peteski

Dan, I have question about the spark plug wires (BTW, wires and the looms look great): why are those wires are all go into what looks like the differential case? On my model I routed them to distributors.

For this example what might work is getting come clear film decal paper then using one of the Sakura Micron fine line blue permanent markers to draw the stripes, then cut them out of the decal sheet and apply to the model. Since the body is white, the blue stripe doesn't need a white undercoat. Those markers are available as thin as 0.005".

Looks like 2 kits are now being discussed: The gull-wing hard-top and the convertible are different kits. Scalemates seems t o have them lumped together. I have the AMT Trophy Series gull-wing kit, and Testors (Italeri) convertible. They come f r o m different molds.

I owned 2 mid-70s Pinto station wagons as winter beater cars in the late 80s. Paid about $200 for each. They got me from work and back during the winter (while I had my Camaro put away). They were what one would expect from a $200 car (rotted floors, no heater, broken turn signal stalk fixed with a piece of aluminum tube, etc.), but back then I was young and I didn't mind. One of them I think had a broken modulator valve (automatic tranny), and when I floored it (or maybe when I quickly stepped off the gas pedal - I don't remember now), it would suck the transmission fluid into the intake manifold, creating a large, dense, white cloud of smoke! What fun that was! I felt like double-oh-seven!.

I thought that the first axiom of styrene model building was to make sure that both glued surfaces are bare styrene (no "chrome", no paint). That will assure a good bond. Otherwise, the bond is only as good as the weakest layer being glued (usually paint or plating).

I also use a strip of Bare-Metal Foil, or sometimes a piece of (stripped) 30 AWG wire-wrapping wire (because it is silver-plated, not copper color). on models 1:24 and smaller (down to 1:43). I have some photoetched hose clamps but I feel they would look more in-scale on larger scale models (like 1:16 and larger).

Why go to Google when you can do this using any basic 4-function calculator? Or just do it longhand (of you still remember how). This is 1st grade math. Just take the 1:1 dimension (in inches), divide it by 25 (or whatever scale you need to use), and you get the scale dimension (still in 1:1 inches, which you do need to fabricate the part). I have couple of those tiny cheap calculators (keychains) from Staples (or Dollar Store) hanging around my workbench, just for this purpose. 8" / 25 = 0.32" I also own a $20 digital calipers from Harbor Freight, so I can dial 0.320" directly on the calipers to measure out the part I'm making. Those are couple of (very inexpensive) tools I find indispensable in this hobby.

While useful, single-eye magnifiers do not give you 3D vision. That is why I much prefer a stereoscopic magnifier (and microscopes). Nice feature of the Optivisor is a replaceable padded leather band for the headband. SO leather (not plastic) is in contact with your forehead. That makes it more comfortable, even during long modeling sessions, than the less expensive ones.

Yes, these are contemporary locos that are currently being used - you are correct. They use a 3-axle truck from a larger locomotive and a diesel engine with small generator. One of my friends build an N scale model of it. But the model Lee restored has the hood and cab parts from a larger Diesel switcher like SW9 (from the 50s and 60s). The other thing that makes it a fantasy model is that (as mentioned by Warren earlier) it rides on a passenger truck (which in 1:1 scale has no traction motors), so it would not be able to travel under its own power.

It is probably some word(s) in your text. Try posting just the text of your message.

As it has been mentioned multiple times in this thread, the most likely explanation is that some words in the text of your post are tripping the SQL injection filter which is supposed to prevent hacking attempts, but seems to cause lots of grief for the forum's members. The error is generic on purpose.

Yeah, that definitely is a "fantasy loco". No such beast exists in any railroad. In O gauge there are other examples of whimsical models. I recall seeing a car made up from 2 rounded ends of an observation car, riding on a single truck. Looks like an egg. I see them sold at the train shows. Can't find any online photos (not using the correct search terms). Then, in a similar style there is also

I'm curious how this can be fixed? By disabling the scan for SQL commands in the post's text? How else can this be dealt with?

Well, you didn't quote all the text of my post, and even if you did, the words were already made "safe" by splitting them in 2, so even if you quoted my post word-for-word, it would not have generated the 404 error. When I first composed my message I got the 404 error. Going by my past experience here (with the dreaded SQL injection filter) I figured that either s e l e c t i o n or o r d e r i n g (or both) were the offending words. So I "neutered" them by splitting them in half, and that got rid of the 404 error posted my message again. Of course, the way I wrote those words now, they are also "neutered" and safe.

Ron, either you or I are not understanding things here. I've been on eBay for 20 years, and the bid that eBay will make for you (because eBay always does proxy bidding, or whatever they call it now) will only be higher than the second highest bidder's bit by the minimum bid increment. So if the second highest bidder had a bid of $75 dollars, and you bid $200, your bid would only show up as $80 (or higher than that $75 by whatever the minimum bid increment amount is in that situation). It would not show up as $200. Go back to that auction and look at the bid list. You will see that the 2nd highest bidder bid almost as much as you did. Or am I missing something? Post the link to that listing (or the item number) and I'll take a look.

Then you are way off. N scale (9mm gauge) is 1:160. Tiny! G-gauge (aka LGB) is in the 1:25 scale range. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modelling_scale_standards Nice job on the restoration.

I don't feel like going back in the thread to get more info on this purchase, but I know you paid close to $100 for it. Was it a Buy It Now auction or was there a bidding war? If there was a bidding war then few buyers on eBay wanted it almost as bad as you did. So there is some chance that if you list it, that those buyers will find it and the selling price will get quite high.

I have few hundreds of various bottle and spray paints. Never counted them all (I would likely be surprised).

Good to know!

Small Parts Inc. used to be my go-to source before Amazon took them over. They are still around but the selec tion and ease of orde ring is not the same. Thankfully I still have good supply from when I stocked up on it years ago. (I had to split up couple of words to avoid the dreaded 404 error. )

I'm with Pete - nothing beats the original genuine Optivisor! I most often use it with the #7 lens plate. Unless of course you can afford the professional loupe glasses used by dentists. Those work great, but the price is in a 4-figure range! I asked my dentist if I could try them on and I couldn't believe how good they were. And as Casey mentioned, this subject has been discussed here many times (and not just only about headband magnifiers). Here are couple more.

Bill, from my earlier experiments I noticed that if I try to post something with triggers the SQL injection protection (404 error), and I keep trying to post multiple times (always triggering the 404 error), after several attempts the forum software totally blocks me from accessing the forum site. It probably zeros in on your IP address and maybe some browser information. This lockout lasts few hours and from my end it appears that the forum site is down (inaccessible). But once this "ban" expires in few hours, you are able to reconnect to the forum as if nothing happened. Using TOR browser hides your true IP address, so the forum website does not know that you were the one who was supposed to be locked out. That is what I think happened in your instance.

I wanted to say this for some time now: I don't know about the the quality and robustness of computer programming of today. It seems to me that any forum software which takes the text (or even HTML code) and if there are any database commands will interpret them too, is a pi$$-poor design. Then there is the error handling. Code 404 is not really helpful to anybody. The Error should be more descriptive, like "why are you trying to hack the SQL here?". Sloppy programming if you ask me. Yes, I know that you are not to blame here Dave. It is the programmers.

Who is forcing you to update? Pssst! Don't tell anybody, but I'm still running Windows 98SE on one of my computers. Yes, over 20-year-old Operating System. I use that PC for my Alps printer (which is about the same vintage). It is also running Corel Draw 10 as my graphic program for designing decals and other stuff. Then I have another laptop running Win XP. Those 2 are on my home network, but I don't venture out to the Internet with them. My newest OS is Win 7 on another laptop, and I'm not updating that one anytime soon. At work we have been using Win 10 for some time, but I'm not a fan (but I have no say in the matter).

Hmm . . . that thing above reminds me of