Ace-Garageguy

Genius. Shoulda followed up with a chemistry set.

Consider the big picture. It's unfortunate, but in the real-world, most manufactured items aren't made with any kind of "archival" quality in mind. REAL car tires hardly last for decades, even in dry storage off the car. They dry-rot, crack, treads separate, etc. Dash panels and car interiors in general dry out, shrink, and crack. Plastic knobs get brittle, plastic lenses cloud up, and anything plastic under-hood deteriorates with time. Many household items, commercial products and even tools disintegrate while in storage as well, particularly plastic stuff from "offshore" manufacturers. We live in a society that considers just about everything to be disposable...even personal relationships...and where short-term-gain is king. Is it really hard to grasp why manufacturers of "toys" rarely go the extra mile to make their products last indefinitely? Unless a specific manufacturer is actively pursuing quality at (possibly) the expense of a little profit, you get what you get.

There are quite a few vintage COE cabs in resin available through eBay and other sources, not hard to find with a little effort. Mount the cab on a later-model COE chassis, and you get the best of both worlds: classic truck looks with more pulling power and reliability. 1:1 guys do it frequently.

There's a fair selection of resin aftermarket manifolds for single and dual 4-barrel carbs, blower manifolds, and a few Hilborn injection setups, but nothing for Webers...as far as I'm aware. But if you have the patience to search eBay, it's very often possible to find the exact parts you may need...though unfortunately sometimes as expensive as buying a whole kit. EDIT: 3dscaleparts has printed Weber downdraft "Inglese" manifolds in several scales. Their "Hilborn" manifolds are also easily converted to down-draft Weber use. https://www.3dscaleparts.com/search-results?q=manifold&type=products Here's the "Inglese" setup: https://www.ebay.com/itm/133544031254?hash=item1f17d83416:g:uFoAAOSwSihdlifE

Yes, but it's a very specific cross-ram manifold for side-draft Webers on a 1/24 scale smallblock Chevy engine. The specific engine and the type of carbs the OP wishes to use must be addressed. For instance: down-draft Webers on a Ford FE engine

An Eisco Labs 6-decade resistance box, useful for electronic circuit design and analysis. Appears to be very well made...in India.

One has actually been completely rebuilt to operating condition, and has been touring the country.

It makes sense primarily because we can no longer cast huge steel locomotive frames. Cast steel...not cast iron. And a steel weldment is a very different animal from a steel casting. Not a problem if the engineering is right, but with today's heavy reliance on CAE, it's a valid question as to whether a CAE program can cope with designing a welded structure that performs in every way equally to a massive casting. Known, empirically-derived data is the basis of every answer you get in CAE, and I wonder how much accurate analytical data regarding massive (and long "obsolete") steel castings is available in the typical CAE environment. But I'm pretty sure the guys building this thing have thought of that. EDIT: If you've ever done any welding, imagine the difficulty of getting full penetration on a section around, let's say, 2" thick. Maybe that'll help to visualize part of the conceptual difference in a large weldment vs. a casting. Interesting reading regarding welding heavy steel: https://www.aisc.org/globalassets/modern-steel/archives/2010/04/2010v04_welding_heavy_steel_full.pdf

A black coupe makes an appearance early in the original production of The Italian Job.

Lotsa alignment shops around here can help you with that.

Yes, Merry-All-Inclusive-Consumer-Oriented-Without-a-Trace-of-Religoius-or-Spiritual-Reference-Late-December-Holiday. Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards (insert gender-neutral noun of choice here). Bah. Humbug.

How about Santa Claus Conquers The Martians from 1964...brought to you free on glorious YouTube:

Started this one back in 2016.

There's an OHV V-16 Cadillac in the Johan '31 kit. Vastly more sophisticated engine than Ford's flathead lump, and it could conceivably be fitted with modern internals to make a strong yet vintage-looking runner. I was going for just that in this chopped '39 Chevy, where a big ol' inline 6 used to live.

Depending on how much of a mommy-state Ohio is compared to some others, you might be able to get it at a True Value Hardware store. I paid less than $20 for a quart in Az. a while back. If you have Menards there, and if the state allows it, they show a gallon for about $25. https://www.menards.com/main/paint/solvents-cleaners-removers/thinners-solvents/sunnyside-reg-methyl-ethyl-ketone-thinner/847g1/p-1444444207120.htm

Thanks. Now that the edge of my anger has worn off, I'll probably just fix it and move on. The "claim" procedure really seems to be designed to discourage filing one, and to provide lotsa loopholes to deny one.

Just about as close to perfect as I've seen.

Yup. I recommend cutting the pillars like this, and the cut to lengthen the roof right across at the vent window frames, like so:

UPS. Careless and incompetent. I was here today when the UPS driver literally THREW a box containing an expensive diecast model on the front porch. Yes, THREW it, so it bounced. I unboxed it, and the RF suspension is sheered off. Fixable, but that's not the point. The model was reasonably packed, and would have survived intact had it not been mishandled. Going through the UPS "claim" filing site, they want as much documentation as a mortgage.

Luigi Colani's Miura-based concept car from 1970: Miura sidewinder V12 drivetrain, articulated chassis hinged in the middle for steering. Supposedly a functional prototype, though I've never seen it run. The remains were "lost" for a time, showed up again in 2010.

You certainly have an artist's eye for color and texture and surfaces, and remarkable skill for simulating same...which all adds up to perfect weathering, among the absolute best I've seen.

How 'bout a project idea for a Countach gluebomb?

Here's an Espada that still looks like an Espada. The hood bulge is functional, needed to clear the Weber down-drafts and carbon air-box on the Countach Quattrovalvole engine.