iamsuperdan

As soon as the snow is gone!

Well, now that Issue 212 is in subscribers' hands, I can post some more pics of this one. AMT's International CO-4070A. Built it box stock, as a fairly basic fleet spec. Yeah, went with chrome parts, but still wanted that base fleet vibe. Was super surprised at how this kit went together. It did not feel like I was building an AMT kit at all. Parts were crisply molded, every part was numbered, the instructions were clear and precise. I hpe all future AMT kits are like this. The only issue I had was of my own doing. I managed to lose the shifter. Ah well. Need to build a matching trailer for it now.

I usually go mellow. I can't listen to anything too heavy. Modelling is relaxing for me, and I need music that relaxes and soothes. Post-rock or post-metal are my preferred genres. Bands like There's a Light, Baulta, Vy-Pole, 417.3, Leech, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster and all sorts of other bands no one has ever heard of.

Not necessarily. The 1.8L in the older 3 series cars was fantastic. a 318; from 84-91 was a fantastic car. Even the next generation, from 1992 through 1999 was great. Especially if you can find the odd little hatchback, the 318ti. The inline 6 had more power for sure, but that 4-cylinder is a lot of fun too. And much less complex.

Worked for a BMW dealer for three years, and my wife was there for over 10 years. So we've been around them a lot. Have only owned one though, an e34 525i. I want another one. Loved that car. No actual pics handy, but it looked just like this. Anyway, here's a fun fact. The number on the back doesn't necessarily indicate engine size. It used to, for sure. But starting in the late 90s, the 328i could actually have a 2.5L engine. The 325i could be a 2.3L. And it got worse as we moved into the 2000s.The only constant was that first digit. In order of size, you had the 3 series, the 5 series, the 6 series (which was essentially a 2-dr 5 series), the 7-series, and the 8-series. Now it's confsuing, because you have the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 series. Plus the X named SUV variants of most.

Broncos are like the Jeep Wrangler. They can be had with both a removeable hardtop and a removeable soft top. In both two and four door models. That sticker though. A $12k market adjustment?! Unethical and total nonsense. Most manufacturers are starting to penalize dealers that try to take advantage of the vehicle shortage like that. Withholding future allocation is a very real threat. I know for our dealer, we charge MSRP, no price bump above that. As for who pays that much? Literally everyone. Trucks and SUVs are expensive. All these features people want/need/whatever cost money. My 2021 F150 has a Canadian MSRP of about $75k, or roughly $60k US. And that's commonplace. I'm lucky though, I've been able to buy utilizing my Ford Fleet number, and not pay anywhere near full price. And with the market the way it is right now, I could sell the truck a dozen times over at new MSRP pricing...if I could actually replace it with a new one right now. Two or three year old vehicles are selling for brand new prices because of the vehicle shortages. At my dealership, we have new F150 Platinums and Limiteds with MSRP well over $75k US, and they sell all day long. Bronco? Full price, and we're pretty much sold out for the next year.

At some point, all of my dad's old gear will be making it's way over and join to my set up. He was a big audiophile and has a lot of gear. I can't remember the brand, but he has a reel-to-reel. The only thing I remember listening to on it is a live Pink Floyd recording. Not sure if he dubbed it from somewhere, or if it was an official release. I have many fond memories of cassettes, and still have all of my cassettes from back in the day, and still have my deck set up, but that is a format that should never be resurrected. Poor sound, inconvenient format.

Minstrel In The Gallery by Jethro Tull.

And they still sell them where I bought mine. ? https://www.quadratec.com/products/97017_1600.htm Those quad lights are much harder to find good replacements for.

Whoa. That's some crazy fast shipping! Nice to hear a good news shipping story for a change. And I agree with you fully. When I was reading the proofs, I thought it was just an excellent issue from front to back.

If I recall, your OBS Chev has the old school rectangular headlights, correct? If you've considered upgrading the lights, give these a try. https://www.ipf-light.com/catalog/headLamp.php#head I ran these lights in my old Jeep XJ, and they were a massive improvement over stock. No need for LEDs. You may not see a need, but the majority of consumers do. Whether because they really want it, or because they been brainwashed into thinking they do. People ask for all of that stuff. Go to any dealer lot right now. You will not find a base model vehicle on the lot. Some dealers might have one zipper model in stock as an advertising price leader. But I'm willing to bet every in stock car is very well equipped. It's what people ask for. They see the zipper model, and ask about adding AC. Or the heated seats. Or whatever. Pretty soon, they're $5k higher and have everything they asked for. From the dealer point of view, we're only allocated a certain number of vehicles. If we are allocated 5 new Explorers this month for example, are we going to stock a basic XLT or are we going to bring in the loaded ST that people ask for? People see an XLT, then ask about larger wheels, or a moonroof, or heated steering wheel. It's going to be 5 new ST models for sure. With Super Duty trucks, do we bring in the work spec trucks, or the loaded Platinums that people ask for? It's the same thing. I look at the factory orders we have incoming for our retail department, and almost everything is a loaded up, leathered up vehicle. And those are vehicles that clients have spec'd out. They can literally place an order for anything, yet everyone specs out a highly equipped vehicle. So those of us who don't need every bell and whistle are in the minority. I like a couple of bells, maybe a whistle or two, but I don't want all of them. Wifey on the other hand... And yes, we all survived fine with crank windows and keys instead of push buttons, but that's not the way it is now. We survived just fine with horse and buggy too, but here we are.

These look great. I have that Toyota. Makes me want to get it started.

Crazy. Forgot how good The Screaming Trees were. They've kind of fallen of my radar for a while. Was listening again last night. So good.

Hands down the V6. In fact, I don't think we've had even one 4-cylinder come through here yet.

There are a couple of important ones for me. Album one. Faith No More - The Real Thing. Growing up, I was surrounded by music. Thanks to my parents, I was introduced at an early age to all types of music. From my mum it was The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Engelbert Humperdinck. From my dad, LED Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton. I was exposed to everything, so had a wide range of tastes. But then in the late 80s metal entered the picture, and it just wasn’t cool to admit to like music that wasn’t metal. So I kept it hidden that I liked pop music, and new wave, and whatever else I listened to. And then I discovered The Real Thing. This album was metal. But it was also rap, and jazz. And I loved it. I wore out two cassettes, and have two CD versions. I even have a couple of version on vinyl, even though I don't have a record player! I can still sing along to every track, and can play pretty much all of the guitar parts. This album more than any other took me out of my shell, and this is when I stopped hiding what I listened to, and really just put it out there that I listen to everything. This album also really helped me with what I wrote in my bands. No more trying to write to fit the flavour of the day. If I wrote something thrashy, or poppy, or mellow, or whatever, I just wrote it and presented it to the band. Album two. Depeche Mode - Songs Of Faith And Devotion. Start to finish, one of the best albums ever created. Ever. That period around 1996 was not a great one for me. There were some good points, but in a very short period, I lost two grandparents and the family dog we had since I was in grade 5. I was a few years out of high school, and was not involved with most of my friends from that era, just sort of drifted out my life. I was thinking about how much I really didn’t enjoy high school at all, and was still sort of aimless when it came to my future. Yeah, I was going to university, and yes I had friends, but I was just not in a great place. But there was one person I was very close with, and she turned me on to Depeche Mode, and in particular, Songs Of Faith And Devotion. I had been aware of DM, but had never really bothered to listen. The album fit my general frame of mind. It was dark and moody, very retrospective. I think it also helps that SOFAD marked a departure for DM, as it was their first real guitar driven album, made it easier for me to get behind. Our relationship was never like THAT, but a lot of the meaning of this album for me is centered around the time we had spent together. The correlation between this album and that relationship is more of an overall feeling than a true soundtrack, but the are definitely some lyrical themes that nailed the importance of this to me. And even though that relationship unfortunately faded and disappeared, this album didn’t and I still listen to it (and DM in general) constantly. The lyrics now mean more as well. I’ve come to realize that I don’t need to have lived a particularly hard life to relate to the words in a song like Walking In My Shoes. The reality is that my experience in any situation is different than anyone else’s. And maybe in the grand scheme of things I haven’t had a tough life, but it still resonates. Condemnation follows the theme a little, and echoes where I've been since then. At this point in my life, I am who I am, I’m comfortable with the decisions I’ve made, and I accept the consequences of those decisions. Being honest should never require an apology. Wow, deep or what.

I work for a Ford dealer. We haven't had any engine related issues with our Broncos yet, but we've had a couple of roof-related issues. Hardtops delaminating, soft top not folding correctly. We've probably delivered 50 of them so far. Unrelated, but I'd just like to say that the new Bronco has the ugliest engine bay ever created. Look at this mess.

I must be lucky. I've never had a damaged kit arrive. HLJ in Japan, Hobbylinc, Model Roundup in the US, USCP in Ukraine, A&N in Latvia, a couple of vendors in the UK. All packaged very, very well.

Yup. Trucks from the 90s are now 30 years old. In Canada, they can officially be registered as an antique/classic vehicle. Best headlights don't mean the brightest bulbs possible, nor does it necessarily mean switching to LED. It's more about the reflectors within the headlight unit, and finding something with better light dispersal. When possible, I've switched my vehicles to European headlights, as they have much better setups in their vehicles. LED bulbs aren't great here anyway, as they don't generate as much heat, meaning snow buildup is a very real thing.

And there's the rub. Are these features people want/need? Or are they what people have been conditioned to want/need? Either way, the features are here and we're stuck with vehicles that are significantly larger and more complex than their predecessors. Personally, I like a few extras. Heated seats, remote starter, the best headlights I can get, and bluetooth. All the other foo foo stuff I can live without. Most days, I prefer my old OBS Chevs to my new truck. My son as sort of taken over my 99 Tahoe, and my 14 year old daughter wants me to find her an old truck. Old meaning from the 90s. And neither kid likes driving wifey's Volvo or my new truck. They like the old stuff.

Looks awesome. There are Cummins engines available aftermarket, so not all is lost. I'll be placing my order soon.

It's not just government mandate. It's also what people want. Everyone now NEEDs their heated seats, vented seats, massaging seats, dual zone or three zone AC, heated steering wheel, remote starters, park sensors, rear cameras, 360 degree cameras, sunroof, keyless entry, push button start, bluetooth, satellite radio, LED headlights, power tailgates, self-levelling suspension, adaptive steering, touchscreens, navigation, rear dvd, power folding seats, etc, etc, etc. A base model Corolla or Hyundai now comes with more equipment than base BMW or Mercedes models from not that long ago. Heated steering wheel & seats, remote start for example. I work in the industry, and love most of these features. But I fear my truck being off warranty.

Being that it's all VW Group: Volkswagen ID.4 Audi e-tron Porsche Taycan Porsche Panamera e-hybrid Porsche Cayenne e-hybrid I'm guessing of the 4000 vehicles on board, at least 1000 have Li batteries.

I can't post my favourite ones. I'd have to put myself on a 30 day timeout and moderation. But I use these a lot. Especially at work.

When I print a wheel/tire set, or even a complete engine, it's usually around 2 hours. I have my printer layer height set at .04mm. Takes a little longer, but the layer lines are virtually non-existent. The truck body I printed was still at .05mm layer height. The cab took about 5 hours, and the box was about the same.

Has anyone seen a good .stl file of a stock Ford Coyote V8? I'm looking for one for an idea I have.