Harry P.

So the magazines that are going to retailers are distributed by first boxing them up at the point of printing, then these boxes full of magazines are delivered to dozens of distribution points throughout all 50 states, where distributors unbox them, divide them up, and then deliver them to each retail outlet in their area?

All you have to do is a google search for what you want. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=scale+model+aircraft+carrier+kit&tbm=shop

BTW... I already have a taker on those light bulbs.

If anyone out there has a use for 40 1/16 scale multi-colored (and very realistic) light bulbs, let me know. I won't be needing them...

There were some molded-in water lines on the main boiler and water tank. I will be replacing those molded-in lines with actual 3 dimensional lines made of brass rod... so all the molded-in details were sanded off. This is the water tank...

The kit represents a fancied-up version of a steam tractor, with that forward-mounted generator. My model will be a working tractor, no generator... so the mounting platform for the generator won't be used. I filled in the holes in the front part of the boiler where the side plates of the generator platform would go by jamming a short length of styrene rod into the holes and then flowing liquid cement around the rod. i will only fill the rear holes... I'll keep the front holes open and install a set of parts box headlights there later...

Whenever I build a model, the first thing I do is locate all of the components that are molded as left-right or top-bottom halves and pre-assemble them. Same with any other subassemblies that are multi-piece but represent a single piece on the real thing, or that will be painted all one color on the finished model. Liquid glue, then sand the seams smooth so that they disappear... The main body also gets pre-assembled... it is molded as a left-right half with a separate rear panel. It all gets glued up first, then will be painted and detailed as a unit...

Yeah, it would work. But the kit roof is plastic and doesn't look as much like real wood and cloth as real wood and cloth would. And also, it has all of those sockets for the light bulbs molded into it, which the roof on a working tractor like this would not have had. Besides, it's way more fun and challenging to scratchbuild the roof than to use the kit piece.

I got sidetracked by "real" work for a while there...then I had to wait for the Lexan I bought on ebay (to make the windows for the woody). The Lexan came yesterday, the four doors are done... so now I can cut all the window glass and install it, then interior door panels. It's still in the works... just sort of been on the back burner for a week or two. I still have a few "real" projects I need to do this week... I hope to get some time in on the Rolls this weekend. And the Garrett.

I agree. The engine looks great, very realistic. Nice work so far!

Anyway... before we start slinging plastic, a little history lesson on this vehicle... Steam tractors (also known as "traction engines") first appeared in England around 1850ish or so. They were meant to be used for towing large, heavy loads over roadways, as an alternative–at that time, the only alternative–to horses. These steam powered tractors were manufactured by several companies besides Garrett, and were also used to plow fields, or as stationary power sources. Because of their narrow wheels, they were not suited to pull a plow directly over the soil… the tractor would sink into the soft ground. What they did was to use two tractors, one on either end of the field to be plowed (the area of the field called the "headland"), with the plow towed between the two tractors, connected to each by a strong steel cable. A winch on each tractor allowed the relative position of the plow to change, left to right, in relation to the tractors, enabling the plow to cover the whole field in several passes. Some steam tractors, however, were built with much wider wheels and used to pull a plow directly. These were the direct ancestors of the modern farm tractor. Another use for these machines was as a portable power source, either mechanical or electrical. The tractor would have either a rotating shaft or a generator mounted in front of the smokestack, which would be driven by a long leather belt off the large exposed flywheel. In such a configuration, the tractor could supply either power to run farm machinery, or electric power at a location where electricity would otherwise not be available… like at a county fair or carnival site. Some of these tractors were fitted with flanged wheels and used as small "locomotives" on local railroads, while others were converted into steamrollers. In fact, this kit has also been issued in the steamroller version. These tractors remained popular as over-the-road haulers until the early 1930s or so, especially in Europe, by which time increased competition from larger, more efficient, and easier to operate internal-combustion trucks made them obsolete. This particular kit represents a 1919 Garrett named the "Pendle Princess," which was one of many tractors in a private collection. This one has the front-mounted generator, a lot of fancy pinstriping and polished brass, and even multi-colored light bulbs all along the edges of the roof… it was all gussied up to be used as a portable source of electricity at a fair, carnival, etc. and not as a "work" tractor. I want to build this as a more typical road-going, working machine, which means no colored lights, no front-mounted generator, etc. I'll "de-bling" it, scratchbuild a shorter roof without the fancy brass roof brackets, and generally tone things down a bit overall. My goal is a tractor that looks less like the box art and more like this one:

When I got the kit, I immediately grabbed the instruction manual to take a look. Uh, Houston, we have a problem... Thanks to forum member Crazy Ed for hooking me up with a set of these instructions in a more "user-friendly" language!

This is a 1/16 scale model of the "Pendle Princess," a 1919 Garrett steam tractor. This kit has been issued under various brand names over the years, with different box art. This Bandai version is the one I will be building...

How many did you lose in the carpet?

I agree on the rivets. Each one installed individually? How? How did you hold each one? What did you use to attach each one? How did you manage to install so many tiny, individual rivets so evenly spaced and in a straight line? And do it without going insane? Amazing is all I can say. And that doesn't even include the underhood detailing, which is just spectacular.

"All the stories have been told of kings and days of old, But there's no England now. All the wars that were won and lost somehow don't seem to matter very much anymore"...

Wasn't the whole "automatic headlights" feature a GM thing? My Mustang doesn't have it. My previous Dodge didn't have it.

Wow. That's a real nice "real car" to have.

My computer had been acting weird for the past week or two. Software wasn't working right, the computer seemed to have a mind of its own. Click on a folder to open it... nothing. Drag a file to the trash... a different file got deleted... tried to highlight text so I could make a correction and it was just about impossible to highlight the desired text with the mouse... it seemed like the computer wanted to highlight the text that it wanted to highlight... my Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign software was acting totally whack! And those are the software programs I use to create MCM... so production of the mag was getting to be a real PITA. I was about ready to pack up the computer and head to the Apple Store at Woodfield Mall and hit the "Genius Bar" to see if they could figure out what the deal was. I thought maybe the computer had a virus or something. Then I had an idea... maybe it's not the computer at all. Maybe it's the mouse that's gone nuts. After all, all the commands I input, I input via the mouse. So I headed to Walmart and bought a new mouse for seven bucks. Got home. Plugged it in. Bingo! The computer was fixed!

I can't exactly get excited over the subject matter. Now if they did that same thing with, say, a 1/8 scale Superbird or Daytona...

Jairus is in Salem.

Yeah, that's my question. Are magazines that go to stores handled by a completely different process right from the start than the ones that get mailed to individual subscribers? If so, what is that process? A bunch of trucks pick up magazines at the printing plant and they distribute them across the country? Without any "help" from the USPS? I thought maybe that bundles of magazines get mailed to distribution centers in each state, and from there the delivery process is taken over by private distributors. That's what I meant by the USPS helping "part way." If that's not right, then how exactly does that process work? How do the magazines get from the printing press to the hobby shop?

I like it. It has a very "Andrew Wyeth" vibe...

A couple of people have described how it's much easier to cut the tooling so that the resulting plastic part comes out of the mold with a raised panel line rather than with a correct recessed panel line. Well, of course it's easier! That's the point I was trying to make... they cut corners and took the easy way out. No wonder Pyro kits have such a stellar reputation...

Same here.