BloorwestSiR

That hits a little too close to home. Although the firing wasn't for drinking on the job, rather it was... I wonder if I should have called it extracurricular activity?

Sorry for your loss Jennings. Our four legged friends really are part of our families. Carl

Nice subject there John. If you end up needing the intake screens, Radu Brinzen makes them in PE. They also include replacement rad screens. http://www.radubstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_68&products_id=647

Lucky Models has a fairly new system for shipping their surface orders to Canada. They have a warehouse now in Canada so they send their surface orders in the same container as their own inventory. Once in Canada it goes out regular ground shipping. The good news is the packages aren't anywhere as beaten up as they used to be. The bad news is they can easily take an extra month or two to get here. So if you're not in a rush, it works out nicely. Otherwise, I'm finding my LHS comes pretty close and sometimes cheaper than ordering from overseas once shipping is factored in since few offer surface shipping. Carl

It's not factory sealed. When I got it, it had been opened already but was the cheapest copy of the Revell Beau that my LHS had. I think is was less than $20.

The oldest original kit in my stash is a Revell Japan release of their Beaufighter. Carl

Worst case, you could use the ones in the HK Mosquito kit. I say worst case as their shape isn't completely accurate. Harold at AMS used them as the starting point for his resin ones. I may have a set of prototype AMS tanks somewhere. The shape is correct but they're missing some of the final details. Carl

Our neighbours have had a Bolt for a couple years now. They're really happy with it. In winter, they get about 300 km on a charge (losing about 25% range from the cold and running heaters) but it's still enough to get them to the local ski hill and back on a single charge. In summer they get close to 400km. We certainly could get away with an EV for 99% of our driving. We only drive about 10,000km a year . My wife says a minivan or 3 row crossover will be our next vehicle though (we're in an '09 Honda Fit now) as we'll need something that can sit at least six. Both mine and her parents are getting up there in age and we can see one set or both stop driving in a couple years. At least I'll still have my Beat! Carl

The thinner you want is X-20A. It works quite well as a decal solvent. I used it in applying the kit decals to my Bandai Millennium Falcon but over the flat paint and not on a clear coat. Everything not in the base grey is a decal.

Thanks Jari! Some great prices on Trumpeter kits. I've ordered a couple times from Sunward before. Their free shipping on orders over $60 is handy enough that I don't even bother driving there. Great to have another place you can get Gunze paints. Carl

If you're about the size difference between the nozzles, here's a pic I took while building my F-4E. The kit one is on top, Cutting Edge in the middle and the GT Resin one is on the bottom. I have a GT Resin short can J-79 in the stash somewhere if you want to see that one. Carl

The only SAC gear legs that I've used so far have been for the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire kits. I've got three built using them, including one converted to a XIV using a solid resin cowl. That one was done about 7 years ago and the gear legs are still fine. It's displayed on a glass shelf too and hasn't splayed out or moved. Having read buildups on here and elsewhere, I've thankfully learned which kits generally need stronger gear legs and what are the best options, be it reinforcing the kit gear (and how to do so) or finding AM options that work (usually brass). The most flimsy gear legs I've experienced were the kit ones in my Planet Models XF-5U Flying Pancake. They have collapsed twice now so after the second repair job, I've put it on a display stand. Carl

I use a couple different Ikea shelves for my models. Most are in several Detolf cabinets which I have added additional shelves to. This fits my single engine WWII planes nicely. The second one I have is a Bësta. The largest plane I've gotten into that case is the Tamiya 1/32 F-4E on the bottom. A 1)32 Mossie fits as does an F-104. The bad news is they no longer make the style of door I have. They have some similar ones but not these with the simple metal frame. As a result, I've currently got two Detolf sets that I will Siamese together once my doctors say I'm healed enough to lift their weight. Carl

Those are the ones I got. I asked DN if they would upscale them last year for me and they did them as a one off at the time. Glad to see they'll be available for others. Can't have enough Tiger schemes. Carl

I've already got these masks and they're very nicely done. Carl