Ace-Garageguy

I first mocked up this little rail job back in 2010, and that's about as far as she went. I've dragged her back out in an attempt to actually finish something, by trying a relatively straightforward project that won't take a whole hell of a lot of scale-engineering, fabrication and bodywork, has a small area to paint, and only needs the most basic engine plumbing and wiring to look right. I'm stretching the wheelbase a little from this shot, and going with a chain-driven (not the chain-drive shown) 4-71 blown Pontiac with Scintilla Vertex magneto ignition, two-throat Hilborn injection, an in-out box, quick-change rear end and narrower whitewall piecrust slicks. Steel wheels in front on a model-A Ford front axle will be paired with early Palamides (later known as American Racing) alloy wheels in back, and finned Buick rear brakes (Ford backing plates). The frame is a slightly modified vintage Revell parts-pack unit and the body shell is a from a vintage Monogram kit. Engine / gearbox is AMT parts-pack based, with some Revell bits. Quick-change is a Cyclone unit, from the old Micky Thompson Challenger I, with Revell '31 Ford axle tubes. Rear brakes will be from the current Revell '29 Ford kit. PS. The '57 gasser is patiently waiting for me to learn to do BMF.

If they spoke in real-world English, it would become apparent pretty quickly they had no clue as to what they were talking about...and someone might catch them making a statement they'd have to take responsibility for. Corporate-speak is nothing more than the institutionalized version of "dazzle 'em with BS" strategy for taking essay-question exams when unprepared.

I've covered this in some depth on many threads, as I'm the one who pretty well pioneered the fiberglass process, and I've been developing and refining it for many years. I also make close to scale-thickness parts from the material. There's some info here... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/65965-mickey-thompsons-challenger-one-still-alive-feb-8/ There's also information on my old thread here, from 2010 http://cs.scaleautomag.com/sca/modeling_subjects/f/30/t/97991.aspx If you have questions, please post them under the "MODEL BUILDING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS" heading, and I'll do my best to help you.

When someone has a special-purpose vehicle that's intended for a particular function, I agree...who cares about fuel mileage? That's not the primary concern. On he other hand, when someone commutes, ALONE, in a massively-huge shiny truck that never gets used for hauling anything other than its owner's butt, it's really pretty stupid.

I don't know, and I don't think I WANT to know.

I've seen lotsa armor and sci-fi models use it for exactly that.

Nah...I jab myself in the eye with a sharp stick for fun. Self-flagellation is strictly for penance.

I've seen "mirrow" (is that even a word?) for mirror, "draw" for drawer, ink "pin", the non-word "marinaise" used for both marinate and mayonnaise, "garders" for garters, "hugh" for huge...these are all pretty common.

I understand the issue with confusing measurements. Couple of problems though..."ignition wire" will most likely be intended to represent spark-plug wires, and it's simply too thin to look right for most battery cables. AWG means "American Wire Gauge" and refers to the diameter of the conductor inside the insulation, and the thickness of insulation can vary. Your best bet is to buy your wire based on outside-diameter....NOT AWG. Typical real-car battery cable OUTSIDE diameter is in the .4 to .5 inch range, or about 10 to 13mm. Divide by 24 or 25 to get the correct diameter for a model in 1/24 or 1/25 scale. Typical real-car spark-plug wires are in the 7mm to 12mm range, but 7 to 9.5 is most common. Sacle wires correctly representing this will be too small to look correct for battery cables. However, a lot of modelers disregard correct scale measurements, and end up with plug wires that look like long sausages, and battery cables that look like garden hoses. It'sup to you.

Oh boy. Even followers of wielders of the Force aren't immune to the phenomenon. I saw one the other day going on and on about "lite savers". Then there was the TV talking head who kept referring to Mr. Solo as "Hans". When she was corrected by one of her co-blonds, she said "I thought it was plural".

Pretty sure I've missed the space on occasion. I was just typing too fast, really. Honest. I'll go flog myself now.

X2. Time passes unnoticed, all the stupid intrusive BS from the "real" world fades away, life is good...big cars or little cars.

All the 1:1 candies back in the wayback were lacquers, just tinted clears really. I've always wondered the same thing...why Testors candies are enamels rather than lacquers. AMT had lacquer candies...

This should be worth watching.

Go outside, open your hood, measure the diameter of the cables. Divide by 24 or 25, respectively. Late-model cars typically have pretty thin cabling to everything. Earlier cars, and 6-volt vehicles (and high-performance applications that need a lot of starting current, or have batteries mounted far from the engine) will typically use much heavier cables.

Beautiful color, and it looks like you've done a first-rate job applying it. Also looks like I'll be having to try that TS76. Nice fine-grain metallic.

She probably found fame and fortune after releasing her "Coney Island Whitefish Cookbook", published by a bunch of pencil-pants-wearing delta-male hipsters who wouldn't recognize one if they saw it, and who have no need to engage in the ridiculously passe practice of "knowing anything at all about what you're talking about". Her first financial success was followed shortly thereafter by the best-selling "1001 Things To Do with Coney Island Whitefish", after which she took her new-found riches and moved to a more rural north (with several former members of her publishing house) where she's once again blogging to newcomers under the witty handle of "Ploughed in Poughkeepsie". Delish indeed, and guaranteed gluten-free.

Thin white glue with water. Just about any recipe will work. All you need is for it to dry somewhat stiff...kinda like dried snot on a Kleenex.

I respectfully suggest you open up one of the "dimples", if it will open. Besides being flaws in the mold transferred to the part, as Art suggests, they may also be bubble-flaws in the part itself. In my own experience, "dimples" are sometimes depressions in the part-surface caused by underlying bubbles, where there's nothing to support the very thin surface membrane. The only fix is to dig them out, one by one, and fill.

Well, if you want to get REAL technical, as far as I'm aware, the Bell X-2 had no "reaction-controls" (thrusters), and most likely, its main engine burned out before it achieved apogee. So to split hairs further, the 125.000+ altitude of this particular aircraft would have seen it approach a ballistic flight path immediately after engine shut-down, and before it re-entered atmosphere of sufficient density to allow the full return of control-authority. Yup. Kincheloe's record flight began with a trouble-free drop at an indicated airspeed of 225mph and at an altitude of 30,000 feet. Approximately six seconds later, the XLR25 was ignited, and the X-2 was pitched nose up and allowed to accelerate freely along its flight path. Propellant was exhausted at a pressure altitude of 104,000 feet. The X-2 then continued upward on a semi-- ballistic trajectory that took it four miles higher. After reaching the apex of its ascent, it stabilized in a gentle, nose-down attitude, and Kincheloe gingerly maneuvered it for the return glide to Edwards. The landing proved routine. From: http://www.456fis.org/BELL_X-2_STARBUSTER.htm

Awesome !!!

Right up there with "boss" is "big man", apparently a favored form of address used by panhandlers in several parts of the country to preface a request for a handout.

Art...didn't you do a several-part article in the magazine on resin casting, mold making, etc., a few years back?

Misuse of "your" and "you're". Same for "whose" and "who's". And "its" and "it's". The language has its share of inconsistencies, and it's sometimes not really obvious as to how to use your words right, or if you're going to make little mistakes that make you seem illiterate. Of course, who's to say whose place it is to correct mistakes in English, and why should anyone care anyway?