Jon Cole

I'm lucky, a friend of mine can buy kits wholesale, as long as he orders at least $200 worth, so I get my kits from him at cost. Other than that, the local hobby shop, and Michaels, plus at contests or NNL's. I used to buy on-line but I just no longer have a need for that due to the sources I mentioned previously. I have far more kits than I will ever need already, but such was not always the case. I only now buy the occassional new issue kit.

OK, you built OJ's Bronco!

"The fastest growing motorsport in this country has been SCCA, Grand Am and AMLS." I hear that there is one other form of motor racing that may be growing in popularity, not in a "television" kind of way, but in a love of the sport way... the 24 Hours of LeMons! No, that's not a typo. It's a spoof on the actual LeMans race, but the idea is to race cheap, and have fun. They have races all over the country. The cars look like a joke, but they have a lot of fun from what I have seen. At least they get to paint whatever they want on the sides, instead of a billboard for a sponsor.

I just now got back home from a 50 mile trip. I started to snow before we left. Not a lot of snow, but enough to grease up the road. There is an four-way intersection, it has two left turn lanes in my direction. It stays two lanes all the way through the intersection. When the light turns green, the SUV on the inside tries to beat the box truck around the corner. FAIL. Rear on the SUV kicks out, taps the box truck... just enough to crunch the corner above the right taillight. What a fool. You DON'T gun it in a hard left turn when the road is turning right! As for my Passat 4motion, I'm really lovin' it. And that's just on all-season tires!

Like George said, there is no such thing as a dumb question... ...just dumb bosses One thing about that Diplomat die-cast (if I may offer a suggestion) would be (when you disassemble it), try to trim the hood ornament down in both height & width. It's one of those "eyeball grabbers".

Cal, Was the Jeep GW a junk overall, or "junk" in the snow? Because it is a big 4x4 (yours was 4WD, yes?) and tips the scales about the same as a Navy Frigate, it should go through snow like a knife through butter. Perhaps the tires? I'm just curious. Other 4WD owners here have similar stories, and quite unexpected.

I was never schooled on physics, yet even I know that no matter how many wheels are powered, it can break traction on ice. And once it breaks loose, hang on, 'cause the 'Outta Control Express' is taking the occupants for a ride!

Absolutely true. When we have a winter storm, look what ends up in the snowbank- 9 out of 10 times, it's a 4x4. Next most likely is an awd car. I see it on the TV news also... 4x4s driven by fools who think they can drive at the usual bonzie speed. Then later they b!tch to the tow truck driver what a piece of crappola their truck is!

WOW! That sure is... unique! What are they putting in the water over there?

Simply put, the rwd vehicles I have owned were awful in the snow. The fwd cars were better, but there is no substitute for my 4x4 Jeep Grand Cherokee. After ten years, I had to unload it just a few months ago due to rust. I liked to crush snowbanks in my neighborhood. Leave it to the snowplow guys to turn a two-lane residential road into a 1 1/2 lane road with just one snowfall. I would compact any snow that stuck out. Now I have an '04 Passat W8 4motion. Had our first significant snow this past week, and I couldn't wait to try her out. Results- I like! But my snowbank crushing days are no more.

Ed, were/are you with law enforcement? I know the CV is noted for it's cavernous trunk... two or three perps in the back seat, plus two+ in the trunk! The lack of decent trunk space is (AFAIK) one of the big gripes with the Charger. I didn't know about electrical issues, is that a "police equipment" issue only problem? I would imagine nothing makes yanking a perp out of the back seat easier than a good shot of mace in the face! The whole "police car" availability issue is about to be shaken up with the pending demise of the CV in 2010. That leaves only Dodge... for now. Chevy is slated to be coming out with a new Caprice, based on a GM/Australia platform. And it will be interesting to see how far Carbon Motors can go to putting their unique E7 cop car only vehicle to market...

This may no longer be available in a metal can (old pic), now in a plastic container. Also comes with a tube of hardener. Polyester filler & hardener, before mixing. And IIRC, that was a little too much hardener for that amount of filler. UPDATE EDIT: I just read what Bob Downie wrote, worth looking into, as filler is expensive!

I have always wondered this. The entire northern half of the USA is covered in white cr## for half the year. So why outfit your fleet with big, front engine, RWD cars like the Ford Crown Vic? Yes, some are now running SUV's, but still others are buying Dodge Chargers, which are also RWD. How do they respond to an emergency in a snowstorm, without becoming the emergency? Any ideas?

Marshall, New computer with MS Vista? Windows7 went public on 10/22 or close to it. Is it a refurbished unit? There isn't too much difference anyhow.

DANG! That is beautiful! You could dive into a paint job that wet!

This one is from an AMT kit... And this one here I showed recently... BTW, this topic is great! I am in awe of the quality of builds. What other form of art starts out as a box of plastic?

Vat iz looking vundurvul! Guter Job!

Don, I'm looking forward to this build! Looks great!

That works!

Hello Ernie I just sent you an e-mail. You did a good thing here! It is so appreciated. Get well.

What Donn said! As for air compressors, I use a Craftsman 4 HP verticle tank. Great for airbrushing in the basement, then I can haul it outside to run my air tools. I bought a water trap, and the pressure regulator. It beats trying to use an airbrush @ 125 psi

It cannot be emphasized enough, the ALPS printers are no longer in production! What is available (afaik) is refurbished units. Then you need to consider the print ribbons. Yes, ribbons. They apparently do not use ink. Plus, replacing a ribbon is not quite as easy as running down to your local Staples. I believe they are purchased overseas. I don't own an ALPS, so others can supply more details.

Buy a role of 1/8" line tape at an auto parts store, run a line of it around the middle of all four roof pillars. Cut along the top edge with a hobby saw, then along the bottom edge. Glue top to bottom, grease pan, bake @ 350 degrees for 2 hou... No, don't grease pan or bake. But the rest works.

Why practice on scraps? As long as you are learning to mix paint, work the airbrush, and clean it after, why not spray something useful? That's why God invented model kit engine blocks!

Thanks for the good words guys!