Ace-Garageguy

"Victorious" isn't necessary to me unless I'm attacked; for the most part, I just want to be left in peace.

Missed this one back in '19. Beautimus. I finally scored a couple 1/24 hard plastic slot bodies to do my own not too far back. This sure is inspirational.

March to a different drummer, or get in line with the sheep...the choice is yours.

Blew out most of the workday at the banks and lawyers, so I snukkded by one of the flea markets on the way home. Found a few more really cheap HO scale things that needed rescuing, plus a sealed Lindberg '34 Ford pickup and a started-but-not-ruined Monogram '66 Shelby GT350...both for ten bucks. Hard to walk away from a deal like that, especially because an SCCA Solo Mustang is on my project list, as well as a '32 Ford pickup. The '34 cab is very close to a '32, easily converted.

Yup...sometimes you get a competent and caring person to do work, and it's always a pleasant surprise. Last time my ISP sent a really good guy to fix poorly done wiring outside the house. But then they billed me $100 for what was supposed to be a free service call because it was THEIR work that had to be corrected.

"Incidences". It's "incidents". You'd think "professional" talking heads that don't have any job but using words would know that. What is with the penchant for adding syllababbles or just flat wrong endings...like "conversate" and "orientate" and "independency" and "applicate" and "occupate"?

Pretty cool machine. I certainly never came across it before, and it's great to learn about something so wild.

Whenever you look at buying ANYTHING used, always consider the high probability the seller is dumping it because it's either total junk, or it doesn't work right and he can't fix it, he doesn't understand how to use it, or has taken it apart and buggered it. I buy a LOT of stuff used to conserve money, including cars, tools, parts, cameras, electronics, and model/hobby stuff. Probably 30% of what I buy used turns out to have been either just flat lied about, or bodged by some ham-handed chimp who didn't have a clue about "repairing" anything. In most cases, I can fix whatever's wrong and end up with a significant $$ saving over buying new. That's fine for me. I fix things. But honestly, as far as an airbrush goes, there's almost no way I'd buy a used one...especially something with not-great parts availability. There are too many ways to FUBAR an airbrush...which is quite a delicate instrument...and it's just not worth the potential time waste and frustration to me to roll the dice on an easily ruined precision tool that has to function as-designed to be of any value whatsoever.

The PROBLEM with anecdotal "I do this and I do that and never had any problems" OR "it ruined everything" is that different strippers work differently on different paints and affect different plastics differently. Anyone following threads like this would do well to read and compare as much as possible from multiple sources, apply some common sense and critical thinking, and proceed carefully when trying any particular stripper. Don't be like Google's dumb AI that spouted "astronauts met cats on the moon, played with them, and provided care" after seeing it on the web somewhere.

Available jobs in the skilled trades number around 2.5 million currently.

Cats that live wild have a rough time and a short life expectancy, which is why I feed the ferals that live around here.

Cigarette smoke still smells great to me, and has me jonesin' even after 20+ years quit, but one puff makes me feel like puke.

Models to the left of me, models to the right of me, and a big ol' wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket, eh?

It was a joke. Frankly, if I step back a few paces, I'm surprised it works as well as it does what with entities like Google trying to shove their marketing down everyone's throat, dozens of different kinds of devices running who-knows-how-many different browsers to access it, and whatever esoteric stuff like Huawei I'm just not aware of stirring the pot. Unfortunately, tech is kinda like aviation. "Generally do(ing) a very good job) really isn't good enough. And believe it of not, even dumb-as-a-brick old hard-tech dirty-hands mouth-breathing geezer past-it me has to deal with conflicts regarding electronic wizardry, and I try to minimize any potential for them BEFORE they happen...like not piggybacking the TPS signal for the trans ECU in the computer-laden Chevelle I'm finishing up on top of the TPS signal for the EFI. Though they're "supposed to be" compatible (even though they're from different manufacturers and can't possibly have been tested in every imaginable combination and configuration), I'm not going to put myself in a nightmare situation of trying to sort out electronic gibberish and crosstalk that will make the man's $350,000 car as poor a performer as this site has been lately. But believe me...if I did, people would be making plenty of jokes about me too. Good luck sorting it out. I KNOW it's not easy.

If it's a problem within the code the forum runs on, it's going to take some pretty good magic to fix it. Think of those Yugos that were delivered with crankshafts made of the wrong steel. You can't just slap a patch on it and drive. You've got to replace the crank, or make a new one, and of course that requires completely rebuilding the engine as well. Not the best analogy, but close enough.

Looks good. Always nice to see scratchbuilt models of anything. How'd you get the airfoil curve in the wings? Steam??

Brake fluid has been recommended as a stripper for plastic for decades, but unfortunately, it attacks some plastics and does permanent damage...and you never know what it will destroy until it's too late. Last time I stripped a vintage kit with the stuff, as I tried to clean the goop off it, it crumbled. Nothing salvageable. So the answer is...there's no universal answer. I'd try scrubbing the body with a toothbrush and an abrasive cleanser like Comet, then rinse very thoroughly, let it dry, see what you've got. If it chalks up again, try wiping with 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Give it a little time, a couple days, and try to shoot a coat of good primer. Your windshield, if it's crazed, is probably toast.

Of the four "professional women" I had the pleasure of trying to work with today on banking and legal issues, only one had even a halfway handle on her job. Not bashing on women by any means, just anyone who gets paid pretty well to dress nice, sit in an office in the AC, and is supposedly an "expert" who can find relatively simple answers and understands the procedures and rules in their own domain...and doesn't have much of a clue. It's disconcerting that, after only a couple hours online preparing to meet with these people to get their help with some problems and not come off like a total ignoramus, I end up knowing more about the crappola than those whose "expertise" I'm depending on to help me sort things out. Rust never sleeps.

Loud exhausts used to raise the ire of the cops, but today, with patrol car windows up and AC on, it pretty much seems to be anything goes 'round here...especially diesels, recent Mopars and Mustangs, Harleys, and anything running a fartcan.

Nice little streetruck. One of my favorite kits and real vehicles. Your mods would make a great daily driver.

"Without a clue" must be a pretty popular way to go through life, 'cause there sure are a lot of folks who fit the description.

Nuts to folks who use "irregardless" for "regardless" on either side of the pond, but the Brits seem to like to say "aluminium" while we say "aluminum"...both of which also seem to be correct depending on location.

"Mischievous" is often mispronounced miss-chee-vee-ous (it's miss-chi-vuss) by people who like to add syllables to words for some reason, like the ABC news talker this AM repeatedly saying "preventative" when the real word is simply "preventive".

I check my accounts online every two days, so I catch things early. A lot of people don't even look at their statements monthly, and that makes them more vulnerable to fraud. For the second time in 3 months, a debit called "ELEC PMT" has shown up, for two different amounts, not authorized by me. I've already been to the bank to report the first one as fraud, and I'm on the way right now to report the one I discovered Saturday. The transactions are further identified as "Cardmember Services". I paid off and closed EVERY credit card years ago, so this cannot possibly be valid. The transaction is of the "ACH" type, which means "automated clearing house". Somebody gets your account number, and bank routing number (easy to do, as they're printed on every check), and sets up automated withdrawals supposedly with your authorization, figuring that since they look legit and most people don't check their statements or understand much about banking anyway, they're likely to get away with it. PAY ATTENTION. THE WORLD IS FULL OF CROOKS.

These days, 15 minutes if at all...which is rare.