Ace-Garageguy

While we're risking punitive action, it might be time to mention that only about 25% of today's USA youth can pass the requirements for military service without a waiver, so there's that...

For what probably sounds like the bazillionth time, TEST exactly what paint product or combination thereof BEFORE you commit to putting it on an actual model. AND...shooting stuff on 'spoons' is fine for color checking, but the plastic that spoons are made from is different from kit plastics...usually...so do your testing on part of the model you want to use whateveritis on so you'll encounter any weird reactions that might occur and avoid possibly ruining an entire model. ALSO...this is doubly important because kit plastics can even be different from issue to issue of the same kit, depending on how many grains of rice of profit the manufacturer was trying to sneak out by cheapening the plastic composition, and paint manufacturers are well known for changing the chemical makeup of their products with no notice too. Bottom line: what worked two months ago might not work today, and following advice from random people on the internet is pretty much a recipe for disaster...though we're fortunate here to have some guys who actually DO know what they're talking about, and the quality of their work backs up what they say.

I honestly think the '30 coupe is the best model for a variety of technical reasons, with the open-topped Ardun-powered T and the derelict Mopar tied for second. The big Mopar and the tall T have a lot of, call it 'emotional' appeal.

Hot-rodding in the post-war period brought out a lot of irresponsible behavior as well, like street racing, poorly built and maintained cars, and a number of 'innocents' caught in the crossfire when they were just going about their business. HOWEVER...it led to the formation of car clubs that emphasized things like safety, keeping cars in good operating condition, and taking the racing off the streets to places where the only risk was to participants. All of which led to the formation of major clubs that morphed into race-sanctioning bodies like NHRA, SCTA, SCCA, etc., and in many cases the construction of dedicated racing facilities. But then it all changed. The population grew, real estate prices skyrocketed, race venues got bulldozed to build row upon row of ticky-tacky housing developments, and normies who practice the NIMBY mindset got others closed down. So here we are, awash in a sea of what 'serious' car guys like hot-rodders and competition-minded sports car enthusiasts used to call "squirrels". As others have said, the temptation (for morons) to do really idiotic stuff for clicks and likes and YT or other online-based income...and a general just-not-knowing-how-to-act...has pretty well painted the real hardcore performance people (who are not professional racers) with the broad brush of stupid and rude, and there's a snowball's chance that anything like the positive responses of the 1950s will make a resurgence today. Now, I have to drive almost 60 miles to the nearest drag strip, it's only 1/8 mile, and it's not immune to what killed all the others...like what was the nearby Dallas, GA. strip, closed in 2005 after 50 years, for redevelopment. Bah humbug.

Thanks. I don't know which part I liked best...the old 351 coughing back to life, or the cats. Big smilemaker either way...though I had to fast-forward most of it in the hope of actually accomplishing something today.

"Race to the bottom" describes a lot of what we're seeing in many facets of life today.

There are none so blind as those who can be easily convinced to disbelieve what they see with their own eyes. In his novel 1984, George Orwell wrote, "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears" to illustrate how an external authority can manipulate a person's perception of reality.

Scrambled, produced-quick-and-dirty "documentary" videos for yooboob, with mismatched photos that have nothing to do with the "AI" narration, and a mixture of facts and gibberish. This is the vaunted AI revolution everybody is so excited about? Just more of the same inaccurate internet inanity, but now assisted by artificial stupidity instead of the pure human variety. All it's achieving is making it vastly easier for the totally ignorant to produce internet income streams, with little regard for truth.

"Waiting for Godot" was frequently scrawled on club and bar restroom walls in ritzy Buckhead in the mid 1970s and early '80s.

Wow. Really glad you're still ticking. Problems with the central pumping system can be kinda unnerving.

You know Pete, the main point of my post was that shiny naked aircraft skins aren't "chrome" as stated by the OP, but rather polished aluminum. BMF is real metal, and being so, looks more like real polished aluminum than any faux medium. I apologize profoundly and humbly for misleading modelers by stating it's aluminum. Naming the specific alloy seemed to be beside the point, and honestly, I don't know what it is anyway...but because of its handling characteristics I'd assume whatever it is, aluminum is in there somewhere, and maybe bismuth if it melts at a low temperature. Bismuth and aluminum have poor mutual solubility however, and don't alloy well, so I'm probably wrong again. But since you undoubtedly know, please enlighten all of as as to the specific chemical composition of BMF, as my saying it's "aluminum" is incorrect, and your saying it's "some sort of soft, pliable metal alloy" just doesn't give exacting modelers enough detail. EDIT: We'd all also like to know how the stuff is made. At least I sure would. So please explain that too, citing sources for those of us who'd like to research further.

"1967", above, ends another string of words that's not a sentence because it lacks a main verb to form a complete thought, but of course the difference between a sentence and a sentence-fragment or a descriptive phrase in times past wasn't expected to be fully grasped by students until the third grade, and that's the general comprehension level of a holder of an advanced degree today.

But it says "obsolete and rare" right there in the listing. C'mon man. That makes it worth WAY more.

Kinda goes hand in hand with "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging".

Chili this AM, warmer tamale.

Away we go again, with responses aren't sentences.

Beautifully done.

Solved puzzles displayed on the shelf aren't much fun.

mcs1056, above, has the right idea. The front top bow and the folded side members are readily apparent in the photo of the booted Bentley drophead. Make up some pieces from styrene to suit, then form the cover as discussed in the 'tarp" thread. Tiny solder beads are available that can be used to represent the snaps very effectively, as are resin rivets.

If Topher can't get you one for some reason, I have one also.

"Cuteness" and "cuddly" must be what all the folks who seem to be trying to emulate the hippo's body proportions are going for, but when I see those proportions in the mirror, it's neither cute nor cuddly, but a recipe for impending health problems.

I didn't say "jump on it with both feet".

Always a pleasure to see your work sir. ---------------------------------------------- For those who don't know: Pico was one of the early adopters of 3D printing for model cars, and I've been fortunate to see his work in person for years, through the ACME club here. He's done quite a good sized body of 3D-printed work, important cars that have never been kitted, designing his own files and even, IIRC, building his own printer in the beginning. He's also always been very forthcoming about sharing the knowledge he's accumulated through experience and experimentation.

Man, that's nice.