Pete J.

No, I don't think so. I suspect it is a custom build. Not sure what the base is. I have seen this driving around before. I think the guy uses it to earn a few bucks doing special events. A couple of years ago, I saw it in my neighborhood at a birthday party, giving rides.

Started a different thread on this one because it was so unusual but thought I would add it here also just because it is something you will never see anywhere else, ever. Batman broke down on the side of the road!

Totally couldn't find this one! You really messed me up with the cross country ski's on the roof, the german sign and the Mercedes behind. Spent way to much time looking as obscure German auto manufactures.

Over my lifetime I have had a lot of interests. Some have come and gone and some have stayed. Here are some that have stayed. Aircraft- My dad was a pilot in WWII and I became one in the USAF in 1972. When I retired 5 years ago(not from the Air Force), I went back to work on my ratings and got my ground instructors ratings(health won't let me fly but I can teach). I love going to air shows, airports etc. My favorite place in the whole world is a Starbucks coffee at the end of the runway at Carlsbad airport. The aircraft pass directly overhead at under 200'. I do build aircraft models, just not as many as cars. Wood- I love working with wood. I have a rather extensive collection of woodworking tools accumulated over the last 40 years. I just love the sound of a well honed hand plane gliding through hardwood, and the smell of freshly cut wood. Computers- Not a classic Nerd, I took my first class in programing in 1967(Yes they had computers back then). I taught myself Basic in the 80's on a TI-4A. I just love dinking around with Excel to see what I can do. Finance- Did my graduate work in the 80's and had an instructor who was a senior VP at the original Merrill Lynch in San Francisco. He made finance and investment so interesting I just stayed with it. Never really worked in the field, but I still follow the markets and watch the economics. Yea, I suppose I am a nerd in this field. Nerd, Geek whatever! I love things that stretch my brain. Model building is at the top of the heap in that respect. Always trying to solve a new problem. Great for the brain.

Batman -Broken down on the side of the freeway. 78 and I 15 in California.

Racing pedigree, recent high end restoration, one of 34 built and it's a Ferrari. Only thing that could make it better is if the original colour was red. Yup, I can see it going that high. Imagine what the GT-40 number P1046 would sell for if it came up for auction. That would be 8 or pushing 9 digits easily. People or institutions that collect at this level are just something we will never understand. I heard from a reliable source(Lee Holman of Holman & Moody) that you could buy one of their GT-40s in 1970 for $3,000 each if you bought two. Thats about what I paid for my 240Z in 72.

That is exactly why they are there. This is getting a bit far from the original thread but I will share one story. and then be done. Half way between Guam and the Philippines, 2 am, moonless night, full load of fuel, 50 pax on board. Electrical system kicks off line because the #3 engine has a mechanical failure and dies. The cockpit goes dark except for the copilot instruments which run on a separate hydraulic generator. Pucker factor goes through the roof. After we get things stabilized and one of the three generators back on line, we have to start dumping fuel to stay airborne. "Nav, what is closest Guam or Clark??" "Guam" "plot a course" "Co get on the HF and declare an emergency. Tell them we are headed to Guam" Two and a half hours later we stager over the fence at Guam and get it on the ground. First true three engine landing. Yup, back up systems. Don't leave home without them!

I do. I am a little slow on the updates. I am currently working on a piece that is giving me fits so the posts come a bit slow. Thanks for looking.

Thanks Alyn. I made several of them trying to get the size I wanted. I believe the one in the photo is 1/8" brass tubing. If you are going to do this, remember it is the inside diameter that will determine the size of the swirls. For the brush, I used 15 lb. test, stainless steel, single strand fishing line. Depending on the maker that is about .013" 300 feet is about $13 on Amazon. Yep, that is about 100 modelers lifetime's supply but it is cheap! Also, I didn't worry about getting the end even when I made it. I just touched it up on a grinding wheel to get it flat. Also from time to time I just touched the end on a file to clean out the the aluminum when the impression was getting light.

I'll save you some time. No there is no standard size. In fact there is no standard finish. When working on this engine I found thousands of photos out there. Probably far more photos than actual engines were ever built. There are four main finishes: Engine turned, scraped, dull metal and polished. I could not say that any one finish predominates. Because engines and drive trains were often swapped from car to car as racers the only sure way to have it "correct" is to pick a specific example and use that for the entire model. Having said that, it would be hard to argue with any choice you made. I choose to use engine turning for aesthetics. The vehicle this is going in, I have photos that show that, as well as a scraped finish and a plain metal finish.

I've tried a lot of the glues mentioned here and always come back to Formula 500 canopy glue. It gets tacky a little quicker the the others I have tried, so you don't have to sit there squeezing the part in place until your fingers cramp. You have to go to a R/C shop to get it, but then I use several things from the R/C end of the hobby so it is not all that surprising that I would find this useful.

It is a time to remember all of the fallen. I try to take a moment each day to remember those that I had the privilege to serve with who did not come home. But today it is about all the service members who lay at rest so the those of us who are still here, can say they are not forgotten no matter what their contribution. They all crossed that line and said, " Me, I will serve. I will go forth for the good of the country and do what must be done". We remember them all!

True, but if you look to the other instruments, there are some bizzare combinations. For instance the altimeter still has an analog 100' hand with a digital read out in the center for thousand foot increments and it still has a manual input for altimeter setting. The hand is still run by a bellows and mechanical movement. The backup artificial horizon is still a pneumatic gyroscope with mechanical internals. No computers or digitals there. The airspeed indicator is still analog run by a pitot tube and static port even though the central display can give a digital read out in indicated, true and ground speed. Stuff we use to have to calculate using a "wiz wheel". Also the Mach meter is still analog. Of course most of this is backup if the electrical system fails but it is still interesting to see the continued value of the old mechanical /analog systems.

Since you mentioned Bugatti, here is a shot of an engine I am working on. The engine turning is done with the wire brush in the photo. I made it by taking brass tubing and stuffing it with stainless wire and super gluing it in place. I then put it in my Sherline mill and had at it. Tedious as all get out. I had to stop frequently just to uncross my eyes.

No problem, but it was worth a try. I have well over 400 Tamiya kits, but not that one.

This is the new version of the same aircraft 45 years later. Notice they still kept the analog engine gauges.

Still prefer analog gages. Frankly they are easier and quicker to read especially if you have a row of them. Digital require that you read the number and then mentally process it. Analoge just requires that you "look to see if it is the right position". This is my old "office"

Would you consider trading for one. I have a bunch of Tamiya stuff.

You made me go back an rewatch the show to make sure what I thought happened, did. The rear end was what I picked up on. It was not optional but parts out of a year newer car. They stated in the show that they put a 73 rear end in a 72 car because it had a better differential, disc brakes and sway bar than original. The 72's didn't come that way. Yes the car was 100% OEM parts, but to me a 100% original restoration means just that. Restored to the way it came from the factory. If sold as a restored car the value would be hurt somewhat by having the wrong rear end and buyers in that market would know the difference. It is still a great car and I would love to own it.

Just out of general principle I would replace the needle seat(seal or part #9 in the above diagram). If your air valve is sticky, it may have gotten some paint back through that seal. I would first take the air valve apart and clean it a lube it. Make sure it works properly. Then a through cleaning of all the chambers and nozzles is in order. The inside of the brush should be totally clean. No paint anywhere. Also, on reassembly, be sure you use some airbrush needle lubricant. I like the blue gel by Iwata, but there are a lot of other lubricants out there. They are designed to work with an airbrush without contaminating the paint. Everytime I take the needle out to clean it I always lubricate it. Helps the seal last longer and the trigger action is much smoother.

Last night was interesting. They did a semi restoration of the Skyline GTR. I say semi resortation because like a lot of these guys, they just had to add some updated parts to "make it better". Nice Safari Gold car. I would love to own it. Just finished up bringing my MR2 Turbo back up to new spec. Engine rebuild with as many OEM parts as I could find, upgraded parts where I couldn't get OEMs and Katzkin leather interior in the original style. You can't tell the new interior from the old except the leather isn't cracked and faded!

Boom! Found it! Never heard of it before.

Thanks a lot guys! It is always nice to hear that my work has been appreciated. Hopefully I will have a lot more years at it. At 68 I kind of feel like the eyes are my worst enemy. Can't see anything on the bench without glasses and an optivisor, which I use to use for just the tiny stuff, is now mandatory first thing when I sit down.

Looks about right to me except I prefer a Single malt with my styrene! It mixes with my milling machine lubricant better!

HLJ- Hobby Link Japan