Dave Ambrose

I got rid of my afib today. That makes me very happy. I even feel like doing a happy dance.

Good luck, Harry. I hope you can get this resolved without major intervention. There's a reason they call us patients. We have to be.

The strangest thing on my workbench? Most likely the person sitting at the bench.

I like it. Great color too.

Very nice. The weathering looks very true to the theme, and I like what you did with the stand too. Finemolds makes very nice kits. Not too long ago, I finished the Finemolds TIE Interceptor. It went together well too. I just wish the stand was as nice as the rest of the model.

Love it! I can't wait to see it in real life.

This is a terrible thing to do to a Morris Minor.

I've used WEST System epoxy as a clear coat, though not on a model car. I think you'll find the results disappointing. It is incredibly durable, but it isn't as shiny as we like to see, and it goes on fairly thick. If you still want to try it, paint a plastic spoon and try the clear epoxy on that. It needs to be very thin, and typical laminating resins have some body (viscosity) to them. You might be able to thin it with Xylene. Personally, I'd recommend something like Testor's Wet Look clear. It sprays well, levels nicely, and is truly shiny.

Those look really good. One suggestion - real surfboards are not flat. They have some rocker to them, and the first third or so bends up a bit. 2-3 mm on these boards. The rear curves up too, but maybe only a mm or so.

If you make a base for it, you can attach some small diameter fishing line to the rear, then drill a hole in the base, route the line through the hole, pull it tight enough, and tie it off below

I use Kaizen foam rubber-cemented to a small block of wood. or another sanding form. Make the sand paper a little large so you can hold it with the sanding block.

I'm in southern California, and the local coyotes have been very aggressive; snatching domestic cats, and dogs. Even shooting them with a pellet gun will help. Even if you don't kill them, they will not come back. Putting barbed wire atop your fences will stop them from crossing.

Super Nice. It looks like it wants to eat whatever's in front of it.

I think there's a huge disconnect between older and younger modelers. There are young people building models, but they're not cars, airplanes, or AFVs. My daughter builds Gundams and we went to The Gundam Guys contest in Orange County (CA), This last contest had at least a couple hundred people in attendance, and I'm pretty sure I was the oldest guy in the room. Most people were in their 20's and 30's. They were doing some first-class builds too. Not my favorite subject matter, but you know, we have some stuff in common. I know it would be nice for a local IPMS contests to have a specific Gundam/Meca category. But most don't. They lump them in with the other sci-fi models. I find it interesting that sci-fi and Gundams are the two fastest growing model categories. It seems to me that people are still building, but not in as great a number, they tend not to participate in clubs, and they're building stuff the current regimes don't particularly accommodate. One thing I really liked about the Gundam Guys, is that they had novice, intermediate, and expert categories. I'd like to see something similar at our car contests. Maybe just one, or a handful of categories. That way, older modelers who're new to the hobby will have an opportunity for some recognition. I've noticed is that both the hobby shops I frequent have greatly increased their stock of Gundam/Meca models. There's a sign there if you're willing to look for it. I also think that some clubs aren't nearly as welcoming as they could be. Near as I can tell, younger people like to build Japanese cars that have been modified for improved performance. Kinda like hot rods, but with a different starting point. In that regard, they're just like us older folks. They like to build the cars they'd love to have, but can't afford. And you know, maybe the model isn't perfect. But, it doesn't have to be perfect for you to appreciate it. And that appreciation seems to be missing sometimes. But I don't see "tuner cars" get a lot of respect. We have some unknown percentage of modelers who just like to build. They don't belong to a club, they don't go to model shows/contests, and they really don't want to get socially entangled with their model building. I ran across a few of these people at the Good Guys Show. I don't know how many there are, but I'll bet there are a lot. Then there is sexism. My daughter builds Gundams, and entered a diorama in one of our local IPMS contests. She won third place, which made her very happy. But afterward, an "older" gentleman asked her if her husband approved of her model-building activities. I'm sure he meant well, but I can't decide whether to laugh or facepalm. She's not married, and if she were, her husband had darn well better approve. That said, he's not terribly representative of our local community with has several women members.

I use India ink and a steel quill pen after the last coat of primer. The ink darkens anything sprayed on top of it. Putting it down after the primer ensures that the ink spreads and adheres instead of pools into droplets.

Good luck Jim. You should feel much better having had the procedure. As many times as I've had surgery, it's always scary. Just let them know you're feeling nervous, and they'll help you with that.

I think the Foose kits will open a new market for Revell. I also think that's a good thing. We need new people in this hobby, and I don't think it will hurt any of us to be more ecumenical regarding style. Personally, I have mixed feelings about his builds. But, they're mostly good/OK. Don't get me started on "checkbook hot-rodding" either. :-)

Very, very, interesting. Thanks, Art!

Harry, we're largely in agreement. T-Hip, Cowboy Junkies, Steppenwolf, But, no Gordon Lightfoot for me. I'll stick with Joni Mitchell.

Thanks. This site gets an amazing amount of traffic. So, date and time are a must.

Would you please let me know when this is happening? I need an accurate time and the date. I need to correlate these failures back to the server logs. -- Thanks

Nice. Sounds a lot like early Ani DiFranco.

I encountered that error too. It happened when I submitted a post. Makes me grumpy, and I have to dive into the bowels of the server logs. I'm still trying to suss out what's happening. My only suggestion in the interim is to select all, and copy before you submit. Not optimal by a long shot, but the best I can offer at the moment.

Mine arrived in its poly bag in excellent condition on Saturday.

Tim, thank you for the update. I'm stoked about this kit. I'll probably buy two, but don't tell my wife. She frowned at me when I mentioned buying one of them. As for the distributor, I wouldn't sweat it. You can't drill those little protrusions anyway. Trim 'em off, or buy an aftermarket distributor. My LHC carries a couple different types in multiple wire colors.