Harry P.

I remember when "penny candy" still sold for literally a penny.

Ten times more complicated means ten times more things to potentially break down. Electronic steering boxes, bad airbags, and a whole assortment of electronic gadgetry... today's cars may be more reliable in the sense that the engines run better and smoother and longer, but today's cars also break down in ways that cars from 30 years ago never did. So looked at in one way, yes, today's cars are more reliable... but they have a lot more potential breakdown points than cars used to have.

Wow. That's "pricey" all right!

She's still a good looking woman even today. And FM is touring this summer. Here she is doing the same song... 20 years later...

I think she's cool. There. I said it! Fleetwood Mac is on my top ten all-time favorite artist list, and her songs are a big part of that. This video is so cool… it's Stevie in the studio, laying down the main vocal track for one of my all-time favorite songs of hers, "After the Glitter Fades," from her first solo album outside of FM, "Bella Donna" (1981). The first is an early take, before the background vocals, harmonies, or overdubs had been done… it's just her, singing over the main instrumental tracks. It's not the version that was ultimately released, but it's close. The second take is a lot closer to the finished product... you can hear that a lot of her multi-tracked voice has been added. That one sounds very much (but not quite) like the finished product. Obviously she knew she was being filmed… check out the smile on her face at 2:31. I love it!

I can't believe the incompetence of GM. I mean, it's across the board! It's not just limited to one or two models or one division... it's corporate-wide. Nearly FIFTY separate recalls for faulty vehicles throughout the divisions just in the first six months of this year alone! It's absolutely mind-boggling. The sheer pervasiveness of the incompetence throughout the entire corporation is hard to comprehend.

Yep. Three more recalls today! From USA Today: General Motors announced three more recalls on Friday (June 27) -- on top of the stop-sale order and then recall of the Chevy Cruze late Thursday. Earlier this week GM stopped the sale of 2013 and 2014 Cruze sedans while it tracked down which ones got a potentially faulty driver-side airbag inflator that could explode and send metal bits flying -- then last night (June 26) recalled 29,019 of them in the U.S. and 4,066 in Canada. On Friday (June 27) GM announced three more recalls for a total of more than 450,000 vehicles worldwide. The company now has issued 48 recalls for more than 20 million vehicles this year (2014) in the wake of the recall of 2.6 million smalls cars in February and March for a deadly iginition switch defect. The largest of the three (today) covers 392,459 its latest-generation full-size pickups and SUVs in the U.S., 53,607 in Canada and 20,874 that were exported elsewhere. Affected are four-wheel drive models of the 2014 and 2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, the 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and the 2015 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL. The problem is that the transfer case in the trucks may electronically switch itself into neutral without action by the driver, according to GM. If it happens on the road the wheels lose power. If the truck is stopped or parked and brakes are not applied or the parking brake is off the truck could roll away. Also recalled (today) for a potentially faulty windshield wiper are 4,794 of the 2013 and 2014 model Chevrolet Caprice police cars and 2014 Chevrolet SS sport sedans in the U.S. The mechanically related performance cars are made by GM's Holden unit in Australia. The problem, says GM, is that a bad wiper module can lead to the wiper motor gear teeth being stripped and the wipers not working. GM knows of no related crashed or injuries. Dealers will inspect and replace the wiper module. The third recall (today) is to replace the rear shock absorbers in 1,939 U.S. Chevy Corvettes from the 2014 model year that have the FE1 or FE3 suspension. GM says that a possible bad weld in the rear shocks could lead to a fracture and/or could reduce the shocks' service life. Also included are 33 2014 Corvettes in Canada and 82 that were exported. GM says it knows of no related crashes or injuries. UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE.

I'm just seeing this one for the first time. Terrific work, the weathering is very convincing. In a few of those photos it looks like the real thing.

I really like the Turbine Car one. Cool!

Nicely done. Paint looks great and I like the chassis weathering. The only minus would be that the foil on the side spears is a bit ragged. Maybe you could run a fresh, sharp blade along the edges and clean it up a bit?

Try this: http://maxwedge.com/articles/documenting.php

I'll make it work.

Why are you so intent on having this thread locked? If it's so offensive to you, wouldn't it be a whole lot easier for you to just stop taking part in it?

The problem with how Bill did it is that others were allowed to comment along the way. What would be better is for Rob to do his tutorial straight through, with no comments interrupting it... then we lock and pin it. That way it's much easier to follow (without all the comments and other posts scattered in there). Let people post questions elsewhere; keep the tutorial itself clean and straightforward.

I already thought about that. That might just be the smarter move.

Rob, if you want to go ahead and do a nicely detailed tutorial (with good, sharp photos on a neutral background), I'll pin it in the Tips, Tricks and Tutorial section... so at least your work won't drop down the page.

Some of you guys just don't care about the inaccuracy of the body, or are willing to either fix it or just live with it. Some others expect better from a kit manufacturer, and think that obvious mistakes like this kit's body are unacceptable, and the manufacturer needs to get their act together. Got it. It's taken seven pages to establish that?

There's no way to gauge or guarantee interest.

Missing two commas. Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking, her family, and her dog.

For the wooden parts you can use white glue, like Elmer's. You could also use CA (super glue).

People, keep your comments related to the kit, and not in the form of personal attacks on others.

Yeah, I learned that several years ago. I was involved in a crash (the other driver's fault, BTW), and my insurance company "totaled" my car and offered me a cash settlement. Based, of course, on what they said the car was worth at the time. I made a stink about it, told them I couldn't possibly buy a replacement comparable to the car I had with the amount they offered. They said, basically, take it or leave it. So I took the money and bought a replacement car, but nothing even close to the car I had lost. And the worst part of it all was that the other driver caused the crash, but I wound up the loser.

Insurance companies are set up to be the winners, no matter the situation. They'll "total" a slightly damaged and repairable car and offer you a low-ball "take it or leave it" settlement, as Tom pointed out. You can have coverage and pay your premiums for years, even decades, without ever making a claim... but if you do finally have a claim, even after decades of faithfully paying your insurance bill, they'll jack up your premium immediately, or drop you altogether. I don't know if I'd go as far as to call them "legalized thieves," but they do have their business set up in a "can't lose" way.

This week's car is a Tatra 700 (1996-99)... the last Tatra passenger car. Who got it right: otherunicorn Badluck13 Draggon matthijsgrit MikeMc carsntrucks4you 62rebel PowerPlant kennb GeeBee Johnag4004

Yes, I've read good things. Just wondering if any of the people here had done the conversion.