Awards and a Bulldozer

The awards ceremony continues...

"...and in proud recognition of the great work you and your team have accomplished..."

What do you mean you don't know where the bulldozer came from?!?

Well, Sarge, it's like this, when I came on duty at four in the morning it was dark and the other guard said nothing happened on his shift, and there were no cars coming so I waited over by that armored car. Then I checked the log and it had an entry at two-thirty in the morning that said, "Bulldozer delivered." That's all, just "Bulldozer delivered." So I figured they meant a truck came to the gate and was granted entrance to deliver a bulldozer. Not until it started to get light did I see something over here and I walked over to investigate. That's when I realized they delivered a bulldozer all right, they delivered a bulldozer right here. There's no bill of lading or anything to determine who gets it, but it's Army Green so I figure it's an Army bulldozer and this is an Army Base so I figure it's okay. Maybe they are going to do some work on the road and they needed a bulldozer.

"...with dedication and due diligence, in the on going fight against our nations enemies..."

"...in a Cold War against International Communist aggression, that will only end when..."

"...the forces of the free world work together to secure a future that is free of tyranny..."

We gotta get this bulldozer outta here before somebody sees it and we are all in trouble. It's on the QT, but I heard that not only is the IG coming but so is the Vice President. We can't have Vice President Nixon find a bulldozer blocking the north gate. A bulldozer nobody knows where it came from or where it belongs. Private, you are in big trouble if we don't get rid of this thing right away.

Sticky Things

With so many glues out there how do I know what glue is right for my application? I go to the hobby shop, or hardware store and there are whole sections of glue.

The old standby. Testors liquid cement is the first glue to buy. It is the best glue for regular styrene plastic model kits. The applicator is very tiny and it allows precise placement of the glue on the model. It is very strong and it is very inexpensive. One bottle like this will glue dozens of Roco Minitanks. The little metal pipette applicator keeps the fumes down and the small wire keeps the pipette clear. This glue causes the plastic to chemically melt and the two plastic parts them melt together. It drys very fast and strong. I use this glue for all my plastic models.

The clear brother of the black bottle of styrene plastic glue. I use this to glue all clear parts. Perfect for airplane canopies and window glass in buildings. Like the black bottle it dries strong and firm. It does not fog canopies, and can also fill the gap between a clear plastic airplane canopy and the fuselage of the aircraft.

This glue can also be used to make window glass. Run a bead of this glue along a firm surface and build it up. I have made windows for buildings and windshields for vehicles with this glue. It works very well for Roco Minitanks, the older ones don't often have windshields. It goes on cloudy but drys perfectly clear.

The old standby, Elmers Glue-All. Sold everywhere, hobby shops, supermarkets, toy stores. It is dirt cheap. I use this for many jobs. Gluing paper, gluing wood, and gluing terrain powders. The ground cover, grass or dirt, is easy to glue with diluted white glue. This glue is also good for temporary uses. I sometimes glue troops to stands using this glue. ACW troops glued to a strip of cardboard with white glue can be removed during the game as causalities are taken.

Loctite makes a special glue to attach soft plastic to soft plastic. It uses an activator to prepare the surface and then regular superglue type glue is used to affix the parts. The activator is dispensed using a felt tip marker type applicator. It works reasonably well to glue plastic soldier parts together.

There are more glues that I use and I will discuss them in another article.

Awards PT II

The entire base has been brought to a standstill for this important ceremony. Many of the men are at least glad not to be digging in the hot sun.

The base is in lock down since Atomic weapons are being tested here. The roadblock for the main post is overlooked by an armed armored car.

Some of the local cowboys have assisted in the testing. Their cattle graze on the open range land and some lease land on the military base. They too are present for the award ceremony.

The base is staffed by hundreds and hundreds of civilians and troops. The rumor is that more troops are on the way. Part of the Atomic Testing protocol is to train troops in the reality of atomic weapons usage. They will get to view and participate in the tests.

Troops from all branches of the service are present. Here are some of the sailors that recently were retrieving the bombsight from the downed B-17. Atomic Testing requires a multi-disciplinary approach.

Trees, Mammoths, Cavemen

Cavemen, with Woolly Mammoth and dead trees.

The Woolly Mammoths are from Marx the toy company. They are recasts. The cavemen are from dollar stores. The dead trees are from Imex.

When Lewis and Clark went west, the President asked them to keep and eye open for Mammoths. There were people who thought they might still be alive in the unexplored reaches of the wild west.

The Marx Mammoths come in several different sets, usually with a mix of ancient mammals and dinosaurs.

Imex makes an accessory set for the Alamo, the dead trees are from that set. They are a semi-soft plastic that takes bends. Once bent the tree limbs can hold other positions. The Mammoth is sold as an original and recast. The recast ones are pretty cheap. The match well with 1/72nd scale figures and are way cheaper than the metal ones.