Aaronw

There have been a few 1/24 scale aircraft, a Revell Bell 204 / UH-1 Huey, Airfix P-51, and DH Mosquito maybe others. Tamiya has done a handful of 1/24 tanks too, at least a Sherman, Centurian, and a Tiger. Maybe a T-34 and Panther but don't recall for sure. I've actually seen a 1-1 Huey on a flatbed, it was a local firefighting helo that had a hard landing and had to be trucked to a facility that could inspect it for damage. Would be a fairly easy model load, as they basically just removed the rotor and tied the helicopter down on the trailer.

Hunter Green from Rustolium might work too, it looks close to my eye.

There have been posts with ideas for real loads from mundane to really weird. Here are two I found that might be helpful, the first shows the proper way to load a flatbed, the second is for weird loads. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20027&hl=%2Btrailer+%2Bloads http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=38034&hl=%2Btrailer+%2Bloads

Are you any good at carpentry, electrical etc? I found I was much happier building my own work bench, paint rack etc because I made everything to fit my stuff, instead of trying to find spice racks, work tables etc that sort of worked. I built a workbench of the perfect height (for me), and I measured the depth from a sitting position so I could just comfortably reach the far side to maximize storage and usable work space. You can buy some nice work tables, but its always better if you have one custom fit for your size. Lights are always nice, I went with track lighting over the bench. It is easy to install and very adaptable. I can easily add more lighting or rearrange the existing lighting (the lights are a quarter turn to add or remove). If you want to get fancy, under cabinet lighting makes it easier to find dropped parts on the floor. That said there are lots of commercial items that are cheap and useful. The closet organizer area of my local Home Depot turned up some shoe shelves that made great under workbench storage shelves for spray paint and my stalled projects (which I store in clear plastic shoe boxes). When we moved into the house we found a small 3 drawer dresser that fits perfectly under the work bench where it makes a nice storage for my resin kits and parts. There are tons of parts organizers (clear plastic drawers) which work great for parts and paint bottles.

If you can find a better deal, I'll eat a bug. I don't know much about the man, but I always got the feeling from his commercials that he was poking fun at the image of the shady used car salesman. In turn the media seems to have played off of him creating even more cartoonish car dealer characters in TV and movies.

Bit of a tangent but ... I was amazed to find out what a rich automotive manufacturing history California has when I became interested in old trucks. There isn't a lot of manufacturing here anymore, and what we do have is mostly in the high tech industry which is kind of invisible (mostly just boring looking office complexes). There was a large independent truck building industry here before WW2, Kleiber (San Francisco), Fageol which became Peterbilt after 1939 (Oakland), Moreland (Los Angeles), Crown Coach (Los Angeles), Van Pelt Fire Apparatus Co (Oakdale), Crocker Motorcycles (Los Angeles), FMC (Santa Clara) and the Hall Scott Motor Car Company (Berkeley). Also several plants for GM, Ford, Chrysler and Nash. Other than Peterbilt which moved to Texas in the 80s almost all of this was gone by the time I was born, just empty buildings in bad parts of town. There has been some recent development in alternative energy automobiles with Tesla Motors starting up in San Carlos. That one is kind of a no brainer though, really where better to set up a company to sell an expensive, high tech, green sports car than silicon valley, home to some of the richest, environmental, tech geeks in the world.

Another for airbrushing. I really have no excuses, I have a good set up for it, just can't be bothered to practice.

Mostly fraud. I usually detail just enough to make people think I did more than I did. That and what Tom said, sometimes I do something just for me, because I feel like it. I also have a hard time not detailing stuff that the kit provides. Take the AMT American LaFrance kit, it has a very nice Detroit Diesel 8V71 in it, that is mostly unseen when built. I could just paint the bottom of the engine and call it good, or even leave the engine out completely, but I can't because it is there and not doing that feels incomplete. I don't feel the need to add extra detail like fuel lines and such (because you won't ever see them) but I do have to at least do a decent job of detailing the parts that are there.

As a custom you could really go either way, as I've seen people put one of those old truck cabs on a pickup chassis. There is a local mechanic here that pulled the cab off of an old IH truck and mounted it on a 1980s Ford Dually with a flatbed. It looks kind of right at first and it took me a bit to realize just what he did. The tires are what really give it away, they are just too small. It makes for a neat whatever hauler though, certainly more eye catching than just an old dually would be. The Semi chassis would probably be a better choice if you wanted it to look like a heavy truck though. Personally I think the Ford C600 or Dodge L700 would probably be a better donor though, being a bit closer in size / weight class to the Chevy cabover and already built for a cabover cab. If you used one of the C600 flatbeds you would even have the flatbed taken care of. The Louisville could work well too, might take a little adjustment for the cab. The latest re-issue includes the race hauler so you would be all set if you wanted to throw a car on the back.

I can see that complaint and it does sound like it was an error. I'm just thinking it would be neat to see some of the model companies start thinking bigger, give suggestions in the instructions like, take the parts from kit A and Kit C, to make this or that version not offered as a kit. The old Johan Rambler kit included things like cutting the roof off the back of the station wagon to build a phantom pickup (El Ramblero?), and many of the AMT 3 in 1 kits offered some fairly complex custom options. The '55 Nomad includes a piece and instructions to also offer a custom pickup if you cut away the roof. I just don't see these kind of more adventurous ideas suggested in modern kits. Cutting away a roof is a lot more ambitious than just swapping a motor and wheels around, but it would be a start to get past just assembling a kit straight from the box. Maybe it was just laziness, hopefully part of a bigger plan just poorly executed the first time around. It does seem to be a recurring issue though with the '57 Ford (supercharger) and '62 Corvette (hardtop). Legos do this on their website. My son like Bionicles (robot-ish creatures) and they offer instructions for entirely new versions that can only be built by combining the various characters.

I really hate it when people take photos of a real car and try to pass them off as a model. You must have a huge photo booth to fit your car in there. Excellent job!

I don't know whether to put on my tin foil hat, or congratulate you for exposing Revell's nefarious plans to encourage kit bashing. If you look at older kits from all the kit makers there used to be a lot more encouragement to customize your model, kit bashing and even modifying parts. I know it annoys some that you have to buy multiple kits to build certain options, but I kind of hope this "mistake" was planned. It would show Revell is thinking about their kits beyond the base level impulse consumer and encouraging more advanced parts box model making.

On the no WW2 end of things I think it is fair to say it is close to a draw. The war definitely pushed some technology forward, while holding other less militaristic technology back. More to the point of where it applies to the subject of this site is where automotive tech may have gone without the World War and cultural shifts that came from the returning veterans. The Corvette and Thunderbird were both inspired by the relatively new interest in small European styled sports cars as many returning GIs were interested in the cars they had seen while serving in Europe. Similarly returning veterans were very closely affiliated with the hotrod and custom motorcycle movement post war.

I don't know of any foreign car model sites. Even though the bulk of the models displayed on this site are of US designed autos, there are quite a few members who are quite knowledgeable about non US cars. I know we have a few from the UK who have been quite helpful when I've had questions about British cars (sadly they also usually have to tell me no model exists ). It would not surprise me to find at least a few members who could help with most foreign cars. Many of the members post little unless it is about their particular niche. I'd suggest you ask your question and see if someone can help, you may not get a useful answer, but you could be surprised at what turns up.

Nothing new there http://my.net-link.net/~dcline/l_s_own2.htm

A D-9 would be neat, but I'd prefer something a bit smaller, D-4, D-6, JD550 etc.

Hobby shops are not in decline, they are changing. How many online shops were there in 1990? Include mail order shops like Squadron and I'm guessing it is still practically none compared to today. The vast majority of Walmart, Micheals, Hobby Lobby type places are at best an introduction to the hobby, they do little for the serious modeler. I'm guessing the only people who really lament / celebrate the comings and goings of models in such places are the old (who refuse to use the internet) and the young (who don't have credit cards to order with). The vast majority either have a quality LHS with a good stock (or is good about ordering), have an old style mail order they use or have adapted to life in the 21st century and use the internet. I've got at least 1/2 a dozen online shops I use regularly, another dozen or so saved in my favorites for occasional use and know of probably 20 beyond that I haven't bothered to save. If the hobby was in decline I don't think we would be seeing so much growth in the online hobby shop. We are seeing a pretty lively aftermarket and specialty market (resin / short run kits) and the major producers have been pretty active in producing new kits. I wouldn't expect any of these to be so productive if they were not seeing a return on their investment.

Except for the short "Police Services" era of the mid 1970s the San Francisco PD has used the same style markings for most of their motorized history, so a modern set of SFPD decals should be very adaptable to this kit. Only problem is I think the SFPD was running 4 door cars by the 1950s. Wonder when we may see a 4 door from the resin casters...

Thanks, I was debating whether to bother with the PD kit or just grab a standard. Nothing spectacular, but the kit also isn't a whole lot more expensive so I'll grab the PD kit.

I bought a bunch of 41 quart plastic totes and bath towels. The totes are probably 6" tall, 30" long and 18" wide with a lid. I put a large bath towel on the bottom wrinkled up then placed the models on the towel. I pulled up the wrinkles to provide a little cushion between the models. The wrinkled towel keeps the models from moving around too much, gives them a little padding from road bumps and keeps them from bashing together. The totes are sturdy enough to allow stacking 2 or 3 high. You just need to keep them upright and avoid hard jarring (don't crash). I moved all my models (cars, trucks, airplanes, helicopters etc) 7 hours this way over twisting mountain roads, freeway and urban traffic and had zero casualties. I also have a nice new collection of bath towels.

Joseph, it appears I overlooked your comments and posted work. I read them, just noticed I failed to comment, sorry about that and thanks. I'm curious about the Dremel attachment, it looks very useful.

Pete, thanks for complicating my life. Seriously though thanks for pointing out some of the finer points of difference between the two machines, it does make the Sherline more desirable than it first appeared.

Would those of you with a Taig mind posting some of the things you've made with it? It might help me see if it is the right tool for me. Thanks.

Pete, appreciate the comments. If money wasn't a factor I'd definitely go for the Sherline. Unfortunately it is, so I'm not so much looking at which is better, but more is the Taig good enough for my modest needs. While I think I will find a lot of uses for a lathe, I do have a great fear of having an expensive dust collector. Wish I had a better idea what my needs really were, it would make the decision much easier. I'm the same way preferring to buy local. Like Sherline, Taig is a small US based company. When you call the number on the website you talk to the guy who builds the lathes.

The basic lathe costs $310 and with the package listed above it comes in at $491. The power feed adds another $75. Shipping is included in the price. Even with the power feed the Taig costs little more than the Harbor Freight mini lathe (and from what I've read the majority of the other micro lathes are all made in the same factory in China despite different brand names) and it has a much better reputation for quality and after purchase service. The comparable Sherline with a similar starter package runs around $850. Taig Micro Lathe http://www.taigtools.com/mlathe.html Sherline http://www.sherline.com/4000pg.htm