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peteski

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Posts posted by peteski

  1. 28 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

    It seems this kit has been doing the rounds of a few companies.  link

    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.

  2. 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!.

  3. 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).

  4. 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).

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. On 12/5/2019 at 8:00 AM, Old Coyote said:

    Sorry to burst your bubble gents, but these little 0-6-0 diesel switchers did (and still do) exist. They were used mostly by heavy industry companies (power companies, steel companies, etc). See below

    images.jpeg

    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.

  8. 9 hours ago, Warren D said:

    Interesting loco.  Looks to me that someone many years ago scratch built it from a few different parts.  The body looks like a switcher that had the hood radically shortened and the truck looks like it was from under a passenger car. 

    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

    2.JPG

     

  9. 9 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

    Ok thanks.  What's with the error?  NOW I KNOW!

    THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR HELPING OUT!  *EDIT* Had all your comments quoted, let's see if this works.

    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.

  10. 11 hours ago, NYLIBUD said:

    It was a bidding war for lack of a better word.But I was the only idiot who went that high.Whatever, you live and learn.If it was a 1/24th scale,I wouldn’t mind so much.But almost $100 for a 1/32 scale.Its like throwing money in the garbage.I was really hoping someone at the last second would jump in and out bid me, but nope, no such luck.I didn’t even notice the scale, until it was too late.??????.Arrrggggg

    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.

  11. On 11/30/2019 at 9:01 PM, NYLIBUD said:

    Yea I’ll give it a shot selling it,,But I really don’t think there’s a much of a demand for a 1/32 scale Lindbergh Ford Granada...Maybe 1/24th/or 1/ 25th scales.I would have probably turned it into a drag car....Oh well,you live and you learn.?

    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.

  12. 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.

     

  13. 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.

  14. 2 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

    We’re having a different problem. There is a package of rules on the server intended to thwart people trying to hack into our server. Unfortunately, they sometimes thwart legitimate users. You get a 404 error when one of the rules thinks you’re a bad guy. 

    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.

  15. 21 hours ago, Bucky said:

    Being a 43 year veteran of the pipefitting industry, I freely admit that I am NOT a computer GURU! I can jam one up with the best of 'em! I currently have a Windows7 that will need to be upgraded to Windows10 before January 1. I dread it!

    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).

  16. 11 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

    LED headlights are commonplace and legal now. 

    Camera based rear view mirrors are currently being reviewed by the NHTSA, and I would bet they'll be legal and approved by the time this thing hits the market.

     

    Crumple zones are almost never obvious on vehicles. This truck appears to be no different than a McLaren or even a Lotus Esprit in terms of obvious crush zone. Not to diminish safety, but trucks do not have to meet the same standards as cars do. Most manufacturers will build their trucks to car levels of safety, but it's not a requirement at this time.

     

     

    As an aside, I don't know what it is with electric vehicle designers and trucks, but have you seen the Bollinger B1? I'll take the Cybertruck over this ugly box.

     

    1288113926_bollingerb1-001.thumb.jpg.15e21378f192e04531f46c143d060449.jpg

     

     

    Hmm . . . that thing above reminds me of

    2014-Mercedes-Benz-G63-AMG-front-three-quarters-in-motion.jpg

     

  17. 12 hours ago, sbk said:

    As others said, thin acetate or similar will work.

    . . .

    The '56 Pontiac had an acetate rear glass & windshield.

    While modelers for many decades used to generically call any thin clear plastic sheets "acetate" (like many people call all brands of facial tissues "Kleenex"). I don't think that actual "acetate" is around anymore.  Sure, back 40 or 50 years ago, the clear plastic was actual "acetate", but that was replaced by other plastics, like what has been mentioned here already" Polystyrene, PETG, Plexiglas, Lexan (polycarbonate), PVC,  and probably few others.

    "Acetate" is also not an accurate name.  It is actually  Cellulose Acetate .         It is not very stable.  Even if it was available for sale, I would not choose it to use it for my hobbies.

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