Aaronw

How does this tool work? It seems like it would make dimples instead of bumps, which would work for flush rivets but not raised rivets or am I missing something?

You are probably right, the M4 tractor was based on the M2 light tank, just like the M3/M5. Looking at both the M3/M5 has 3 return rollers, the M4 tractor only has two like the truck in the photo. Hobbyboss recently released a 1/35 kit of the M4 high speed tractor.

Based on the tracks I'd guess it was built on an M3 or M5 aka the Stuart a WW2 light tank. This tank has a fairly distinctive track set up like that shown in the OBE photo, it is definately not an M4 Sherman which has a very different set up.

This is actually what I thought Pat was suggesting. I disagree (that would be agreeing with you) that there are enough subcategories to cover all other modeling, in fact only drag racers, Nascar and heavy trucks have their own forums. Personally I like it that way one of the issues you run into when everything has its own little place is people don't see everything, and some of those forums get mighty slow. Lets say for example Sandblaster is building a dune buggy and he is looking for some help finding a good wiring harness since that exposed motor will really stand out, but since he asks in the dunebuggy forum and neither of the other 2 occasional posters knows the answer he is out of luck. Over in the rear engine aircooled 2 wheel drive foriegn autos forum Dr Porsche not only knows where you can get such an item he actually makes and sells custom wiring harnesses for air cooled motors, unfortunately he didn't see the post since it was "over there". Meanwhile Billy Bob is building a Corvair dragster and would love to get one of Dr Porsche's wiring harnesses, but unfortunately he only hangs out in the rear engine air cooled 2 wheel drive US auto racing forum. Had he asked in a "general modeling" forum, Sandblaster would have found what he needed, Billybob would have an item he didn't even think to ask about and Dr Porsche got two more sales. Also regarding the bicycle post, it began as a post wondering if someone knew of a good bicycle forum. It grew because apparently many of the members here found bicycles interesting. That sounds like a perfect post for a non-modelling forum.

You can get a variety of metal railroad wheels in G gauge too. I just got a set of spoked 14" wheels to build a Model T speeder.

Come on now Ed, obviously you have no ear for music. Prius man should be set to the old Spiderman theme. Prius Man, Prius man, drives as fast as a Prius can, saves his fuel yes he does, he has e-lec-tronic hubs, look out, here comes Prius Man...

So can we expect a Prius Funnycar body from Ardvark? Maybe Jimmy Flintstone will do a chopped version. Wouldn't the Allison engine be about as big as a Prius? Then again I'm not one to talk, I've wanted to put a 454 into a VW bus for a long time.

I voted yes, the off topic stuff creeps in anyway so might as well give it a home, then the people who don't want to read it don't have to see it. With the vague titles of many posts, "just don't read it" isn't as easy as it sounds. I've opened posts I'm not interested in multiple times because I forget its something I'm not interested in until I open it again. While you're at it I'd also like to see rants and raves split up, leave rants & raves as is but add another forum for Tantrums.

If you send him an email (a PM here might work too) he will email you a rather extensive listing of goodies. I'm pretty sure I have seen a resin Pacific cab or nose (don't recall which) on ebay, but it has been quite a while, and was probably an old casting in someone's stash, not a current item. The reason it stands out to me is because I had to look up Pacific not being familiar with the truck.

You really can't have too many Internationals.

It's about time they come out with another kit we can use for police cars. Clear the bench I need room for a new Bezerkly PD cruiser.

Me too, the movie was pretty funky but then so was the cartoon, so I thought they did a decent job. Sure it could have been more of a serious action flick which might have even been good, but it wouldn't have been much like the cartoon. I built the Jada Mach 5 and Mach 6 with my son last year, they are quite durable making them good toys, but also pretty decent models, although they have stickers instead of decals. They would work well as the starting point for a more detailed build. Its too bad no one makes Racer X's car in 1/25.

You can't just go by views, I believe that also counts non members who read the post. You could have had a bunch of people looking for the kit, looking for 1-1 conversions etc who clicked on the link and left seeing it wasn't what they were looking for. It would also be helpful to know more about the conversion, whole cab usable on a donor chassis, shell only requiring the guts from a kit cab, just a backwall to fill in hole left by the sleeper etc. If you have a master a photo would be nice, or failing that a pic of a 1-1 truck so people know exactly which truck you are discussing, and honestly with a few exceptions I have a hard time keeping trucks named with a number straight. Personally I would think the truck would be a decent seller, but considering the likely price you would have to charge for a complete cab, finding the old kit on ebay would probably be decent competition. If Round 2 continues bringing back 2 or 3 truck kits a year as they have been timing could definately work for or against you.

I think 1/35 came from Tamiya, 1/32 is older and was being done by Revell, Airfix etc. I've heard Tamiya selected 1/35 as the smallest scale they could motorize.

If this is a hypothetical "go back to 1960 and push 1/32 or 1/24", I would probably prefer 1/32 scale since it offers more cross over with aircraft / military models, is easier to store built models etc. If this is a "should a new company offer kits in 1/32 or 1/24-1/25", it would be foolish to offer the smaller scale unless they are hoping for a cross over with military modelers (pickups, 4x4 etc) in which case I'd suggest 1/35.

The AMT 1966 Chevelle wagon came with a 5 spoke chrome wheel. It's not the same wheel but depending on how "close enough" is acceptable they might work, particularly with some minor modification.

I take it you are not a Futurama fan. The talk of Prius Christine reminded me of the were-car episode.

In diluted forms yes (the disinfectant is around 3%), in less diluted forms it is used to make some types of rocket fuel.

Calculon - It had the steering wheel from Hitler's staff car, the left turn signal from Charles Manson's VW bus, and the windshield wipers from that car in Knight Rider. Fry - Kitt wasn't evil. Calculon - No, but his windshiled wipers were, it didn't come up much in the show though. Project Satan - Thank's to Ed Begley Jr, I have an electric motor, the most evil motor ever developed, whahahahahahaha.

Sorry about that, I was looking for the acrylics and just assumed he stocked both. Great Models stocks the acrylics and lists the enamels as available through special order. Unfortunately while GM is pretty good when they have something in stock, I haven't been too impressed when it comes to items they don't have in stock. Although not in the US your best bet may be Hannantts in the UK, shipping will cost you but they will ship to the US. http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?manufacturer_id=8272

I was trying to find a US supplier, other than Rollmodels I found Two Bob's decals carries Xtracolor paints. http://www.twobobs.net/index1.html I have not ordered them yet, but Two Bob's has a good reputation. I ordered from Rollmodels a few years ago, while honest (you will eventually get what you paid for) I found their service left much to be desired. Very slow and a lot of the items I ordered turned out to be unavailable (yet are still to this day listed on the site).

Thanks, I'll have to keep an eye open for the Welly, but it is a shame no one has done a 70's VW bus in plastic.

I know there are a couple of options for the 1960s VW micro bus, and I have the Revell camper version of the later Vanagon, but I haven't seen anything for the 1970s version. We had a 1972 metallic grey over blue VW bus when I was a kid and have been looking for a kit without luck, is there anyhing out there? On a related note where are all the Greatful Dead VW bus models? Probably 1/2 of the 1-1 VWs I've seen wear Greatful Dead murals, but I've never seen one built up that way.

The K-cars were my preferred rental car at one time. I actually thought they were a pretty decent car for an entry level sedan, much nicer than a Chevy Citation or Ford Fairmont.

My Dad owned a couple of them in the early 1960s, it just happens he is visiting so I asked him about the cars. He loved them, and said it was one of the nicest cars he ever owned. What I thought were reliability problems were actually cost / availability of parts problems. He had one with a manual transmission that he said was trouble free but was pretty beat up when he got it, so he traded it in for a nice one with an automatic trans. Eventually the transmission went out and it was going to cost him way more than he could afford to fix it (if the mechanic could even get parts) so he sold it. The ride height was adjustable, low for performance, high for bad roads. Also adjustable for stiffness. To change a tire you set it at the highest ride height, then placed a special jack stand under the car, then when you lowered the suspension down to the lowest setting the wheel raised off the ground allowing you to change the tire. It also had a crank start in case the starter failed. It was front wheel drive when that was rare. He said he was stopped once driving in the snow and he had to explain that he had the chains on the front wheels because they were the wheels with the power. He said it took a little convincing before the officer would believe him. The Citroen was replaced with a VW Bug by the time I was born.