Brian Austin

Central Massachusetts (Brookfield). Still standing, I believe.

Central Massachusetts (Webster). No longer standing.

Over time I'll be posting my pictures of gas stations and garages, etc. Here's one from western Massachusetts (Belchertown). B&W pictures are from 1992, while the color ones are from 1999. UPDATE: I have come across a recent picture showing the present condition of the structure. While it does still stand today, it has been much modified. I was unaware of this configuration, as I had not seen the building since 1999. I have added this image, from the historical building archive of the state of Massachusetts known as MACRIS. According to the historical survey, this one originally dated to around 1939, and was an ESSO station.

What's the plastic like? Have any of you cut yours up yet?

It's kinda odd that while Weaver hoists seem to have been fairly popular in the day, most models and toys seem to represent either Holmes style booms hoists or simple A-frame types.

I understand Europe is riddled with hidden old bombs. It seems to be fairly routine to uncover them in Germany and France. In my town's case, there was a "NIKE" anti-aircraft missile installation in operation during the Cold War, but that's the other side of town from where the magnet fishers were. Perhaps there are more mysteries lurking in the muddy Charles River. Speaking of the UK, there is a connection to my town with the UK relating to WWII. https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/needham-times/2021/07/16/british-flag-marks-needham-memorial-1944-royal-air-force-crash/7978593002/

A few nights ago I heard a small but very noticeable explosion. Then a minute later I got an alert from my town's PD on my cell phone. Earlier in the day some guys were "magnet fishing" off a bridge and picked up a 12"-long shell. What I had felt was the detonation of that live shell. Then this morning they found a bazooka round the same way, at the same location. That too was detonated. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/what-is-magnet-fishing-unexploded-ordnances-charles-river/ https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/video/bazooka-round-recovered-by-magnet-fisher-in-needham/

Be sure to take note of how the eclipse effects your surroundings. ?

I won't disagree with this. I was just picturing future complaints. ? I recall a toolbox and a folding table. What else was there besides the standing figure?

I saw this one in Cambridge, MA in 1992. This is a cropped portion of a picture I took of an old garage. It's possible I wasn't even aware of the Chevette El Camino at the time.

Gurneys were available in a variety of styles. https://emsmuseum.org/collections/archives/cots-and-stretchers/cots-yesterday-today/ https://everythingprops.com/item/vMEkUVpN9lp87OfHyL18

Here's one of the rally figures from the Chevette kit. There was also an awkwardly-posed standing figure as well. Note the crude hands.

Smaller one

A young Canadian YouTuber recently restored a pair of flood-damaged Rivarossi/AHM locomotives.

Approx. 1/7 scale!

I think I'd've gone with Jeep-derived bed and front fenders.

In the late 1980s or 1990s Scale Auto Enthusiast did a full issue roundup of resin kits available at the time. You'd be surprised at the variety of colors they were cast in. Some resins even contained metal particles.

I have rounded up most of the remains of the Chevette I gluebombed as a child. I wouldn't mind seeing it reissued again, but if it's without the rally extras I'm not sure I'd want to pay today's price for a relatively small kit. ? Mine came with two figures, which I still have. Unfortunately they really don't measure up to today's standards. Has anyone built all the world's variations of what we call the Chevette? That could be a fascinating table display.

I've been getting that "An error occurred" message as well.

Shaky, short clip of the firebox glow effect in action, plus mfr website for reference. https://www.dapol.co.uk/collections/o-gauge 20240205_193958.mp4

A few weeks ago I purchased a British O Gauge (scale of 1:43 or 7mm to the foot) freight set from the website of the UK manufacturer Dapol. It was a bundle, that is, a little tank engine, two freight wagons and a brake van. No track, etc. While I was at it, I also got a wagon in a sharp red livery. It is labeled for a coal works in Worcester, England. I live an hour's drive east of Worcester, Mass. ? The loco has a neat feature: the firebox and cab glow with red and orange LEDs. Unfortunately, the engine cuts out at around 5V, so getting clear slow-speed pictures or video of the effect is quite difficult. Loco is tiny by US standards. It is roughly the size of a smallish S Gauge loco. Buffers are sprung, and it's fun to knock the string of wagons together to watch how they bounce into eachother. ? In anticipation of getting a British loco, last year from trainz.com I got three old plastic coaches made in Italy by LIMA. While for the price I paid for these three I thought they were fairly decent, they are looked down upon by today's modelers in the UK. Unfortunately current state-of-the-art model coaches of this type are out of my budget for now. The coaches I got came assorted in liveries. Luckily one of them happened to be painted for the same railway as my loco. I stuffed a battery-powered light string in it to see how it looked. The roof isn't properly seated in my photo. I am eagerly anticipating ordering another type of tank engine, of a different railway, and hope to get an appropriate coach for it. These things do turn up second hand on UK websites.

I'm in the Boston area, so I'm not conveniently located near the path. It'll be going through northern New England though. My brother went all the way to Illinois to see the last one. I do recall seeing crescents while I was at art school in Boston in the '90s.

https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/forgotten-fiberglass/top-of-the-morning-to-you-lets-review-the-shamrock-brochure/ https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/category/forgotten-fiberglass/shamrock/

Storefronts in a small city with lots of character... https://www.youtube.com/@Chandwell/videos