Pete J.

Ok, here is the straight skinny on this engine and I was wrong! I was doing some research for this thread and came across Tom Danial's web site. It had an email for Tom so I decided to contact him and see if he would answer. To my surprise and delight, he did. Here is his reply! Dear Mr. Daniel, There is an intense conversation currently going on a couple of web sites about the engine used in the Red Barron hot rod. All agree that it is a scaled down D III Daimler aircraft engine, but there is much discussion about the scale and origin of the engine. Some contend that it was picked up from another monogram kit in a smaller scale. Others say that the engine was designed strictly for this kit. Over the years I have seen this subject come up many time. Would you mind terribly settling this once and for all? Thank you Pete Johnson. Hello, Pete. Be happy to clarify the motor matter as regards my Red Baron vehicle design. Clearly, I had utilized many design elements pertaining to the German Military circa WWI. A German motor was a must, but when I actually measured a D III (which was on display at Paul Mantz Airplane Museum in Southern California), it was about 6 feet long! NO WAY could it be used in the rather short wheel base design I was developing for the Red Baron Show Rod. The easiest solution was to just shrink the size of that motor to fit the engine bay as designed; add the Alpenhorn exhaust stacks, and an ‘Americanized’ carb air intake casting. So, it isn’t precisely 1/2 the original D III size - its just a one of a kind miniature - used for this kit only. As an aside, a ‘specialty’ motor builder in the Black Forest in Germany - who builds one-off replica WWI aircraft engines for the uber wealthy sport flyers (under MB License), wants to build a working replica of my ’shrunken DB motor' at 1:1 scale. #1 son - Kelly Daniel - dreams of building an EXACT 1:1 TD/Red Baron - and install that working (mini) DB mill in it for icing on the RB Cake. TD

Actually that is the kit I was thinking of. The kit has been around for quite a while. It was originally an Aurora kit and also boxed as a Revell kit. I have not seen the Fokker kit but I find in highly unlikely that the company or Tom Daniels would have paid for the development work or choosen that engine from an odd scale just for that kit. It is much more likely that they scrounged through the parts bin and found something that would work.

Did some research on this engine when I was working on a Red Barron and the engine was taken from a aircraft model. The engine is actually a Daimler DIII and was used in a number of WWI german aircraft. When I scaled the engine out from the Red Barron kit, it is 1/48 scale. Monogram had a number of kits that this may have come from. As Bill mentioned, this engine has twin updraft carburetors which would have not worked on a car. That is because on the aircraft, the intake ran through the crankcase to preheat the air. This was an early attempt to deal with carburetor icing which was a serious problem with aircraft but would be unecessary on a auto. Kind of the opposite of a intercooler. I am pretty sure that it was a cost savings for Monogram. Just plugging in a piece from another kit that looked cool. Also it followed the "German" theme. Really a mishmash of parts.

Casey- great comparison! As an ex-military pilot I have to point out the the velocity of sound that you quoted to three decimal points is a bit of overkill and occurs only at a very specific temperature and barometric pressure in an "ideal gas". That is 68 degrees F and 29.92 inches of mercury. Temperature has a profound effect on the number. A few degrees can cause the number to vary quite a bit. Most of us mere mortals quote it at 770 mph(which is at 71 degrees F). Not trying to start anything here, but as someone who spent a lot of time dealing with aerodynamic limits is was just striking to see that number quoted to three digits.

Really!!! "Actually races at supersonic speed on safe CO2 cartridge" How does it do that and did someone alert the medics!

To get back on track, there have been rumors for the last several years that Toyota will bring the HiLux to the US. I even saw a recent report that The EPA had received two new diesels from them and they were being certified for sale in all 50 states. I can only hope that they do bring that smaller truck in. Rumor also has it that the first ones will be from the factory in Argentina.

ooop!

I have to agree with Ron. It may be greed as "Snake" says, but I have to believe that margins are the biggest driver of the market. The added stuff really drives the price up and bare bones doesn't sell to the majority of the market. People want their heated seats, MP3 players and so on. When I was growing up, A/C and electric windows were an "option". I don't think you can buy a car without air any more and when was the last time you saw a window crank on a brand new car. That is just the tip of the iceberg. I think a lot of this is because we have become much more "Urbanized". Most of the auto market is in the metropolitan areas. Much fewer customers in the rural areas any more and those were the market for the basic pickup. Now if I were to guess every fourth house around here has a pickup in front and chances are it is a big 4 door, all wheel drive, lifted soccer mom hauler. Not the basic two door with a bed. They have become status symbols and that type of vehicle has a greater margin built into it. You can't blame the companies for making what the majority of their customers want. I just wish they still had a compact truck market.

Use to own one but it won't work for me. First off, no place to store it anywhere around the house and the HOA won't let us store it in the street. Second, I would have to buy a pickup to tow it. My two cars are a '92 MR2 turbo and a 2016 Lexus ES350. Neither is particularly suited to towing. Kind of limits that option but thanks.

The two paints I buy the most are Tamiya white primer and Tamiya flat black. Yea, I know someone said primer doesn't count, but I use it for white with a clear coat over it. To me the Tamiya flat looks more like a semigloss that their semigloss. Those are the two I get in cases.

Trucks have become a real sore subject for me of late. I have been interested in a small truck for a while for household hauling. A sheet of plywood or two, some 2X4s, a bag of dirt etc. I had two Toyotas back in the 70's and they were perfect. Small, fuel efficient, inexpensive and these were my daily drivers. Well to cut to the chase, I have been looking for one like that, but they just don't exist anymore! My car was in the shop for a while and Toyota rents cars and trucks so I rented their Tacoma. It is the smallest truck Toyota has and it is huge! I needed a stepladder to get in. It was so long it wouldn't fit in my garage, and it sucked gas like a hog. In short, I hated it. On top of that it had a base price of well over $30,000. Heck, I can get a really nice car for that, not a cheap weekend hauler, and as I said the thing is huge! Nobody seems to make a compact truck anymore. Everything is glitzed out, jacked up, option loaded. If you look around on the roads out here in SoCal there are a ton of the old size pickups running around as small contractor work trucks, so I know the market exists. Why is everyone ignoring it. I just want a small inexpensive hauler. Oh, and the older trucks on the used market go for as much as they cost new! Ok, I'll step off the soap box now.

I've used these fiber pens for years and a quick dip in lacquer thinner seems to reactivate them. Can't guarantee in on the Molotow pens but if it is shot it won't make it any worse.

Not a practical solution for most, but I build jig for my Sherline mill. It uses an angel plate and a v grooved scrap of aluminum. I was doing birds mouths on brass tubing and it worked very well and the angle was repeatable. You could use the same idea with a round jewelers file to keep everything aligned. Put your tubing in the groove to hold it steady and then align the file in the groove and file at the desired angle. you will file away the groove a little but it will stay centered.

Jeff, it is nice that you have a brand new airbrush but you can replace seals. Your new airbrush probably has teflon seals that are impervious to almost all thinners and you can get them for your old Iwata. Put in the new ones and you are good to go. I have been running teflon seals in all my brushes for probably 15 years and using automotive grade lacquers and urethanes for almost as long. The Teflon holds up just fine to those.

Damit Tim! Stop it! Every time you show up with something new, I got to go try it out! That is just spectacular! Great thinking. You are the master.

Been using Tamiya Primer under DuPont automotive lacquer for at least 15 years and never had an issue. I really thin the heck out of my Dupont stuff(6:1) with their lacquer thinner which is really strong stuff and Tamiya primer stands up to that, so I wouldn't worry about any lacquer over it.

There are a lot of choices for Compressors. You have chosen an airbrush only compressor which has the advantage of being very quite but is essentially a single purpose item. Any source of air that will give you a consistent pressure is usable. "Shop style compressors" are around the same price but can be used for blowing up tires, kids toys and running air tools in the shop. They are also great for blowing dust off(or around the shop) . The downside is that they are noisy. If you get one, get one with a decent reservoir tank and be sure to get a good pressure regulator(the ones that come with the compressor are adequate but not really consistently accurate) and a moisture trap. Also make sure your tank has an easy to access water drain in the bottom and drain it frequently. The advantage of a good size reservoir is that you can charge it up and turn the compressor off. Airbrushes don't use a lot of air, so one tank full will generally last a whole session.

Boom shakalaka boom!

scubby dubby do

rama dama dingdong

bop, bob, shebop

Ok, this is some really sad news. Scale Motorsport is closing its doors. I have been in touch with Matthew for the last several months and he has had the business up for sale for the better part of a year and so far no solid buyer. Unless a white knight comes charging in out of left field, he will be shutting the business down within a month. So, this is the last chance to pick up those parts you have wanted but been holding off on buying. I have to believe that as time goes on, these parts will go for stupid money if you have to pick them up off eBay. Matthew tells me that it will be first come first serve. I sent in a huge order to cover all my existing models. I will miss this business sorely! They make the best stuff in the world. There super kits were huge! They set a standard that has not been met to this day. The good thing is that Matthew is a good friend and I plan on seeing him around in the future.

When they first introduced it yes. The problem was shrinkage rates. I did some work for them at that time(same time I wrote the article that is still on Tamiya Americas web site) and realized that it was time between coats that was causing the problem. You either had to recoat within an hour or wait for a couple of weeks. Luckily, they have reformulated it and it is no longer an issue.