Scorpiomikey

Has anyone built anything here recently?

Wow Mikey, what a slap in the face! I guess I needed that!  I decided that enough time has passed and I will make another attempt at the ejection seat handles.  I will try the suggestion by Mikey to use some acrylic clear on them first.  I used flat clear.  I will wait a couple of days to make sure it is good and dry and then I will make another attempt at bending them into shape.

How's that Mikey! 

Ken

Has anyone built anything here recently?

No worries, its just a case of keep on keeping on.

Hey Mikey;

I was embellishing, and actually, I agree with you that

it is important to keep sane by doing things.

After our parents died my wife and i agreed it was better to just keep

going to work rather than take time off. What you were talking about is self preservation because

if you let it get to you, well, you lose it.

So I did appreciate your comments man.

Dom

Also glad I no longer work retail....

I never said anything about talking to people. Oh god, i couldnt imagine anything worse. I had to do it for 2 years while i worked in retail.

Just watch the stupidity, it can be fun sometimes.

Ill stop with the attempts at sage advice now, im only 26.

Hi Dom,

It sounds like you are the one that needs the friend right now.  Yes, you are right about it being the time in our lives, at least for those of us "baby boomers", where we start seeing more and more of our friends and relatives pass on.  My Mom's brother has cancer and from what little information we have been able to gather, it doesn't sound like he has much longer.  I am taking my Mom to see him next week since he lives a 3 hour drive away.

Ken

The Deja Vu thread.

The state health care system killed my folks.

They wanted DNR because they couldn't be bothered to try to save them. Nuff said.

Yah, instead of going to the mall, lookin' for a friend, google "Liverpool Care path".

That'll sober you up gents. It is coming to a hospital near you. You will not die naturally guys, you will be put down....ahem.....it is here...and it what drives the funding for health care, don't get mad at me, I saw it happen to my folks......"don't worry, be happy."

It is going to happen to you.

Ken, sorry to hear about that, but this is the time of life when you see the leaves fall like rain. I have sadi good bye to 12 relatives in 4 years, many more at the door, and the 'workers' in the health facilities just want to stamp them DOA.

Sorry Ken, I can't cheer you right now, but they are dropping like flies, and I ran out of berievemant days at the office already.

Like going too  a mall to chat with total strangers is going to help....smokin' crack?

Sure, tell me I am wrong, but just watch....another one is going to die in a few months. I'm not trying to bum you guys out, by this is really what is happening.

I am so sick of waiting in hospitals and standing for hours at funerals right now.

3 dead parents. 10 funerals, 2 years. No, don't need to talk to an unemployed dud in mall.

I'ld rather buy kits I will never build.

Well,

I dunno. As long as the stuff arrives intact, which it does not, about half the time, crushed, shorted for content, completely a different item,,,,,lol,,,,, I am happy to import the unwanted kits of the USA....lol....

annnd, from what I've seen guys, yes, it is a depression...forget what the media is saying, they are paid to lie......the price of kits is going to go down.....hang on to your cash.....bundle deals will become more affordable as guys cash out and food stamp applications grow....lol....good opportunity for guys to build their stashes in the future, and that's the good news.

Annnd, Gates Fans, MS is dead....dead I tell you...He's dead Jim.....lol.....

Ken: Thanks but she seems to be doing a lot better now. She was out of it in the morning and then would be alert by the afternoon. One of my cousins who's been staying with her thinks it's the medication she's been on. They're slowly weaning her off it now so cross your fingers she'll be fine.

Rich: Dunno about the Academy but kit but I think the Hasegawa one was split horizontally as well, I built it twenty years ago and don't remember that clearly now. The Hasegawa is a good kit but insanely expensive, at least now but I don't remember it being too much back then.

You're 100% correct.  You can't go through life trying to change friends.  There has to be a point at which you simply let them make their own mistakes, because that's the only way people learn, through trial and error.  Ken, your friend made his decisions, right or wrong.  You can't hold yourself responsible for them.

Gamera, I just wondered if it is designed the same way as the monogram with the two horizontal fuselage sections which NEVER line up right, or if it has them split vertically.  I am watching a cheap Academy kit on eBay and I am wondering if it's worth the money.  I saw some images that made it look identical to the Monogram/Revell kits, but they were somewhat indistinct.  The fuselage and the intakes are a nightmare to get right on that thing.  And when I had it right, two days later the plastic started to bend in on the seam.  I think the bad fit of the upper section, wanting to bend inward was too much and overwhelmed the glue.  I am thinking that if I ever end up building another one, I am going to cut some thick styrene panels to use as internal bracings.  If I make the lower section walls stronger, it should be able to handle the load.

Has anyone seen Dom on today.  I wanted to tell him a kit I bought on eBay for him arrived, but he hasn't answered email all day.  Sometimes I snag them for him if the seller won't ship to Canada, then I just send them up to him.

Rich

Thanks everyone for helping to cheer me up.  Cliff is right, I did just need to vent.  And Cliff, I have found from working at a hospital that doctors are just like any other profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones.  If you don't like the one you got, fire him or her and get another one.  When it comes to life critical decisions, don't worry about hurting someone's feelings!  Some of them are real idiots!  You may think that just because they are a doctor that they must be smart.  Totally not true.  I have known some real dumb bells that I wouldn't trust to put on a band-aid.

Ken

Ken, if it makes you feel better by all means vent, sometimes it helps to get it out even if we can't do much to help. It sucks about your friend, you did what you could, you did your best to keep him from screwing up his life.

My favorite aunt is in the hospital right now. I have no idea what's going on - the doctor was talking like she's about ready to pass on and now she's back up and alert. Frankly I'm wondering if his medical degree came in a Cracker Jack box. Thankfully she seems to be doing better now so if I may you're not the only one that's having a bunch of krap thrown at you right now!

I don't know what to tell you, when I'm down I pray, watch a funny movie, shoot some aliens on the computer, or not being much of a drinker eat something chocolate. Not sure what else to tell you.

Rich: Built F-14s in 1/48th by Monogram and Hasegawa but not Academy so I can't help you. Did build their F-15C years ago and thought it went together pretty well.

Don't sweat it too much Ken.  Facebook is the only way I can get ahold of my few remaining friends and family.  And sometimes it really messes up and I can't get contact them for days at a time.  As for work.  People that mean and shallow will get theirs when Karma kicks in.  I always have days like that so I just suck it up and move on.  This last week has been particularly stressful.  But if you don't let thingsa get to you, they do eventually improve.

I consider myself fortunate to have folks like the users here to talk to.  It gets my mind off of problems and de-stress.  l am sorry to hear about your friend.  I have lost a few over the years.  It always surprises me.  You think of what they were like when you first met, and then you kind of realize how long it's been.  I try to remember them as they were, because that was the person I knew.  

And when I get depressed, I just sit down and model.  Which is the best stress remover ( except for sex that is) that I know of.

Rich

P.S.  Something on topic..  Has anyone ever built any of the Academy 1/48 F14 kits?   Someone told me they are almost identical to the Revellogram kits.  I went in to do a bit of work on mine today and the fuselage halves that I was so careful to line up, and looked great 2 days ago were still aligned, but were bowed in in the seam.  I think this kit was designed by the Marquis De' Sad.   I need to do a different manufacturer model to get the bad taste out of my mouth.

Everybody gets dumped on occasionally dude. Facebooks had some issues in the last few days. Went to send my mate a message yesterday and her profile wouldnt even load. just a blue screen. Today, no worries. It was weird.

Some days when life gets you really down. Take stock of what you do have. Ignore what you dont have. Go and do something for yourself. Go to a movie, or a play. Or just go to a mall and people watch.

Sometimes you just need to step out of the stream, and have a wee rest.

Losing loved ones sucks, even if you were out of touch, it sucks. But always remember, the pain we experience now, enhances our joys in the future.

Man, I need some cheering up.  I found my best friend in high school sister on FaceBook and asked her how to get in touch with him.  She told me he passed away in 2008.  I am so tired of hearing about people being dead.

We were inseparable during our time together.  We were both children of dads in the USAF.  We lived in base housing.  It just happened that both of us lived there for the length of time that we did.  Most military families live at one base for only 2 maybe 3 years.  We both happened to live there for 8 years.  And we happened to be close friends, which made it even more special.  I had no other close childhood friends like him.  When my Dad retired (1975) I was only 18 years old and not ready to live on my own, so I moved with the rest of my family to my parents home town of Lafayette Indiana.

I tried to keep in touch with him, but he was not the type to write letters (remember, this is way before the internet) and also long distance calls cost a fortune back then.  I went back to see him 10 years later (this was 1985) and he had changed quite a bit.  He had become an alcoholic, but he was still my best friend and it was still good to see him.  I visited with him for a week, then came back home.  Again I tried to keep in touch with him, but he once again eluded writing back.

My life changed, I went to college, but I would still try to get in touch with him.  And now this.

And to just add icing to the cake, I am not a big FaceBook user, but I had a few people I thought were good friends on FaceBook.  I thought after all this I would send them messages to see how they were doing and wham, they are no longer my friends!  In fact, they must be "blocking" me because I cannot even find them.  Wow!  What a cold slap to the face!  I just do not know what to think.

This is after a day of having my back stabbed repeatedly at work.  I tried calling who I thought was my good friend to see if he would like to get together tonight because, you know, it has been a really crappy day and, "no, I am just going to stay home tonight".

So, I am whinning to you guys because all you can do is just ignore me.  And I know it is a bunch of whinning but man, really?  I almost feel like there is some kind of supernatural power taking an incredible dump on me!

Ken

Scorpiomikey

Bill gates allows me to play computer games. I say high five to the man. lol

How was everybodies 4th of july?

Same sentiments here- I've been running Windows 7 for over two years now and not one lock-up, crash, or any odd occurrence. Microsoft gets a lot of krap thrown at them but I've always had good luck with their products. Frankly I have a great deal more respect for Gates than I ever had for the over-rated Steve Jobs...

Worked over the Fourth, didn't do anything special - just came home from work, turned on the A/C and took a siesta. Watched a little TV and got a some small work done on a few models. 

Bill gates allows me to play computer games. I say high five to the man. lol

How was everybodies 4th of july?

So, my Reply privileges have been restored...du.du.du.doooo...

Ken, i strongly suspect a Microsoft product.....snifff....snifffff.......

Don't worry lad, Bill will donate thousands to your pension fund as an act of good faith....

Bill Gates is obsolete, and it happened in his lifetime....lol....

Son Of Medicine Man

Ken:

Nice car. PinanFarina stole the wedge design at the front.

yeah, that was Cool alright.

Please let us have a copy of your dad's Vietnam video........

Dom

Okay, I don't know what happened to my last post but I am more than pissed!  I spent 15 minutes writing it. It completely deleted it to make it look like I just repeated Dom. I am not writing it again.   I gave a detailed description of the video.  I will write it again tomorrow.  This new site sucks!!!!!!!!

Ken

Ken:

Nice car. PinanFarina stole the wedge design at the front.

yeah, that was Cool alright.

Please let us have a copy of your dad's Vietnam video........

Dom

Steve taught me how to drive.

Well, i can't replay to recent posts.

Only ones a page back, go figure.

Ken:

Nice car. PinanFarina stole the wedge design at the front.

yeah, that was Cool alright.

Please let us have a copy of your dad's Vietnam video........

Dom

Hi Everyone,

Today was another good day.  I watched a few more 8mm films and found one that my Dad had filmed while TDY in Vietnam.  It was obviously at the same time when those photos that I have posted were taken.  So it has some video of those RF-101Cs.  Very cool!  I am taking the film to Walmart tomorrow to have it converted to DVD.  8mm is very short, but it does have a spot of two RF-101Cs taking off together from Tan Son Nhut Air Base.  Man those things were fast!  It did not take them long to get up.

Also found some pictures in an old "junk box" of mine.  It was of my Dad and his radio controlled planes.  This is the first ones I have found so I am over joyed!  He won trophies for his planes and I did not have any pictures until now.  I will be scanning them in and will post them in a few days.

A very good day!

Ken

Ken..  That is one sweet ride.  You're right about the engine.  I don't know what the heck is giving me brain freeze today, it;s the 351.  I remember seeing it on the engine one time when I got a look under the hood.  That blue looks great and I'm sure the images don't truly do it justice.  

My fastest ride wasn't my 91 Firebird, it was my 87 Dodge Daytona Pacifica.  It had a highly tricked out 2.2 4 cylinder (turbocharged).  I got it for like $3500, in excellent condition at an auto auction.  It was high gloss black and had a high speed performance package in it.  You wouldn't think it could move like it did.  One time a friend of mine who learned to drive in the Italian Alps with no speed limits decided to check my speedometer calibration because I though it was off.  So we got on Rt. 128 near Boston and he followed me in his huge Delta 88, which had a big engine in it.  We determined that the speedo was indeed off by about 6MPH.  Then he calls me on the CB and says "Wanna open her up and see what she will do?"  It was only about 5 in the AM so I figured what the heck.  So I floored her.  That sweet little engine kicked into 5th.  "Yes it had a 5 speed custom automatic."  and I was off...  The turbo was whining at full pitch and I suddenly hear my friend going "Slow the F... Down...  I can't keep up.  I was pulling away from him at about a 10-15mph speed difference.  I asked him what his speedo said since mine wasn't accurate, and he says "Jesus man, you're doing a buck fifty,,,!"  She felt great, handling was awesome.   I slowed back down to the speed liimit before my luck could run out, and we went to Hojos for some breakfast.   A couple of years later, I was driving her to work when I heard this bang clank clank and the car lost almost all of it's horsepower.  I got to work, about 25 miles down the road and opened the hood to discover that 2 of her 4 cylinders blew.  She got me there on just two.  I didn't have the cash to replace the engine, so I had to sell her.  I found out later that my Wife, whom I had to trust to take the car for work when needed because I worked nights and slept days, had neglected to get the oil changed or even topped up for like 8 months.  There was hardly any oil in it...  Oh well, someday I want to get one like her.  If I can still fit in one that is.

Sparrowhyperion

Personally I have always wanted a 69 in that beautiful dark midnight blue they had.  A neighbor of mine had one when I was 5, and I still remember drooling over it.  He gave me a ride to school a couple of years later and man, that thing had some serious horsepower.  I think it had the 329 in it.

That is just too much of a coincidence!  My next car, (and it is also on the 8mm) was a 1969 Mustang!  Ford did not make a 329, so you must be thinking of a 302 or 351.  Mine came originally with a 302 but I replaced it with a suped up (all the way) 351 Cleveland.  I could list all the things it had in it but it would run off the end of this page.  It would do the quarter mile in 12 seconds spinning the tires (12 inch wide wrinkle wall slicks) all the way through first gear.  I had a set of ladder bars to put on it so it would get better traction but never got around to putting them on.  It also had a Royal Blue metal flake paint job.  My Dad and I spent a lot of time and a lot of my money on that car!

Here is a picture of it right after my Dad and I painted it but before I put the 351 engine in it.  I had to put a different hood with a larger hood scoop when I put the new engine in it but I don't have any pictures of it (darn it!).

That metal flake paint job was a lot of work to paint.  First you put the base color coat down.  Then after that dries, you put several coats of the metal flake suspended in clear on letting it dry between coats.  Then when you have good coverage, you start putting on coat after coat of clear, letting each coat dry first.  Very long drawn out process.  But it does look fantastic when you are done.  The car literally looks like it is glowing.

Ken 

You could always ask your Wife Dom.  LOL  Sorry, but I know everyone was thinking the same thing.   Wives and Camping do not USUALLY go together.

Rich

Personally I have always wanted a 69 in that beautiful dark midnight blue they had.  A neighbor of mine had one when I was 5, and I still remember drooling over it.  He gave me a ride to school a couple of years later and man, that thing had some serious horsepower.  I think it had the 329 in it.

Bone collection?!? And people think I'm wierd for collecting little plastic planes and tanks......

Oh Yeah Happy Fourth guys, and well happy the week is half over and the weekends almost here Mike!

Happy wednesday to the rest of us lol.

For those in the US of A. Go blow some crud up and get drunk.