Brian Austin

Last night heading home from work I saw a Rivian coming the other way. It was dark, so all I saw were the funky headlights and illuminated strip that runs across the front. Relating to shooting brakes, the term comes from a horse-drawn wagon that carried hunting supplies along with the hunting party. The French seem to use the term "break", which comes from "break de chasse". In England the term "estate car" is sometimes used. The hunting and sporting image of these cars is in stark contrast to the US "station wagon" and "depot hack", which were more like utilitarian taxis to transport people and luggage to and from their train. Lastly, regarding Rolls Royce and Bentley, throughout their classic era, IIRC anything other than their standard saloon body would have been coachbuilt.

Many truck kits don't have floor pans.

Here's the pertinent portion of the program (55 min episode with several artists profiled). This episode is titled "Inspiration." Her decal commentary runs from around 3:45 to 4:35.

and she compared the process to applying temporary tattoos. Struck me as a very contemporary way to explain it. ?

YT recommended me this video today: Jim Carrey covers "I Am The Walrus" Background info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_My_Life_(George_Martin_album)

One of my favorite episodes from Thunderbirds is "Move And You're Dead", which features some neat racing action, and a rather strange parking garage. Skip to the 13:26 mark, and then to the 24:20 mark to see it in action.

One of my favorite props is the hoverbus, which was carved from wood, and still survived into preservation in rough condition.

The Gerry Anderson series all use models and toys of various scales. Matchbox toys are used in wide shots, often in airport scenes, while larger models are employed in action shots. Fans love to spot familiar toys and models used in each shot. Some like to make replicas. Conversely, there were numerous plastic kits made of the various vehicles from the shows.

1955-57 Pontiac Chieftain.

I think even the roof panel changed over the years as well.

I was presuming people here would be more familiar with the Mini Lindys than the trains. ?

Some others in 1/24 scale... https://www.fmshobby.com/products/1-24-power-wagon-fcx24 https://www.axialadventure.com/product/1-24-scx24-1967-chevrolet-c10-4wd-truck-brushed-rtr-green/AXI00001T1.html

A nearby hobby shop stocks these interesting little trucks. I'm not sure how the front axle CV or universal joints work. https://store.rc4wd.com/rc4wd-124-trail-finder-2-rtr-w-mojave-ii-bodyset-red.html Looks like fun! The chassis is rather tempting to put under an AMT or Monogram kit body.

In the early 1960s Lindberg produced a small line of HO model trains. A switcher and an assortment of freight cars were offered, as were freight car trucks that were exceptionally free-rolling. Reportedly Lindberg were among the first to employ Delrin in model products. Overview 1: https://hotraincollector.com/lindberg-line/ Overview 2: https://tycotrain.tripod.com/id34.html A pair of freight car trucks in rust colored Delrin: https://www.ebay.com/itm/353912166716

The Matchbox folks had some fun with their 1:43-ish 1933 Cadillac V16 tooling. Police (probably derived from the fire version): https://www.ebay.com/itm/325113620589 Fire (model offered in a variety of configurations over the years): https://www.awesomediecast.com/matchbox-1933-cadillac-v16-fire-wagon/ It would appear there are precious few pictures online, but there was at least one 1933 Cadillac fire vehicle, built in Switzerland. You can see on picture if you scroll down the page a bit: https://www.newcadillacdatabase.org/static/CDB/Dbas_txt/prof3336.htm One other picture showed up in a social media post, see below. While a Town Car Cadillac might be highly unlikely as a police car (particularly during the Depression!), you can still have some fun kitbashing the kit. ?

The custom version had a GMC-type grille?

Polar Lights did that years ago with their 1966 Batmobile kits: Snap curbside and fully-detailed versions. I got the simpler one, a nice kit in its own right.

Back in 1990, most of the cast of Cheers paraded through Boston to commemorate the 200th episode. At City Hall Plaza there were speeches and Kirstie was given a street sign proclaiming Kirstie Alley Alley (or, perhaps, Kirstie's Alley or similar). She appeared stoked to receive the honor. This is my memory, but I can't find any rererence to this anywhere. It's a pity my film processing wasn't the best in this era, but I did get some pictures of the event. Here are some crops of my images showing Kirstie...

I recently got one of those for the power truck, to use in a project. The problem with these is they were not designed for servicing and repair. Each truck is riveted together. Only the front truck is powered. Motor is an open-frame type, driving each axle through a worm-and-gear set. Later Tyco drives had a completely new design utilizing a vertical pancake motor and spur gears. Hobbyists love to hate those for being unreliable.

Were the '50s Pontiacs Okey had leftover old stock?

Shouldn't Jo-Han be considered an aftermarket company at this point? ?

This artists is about as obscure as one can get. Virtually nothing is known about him, other than there were three albums released in the early '80s or so. There's only a smattering of his work posted on YT, no full albums. This track is my favorite. I like the dark undertones in the arrangement. Track: "Dearie" from the album Solitudes by Roger Olson (1981).

I've always been aware of Al Stewart's radio hits, but sadly I never dug into his catalog until recently. I am impressed with his story telling. This song is from one of his lesser-known albums. Track: "Russians & Americans" from Russians & Americans by Al Stwerart (1984). We could do an entire thread of Cold War songs. So many '80s songs were about the fear of nuclear war.