior of the '68 has the correct rear bumper, wind wings and different front turn signals. From that perspective it is correct.

Totally forgot about this one until a couple of days ago. Very unique style, especially Sprach Zarathustra(theme from 2001) and Rhapsody in blue. My guess is that very few of you will even know what I am talking about, much less have ever heard it.

Rob, I really like this idea the more I research it. For those who like vans, there is no rule against a van for the P2P. Anything pre-76 seems to qualify. I really gives a lot of people massive options. Everything from horseless carriages on. If you chose this, is there someone who could do P2P badge decals. That would be a great unifying touch.

My question is this. Is there something that it didn't do that you wanted it to do? If not, then buy it again, or perhaps you just want to try something different. I have 4 different airbrushes(2 Tamiyas, a badger and a Iwata) that I use for different things. Each has a purpose.

Kurt, sorry it took me a little while to get back with you. No, I don't. I did some testing on the speed forms that come with the kit where I masked half of it and I will say that if you couldn't see the edge of the clear you would not know which side was cleared and which was not. I just got my order from the sale and will do another one when I get a chance. Right now my shop is taken up with a woodworking project and not really conducive to painting. Unfortunately the sale is over. Frankly, when it is on sale it is worth the money. I got 4 oz. of both base coat and chrome including delivery for $135 on sale. When it is regular price, $139 for 2 oz. before delivery, it is a bit much, even for my budget! Shipping and taxes here in California was $21(UPS ground because it is flammable). If you are interested I would go to the ALSA website and create an account. They send me emails with sales which is how i got this much less expensive. Here is a link to the site. https://alsacorp.com/easy-chrome/

Sorry you guys missed my thread. Alsa Easy Chrome is an auto product they use on the 1:1 rims and it is really durable without a clear coat. It is stupid expensive most of the time, but I posted a heads up I got, that they were having a two day sale. It is normally $140 for two 1 ounce kits. I got two 2 ounce kits delivered for that price including delivery. Delivery is expensive because you are shipping flamable liquids and it has to go UPS ground, special handling. This stuff is crazy tough. It is a two part system with a clear base coat that has to dry overnight and the chrome which you can brush on if you want to. There is some kind of chemical bonding that occurs between the base(which is water based) and the chrome which makes it so you can mask over it and handle it all you want without fingerprints or it rubbing off. I carried one of the small speed forms around in my jeans pocket for a week to test it's durablity and there was no wear or rub off. But, you have to use the base coat and it has to be dry! If you just spray the chrome it is as delicate as alcad or any of the other chromes. I've been playing with it for two month now and it is everything they say. Oh, and you can clear coat over it with automotive 2K urethane. Here is the website- https://alsacorp.com/easy-chrome/ They will probably have another sale at some point so I would create an account to stay on top of the deals. Oh, and an ounce of this stuff will go a long way.

I'll cast my vote now for a P2P. I've been looking for the model I want to build. Only modest luck so far. Most people want too much for it.

Bill glad it is something that you can use. If you have any questions pm me and I will fill you in on what I have learned using the stuff.

Tim, I'm running out of expletives! This is really a masterpiece. I love watching you build it.

I posted a notification the Alsa is having a sale on their new brushable easy chrome earlier today and thought some of you might like to see what I did with it. This model is half an airplane mounted on a mirror. The chrome work was done first and then I masked it with Tamiya Tape and did the blue. Once the decals were on, I sprayed it with a two part automotive urethane. Yes, I did some of the chrome work with a brush just to see how it would work. Actually it is a gift for my grandson. It will have a walnut frame and mount on the wall of his room.

This was an interesting one. I didn't get it. I knew it was obviously a Ford product but I never thought to look in Canada. I looked in Australia, the UK, everywhere but Canada. I just didn't know that Ford Canada had a different brand name. Now I do! Thanks for that piece of trivia!

I don't know how many of you have seen this video for Alsa Easy Chrome paint but at first I thought it was faked. I have used there automotive Mirrachome paint for years and though it was as good as any other chrome with the usual issues. Not real durable, susceptible to finger prints, can't clear coat over it and can't mask over it. Now they come out with this product, easy chrome. I got some and tried it and it is everything the other chrome paints aren't. It is very durable, no issue with handling it, you can clear over it and you can mask over it! But you have to follow the instructions to a "T". You must use their base coat. There is some type of reaction that happens with the chrome and the base coat that make the magic happen. If you use it without the base coat it is just like a normal alclad or other chrome paint. The base coat needs to be dried for at least 24 hours at room temperature or overnight in a food dehydrator. The base coat is actually a clear water based paint. To blow the base through an air brush I thin it 50% with distilled water. The chrome is only as good as the surface you spray it on. If your base isn't dead smooth, your chrome will not be either. You can brush the chrome on the base coat or you can airbrush it. Either works. Clear coat are very limited. You must use either Alsa clear or I have found that automotive urethane works fine. I tried all the others and they fog it. Even Future and rattle can clears. Two part urethanes worked well for me. Now, this is why I put this up. Normally the real kicker is that it is $149 for a kit with an ounce of base and an ounce of chrome. They have it on sale now for $49.50! It is still not cheap but if you need a brush on chrome that is durable and maskable this is the only choice that I know of. Here is the link. I don't know how long this will be on sale. https://alsacorp.com/shop/home/269-easy-chrome-hobby-kit.html

OKI data bought out the Alps patents many years ago. They still make printers that print white and other colors for decals(transfer media). They are kind of hard to find but can be had. https://www.oki.com/us/printing/products/textile-transfer-printers/c711WT/index.html

There is a lot of bad taste out there. I think kids attractions should stay away for tragedies. It shows a lack of respect for others. We don't need an Alamo, Gettysburg, USS Arizona, Chicago fire or other such bouncy house. Being civil and respecting others seems to have left the building!

I think Dave was thinking of a punch and die set. Waldron use to make a micro punch and die set but they seem to have gone out of business. I use my set a lot but have not tried it on PE. It might work but I doubt I will try it, now that I know it is not replaceable. I agree with Bill about carbide and cobalt drills for drilling stainless but they are very brittle and difficult to not break with a pin vise. I use mine of my Sherline mill and still manage to break them. I have two sources of machine tools that are very good and much less expensive than the hobby suppliers. MSC list the manufacture and I have found the Kyocera bits to be better than average quality. Mcmaster-Carr does not list manufacturers, so you are running a bit of a crapshoot with them, but I have gotten Kyocera bits from them on the roll of the dice. Incidentally both automatically ship overnight so you need to order enough make the order worth while or you can wind up spending as much on shipping as the part. MSC - https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Holemaking/Micro-Drill-Bits?searchterm=carbide+micro+Drill+Bits&navid=4287923847#navid=4287923847+4288221358+4288228093&searchterm=carbide+micro+Drill+Bits Mcmaster- Carr https://www.mcmaster.com/micro-size-drill-bits These bits run between $6 and $17 each so you will feel the pain each time one breaks. I can see them easily snapping going through thin metal. It may be worth super gluing the PE to a backing piece of aluminum to stop the tear out, when you go through PE, from jamming the bit and breaking it. I suggest super glue because you can heat the superglue with a micro torch and it will release the part rather easily. Superglue does not like heat at all.

They did but it wasn't a 911 series. The mid-engine was the Boxter. Early Porsche owners were a rather "devoted" group of people, kind of like corvette owners. 911 owners in the early years were quite proud of being able to drive 911's well. With a high polar moment of the rear engined car they were prone to snap oversteer if you lifted off the throttle mid turn. It took a certain amount of "courage" to keep the throttle on in a turn. I know because I owned a 1974 911 and drove it in northern Michigan in the snow. More than once I was treated to the scenery going sideways by the front windscreen. The devotion of owners to the rear engined, air cooled, flat 6 design caused Porsche to stick with improving the design. Being a small company(in the 60's and 70''s they typically produced about 10,000 cars a year world wide) they relied heavily on prior owners purchasing their new cars. This devotion to the layout was the root cause of the failure of the 914, 924,944 and 928 models. They just never sold enough of them to justify continuing them. The rear engined car has been the constant thread throughout the life of the company. When devotees of the brand think of Porsche they think 911.

Scribers seem to be a bit like potato chips. You can't have just one. I like the UMM-USA a lot. They actually make two. One slightly larger than the other but both work well. There is a new tool out there that I just got and like the heck out of it. It is the new Tamiya scriber(they actually call them engravers). The down side, - stupid expensive. The handle is $17 and the blades are $32 each. The reason they are so expensive is that they are tungsten carbide and are very sharp. They are also available at certain overseas hobby companies for about half that price(shipping not included). There are 4 different blades from .1mm, .2mm, .3mm and .5mm. You don't need the handle. The blades fit in a medium sized collet in a pin vise so you can avoid that cost. I have a Tamiya pin vice with 4 collets and it is large and heavy which fits my hand well. They have a square end so you get a true flat bottom panel line(not that it matters to most modelers) and with the different sizes you can get different lines. This works well on cars where you may have a drip edge one sized and door panels a different size or aircraft where you may be doing a door panel vs a flat panel line, or flaps. I have used them and they require very little pressure to cut a clean line. These are probably not right for every modelers budget but from the look of this thread, a lot of you have all different types of scribers. So the search for a "perfect" scriber just added another tool for some of us.

Caught this view of the Space X launch from the street in front of my house.