Ace-Garageguy

Clean indeed.

Sat. 8-11-24, 9:46 AM EDT Hanging when changing topics, looking at notifications, etc. EDIT: And now at 9:53 it seems to have pretty much cleared up.

A few HO scale locomotives came in today, the most interesting to me being a 6-axle Alco RSD 4/5 from AHM... ...and what I think is a "Beep", a 1-of-1 Baldwin VF1000/EMD GP mashup built as an experiment by Santa Fe to repower old switchers with prime movers pulled out of retired road diesels. Far as I know, no manufacturer ever made an HO-scale model of the one-and-only Beep, so this may well be a custom build...something I'd intended to do myself at some point. It's in NP livery instead of SF, it was missing the cab roof (already scored one off a junk engine from the flea market), and the wheelbase is somewhat shorter than what it should be. Still, if it's a custom build, somebody did a masterful job. Other than the missing cab roof (and the 48" EMD fan on the top of the long hood) it looks factory (though the drive is a little on the cobbled-up side). From the same collection came what is, I believe, another custom build, this time a mashup of Alco RS and EMD GP bits. I'm pretty sure I've seen the prototype of this one somewhere, but I have more research to do. Again, beautiful craftsmanship, looks factory, but isn't

Touch me, feel me, see me, heal me...but not necessarily in that order.

Went by the flea market to check the ultra-cheapo HO salvage stuff, and snagged a few more rescues. I'd been walking by some car kits in another stall, pretty reasonably priced, so I asked Mom if I could have a few. She didn't say anything (would have been creepy if she had...), so taking that as a "yes", I let these follow me home. 70 1/2 AMT Camaro, body painted with easily stripped enamel, otherwise complete and relatively unmolested; AMT '40 Ford Tudor recent issue, sealed; Revell '68 Hemi Dart, sealed inside; and a Revell Miami Vice Daytona Spyder fake kit-car, also sealed inside. About $20 each. Nothing I'd particularly been lusting after, but I've had a road-racer gen-2 Camaro in the back of my mind for a while. The AMT '40 Tudor is one of my favorite kits, every car modeler needs a Hemi Dart, I'd kinda wanted to see what greasy bits Revell had put under the kit-car Daytona body (turns out it's a relatively correct Corvette underneath)...and my expensive Japanese Daytonas are too nice to hack into hot-rod outlaw or drag cars.

Getting closer to being in Az. so I can get rolling on the full-scale '32 roadster, so I bought a few new-old references for when the time comes. Yeah, I know all I have to do is "Google it", because everything on the web is posted by genuine experts, and everything they post is 100% true and correct. Anyway, Vern Tardel is one of the guys who actually knows what he's talking about from having done it for a long time, and I kinda like printed references I can scribble in the margins of. And though I've been building stuff for a while myself, getting genuine correct info is just something I do on every project. Anybody who doesn't know me, this is the 1/8 scale model of what the full-scale car will be... ...and this is the build thread that inspired me to build a real one just like it...

14 arrived today, which is good. One of the others has been within 30 miles of me since the 6th, bouncing around local/regional facilities, so that may be a problem.

Great review of a kit I had no idea existed, and info on a plane I knew very little about. Thanks.

Cool critters. Right now I have an indoor cat, two outdoor cats, and a house full of assorted bugs.

Any chance we'll ever get to see some built?

"Poetic justice" is when somebody gets back the kind of ---- they dish out, usually used referring to negative actions, like if a thief gets robbed blind.

Another quote from the article: " 'Once children see the model railways in action, it captures their imagination,’ says Quest. ‘It’s a fantastic hobby for young people. It’s sociable, it’s therapeutic and it teaches them a bunch of skills. I’m not sure who said it, but a model railway layout is like the contents of someone’s mind laid out on a table. It’s about creating a world and having control of it.’" Doesn't sound "pointless" to me.

"Pointless"? Really? And I find the quoted little ----- rather condescending: "I found all this mortifying when I was a teenager – ‘Your dad still plays with trains?’ – but see it as rather sweet now that he is in his 70s." I guess if your entire life revolves around sitting in a cubicle in front of a screen, social-media, and a substitute for a functioning brain called a "smart phone", anything that doesn't involve constant typing and texting and "connectedness" is "pointless". As Johnny Holt remarked: "Anything that keeps the mind working to solve problems" is going to stave off mental deterioration. Gardening, and woodworking are especially good, as you can eat, sell, or use the results. PHYSICAL SKILLS work parts of your brain like nothing else, and I see the decline in physical skills as contributing to the decline in problem-solving and critical-thinking in general. But even READING, rather than simply sitting in front of pre-digested video pap, keeps your mind sharper because YOU come up with the visuals that accompany the words, instead of having everything fed to you by the spoonful, no chewing necessary. EDIT: Quoting the little ----- again: "There’s plenty of stuff I enjoy doing – playing various instruments, learning languages, cooking, drawing, Scrabble, chess, cinema, ceramics, making the kids’ Lego models – but the idea of devoting head space and house space to activities with no prospect of return on investment feels weirdly decadent." My take on that: p a t h e t i c.

Here's a thought: the engine (or other means of propulsion) is the heart of a vehicle. Without an engine, there's simply no point in the thing even existing. Engines are important in my car-modeling because they're important in my reality. That's my position in a nutshell. EDIT: Kinda the same reason I generally gravitate towards other modeling subjects that make some effort to represent reality in all its complexities, like framing and planking and reasonably correct rigging on larger scale, wooden boat/ship models. My favorite aircraft models represent their engines reasonably well too...though I do have some smaller scale kits that don't...essentially "cubsides".

I think there's enough evidence to suggest the majority of purchasers today don't even understand how an engine runs or why the car goes, so it's no surprise full mechanical detail isn't much in demand.

Yup. That's what I meant. Apparently my statement was cause for much levity among certain non-actual-builder quarters. I'll be using the guts from an old-school Revell Bronco in/under the new AMT Bronco, which is the only way I'd have one in reality. I like the looks of the new one, but I've seen the fragility of the axles, tie rods, etc. up close and personal, and the gee-whiz-lookit-all-the-techie-wizardry under the hood leaves me cold. How you going to work on that mess if you're really far offroad? The new ones are nothing but egoboo mall-crawlers if they don't get significant upgrades and mods, so why not just swap in tried-and-proven real offroad components?

Water in your gas can wreak havoc with drivability, and if there's sugar dissolved in the water, it can lead to a permanent no-go.

While we're at it, it's not real "safe" to carry dynamite in your semi-trailer or leaking cans of propane in your SUV.

Never met the guy, but I've bought his stuff from feePay listings. Always great quality, reasonable shipping time.

Had to love the pickups that had the tank behind the seat, inside the interior...or the Model-A fords that had the tank in the cowl, under the windshield. Kindof a wonder anybody survived, if you take all the hand-wringing of the safety-mavens seriously. "Oooo honey...LOOK!!!...must be a Pinto!!!!!!!!!!"

Mealworms are as good a source of high-quality animal protein as meat or fish, but I'll never be the guy saying "c'mon honey, let's go get a big juicy plate of mealworms".

Most significant thing that arrived today was this Kadee #13 HO-scale coupler "Test Kit", that includes examples of most of the different designs (to figure out what will work on any particular car or locomotive), a height gage, tools, misc parts like shims and springs, lube, and instructions for conversion of all the major manufacturers' offerings. As I have a LOT of salvaged cars to refit with Kadees, this will be invaluable. The sample test kit contains a variety of sample couplers and other necessary components to identify and properly install Kadee(R) couplers on locomotives and rolling stock without having to purchase full size packages of couplers, gear boxes and adaptors, springs, washers and shims that may be necessary for the coupler conversions. Kit contains HO Scale conversion list, 20 and 30 series instructions, Whisker(R) coupler instructions and sample size packages of products listed below: Couplers - Metal NO.5(R) Medium Centerset - Metal - One Pair #141 Whisker Long Underset - Metal - One Pair #142 Whisker Medium Overset - Metal - One Pair #143 Whisker Short Centerset - Metal - One Pair #144 Whisker Short Underset - Metal - One Pair #145 Whisker Short Overset - Metal - One Pair #146 Whisker Long Centerset - Metal - One Pair #147 Whisker Medium Underset - Metal - One Pair #148 Whisker Medium Centerset - Metal - One Pair #149 Whisker Long Overset - Metal - One Pair #158 Whisker Scale Medium Centerset - Metal - One Pair Couplers - Plastic 21/31 Long Underset - Plastic - One Pair 22/32 Medium Overset - Plastic - One Pair 23/33 Short Centerset - Plastic - One Pair 24/34 Short Underset - Plastic - One Pair 25/35 Short Overset - Plastic - One Pair 26/36 Long Centerset - Plastic - One Pair 27/37 Medium Underset - Plastic - One Pair 28/38 Medium Centerset - Plastic - One Pair 29/39 Long Overset - Plastic - One Pair Gear Boxes & Adaptors #212 Talgo Truck Adaptors - One Sprue Work with all couplers included in Test Kit and are standard with 20-Series couplers. #213 20-Series Gear Box with Sleeves - One Sprue Work with all couplers included in Test Kit and are standard with 20-Series couplers. #232 NO.5 Type Gear Box - One Sprue Work with all couplers included in Test Kit and are standard with #5 couplers and 20-Series couplers. #233 30-Series Gear Box - One Sprue Work with all couplers included in Test Kit Except Whisker Couplers and are standard with 30-Series couplers. #234 Short #5 Type Gear Box - One Sprue Work with all couplers included in Test Kit and are standard with short shank 20-Series and 40-Series couplers. #242 Whisker Snap-Together Gear Box - One Sprue Work with all couplers included in Test Kit and are standard with Whisker couplers. #252 Small Whisker Snap-Together Gear Box - One Sprue Work with Only Whisker Couplers. The 252 is the Whisker equivalent to the 30-Series gear box. Screws, Springs, Washers, & Shims #208 .015} Red Fiber Washer - 10 Each #209 .010} Gray Fiber Washer - 10 Each #211 .010} & .015} Shims - 10 Each #256 Plastic 2-56 x 1/2} Screws - 10 Each #621 30-Series Torsion Spring - 10 Each #622 Knuckle Springs - 10 Each NO.5 Type Centering Spring - 10 Each Uncouplers #321 Code 100 Between-The-Rails - One Pair #322 Code 83 Between-The-Rails - One Pair Tools #231 Greas-em - One Each #206 Coupler Height Gauge - One Each #241 Dual Tool - One Each

I'm sad now. Many years ago, there was a very toothy '53 Buick at the bottom of a ravine off a steep trail that led down to the Chattahoochee, on Federal Park land. It's a very damp area, and years later when I hiked there again, there was nothing left but remnants of the chrome grille and bits of heavy frame members. Last time I was there, a few weeks back, every trace was gone.

"Awesome" pretty well describes a Saturn V launch, but it might be a bit much for bacon-flavored salad bits made from textured soy protein.