Ace-Garageguy

Polished plastic can look quite good, assuming there are no visible flow-swirls in it, and that all flash and parting lines can be removed and all traces polished back up as well...but it always looks like polished plastic to me. Just one old geezers opinion.

Taking the afternoon off to sit outside at a local establishment and have a cocktail while the space-dragon eats the sun. As good a reason as any, right? Mustn't forget the shades.

"Home alone" is a state I enjoy immensely, so don't bother me with trivial talk and requests for help doing things any adult should be able to handle solo.

Numbers are hard.

Thanks, and yes, I'm aware of that. The thing that struck me yesterday was how immediate the effect was. I've been somewhat sedentary most of the winter. Standing and moving while working doesn't really count as "exercise". Consequently, I've been having more of the kind of joint and back pain I get when I'm not active enough for a while. After 45 minutes sitting in in the sun in just shorts, the pain was very noticeably reduced, still was last night, and is so far today.

Very pretty. Never too many GT40 iterations, and a little history is always appreciated too.

Same as any other carrier. And I've flown Southwest for decades without a minute's hesitation. But you simply can't reach all the engine cowling panels from the ground without a ladder, and climbing around airliners on ladders isn't part of a pilot's pre-flight. Nor can you always tell by looking if quarter-turn latching fasteners or retainer screws are properly engaged. A pilot has to be able to trust the ground crew to be putting panels back on correctly (or noting any panel-fastener defects), just like he has to be able to trust the workers who build the things to put all the bolts in. Just for some perspective, the rear body panel on Mark Donohue's Porsche 917 opened up at 180MPH here at Road Atlanta in a testing session back in 1972, rendering it uncontrollable. It subsequently left the ground, flipped over on its back, and was destroyed in the resulting crash...all because a body mount fastener wasn't properly secured. (Donohue, by the way, walked away from that one because the car was engineered so well.) EDIT: The point is that even though Donohue was an engineer himself and the ultimate professional development driver, and Roger Penske's car prep was probably the most meticulous on the planet, somebody didn't catch a loose panel latch before the car went on the course. But in that case, Donohue was the only one whose life was at risk. Airliners flying at over 500 MPH with hundreds of souls on board are orders of magnitude more critical as far as mechanical double-checks go.

Rest assured, an airliner losing an engine cowling in flight would have been "news-worthy" any time in the past. HOWEVER...what the idiot, ignorant media IS doing is beating the "Boeing bad !!!" drum. Poor maintenance procedures on the part of distracted or incompetent ground personnel have zero to do with the aircraft manufacturer. Aviation incidents are indeed becoming more common. Another airliner missed an ILS landing approach just a few days back, and almost hit the control tower at the airport where it was attempting to land. Investigations are ongoing as to whether it was equipment failure (the ILS...instrument landing system) or human error.

"Basis points" is a term we hear a lot these days when the talking heads start going on about the Fed manipulating interest rates.

Freezing intermittently all day long. Surprised I could post this.

Went out and sat in the dangerous and terrifying cancer-causing evil sunshine at noon to get some natural vitamin D, and because tanned wrinkly old men are nowhere near as gross as pasty-white wrinkly old men. I honestly feel better both physically and emotionally when I'm getting regular moderate UV exposure, and my research indicates it's probably NOT a figment of my imagination. Besides your skin making a form of vitamin D that the body can use more easily than supplements, sun exposure raises your serotonin levels too. Ain't nature grand? https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-how-change-in-sunlight-can-affect-your-mood/

Missed this before. Tew kewl.

Not much real point following up on this now that the gorgeous 3D printed ones are available, but I probably will just because I kinda hate to waste effort. And I'll probably finish it as a version that's not yet available printed...maybe the Weber-carbed engine above.

Question the first result that google vomits up, because it's often just flat wrong...but having been repeated endlessly by idiots, google weights it higher than the truth.

Texture paint is a popular wall and ceiling finish, especially if the sheetrock is wonky.

Snowflake shoveling probably isn't something I'm going to have to deal with this late in the season.

Looks really good. Perfect color and degree of shine too.

That's pretty cool. A Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster with a Baldwin "Shark" nose and a steam-style cab. You sure don't see many model RR guys building "freelanced" what-ifs that are that far out. Probably the best use for the proportion-challenged Tyco Shark, too.

Grow your skills by trying new things, and if the first effort doesn't give the results you want, keep on trying until you get it right...or just give up, throw your model at the wall, stomp on the remains, and pout.

This shot of the SMP/AMT '61 Imperial hardtop clearly shows the roof as a separate part.

Engine looks great, chassis does too, and those two 5-windows are fine fine fine.

Just try slicing some weenies to stir into SpaghettiOs or beans...or try to slice some pepperoni for pizza. That'll tell you everything you need to know.

Finishes first he who first has to finish.

If it's still liquid, you can cut it with cheap lacquer thinner and airbrush the stuff for a really nice finish, ala Donn Yost.

Nope. There's always the possibility you'll wrap it around your head and suffocate, or try to swallow it and choke.