Ace-Garageguy

Not to be argumentative, but you're a little off the beam here. This particular video is consistent with my own first-hand experience. Alsa is the ONLY product that modelers usually look at that actually looks like the results in the video...which is very very good, but not quite chrome...as close as you're going to get without vacuum-metalizing. It's also the only product that CAN be clear coated to enhance durability WITHOUT turning to muddy silver. Just sprayed with NO clear, it's already WAY more durable than any of the marker pens or "ink" products. Entry level materials will set you back a couple to 3 or so hundred bucks if you buy the full line...their basecoats and clears as well as their chrome...and that's enough to "chrome" about 30 square feet of surface area. That's a whole lot of model chroming. You can also buy cheaper packaging, like the rattlecan version, and use your own 2K urethane single-stage black base and urethane 2K clear. EDIT: It's CLOSE to idiot-proof, but for those who don't like to read and follow instructions, and then blame the product when it looks like Fido's backside, it's probably best to stay away.

It works great. It's not cheap.

Something else for modelers to consider...true cellulose acetate is biodegradable, and the packaging even says "compostable" sometimes. This means it's not as stable as high-quality petroleum-derived plastics, and as most of us old fossils know from experience, "acetate" plastic promo bodies from the 1950s and early '60s are mostly either turned to dust and chunks by now, or warped beyond recognition. I'd say that this point in time, either PETG or polycarbonate would be the best choices for model windows, as acetate will eventually self-destruct, and styrene sheet tends to be soft and scratches easily during handling. PETG is probably the ultimate, as it can be had for free, it can be heat formed fairly easily, it's reasonably scratch-resistant, and reasonably stiff for flat windows.

Thanks for your background info. Always fascinating to me to know how guys got into doing world-class model building.

I know some of you guys watch Uncle Tony's Garage on YT. Check out his vid from 2 days ago (4-23-24). I'd put up a direct link, but even though it's true history and the simple facts that any of us in today's American independent and aftermarket automotive businesses deal with daily, I'd probably be banned for making a "political" post.

Newborns have a lot more awareness than some people give them credit for, which can lead to unfortunate conclusions.

Undercarriage is where you put the really ugly mutant baby.

Beautiful kits, beautiful work, maybe the coolest side-gig ever (to a model geek, anyway).

"Sense" wasn't required to post IIRC, just a "sentence", which is widely disregarded, so just go with the flow.

Sure hope you can find a way to save it. Pretty nice layout for 3-rail O-scale enthusiasts. Sadly, most everything like this ends up scattered, or worse, in a landfill when the last old guy passes on. At current asking-prices, the $5k is cheap for everything that's there.

Excellent choice...and exactly what I'm going to do to the Az. house as soon as I'm landed there permanently.

Them World Products fellas make some really trick engine parts. (My personal favorite is the smallblock Chevy block clone that lets you run LS heads...best of both worlds). https://billmitchellproducts.com/product-category/engine-blocks/chevrolet-small-block-4/sb-chevy-cast-iron-w-ls-heads/

Welcome to my world. People who don't make things that have to function just have no idea what it's like. EDIT: And it's particularly disappointing that in many cases, like THIS one, ZERO spec-compliance verification was done by the importer/retailer prior to selling the dammmmed thing.

Yours truly expected some resistance to that, but for proof, just look at drag and road-racing and roundy-round "slicks". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_slick

For best results, it's often wise to not be in a hurry. I tape or otherwise fixture window-size clear parts when using any of the PVA (white) "canopy" glues that dry clear. Using a quick-set epoxy is another option. Let it tack, then mount your "glass". But the best way, in my opinion, is to make up retainers from strip styrene that will allow carefully-fitted windows made from clear sheet material to snap in place, often eliminating the need for adhesive altogether.

Sorry to be pedantic, but while it's entirely true that many things are called by the wrong names, real clear cellulose acetate sheet is still widely available, as a google search of the term "clear acetate sheet" will show (clear sheet made from PETG, styrene, acrylic plastic, etc. is usually correctly labeled and marketed under the correct name of the material it actually is as well). Genuine cellulose acetate clear sheet is even marketed for specific aircraft uses, and in aviation, you can't call stuff by the wrong name. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/mepages/acetatesheet.php Here's just one of at least hundreds of commercial sources. https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-us/grafix-clear-acetate-pad-11x14in-003in-25-sheets

Bald tires have better traction on dry pavement than treaded ones do, honest.

That was the way it was when it was that way, you know, the thing, and back then, well, things were different.

Time and tide and the one-sentence game wait for no man.

"Missing on one cylinder" doesn't seem to be a well-known concept these days, 'cause I sure hear a lot of cars running like that.

I haven't been directly involved with aviation for some years now, but when I was, the ATC software was built on top of "legacy" programs, patches on top of patches on top of patches, and none of the then-current crop of IT guys had any working knowledge of the underlying system, and the geezers who did were either dead or gone fishing. Probably getting AI to design a completely new system would be the hot setup now, as AI could also build insanely complex simulations to debug it before launching it into real time. HOWEVER...I may be giving AI at its current level of development too much credit, but it seems awfully capable to me. The problem remains though...GIGO...and that's where biased or just second-rate humans in the loop can ruin what AI is capable of on its own. Air Traffic Control needs to be the absolute BEST system people and machines can devise, and there's simply no place for ANY focus other then robust excellence across the board.

It's often pretty straightforward to swap wheels from kit to kit, even when the design of the backs is that different. ONE way with those would be to cut off the protrusions the metal axles plug into from the kit wheels, and attach them to the wheels you want to use...paying attention to axle width and the resulting depth of the replacement wheels in the body. You may need to measure and add spacers to get everything right. OR...you could make receivers for the metal axles from appropriately sized styrene tube, and just glue them to the backs of the new wheels. Those are just two possible solutions. There are many ways to do it, clean and easily.

Pilots need to rely on air traffic controllers and do what they're told, but in the event of an emergency or conflict, the aircraft's safety is absolutely the pilot's responsibility...no matter what.

Confusing is when all the voices in your head are arguing over what to do next, how to do it, why it should be done, and if they can put it off until tomorrow.

"Myself" is the fella I usually talk to when I'm working, and why my cohorts think I'm kinda nuts.