E4 No More

I had something similar to this one: https://www.amazon.com/Magnifying-Dimmable-Adjustable-Reading-Workbench/dp/B085Q2N746/ref=asc_df_B085Q2N746/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=416811141592&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3603424904208575143&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026083&hvtargid=pla-915134692705&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=90730999341&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=416811141592&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3603424904208575143&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026083&hvtargid=pla-915134692705 It came in quite handy.

I haven't built a model in decades, and when I built them then they were usually used as BB gun/fireworks targets. I had rudimentary tools and thus obtained rudimentary results, so it didn't bother me that much to destroy them in a kid's vision of a war. I have decided to take up building models again, but this time I want to do them right for display purposes. I purchased 1/350 scale Tamiya models of the battleships Yamato and Missouri with the intent of starting with the Yamato. I also got a model of an Ohio-class submarine that I want to build and present to a friend who served on the SSBN-734 Tennessee. I have physical issues that will challenge my goals. The obvious one is eyesight typical of someone in their old age. I have magnifying glasses that I can wear to help with that. I also have essential tremors mostly in my dominant hand making it very difficult to paint fine details. I'm looking for starter advice from experienced modelers. I have several questions: Do I need to clean/de-grease modern model kits before painting? Some say yes, but they seem to be old-schoolers that have done it that way forever. Other's say modern models do not require it. Do you use primer on the model? My thoughts are that every layer of paint will degrade the ability to see details molded into the model, so the less layers of paint the better. Do you paint the parts while they are on the sprue, and then paint again after cleaning up the marks left from cutting the part, or do you cut the part from the sprue and sand the marks before painting? Cutting and painting small parts seems would be very difficult when not on the sprue. Does modern modeling glue chew-up the paint and not adhere to the parts like they used to? I have super-thin modeling glue that I got because the reviews of the Tamiya kits say that the parts fit really tight requiring super thin glue delivered with what amounts to a needle. That's fine if it doesn't ruin the paint around the edge of the parts. Related to the last, do you glue the small parts to the main part and then paint, or do you paint and then glue? It seems to me that the former would just create obstacles to paint around when painting the larger part's details. If the parts do not fit that well, how do you address the gap(s)?

Thanks.

The first one sucks real bad. My first one hit me while I was a LEO working a parade. My PCP was open that day, so I went to him after the parade was over. On my way to his office I felt the stone shoot into my bladder. I passed it into a filter screen at the doctor's office. I have had many since then, and I drink approximately a gallon of water each day. That, alone, is not enough. I was kicking out stones like a Pez dispenser. Besides drinking water, you can reduce your risk by not eating food with high oxalate levels: Beans (low-calcium types) Beer Beets Black pepper Chocolate Coffee Cranberries Dark green vegetables Nuts Oranges Rhubarb Soda (cola) Soy beans Sweet potatoes Tea (black) Tofu Wheat bran You can also increase items that fight oxalate absorption like high-calcium foods: Broccoli Watercress Kale Okra Kidney, baked, & navy beans Chickpeas Supplements high in calcium and citrate help as well. I supplement with calcium citrate pills.

https://nara.getarchive.net/media/general-william-r-etnyre-right-commanding-general-of-the-combat-center-and-9f8152 The link above is to the gun that I worked on in 1983. In the picture of us firing off the last 175mm gun round fired by active duty Marine units, I am the A-gunner sitting on the right side of the gun, (you can only see my helmet as I am looking down and braced for the recoil). Sergeant Stillwell, (who was a Staff Sergeant select at the time of this picture), is seen standing up and wearing a headset on the left side of the gun. IIRC, LCpl Terriault was the loader sitting on the loader's arms with his back to the camera on the left of the gun. We had decided beforehand that all 4 of the guns that were actually firing the last 175mm rounds would fire a full charge 3 for their last round. That was 99 lbs of powder behind 146 lbs of projectile that caused the whole gun to rock like you were on an angry bronco when fired off. It was common for us to draw an "X" in the sand behind the gun where we guessed that a virgin plugger would land after pulling the lanyard on a charge 3 for the first time, and a general was no different. Gunnery Sergeant Hangslaben, (the platoon sergeant for the HQ platoon), drew an "X" on the ground where he guessed that the general would land. I believe that it was LCpl Pennington that was assigned as the plugger on the gun that day. You can see his helmet and arm behind Brigadier General Etnyre who's pulling the lanyard with the gun barrel in just about full rearward travel. He was warned by Sergeant Stillwell to not let the general fall off. He failed. Shortly after this picture was snapped, the general rocked forward, (towards the back of the gun), then back, and then forward again where he did a flip off the back of the gun, (with LCpl Pennington failing to grab the general's waist), and landed exactly on the "X" with his ass first. He was lucky to miss the top loop of the spade because he'd have been seriously hurt otherwise. The general was a mustang, (prior enlisted), and true to the form of a mustang, the general got up, brushed his self off, then exclaimed "The sum-bitch kicks, don't it!" answered with the chuckles of all that were standing around. My CO, Major Schmaltz, came up and teased Sergeant Stillwell calling him soon to be Private Stillwell. Somewhere in the archives is the video of the incident, (unless the general had it destroyed). It's amazing the memories that military service can give you; both good and bad. That was a good one. EDIT: The general was extended the honor of firing the 1st 8" projectile out of gun number 5 but passed. He didn't want to have anything to do with it after his experience with the 175mm gun.

Yes, one of my DI's would say, "Good night, Chesty Puller, wherever you are" every time he had the night shift with my training platoon in boot camp.

There are many cases of cops NDing weapons - including in the PD's building. When I was a LEO the big thing was to install a small barrel full of sand on a stand so that when an officer needed to load or clear a weapon they did so with the weapon's barrel pointing at the sand so any ND would be shot harmlessly into the sand. They did this to prevent more bullet holes in their lockers, walls, floors, etc.

In 1993 when I left, I never saw any other officer that was an expert marksman with a pistol. But I have pretty high expectations out of anyone referred to as an expert in anything. Today's standards are even higher with the new types of shooting competitions out there that the average cop would fail at miserably. I shot quite a bit, and I would not consider myself as an expert with a pistol. Now the rifle is another animal. Back then I could put a bullet in the pupil of a target at 100 yards on command. Today I'm too round to shoot that well again.

Do you open every box of off-brands and confirm each one is of the correct caliber before you purchase? I didn't think so.

I have no problems with differing head stamps. The thing is he said 3 different calibers. If that's accurate then it's a problem..

As a former LEO myself, I agree with his observations. Most of the cops that I knew only fired their weapons on qualification day.

246 years young. Happy birthday to my fellow Marines. Semper Fi!

Did you see where he said there's 3 different calibers?

Yeah, that was funny to watch. A real "DOH!" moment.

"He also said that even though he was armed with a handgun, he did not intend to shoot Rittenhouse." If a stranger was pointing a gun at me under these circumstances I wouldn't care to try to decipher what his intentions were. He'd be dead meat. There would also be a small "YES!" if I later found out he was a commie.

If it was advertised as new Federal ammunition then report it to the State Attorney General as that is false advertising. It falls upon the AG to go after people who falsely advertise.

Or dying.

Apparently, they are now made in Garland, Texas which is just outside Dallas area.

Nice looking hat. When I lived in Kansas City, Missouri I went to the Stetson factory in St. Joseph. I tried on all sorts of hats, and the one that looked the best on me was almost a 10 gallon hat - probably because I'm a big dude. I couldn't bring myself to buying it because it was so big and I wasn't planning on becoming the new "Hoss" around Kansas City.

When I was a LEO I was also a state-certified DUI instructor. During the coursework at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy they mentioned that it has been proven that drunks will steer towards lights rather than within their lane markers. It's part of the reason that traffic stops are the most dangerous frequent activity a LEO undertakes.

I'm glad he cleared that up for us.

They aren't mutts. They are called "designer" dog breeds. My only breeding female and male create "Teddy Bear" puppies that sell up to thousands of dollars each although we charge only $1,000 each. The practice is well-established and needs no apologies from me in doing so.

It seems that you don't know what you are talking about.

Not hardly. All of our dogs are pets and live in our home.

FIFY