mcs1056

I'm fortunate enough to have just gotten a dental vacuum form gizzie. I've made a buck out of clay for the window I need. It's not big enough to do a complete car glass one-piece, but, for individual front or backs it's perfect. I wanted tinted windows, so I used plastic Bacardi Light Rum bottles (which are a project in themselves). These may be too tinted for some, but I think they're OK. In the past, I used the same plastic and used a heat gun to form over a buck. That was acceptable, but the vacuum former is the way to go. It was worth the $100.

Spit my coffee at that

Years ago, I was under the belly of one of our aircraft. I was removing the first of two huge antennae installed to jam radar. My boss came up and stressed to me, "Be careful. That's a one-of-a-kind antenna." I paused, slowly turned, pointed three feet aft and said, "There's another one right there." He just walked away.

My takeaway from this is that one should Paint, Rinse, and Repeat.

My daughter is 29, my son 25. Both have access to the information overload you mentioned. I'm not disagreeing with you, but my kids have used the information they can get to learn, form their own opinions (some of which are opposite of my own), advance in their careers, and...most importantly...to help people. My daughter works with autistic children of military families. My son teaches kids make videos of about sports, art, and other types. I'm not taking credit for any "great parenting." But I and my wife were here...a family unit. They may have modeled us, or seen bits of either of us they didn't like and decided to try a different way. Whatever. I don't care. As long as they are good folks, I'm happy. My point is that it isn't necessarily that too much information is available. It may just be how "kids" process that information. I think mine learned how to think, not WHAT to think, and they see that the crowd isn't always the best to follow. I'm not articulating this very well. I hope you can see what I'm trying to get to.

Next time you're in town (Detroit), try the Stahl Museum on the WAY northeast side of town. It's actually in New Baltimore, Michigan. It;s about an hour drive from the main airport. A smaller version of The HenryFord, but it is PACKED with cars, antique music machinery (all functional), a mockup of the Apollo capsule, and a lot more. Watch a functional machine play two violins, a piano, and horns...all at the same time...with 1930's technology and crazy ingenuity. There's a car with a "mother-in-law seat"...on the outside of the car! It's only open the first Saturday of each month. It's free, though they do like donations at the end. They have shirts and mugs available at the end, but it's not one of those "Exit Through The Gift Shop" places. The folks there are volunteers (I may be headed that way after I retire in June), and are full of kindly offered information about just about everything. I spent a half-hour talking with the guy in the Tucker/Chrysler Turbine room. I went once with friends, but will have to go back alone to move through more slowly. https://www.stahlsauto.com/ (Maybe) Interesting tidbit; I happened to be there with an engineer from NASA. Looking at the Apollo capsule, he told me that the "seats" had to be suspended from the top, as mounting them to the floor without too much added weight would have destroyed the re-entry heat shield during lift-off.

Yup. Big Software has its eyes on you.

No one tells him to go to other sites for airplane information? Must just be me.

I am, and was, aware. This was but one (the first) resource I checked. I found my answer on the Scale Model Addict forum.

"...my being a dope about things related thereto will become more evident as time goes on." See?

This is suggested with VERY little thought (how I do my best work). Make one stick (wood, styrene, stirrer from my drink) the profile of the bullet(s) you want. Poke that into Play-Doh™ several times. Drip in some epoxy & let cure. Pull them out, stick them to a popsicle stick and give 'em a spray.

Just jumped in with both feet. Heading to Hobby Lobby to replace this smashed F-18. Not great advice.

Sorry...I think you can disregard. It looks like that's for additional weaponry installations, which I would not be installing. This would be my first military aircraft build, and my being a dope about things related thereto will become more evident as time goes on.

Clicking through Scalemates, I came across an aftermarlet centerline pylon bit for the Revell F-18-E kit. I plan to start this kit soon, and wonder whether or why this would be needed.

Uh oh... Peteski used the word, "striations." Uproar in 3...2...1...

Personally, I'd return them. I've said I would be unlikely to buy 3D stuff too often. These look unsalvageable. You paid for Cooper tires with those wheels. Even the lettering is bad. If you're so happy with the wheels, it may be a different story. However, those tires are, in my opinion, not good enough. That is, of course, unless the were presented as shon and you still bought them.

Can't even use that front end for an F100.

If you haven't already, check out the "Weenie 500," run at Indy this summer...

Really like those armrests and the raised seats. Does raising the seats create steering wheel interference? I see many kits with ridiculously close-to-seat wheels...without seat mods.

Plenty of detail remains when he's done. Besides, on model kits, rivets and panel lines are almost always exaggerated. This allows polishing that BMF would never stand up to. On real aircraft, we always follow the final polish with a rub down with flour (yep...that baking stuff) on a rag. This draws out polish residue you can't get out any other way. You'll be surprised how black the flour gets after the rub, and by how much "shinier" the aluminum is.

I've seen websites with "Wish List" options. Folks could let you know what they would want. One even had a "Second" button, so they could better guage broader interest. Of course, that might not prevent the original suggesting person from seconding multiple times, unless there was some block or signature requirement. (EDIT: I recently ranted about not paying for 3D stuff. Looking at your site, those engines are REALLT tempting! Nice stuff.)

I don't build kits for contests, just as I don't take my 1:1 Galaxie to car shows (OK...I take it, but I park in the lot and go look at the other cars). In fact, I doubt that I'll ever even go to a model car show. I don't build kits to impress my friends or neighbors, who wouldn't know (or care) that the doors didn't open out of the box. I certainly don't build kits to grease the pockets of those 3D printers who make a slightly better window crank handle than I can scratch build, or to invest in bags of "plug wires" or pre-fabbed distributors. I built my XL for me to enjoy driving. I build kits to enjoy the time spent...to relax...and for them to sit on a shelf. I LIKE making crank handles, just as I LIKED almost breaking my back taking the intake manifold off of the 390. If someone came to my house and pointed out that my fittings weren't faceted, I likely wouldn't show them the door, but I would have a revised opinion of them.

"Dude!!! They're disc brakes. Why are you telling me it took four hours and five cutting wheels to get the drum off? Then, you added the cost of some drum brake pads to the bill!!!. I aint paying you!" - Screamed at me by a guy whose rear disc brake parking/emergency brake shoes were worn to the rivets and seized after 250,000 miles and 18 years.