Brian Austin

This is the saw I used to cut through the diecast chassis. It's made by Tamiya. The material leftover from cutting the hole was glued into the inside of the bodyshell for added traction weight.

This Dodge was the inspiration for my project. It operated in the Midwest, and I've seen it in two railroad museums over the years. It rides on special wheels and tires for railroad service.

I've had this Solido model since the 1980s or so, and I've been converting it into a railroad inspection car. I cut a hole in the diecast chassis and fitted an AutoWorld slot car drive. Metal railroad wheels were installed, with electrical contacts connecting to the motor. So far it doesn't really want to crawl at a slow speed. It likes to scoot around at a fair clip. ? The interior detailing is basic, and the front seatback, rear floor and inner door panels were omitted. Those were filled in with styrene. I went ahead and represented bright trim and doorhandles even though in the end they may possibly not be visible through the window openings. I "rolled down" the rear windows to remove glare and improve visibility of the detailing. Four seated crew figures will be added in the future.

Update! Some details remain to be sorted out such as headlights, bell and cab interior, but I did get some paint on it.

This morning on my way to work I stopped at a four way stop behind a new Bronco. Then I noticed an '80s Bronco crossing the intersection.

I recommend against using noodles to mark street address numbers. Some people find ramen numerals difficult to read.

International Harvester has several truck lines that end in "-star", such as Loadstar. They should've created a line of trucks for quarry or gravel hauling called Rockstar.

From what I understand, most 3D scans require cleanup with Blender or similar programs that fix the resulting model mesh. Photogrammetry, which uses a large number of photographs of an object, taken from a variety of angles, can result in a model for printing, but much cleanup may be needed. Sometimes there may be voids caused by incomplete coverage of the subject. I think a high-quality camera would be best for this. My own phone's camera resolution is pretty mediocre. FWIW, here's a phone/PC based 3D scanner that recently appeared in my YT video suggestions, but it's somewhat limited.

That sign indeed funny. My hometown FaceBook group has regular Coyote alarms from concerned citizens. Coyotes have been around for a while, but development is only making things worse. Coyotes may be getting more aggressive and less fearful of humans, and may be out and about earlier in the day rather than just at night. I haven't heard them lately, but I have heard their nightly chorus several times over the years. I even recorded snippets of their serenade. Here's a local example of an Eastern Coyote...

One more: -Emhar Bedford O-Series 5T Breakdown Truck (1:24 scale): too British? Too Obscure? ?

I wonder if '65-'66 F350s are planned further down the pike. I wonder what other vocational bodies are left to do? A stakebed would be welcome.

I've been going on a Gerry Rafferty deep dive lately, and I recently found this solo album. Folkier feel than the landmark later ones. "Long Way Round" and "To Each And Everyone" are among my favorites. Can I Have My Money Back? (1971) Full Album

At around the same time toy/collectible soldier giant Britains also produced their own coach sets as well. http://www.janealexiadis.com/new-blog/2018/4/30/a-coronation-coach-britains-lead-figures

Lesney produced a diecast coach (or rather, IIRC two versions). https://www.bonhams.com/auction/19907/lot/865/rare-large-lesney-coronation-coach-with-king-and-queen-figures-1951-only-200-examples-where-issued-of-this-first-casting-of-the-coach-with-both-king-and-queen-figures/

I'm not surprised that there is a commemorative model of the Coronation Coach being released soon, in 1:64. https://creations.mattel.com/products/matchbox-collectors-gold-state-coach-hwj96?variant=41557614756045&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5v_M4uTf_gIVhQOzAB2P7A04EAQYASABEgI_mfD_BwE

In Hammondsport, NY is the Glenn Curtiss museum, dedicated to the tinkerer of aircraft and motorcycles. There were numerous models on display, along with various items from industries and people from the area around Hammondsport. The school bus was 1:4 scale model built by the Mercury Aircraft factory (Penn Yan Buses Div.). It seems to me the nose is taken from a toy of the period. The bus bodies were constructed of aluminum.

There are numerous small museums in downtown Pontiac, IL. Above the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum there is the Life In the 1940's exhibit which had all sorts of household items, including this WWII era model aircraft kit. Like so many wood craftsman kits, it's "mint and unbuilt". ?

Same museum. Model of a Route 66 landmark, with trailer...

Their library

Pontiac-Oakland Museum, Pontiac, IL had some neat model displays in 2016.

The former Hotstetler collection of Hudson cars in Shipshewana IN had a small selection of related models and toys. My father and I saw it in 2016, and sadly the museum closed and the collection was auctioned off just a few years later.

Maybe I vaguely remember the episode where they paint the GL black. It's been a while. I enjoyed the show as a kid, but I don't follow it closely. The show may not have been the best, but it was typical of the period. The same year that brought Dukes of Hazzard also gave us the lamentable Supertrain. As far as the Charger goes, I think those were just 10-year-old used cars at the time of filming. If you produced the show today with 2010 Dodges I don't think anyone would care. Perhaps if the show hadn't happened, there could be more old Chargers around, but fewer people interested in them . I thought the General Lee was cool, but over time I just got tired of the whole muscle car thing in general (pun not intended). Since I've not attempted a replica of the GL, is there difficulty in positioning the roof decal (whichever body color!) ?

I wasn't even aware of a black General Lee. Some sellers include a picture of the prototype in their listings for reference.

You can find the history of S Scale trains here: https://nasg.org/About/History/S.php In a book on slot cars published by Louis Hertz in the '60s, S Scale was also known as H1 (Half of #1 Gauge) but that designation soon lost favor. Note that in the "Tinplate" era scale was relative. Some O Gauge toys were closer to 1:64 in scale (early Marx and American Flyer). Even into the classic plastic era of Lionel the lower-tier ranges of trains were undersized for proper O Scale. In the US 1/4" to the foot became the standard for O Scale out of convenience, though some manufacturers offered models in 17/64" scale, which is near the metric equivalent of 1:45 scale, favored by Germany and other continental European builders. In Europe, O Gauge is defined as 32mm , and IIRC 1:45 scale is closer to correct than either UK or US scaling. Getting back to Lindberg, their Mini Lindy range had some models that might have been close to 1:64, though most were "box scaled." Trucks were closer to 1:87. Some models like their Chevy van worked OK with Aurora slot car chassis.