Brian Austin

This 1952 Nash has been kicking around the internet for at least a decade, without any info that I could find.

I have no info on this one. Images likely came from eBay listings. I recently rediscovered these files.

The problem with 3D printed kits is that they can be rather expensive, as was discussed in the Tucker and Cadillac 3D printed kit threads elsewhere.

Sorry, I have no info on this creation. I might have saved the images from ebay some time ago. I just recently dug through those old files.

I have to wonder what the price point the chassis kit would be if it were reissued. Large kit, small market. 🙂

I've seen plenty of classic American cars broken down on the side of the road. 🙂

I saw a Yugo at a car show last year.

Could Round2 clone these? Hmmm... They'd have to create a new detailed chassis for each, but still...

A year or two ago I dug out my metal-filled epoxy tubes dating from the early 1990s or so, IIRC. The epoxy seemed to work OK despite its age. I made some simple castings.

The IMEX/IMAI 1958 Cadillac kits seem to me to be simultaneously 1:24 and 1:25 scales. The chassis and mechanical bits appear very close in size to Revell's nice 1:25 1959 Cadillac kits, while the body is waaaaay too wide, closer to 1:24 (or perhaps even worse). I think the Palmer crew must have worked off photographs when carving their masters, rather than using actual dimensional drawings. I'm picturing their masters being carved from balsa. Even after all those articles and videos over the years of the old-school kit mastering process, I still look at old parts and marvel how the heck they can make them from hand-carved masters.

Glencoe Models is still made in the US, in the vicinity of Worcester, MA.

Dave Van Ronk sang a wonderful mostly English version on his album "To All My Friends In Far Flung Places." Dave Van Ronk - The Simple Things We Said

A few weeks one of my musical heroes passed. Gabriel Yacoub (from France), whose early career got a boost backing Alain Stivel (who became a big Breton/Celtic folk-rock artist in his own right), and then went on to boost the folk revival in France by forming the band Malicorne. His solo career was also remarkable. I am glad I got to see one of his solo performances in the Boston area 20-25 years ago or so. One of his songs was covered several times in various styles. His original mostly French version has some wonderful instrumentation. Gabriel Yacoub - Les Choses Plus Simples

I'm not sure who's more insufferable, those who for years kept telling me to join FB, or those riding their high horse against it in every thread it gets mentioned in passing (as often happens on other hobby boards). And for those who don't "do social media", forums such as this one and Spotlight are part of social media. I joined FB in 2019 in part to join my model club's group. Info regarding meetings had been posted there. Unfortunately, I joined too late. The group was in decline, and the club folded later. The group got rebranded to reflect the change in the club, but it's pretty dead now. There is a lot of politics and kvetching on FB in general, but there was a lot of that every month in my club meetings. You can scroll past an offensive post, but in real life you can't. It's interesting how quiet my FB friends have become over the years. I rarely post to my feed myself these days as well. However it's been great to reconnect with Ken Hemilton, who's still at it making great dioramas. One of the groups I belong to is of my hometown. From time to time I post pictures that I've taken around here since the 1980s. It's been gratifying to see the overwhelming (positive) response, sparking happy memories and conversation. My town just got through some toxic political business, so I'm glad I could spread a little happiness the past few days. Sure there's a lot of junk of FB, but thankfully, there are a lot of fun cat videos to counter it. 😄

Earthquakes, mudslides, floods, hurricanes, sinkholes...

I've been experimenting with Round2 slot car chassis for some model railroad projects. 🙂

A year or two I was looking into smaller-scale R/C off-road trucks and found several video reviews and people out enjoying them, around the world.

Wait for all the facts, folks. While the situation itself is unimaginably tragic, the rumor-mongering, social media misinformation and conspiracy theories that have been circulating after the recent hurricanes and wildfires is worse. Re: "Sad to say but it was just on the news that some migrant gangs are starting some of the new fires for some reason. ..." Latino immigrants bravely helped fight the fires, untrained, on their own, just to help the community. So, please just stop. Keep in mind the price Catherine O'Leary paid as scapegoat for the great Chicago fire. The story involving the cow was made up.

The unboxing is something of a ritual. One thing that annoys me is the modern style of presentation and editing, a far cry from the TV and educational films we grew up with. Some video channels (any subject) can turn me off, while others keep me tuning in from time to time. One channel I frequent reviews model trains from a British point of view, from unboxing to running tests. Almost all of the products he reviews he had purchased himself. He prides himself on transparency.

Doesn't the current modified reissue of the AMT '59 Ambulance have stock wheel covers? IIRC the old Polar Lights Ectomobile kit includes stock wheels.

To build on one of the earlier replies: Holy Grail: Model you've spent years tracking down, invested more than you probably should have to finally get it, only to be filed away in you stash to the point you'll forget you even have it. 🙂

Here you can see the motor, salvaged from an old cassette tape deck drives a LEGO driveshaft and universal joints. I experimented with quick-disconnect electrical connectors. I soldered HO rail joiners to the motor leads and truck electrical wiper wires and simply connect them to the short bits of brass rail so I don't have to unsolder later. I've had to change the motor once or twice already.

I've been working on this for the past year or so, on and off. I purchased the body shells missing motor, trucks and vestibules. I could have spent a little more for a complete one, but I didn't want to mess with a runner. 🙂 I was excited to finally get it looking nicer with the addition of the aerodynamic shrouding for the trucks (made from aluminum stock from a soft drink can). The pilot (won't call it a cowcatcher) was increased in size to better match the prototype. I was really excited to take it to a friend's house for some exercise. It runs fairly nice, if not super fast for an express train. It is fairly hefty--it is made of heavy pot metal and thick stamped steel. I've been fascinated by these prewar M-10000 sets since I saw the Greenberg's collectors books in the 1980s, so I'm super happy to finally have one of my own. 🙂 I will repaint and reletter the body, but I won't go crazy superdetailing it. After all it's still a tinplate-era model with exposed screws and such.