Modelmartin

A random thought that may be tangentially related to this thread: I wonder about the increasingly high expectations that people have for the safety of everything we encounter in life. Parts can and do wear and break. Accidents occur even under the best of circumstances. It seems people want guarantees for everything in life and something bad happens it is a scandal. People usually miss the real scandals in life but that is a different topic. Who has seen the Infiniti TV commercial with the ditzy handsome driver tooling down the road with his mind wandering all over the place and his car is chiming when he drifts out of his lane and braking for him when he doesn't notice he is about to ram a truck. That is frightening. I can not believe that they are promoting a car that way. They seem to be saying, "Go ahead. Pay no attention to the road. We will take care of it for you!" I will take driverless Google cars over that garbage any day!

I love the Amish gentleman with his transport in the background! They were attempting to copy the AMT hot rod T! I built one a few years ago from a gluebomb. That thing is hilarious. It sits up like a swamp buggy. The blower is not connected to the crank or anything else. It has a generator mounted on top connected to the crank by belt and the blower is mounted behind it and not touching anything but the intake manifold! I went with the 3-2 option in the kit. Those crazy rings on the headers serve what purpose? Heat sinks? It was fun to build it and to see the astonished looks on people's faces when they see it. The funny things is that the stock T is actually very nice. I think it is better detailed and more accurate than the AMT actually. The AMT is good for sure but the Aurora just tops it.

I don't know exactly why but I have always liked Lambos more than Ferraris. Maybe it is the different design sensibility. The 350 and 400 GTs and then the Miura consitute an incredible design legacy and then they followed with the Countach! Obviously Ferrari has the sporting heritage locked up big time but I still gravitate to Lambos.

So tell me what the difference is between facts and preconcieved ideas about what is true? Two people with polar opposite views can cherry pick facts to support their views. It happens all the time. people will quote statistics of one sort or another and boom - fact based opinion! Only they forgot the other two or ten or 100 "facts" that don't support their view. We all have our biases and viewpoints. Is everything tainted? Who has the "real" truth? Back to the topic- I also love car magazines. I have a whole wall of them. Hot Rods back to '48, R&C, PHR, Road & Track, Super Stock, and dozens of other titles. I don't see print magazines going away at all. They will likely change a lot just like the model car hobby is changing. It will lose its mass distribution but will remain healthy at a lower circulation. I go to Barnes and Noble and am astonished by the huge variety of car mags and I find the quality to be pretty good.

I used to be a Chevy guy in my youth. I bought a VW Scirroco back in '81 and have never looked back. I hear the GM stories from friends over the years and just shake my head. American cars have gotten better over the last decade or two but the imports are several steps ahead as usual. I wish it weren't so but it is.

It sounds like it dilutes the remaining fuel in the tank and lines and depends on it for volatility. I wonder if an engine can run only on "magic tank".

No. Go Japanese or German!

I have had the best results by using the non-buffing metalizer and polishing it. It actually works pretty well for a bright metal look. If I want something polished I just go with the Alclad.

As jbwelda said, the USPS quit offering surface mail at least 10 years ago. It is frightfully expensive to ship anything overseas now. It often costs $40 to 60 dollars to send a heavier book! I have always preferred USPS to other shippers but overseas rates are becoming prohibitive.

It's only cool if it has hydaulics and hops, too!

I have only built 5 Tamiyas! But then I built 5 Fujimi Rover Minis too! Please check out my Mini folder in my Fotki (link below). Great job on the Fiesta yellow! When I do a straight up Mini-cooper I want to paint it gray.

If that is the same one that delivers you to the rental cars it isn't a good example. At the main terminal it sits there for five minutes with its doors opening and closing before it takes off!

That happened in St. Paul MN about 3 miles from where I live. It was decided by the courts that a new trial was needed based on the new "evidence" of all of the "sudden acceleration" cases popping up. The prosecutor declined to retry him. He did spend several years in prison before the new trial was ordered. I am in the camp that knows that all of these cases are human error. They all think they are on the brakes but they are mashing on the throttle by accident. It is sad and tragic but that is what it is. It is a great example of where a driverless Google car would have prevented this tragedy. It won't mistake the throttle for the brake! The driverless cars would be great for the handicapped or blind people who otherwise would be very dependent on others for mobility. I did notice that one of the companies who may be building the first batch of 100 driverless Google cars was Roush Enterprises!!! I will be waiting for driverless NASCAR cars! Perhaps that will eliminate all of the late race crashes that make watching NASCAR races suck!

Jimmy's resin costs less than a current kit!

I only saw the Advent kits at bigger retailers. I don't think that the hobby shops or normal hobby distributors sold them.

Funniest thing I have read in a bit!

I would NEVER drive or walk in Russia after seeing all the dash cam videos on YouTube! I think I will just skip going to Russia. Hawaii is so much more pleasant!

Will never happen. it is like the paper-less office. it is a pipe dream of the futurists. The human factor won't give up control.

That just sounds like variable effort power steering which, to me, is no big deal. I think some of the other systems you mention diminish many people's sense of responsibility behind the wheel. Paying attention to the task at hand - DRIVING- is more important than any safety device.

Insanity.

Serious question from me for once! I notice that the rough finish you put on the parts that would be castings in 1/1 is just a little exaggerated. Will that get toned down a bit with the color coat? Or is it a scale effect that you like? Just curious. By the way, I was serious about GSL having the trophies engraved for you for next year.

Toledo NNL Secret Cult theme?

That very definitely is a Monogram Cad V-16 phaeton. The Jo-han had separate chrome doors on the hood sides. The "blue thing" is a Tamiya Zakspeed Capri group 5 Racecar.

Flames are so over.

I think they should just engrave the GSL trophies with your name now.