Aaronw

Auto parts stores are another. You should be able to find sand paper to 1500 grit at any hardware or auto parts shop, and most will continue to 2000 or 2500 grit. I follow the sand paper with Novus polish or McGuires Scratch X which are also available at most auto parts shops. I prefer the Novus because it is available in 3 "grits" but find the Scratch X is easier to find.

Thanks, I really got kind of addicted to these things last year. I was very impressed with the Monogram kits in particular. Not highly detailed as is typical of kits from the 1960s but the engineering was very good which made them easy to build.

I'm working on one, it is definately something of a challenge, but I haven't run into anything a little care and patience can't overcome.

Curtiss F11C-2 Goshawk, 1/72 Monogram kit from the late 1960s. The Goshawk was developed from the earlier Curtiss fighters used by the Army. It served with the US Navy as a fighter bomber from 1932 to 1938. Grumman F3F-2 "Flying barrel", 1/72 Special Hobby kit. It was a bit fiddly being a short run multi-media kit, but with some patience went together ok. The Grumman F3F was the last biplane fighter ordered by the US Navy. It entered service in 1936 and was withdrawn from combat use in 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. They did remain in service as squadron hacks and remote control target drones until 1943. This particular aircraft is marked for USMC pilot Robert Galer who became an ace and was awarded the Medal of honor during the fighting at Guadalcanal 1942-43. This aircraft ditched off the coast of San Diego in 1940 but was recovered and restored in 1991 making it the only original F3F-2 known to exist.

Curtiss P6E Hawk, the kit is the Accurate Minitures boxing of the 1960's 1/72 Monogram kit. The P-6E was a US Army fighter based on a 1920s racing plane. It served the US Army as a front line fighter from 1932-37 with some remaining as squadron hacks into the early 1940s. I built it in the famous Snow owl markings of the 17th Pursuit Squadron. P-26A, 1/72 Revell kit from 1982 with aftermarket decals from Starfighter decals. The Revell details are a bit softer than Monogram kits of the period, so I used a cowl ring and motor from the Monogram Boeing F4B4 which used the same Pratt & Whitney radial engine. The P-26 was the first military monoplane adopted by any nation since the end of WW1. It entered service with the US Army in 1933 and continued to be used in out of the way places until 1943.

The Siskin IIIa was one of the first British fighters adopted that was not based on a WW1 design, it served the RAF from 1926 - 1932. I used the 1/72 kit from Matchbox. Typical of Matchbox the kit is not highly detailed but it did go together well with few issues (other than age, 30 year old decals require some care).

I have personal second hand knowledge. I worked as an EMT in an oil refinery for 6 months and the truck they gave us had a kojak light stored on a metal plate on the dash. We got new guy, 19 years old fresh out of EMT school, and after his first call he was complaining about how bright the emergency light was. That is when we had to show him it was magnetic and was supposed to go on the roof when used. I guess he never saw any of the classic 70s cop shows.

AITM sells wheels like that http://www.aitruckmodels.com/pages/dtwheelsandtires.html

I like it. The dash light either needs a shield behind or the backside blacked out so the driver doesn't get blinded when he turns it on.

Here are a few more to highlight some details The spreader disk Close up of the conveyer (front end) Underside for the more obsesively detail oriented it isn't really obvious but there is a floor running through the middle of the belt The back end showing the adjustable door to regulate sand flow (I assume) The ribs looking forward, notice the rear rib (closest in the photo) is bent in the opposite direction of the other 3. The inside through the little hatch looking forward

I don't know about MPC but I know Testors has boxed quite a few Italeri, Hawk and Fujimi kits. I picked up one of those at NNL west a few years ago. It was in a bag but complete, who knew the box was worth $190.

Very nice, I think this is the first time I've seen this kit built with the turbine engine.

We really don't see many bottom end european cars in the US. The Japanese have had fairly good success in the econo box segment but the European brands have tended to be in the high end luxury market. Even the Japanese have mostly given up trying to sell their cheapest cars here. Personally I don't get it, in the late 90s I was all set to buy myself an inexpensive Russian truck based on their military UAZ. While the 4x4 magazines got their test samples, the trucks never went on sale. A few years ago a rugged diesel powered compact pickup from India was supposed to go on sale to challege Toyota and Nissan, but again it never materialized. I don't know why but it is actually very hard to find a bare bones car or truck to buy new (luckily there are still plenty of old ones to choose from).

That really shows how different the states are. In California, the plates remain with the vehicle as long as it remains in the state unless there is another reason to change the plates (vanity plates, plates get stolen, restraining order etc). You can even use older plates if you have a matched set and they are appropriate to the age of the vehicle. California has changed the plate style a few times over the years, so it has become fairly common for owners of antique cars to buy a matched set of original plates in the style that would have been on the car new then get the car registered under that plate number.

I've got a small combination disk / belt sander like that but like the others I use it mostly with wood. There are some uses with plastic but they are few and far between. I've got a cheap little no name mouse sander (about 2" shaped like a flat iron) that is pretty handy for major sanding jobs on models. It still requires care not to remove too much, but is much less aggressive than a belt or disk sander. It is similar to this one http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00902183000P?mv=rr

I've used Rustolium primer and never had a problem with it. If you are changing from Krylon to Rustolium be prepared for longer drying times. I use Rustolium fairly frequently but prefer Krylon for the drying time. Krylon is usually safe to carefully handle within 15 minutes or so, I've found Rustolium can still be tacky after 30 minutes to an hour.

That is basically what I'm doing now, I have a table set up near the door so I'm inside protected from direct wind and sun / rain. The natural breeze carries the fumes blown out the door away, not back into the garage. Eventually I do want to run duct so I can move it to the side instead of having it right in the middle of the doorway. Yes it is a 485 cfm Dayton shaded pole blower (aka squirrel cage)

Spreader unit, I couldn't get any good photos of the spreading disk, but it is a 22" disk with 6 flanges to spread the sand around. I was able to get some measurements but take the larger ones with a grain of salt as I was measuring by myself so could be off a bit here and there. Body 10 feet long, 52" tall, 82" wide across the top, 39" wide across the bottom, 2" L shaped lip around the top (L shape folded over inside the hopper). Overall construction appears to be 3/16" to 1/4" steel sheet. Flanges (4 per side) 7 1/2" at bottom, 14 1/2" at widest point. L shaped with a 2" fold, 3/16" steel. Spacing (front to back) front edge to #1 15", #1 to #2 28", #2 to #3 19 1/2", #3 to #4 18", #4 to rear edge 24" Overhang, front 13" at the bottom, 1/2" at top, rear 20" at bottom, 2" at top Conveyer housing 24" wide, 11" tall, belt 22" wide, 6" tall, sand door at back end 18" wide, 12" tall Spreader chute 24" wide, 12" thick, narrows to 7 1/2" at bottom, 32" tall (to top of lower section). Base 25x25", flaps around base 6" x 25" (1/8" steel), spinning disk 22" dia, 6 flanges 1 1/2" tall, about 8" long. Disk is 1/4" steel plate

Same style as the tan unit, but in the winter it gets mounted directly on a truck frame instead of being mounted in a dump bed, so some fabricated fenders were added to the hopper.

Yeah, this plow looks pretty well used. It is one of the older plows and maybe even acquired second hand. Most of the parks plows are heavy duty Oshkosh plows, these smaller trucks are mostly used for sanding and clearing the smaller roads. Ok, I got some photos of the sanders. They are not in the best spot to get photos but I think between the two, I got enough to show off the important details.

I never got as far as running ducting, a bear trashed the garage shortly after I got the booth built, and I have never fully cleaned up. I found by setting the booth up near the garage door the exhaust blows outside and lets the booth do its job. With a blower this size you need 6" duct, 4" doesn't even make it onto the the chart for figuring out the back pressure. There should be an adaptor of some sort available, but I'm just going to cut a round piece of wood to adapt the duct to the fan when I finally get around to it (1 1/2 hours to a real hardware store and I alway forget to take my measurements when I'm going into town).

I don't see the Beetle as any more girly than the Miata or new Mini, none of them really channel their inner longshoreman or steel worker.

I think that is the same blower I used. I mounted the blower on the back with a 1" spacer.

I should be able to get at it this weekend.

You mean the V shaped sander that slides into the dump bed? I have one around the corner from the station that has been put away for the season and is hanging from a rack all by itself if you need any details.