peteski

My mom has dementia and while she doesn't remember neighbor's names or what she asked me less than minute ago (she repeats the same question over and over), she gets really focused when solving word puzzles. And she actually solves them. It's amazing how human brain works.

Mine is nowhere as large as its contemporary Feetwood Brougham, but after getting in it after driving my daily driver '19 Kia Soul, it sure feels like a big boat. Soft ride (but with 4 wheel independent suspension it handles corners surprisingly well, except for me sliding sideways on those couch seats ) and that long flat hood with a hood ornament like gunsight. And of course the large steering wheel with power steering needing lots of spinning to make a turn, but so easy that it can be spun with one finger.

They sure are. Mine are like sitting on a white-leather couch. It is a 60/40 split bench with folding center armrest. No buckets! And the car's sheet metal is really heavy. Those long heavy doors take some muscles to close! Nothing like any contemporary car. Oh, it also has a trunk lid pull-down so I don't need to slam the trunk lid shut. Then there are the self-leveling air shocks in the rear. The more I think about it, to more options I come up with. I just don't think about them when driving the car.

I didn't realize they still included cornering lights. I guess since they are integrated, the aren't as obvious as on my Caddy. Of course we cant; compare features of yours to one over 30 years old. Mine does have electronic climate control (which is a bit of a pain because it is too automatic), and of course computer controller throttle body fuel injection with a digital trip computer integrated with the climate control unit. It also has the automatic headligths. It also has a genuine Bose sound system with Dolby auto-reverse cassette tape, and with amps integrated with the speaker enclosures. Power antenna of course. No backup cameras though! I used to drive another '84 Eldorado Biarritz and that one had heated rear view mirrors (my '85 doesn't have those, or a rear window defroster, because it was a Florida car so those weren't added as options). My '84 did have a large glass "Astro Roof". It's amusing comparing 30+ year old technology to what we have today.

That sounds like great idea. I have considered something similar in the past. I don't think the slow speed is a problem as long as it keeps on moving. I would think even slower (liek 1 or 0.5 rpms) would be ok.

Same can be said for majority of today's (luxury) pickup trucks. Even the ones which look like off-road-ready likely never see anything but asphalt. Sure, there are some exceptions, but most are "Hey, look at me" vehicles.

Well, yeah, it's a Caddy after all - a luxury vehicle. No LEDs anywhere (unless I retrofit them). Now that you brought that up, cornering lamps seem to have disappeared from modern luxury cars. At least the ones I see driving around. Sure, they have proximity sensors up the wazoo all around, but nothing that illuminates the sides. It actually has driver's memory seat, digital dash gauges, 4-wheel disk brakes, and stabilizer bars front and rear. 4-wheel disks were pretty rare on luxury cars of that time. Of course it is FWD, but Eldorados have been FWD since the '60s.

However, I should have added that the '85 Caddy does use fiber optic cables as lamp monitor. All the head and tail-lights are monitored. A fiber optic is installed near each bulb, and the other end is in front located in the little protrusions on the top of the front fender, and in a little "console" over the back window. At night (or even in during the day for the taillights) you can quickly see if all the bulbs are working. Pretty clever setup (I've seen the lamp monitor system also used on other GM higher-class cars).

Yes, nowadays many cars use light pipes with LED illumination for many slick-looking lighting schemes. When a directional is turned on, the DRL LEDs on that side are turned off not to wash out the amber light. It is all thanks to those 30+ computers in your car controlling everything. No such fancy features on my '85 Caddy.

You probably meant: are the door plugs properly fastened?

Here it is: https://exactrail.com/products/x-vert-a-pac-autorack-drgw Unfortunately I don't believe it actually had Vegas inside. It was just empty shell.

Well sure, but if you look closely, the directional and backup lights are in thin clear/silver areas of the red taillight. You can do that with LEDs 2019 Dodge Ram

I think you are correct. I believe it was by Exactrail Co. Few years ago there was also talk of a N scale version, but (not surprisingly) it never materialized.

If it is just the small areas where the plastic injection gates were cut off, I touch those up with a Pilot silver paint marker (extra fine tip) I've been using it for many years. It is nowhere as reflective as the kit's chrome, but on small areas it is pretty much invisible on the kit's chrome. The reflective of the chrome shows reflections of surrounding objects, creating a busy appearance where the touched up areas blend it. Only you will know where the touch ups are. But it is only effective works on small areas. Remember to always shake it well before use! The old Testor's "chrome" paint in tiny square bottles works well too, but it never fully dries.

I just noticed that it is a Canadian sucker!

Interesting. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_Putty Silly Putty is a toy containing silicone polymers that have unusual physical properties. I also know to keep anything with silicone as far away from the painted car bodies as possible since it can contaminate model's surface causing fish eyes in the paint. I wouldn't think of using silly putty on anything I'll be painting.

Nice! I have a vintage Electrolux horizontal canister vacuum. All metal (steel and diecast aluminum), and it works really well. They don't make them like they used to. I hate all the current bagless vacuums! What's up with that? Who came up with the idea that bagless is more convenient, then brainwashed everybody into believing that?! With bagless vacuums, to empty and clean it you have to deal with all the dirt in the container, then you have to pick all the nasty disgusting dirt off the filter. Bagless? In conventional vacuum cleaner you take the full bag out and install new one. No fuss, no muss. Your hands never touch any dirt. How was that less convenient? Tell me!

Seems that most Japanese modelers are more honest than us Americans. Different culture I suppose.

LOL! Well, it all depends on your viewpoint. Storing any car in vertical position, with all the fluids in it seems like a problem waiting to happen. Cars are designed to have their wheels on the ground. But yes, even ignoring the Vert-a-pac, Vega was a failure, along with ***BOOM***, Ford Pintos. I did read though that the exploding Pinto issue was somewhat exaggerated. Many cars from the mid-70s were crappy rusting piles of doo-doo.

Unfortunately this does happen occasionally. That's why none of my model kit boxes are sealed. If it is a currently produced model (as I'm buying it) and some parts are missing/damaged, it is easier to get replacements than 30 years later when I finally decide to build it. This whole idea about sealed kits being extra valuable seems misguided to me. I would rather buy one that was opened and the contents verified. Japanese models (bought in Japan) are not sealed, so you can easily look inside before you buy it. But no, we here have virgin sealed kits. You have to get married to them before you break the shrink wrap.

Yes, that is basically a shade of dark gray. As the name implies it is a good tire color and has the right amount of sheen (not just dead flat).

The Vert-a-pac was a seriously failed experiment. All the gory details are described in https://www.motortrend.com/features/chevrolet-vega-vert-a-pac/

Yes, automobiles (completed vehicles and parts) have been shipped by railroad since the first cars were produced. Originally standard boxcars were used, then they used double-door boxcars for easier loading. Then some automobile carrying boxcars had end doors added, so cars could be easier driven in and out. Here is a car with end doors. Many of the photos came from https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2016/03/carrying-automobiles-in-boxcars.html Later, dedicated end-loaded multi-level auto racks were used. Originally they were open, but due to the vandalism, they were eventually fully enclosed. Those are still used today.

But that makes them legal in Australia Unless Australia has some sort of exceptions for antique American cars.

There is some very good information on that site. Like a link to https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2004-title49-vol5/xml/CFR-2004-title49-vol5-sec571-108.xml