Canute

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Andy.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, OC.

Alan, that is a very nice selection of aviation books. I may chase down several of them, like the Mosquito raid. Thanks for sharing. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Merry Christmas.

My condolences on your Dad's passing, Brad. And you're spot on about dispositions of your "estate".

Nice save on your "holes". Gotta keep the water away from the electrons. 😉

The 2 tones look better. I really like the low rider.😁

Yeah, the modern DCC module (Digital Command Control) adds sounds and lighting controls.

Maybe a gloss charcoal gray. Tamiya German Gray maybe. The gloss black may subdue the steel.

The rare Sicilian longhorini hornusmaximus. 😁

What are "allies" for? 😁

The word shoehorn comes to mind.😉

A good sealing dust mask is also a good idea when working with dust producing operations on resin parts.

I, too, think it's Calvados, a spirit distilled from apples.

I'm in too, George. The American Civil War has been a major historical study for me. I'm more of a Brown Water fan, but Kearsarge was one of the ships I built back in the day.

Craig, my condolences, too. The drug issue is so pervasive. I see the lives lost or screwed up by this insidious killer where I work at our county courthouse.

I know what you mean Andy about smacking the old wallet. Tangent, Moloco and Scale Trains are Kryptonite or me.😉

Your case is a fitting display for your Bismarck. Both superb!.

Nicely done, Andy. Yep, Rapido is one of the better model RR manufacturers. I have several cars and all look good, but the passenger cars have some delicate features. Have to be careful on my club's layout. 😉

Richard, I, too, use Plastic Magic cement and yes, the brush carries too much liquid. I use an old plastic blister pack, the clear part, and drop some cement into it. I can dab the clip into the puddle and apply my cement more precisely. Can't do that with the Tamiya cements, they evaporate too fast.

Your decks look good, Mike.

Great attitude will go a long way, Patrick. I'll follow along also.

Parts cleanup: a sprue nipper or fine flush cutting pliers. Tamiya makes some nice tools.

Clean up off the sprue: a sprue nipper and fine files. A trip thru the cosmetics section of your pharmacy/chemist will yield many options. If you use fine metal files. get a file cleaner. Styrene clogs everything. I use a rubber cement puck to clean up the foam backed files.

Gluing: use a paperclip to make a stylus to apply drops of cement. Or use a fine paintbrush only for gluing. There are a lot of tools out there for applying glue, for deeper pockets. Another option is a syringe, the kind they sell for injecting insulin. Small and easy to maneuver. Although the glue will probably eat thru the rubber plunger if left in the tube.

Glen, your preservation with glycerin is/was a technique used by model railroaders to preserve the weeds and lichen used as the flora on old model railroad scenery. those plants should last.

Been lurking here; you really have an intriguing subject. 👍 Of note for any sci/fi fans, the opening credits of Star Trek: Enterprise has one shot of a Polynesian vessel. They were some remarkable navigators, crossing the Pacific like they did.

Great looking slicks, Craig. 👍

yep, the base/prier coat underneath sure does affect the gloss/shininess.

That'll be some serious kit-bashing, Craig. looking forward to following along.

That's turned out nicely, Yves. Work trains are near and dear to my heart.

Sign me up, Chris.