Ace-Garageguy

Always a pleasure to see your very realistic scenes. Inspiring stuff to any builders of dioramas in any scale, including railroad and military modelers.

"Stumped and tooted and bears, oh my" was what the nonsense-spouting AI came up with for the next post.

Seems like there'd have to be a string on it the owner is playing, but I can't see one...

Lot of 8 Proto 2000 freight car kits for less than $8 each including shipping, which is a deal. These are quite nice, highly detailed kits that usually run at least $20. They have separate (and very fragile) ladders, grabs, steps, and other detail parts, aimed at adult modelers. The similar cars have different road numbers too, so that won't have to be dealt with later on. Alas, a couple have been partially started, but the work is mostly OK and what's not can be camouflaged with weathering. The five drop-end mill gondolas are appropriate for a steel mill setting. The double-door boxcars can load either complete automobiles or, more commonly, stamped metal parts for automobile construction, so they're appropriate for a sheetmetal parts-factory setting, which could be close to a steel mill. No real need for the stock car, as feedlots, meat packing plants, or cattle loading pens don't figure into my plans, but you never know.

Always liked him. Also liked the fact he never seemed to think he knew everything about everything, or that his opinions should guide other people's lives just because he was a celebrity...at least as far as I saw.

Wow. That's pretty cool. Palmer seems to have reached new heights with this one. I had no idea.

Pete's OK, I'm OK. Everybody's fine...I think. No hard feelings.

Whatever.

And just so there's no more confusion, nobody said solvent cements work on all pill bottles...ONLY THE STYRENE ONES. YOU may not have any, but they do in fact exist. https://www.sks-bottle.com/pharmaceutical-packaging/clear-plastic-pill-vials.html? https://www.calpaclab.com/snap-cap-vials-polystyrene-7-dram-dynalon/dl-426364-07

Oh please. Call me out when I'm wrong. Fine. I don't want to post misinformation. But half the time you call me out because you didn't fully read what I wrote, and it gets old.

Call it whatever you want. I said IF they're styrene pill bottles etc. etc. etc. You said pill bottles are not styrene.

"City girls just seem to find out early how to open doors with just a smile"

My most recent amber prescription bottles (2020) are marked PETE, polyethylene terephthalate, recycling #1, which will bond kinda OK with CA or epoxy if roughened, but much post-bonding handling is asking for failure. CA adhesion to PETE and other "low surface energy plastics" is enhanced by using Permabond POP primer or similar "adhesion promoters", and of course there are bonding materials designed specifically for this purpose, but the average modeler isn't going to buy expensive 2-component industrial adhesives. PETE and PETG are frequently used for replacement clear model car parts like windows, and are often held in place with PVA (the white glue family). But the bond isn't very strong, so fit needs to be precise and post-gluing handling should be minimal. Also please note: I specifically said: "If they're styrene bottles, they glue much better than most rattlecan tops will". I have had older bottles made of styrene, which is why I mentioned them.

Me too. I usually wash my daily-driver vehicles about once every six months, whether they need it or not.

Hey kids!! It's now a u t o m a t i c !!!

Wow. Cool. Full envelope bodies and deco/dieselpunk trim styling. Love that second vacuum-cleaner grille. Yeah, I'd like to see more too.

My older Silverado with a 4L60 does exactly the same thing on a long grade, as does my Jag XJ-6 that I swapped a 700R4 into. For that matter, so does the little 2-liter Neon and the '96 Blazer. First the lockup converter kicks out, then if that's not enough, they shift down a gear. Having 6 more speeds would accomplish zip, zero, nada, nothing in this situation. The superior highway fuel mileage Rob Hall claims for his Caddy has everything to do with improved combustion chamber and porting designs, and more accurate engine management achieved over a couple of decades.

Lotta people use pill bottles. If they're styrene bottles, they glue much better than most rattlecan tops will.

"Stock Cars" and "Other Racing" sections header changes?

They got so cheap, most of them got driven to death by bottom-feeders when the cam belts didn't get replaced. Most of the survivors have the 230hp turbocharged DOHC 2.4 liter SRT-4 option package, because enthusiasts understand and appreciate how good they are...but most of those got destroyed by morons because they were cheap and fast. EDIT: My car is the much less desirable SOHC 2 liter 130 HP version, clean, well optioned, with an automatic. Not fast, but handles and rides very nicely, is comfortable on a long trip, has a huge trunk, a decent drag coefficient (.34), and gets well over 30mpg. Just a nice inexpensive little car, and I really like its looks.

All 16 valve seats in the Neon head lapped in beautifully, as did the 8 old original intake valves, but the exhaust valves were just too pitted to clean up without grinding. I moved my valve grinder to AZ in 2021, but I was able to locally source new exhaust valves wearing the Melling brand locally for $25 each. Hopefully they're not rebranded off-spec offshore garbage, because exhaust valves lead a very hard life. Anyway, I'm one big step closer to having the Neon back among the living.

"Sawhorses" was what little Johnny answered when he was asked what he'd seen at the Equine Museum.

Forget what I said about buying a new Aston if I won the lottery.

Averaging around $2.85 in the Atlanta suburbs.

Once you're on the highway and the torque-converter is locked up in top gear, the ten-speed silliness has absolutely NOTHING to do with mileage. It's only contributing to increased mileage around town, where it is intended to keep the engine in the most efficient rpm band during constant off and on acceleration.