Danno

Sweet!

Beautiful, Art. As always, just beautiful.

Ideas from a little bit of everywhere.

Excellent!

Whoa! That's nasty nice. Or nice nasty.

Mark, NICE! Different! Two of my favorite things.

Nice.

Ray, You got that right! Those are some tasty burgers.

We had that problem several years ago with a well-renown contest (which doesn't exist any more). Guy came in and entered a bunch of models . . . noticeable variations of techniques and skills were apparent. Two things tripped him up: One, he bought a model with custom-made one-off decals and the guy who made the decals was present & told us who he made the decals for (not the entrant, but the guy who sold the model to the entrant). Two, he bought a collection of built-ups from a seller here in town, then entered a couple in our contest. The seller had entered the models in previous contests here. The entrant was from out of town. Let's just say none of his entries were very successful after that. We had another instance . . . a local builder of, say Skill Level 2 capabilities, entered a dozen or so models. One was sporting a Skill Level 4 or 5 paint job of a particular style. Even models the entrant built after this one had sandpapery dull paint and serious Olympic-size orange peel. But that one model . . . world-class killer paint job. Another entrant had a couple of models with similar finishes ~ world class, killer, same colors, same style graphics and techniques. He was a talented 1:1 car painter as well. We asked Skill 2 Guy how he accomplished the special effects of his paint job on that one model. But he couldn't tell us the technique employed. We asked the painter . . . and he admitted Skill 2 Guy paid him to paint the body of that one model. Skill 2 Guy also had a streak of dismal failures in the podium-finish department after that. He quit buying paint jobs. We now keep a booklet with winner lists from past years and photos of the winning models. Any questions, we look it up. We usually catch the cheats. Unfortunately, not always. Cheaters can quickly destroy the credibility of any contest or show, so it's important to try to discourage them.

Highest high I've heard is 95 on Wednesday, then maintaining in low 90's through the weekend. Still not bad. Yet.

Yeah, and we had a couple of Crown Burgers in Denver. One was just 1/2 mile from my office. Spent way too many lunches there! Discovering the GSL tradition of Crown Burgering was old home to me! I make at home, too. (The fry sauce is available at the grocery store.) In fact, had one just night before last! Mmmmm.

Death investigations / Homicides. I was 2 hours late to our wedding because of a double homicide on my shift the night before. The Lovely & Gracious Mrs. B has still not let me forget - or live down - that one! Then there's the story of my favorite 3-piece suit. Just ask her.

Las Vegas.

Following your build, Gregg. Looks like a great kit.

Nice!

HUGE payrolls . . . HUGE investments . . . HUGE spending . . . and then they wonder why HUGE ticket costs have driven away a large percentage of fans . . . those people who support the sports but don't have HUGE incomes.

Sorry to hear about your parents' health issues, Dave, but you are right and righteous to put family first. This project . . . and all its fans . . . will be waiting for the best time for more progress.

Good stuff!

Exceptional work, as always from the workbench of Mr. Ellifrit. How's it coming along, Tom? Time for an update?

LOVE those Cheetahs! And, I love Calvin's words of wisdom . . . that's my credo . . . the longer I put things off, the longer I'll live. Right?

Those are wicked cool! No doubt much better structural integrity than scratchbuilding from individual pieces. Great stuff!

50 Years of Mustang 1/16 kit. Does this mean we can look for a 1/16 scale '67 Camaro in 2017?

I'll be finding out, Joe! Thanks.

No, Charlie, those cactus pictures aren't faked. They do get huge! Those are Saguaro (pronounced saw-war-oh) cacti. The ones in those three pictures were probably 125 - 150 years old. They don't sprout "arms" until they are at least 50 years old. They are so symbolic of Arizona (they are only indigenous to Arizona, Northern Mexico, and Southeastern California) and so revered, that they are protected. It is illegal to remove (dig up), transport, injure, or sell a Saguaro without a permit. Landscape companies can only buy mature Saguaros from licensed nurseries or dealers. We even have a national park in their honor.

Great job!