Brian Austin

Who knew there are people on YouTube who don't like things? ? People also like to complain that Americans use the English language wrong, spell "aluminum" wrong, and harp on our supposed non-use of the Metric System, even though we have been using it for a long while. So next in line is complaining about tail lights on US cars. In the end, does it really matter? I saw the video in question some time ago, and I thought the YouTuber liked to gripe for the sake of kvetching. Different nations are going to have different standards. I've had no problem understanding red turn signals. Just pay close attention to your driving and you'll be fine. Note that also headlight standards and usage are different between the US and abroad. I've always thought the '60s custom cars (Barris, etc.) sporting those classic CIBIE rectangular (oval?) headlights looked cool. When white tail light lenses came into fashion I thought they looked odd. I thought tail light lenses in the US were supposed to reflect red. I recall in the 1980s GM cars got amber directional lenses, part of the Euro influence of the time I think, along with blacked-out window trim (which used to be bright). In my school days I used to sketch concept vehicles. I was influenced by those nifty "Euro look" tail lights. Below is a mini-van study from 1985 with standard lights in the usual place, and a second set of red/amber lights at the top, along with the license plate placed way up there for good measure. I used the upper light theme in other sketches of the period. This is the best of the bunch. I don't know how well the bump would have worked aerodynamically so I added spoilers. Plus, spoilers look cool. As an aside, I think I was better at drawing than I was at coming up with good car names.

IIRC the Studebaker did show up as a 1:25 diecast under the Johnny Lightning moniker, though IIRC it was fairly limited in terms of production. I don't think I've actually seen one.

Relax. You missed my point. I wasn't casting shade on Mr. Allen, in fact I was always a fan of his. Nor was I casting shade on the layout featured in the video I posted. I'm not even sure where that criticism might have come from. I was just contrasting the mindset of correctly detailing every item on a model railroad vs what I recalled from the old magazines, the do whatever you feel approach (can't think of any particular names, sorry). Judging from various forums, some modelers today consider the wordplay railroad names to be quaint or even cringe-inducing. One could criticize one approach as too-frivolous, and the other as too serious, but I'm not going to. To each his own. As far as my own efforts go, I have a motley collection of vintage O Scale equipment, with no particular road theme.

I remember the layouts in the old hobby magazines with cutesy names and loose connection to reality. ?

Here's an older gallery of build photos of some of his steam locomotives. https://www.cumberlandmodelengineering.com/BogsSteamLocomotives.html Some of his diesel locos https://www.cumberlandmodelengineering.com/BogsDieselLocomotives.html Some of his freight cars https://www.cumberlandmodelengineering.com/BogsFreightCars.html

From Rio Grande 3 foot gauge to Standard Gauge Big Boys and EMD F Units and Krauss Maffai diesels.

Japan's kit production capitol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJltHrMWoas

I wish I recalled the particular issue, but decades ago Collectible Automobile magazine published an article on the Cowboy so I had been aware of it. I always thought this was a neat looking concept, but I doubt it would have been a success.

Several pictures of images of Main Street vehicles. https://www.charactercentral.net/L394_DisneyCharacters_DisneylandParis_ParcDisneyland_MainStreetVehicles.aspx Global Van Lines truck as it appeared in the 1960s. https://davelandblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/main-street-usa-january-1964.html

The Ice Cream Truck here looks pretty cool. https://www.charactercentral.net/L411_DisneyCharacters_DisneylandParis_ParcDisneyland_PopcornandSnackCarts.aspx

The jittneys, double-decker omnibuses and fire truck of Disneyland's Main Street

Ten years ago I went to a fancy concours event here in Massachusetts and got there just as a thunderstorm rolled through. Of course I had left my raincoat in my car and that would have been a shuttle bus ride back to get it. In the end it was fascinating change from the usual sunny day fare.

Many model railroad building kits made in Europe had swirled or mottled plastic.

4x5" B&W negative, 1990s

Very rare and fascinating....

I was about to suggest kitbashing the Krauss-Maffei loco into SP's camera car, but there's not much of the loco left that's recognizable. https://sp9010.ncry.org/sp8799.htm

A year or two ago I got 5 assembled O scale boxcar kits, each a little rough around the edges. One was a wooden automobile boxcar. It looks nice after a touch up.

I grew up devouring books and magazines of British railways, along with the usual US railroads. I wish I could have seen Flying Scotsman pass through my area in the late 1960s.

Editorial from the Journal of the Society of Automotive Engineers. The first page made me laugh...

Live version: I should point out that this song was a fairly big hit for the band.

I've seen Jethro Tull in concert in the late 1980s, and I've also seen Ian Anderson's solo-with-band shows in the 1990s and again in 2010 or so. For a fair spell in the 2000s, the guitarist was Florian Opahle, originally from Germany. I must admit I am not familiar with his work. I saw him in concert once. I recall at the circa 2010 concert in Lowell, MA Florian played a shredding interpretation of a classical theme. What I found odd was while I appreciated his technical skill, I felt something was missing. The beauty of the classical melody had been reduced to an aggressively fast flurry. Kinda sorta like this example: A fun counterpoint is this arrangement of the same piece by the band Sky from 1980. They can play fast too. ? The two guitarists in this particular lineup were John Williams (classical) and Kevin Peek (electric). Both were from Australia. The other members of Sky at the time were from England, Herbie Flowers (bass), Tristan Fry (percussion) and Francis Monkman (keyboard). I've always been fond of the band, having seen two concert programs on cable TV in the 1980s.

I've liked his discussions on how songs work and on theory and such, but I get tired of his complaining about "music these days". Sure commercial pop isn't great nowadays, but according to grownups it's always been that way since at least the days of Rock and Roll. In fact musicians like the famed Wrecking Crew didn't think much of Rock and Roll. They found it simplistic and repetitive compared to jazz. They did appreciate having the gigs though, backing the pop artists. Rick mentioned drum machines. I generally don't care for those myself in current pop music, but I made the realization that they were used to good effect in some of my favorite recordings from the '70s, such as those by The Alan Parsons Project and Jean-Michel Jarre. It seems to me pop music artists have always explored emerging technologies.

I recently got another old O Scale "doorstop". This is a kit build, but I'm not sure of the manufacturer. Lobaugh and All Nation offered similar ones, but both seem to be different from mine in various aspects. It has a big honkin' Pittman open frame motor that does work. It took a week or two of sorting out the various problems but the loco is running now. One mildly amusing problem is that the tender is crooked in various aspects. It definitely looks hand made. I should paint it black but the whole thing has an interesting patina. Judging by the spoiler on the cab roof, this loco must have the Sports Package. ?

Some really creative builds here...