Big Steel! Update Feb 15/09

[iis612]

I thought NAFTA didn't touch Duty Taxes. It has been a while, and I am most likely wrong though.

[doctorwayne]

Duty is not payable on items made in- and moving between- NAFTA countries, while it is payable on imported goods. In Canada, the emphasis seems to be on collecting the GST (Goods and Services Tax), which is applied to almost all items coming into Canada. With the current plan to "harmonise" the PST (Provincial Sales Tax) with the GST, this cost will likely rise for the consumer, as collection will be simplified. Whoop-dee-doo.

Wayne

[Spitfire]

Matt, thank you so much for the incredibly flattering comments!!

Russ, iis612 - it wasn't duty they dinged me for. It was "brokerage" fees, and as Wayne says GST (sales tax). I will certainly be sure next time to have any orders sent via USPS, as opposed to UPS, which I now realize stands for Unfair Premium on Shipping.

Anyway, I now have my (very expensive) ABS 1" pipe and have started work on the two taller tanks. Here is a reference photo of what I am trying to achieve.



And this is about where I'm at so far:



I managed to drill the holes in the pipe without the drill skittering all over the place by first using a small file to create a flat surface for it to bite into. It worked amazingly well!

Since I took that shot I've drilled the second row of holes, put the smaller tubes in (you can see one at the bottom left) and primed it flat grey.

cheers
Val

[Steamtrains]

Hmmm...Val....When do you work and sleep...???

[Trucklover]

Val thats an excellent idea to take a file and make it flat first!! Thanks for that tip BTW its looking great!!

[Spitfire]

Okay, I've gotten a little bit further with the vents on the condenser tank. I'm going to be painting this all a dark rusted brown, so I took a couple of shots while you can still see the vents clearly. It kind of reminds me of a flute somehow. Maybe it's the size.





To make the 12 vents uniform size, and because I hate repetitive chores, I hit on a clever little plan.

I used a hole punch to punch them out of a piece of strip styrene, then just filed the corners a little to smooth them. They're not perfect, but once it's painted i think they'll be fine.

cheers
Val

[tetters]

Looks pretty good so far. I'm sure it will turn out great like the rest of the build has been.

[LynnB]

Well, I finally got my order from Plastruct this morning, so I'll be able to start the tanks and stills in front of the benzol plant once I calm down.

And why do I need to calm down you ask?

Well, because when the order arrived, the UPS guy charged me another $40 for so-called brokerage fees (ie ransom), in addition to the $16 I had already paid for shipping. The actual order was $57, so those parasites charged me more than half of the actual cost of the products. I fired off an email to Plastruct to let them know their shipping company was alienating and costing them customers. No point calling or writing to UPS, as I've done it before and found out they only employ robots.

I thought I would be happy when these parts got here, instead I'm like our good friend Jack: piston broke. What a ripoff!

Val

I learned this exact same lesson with UPS , basicly most of the charge was brokerage and the rest was tax and oh ya the customs 5 dollar handling fee. I have a import license from when I had my business and I use to just drive across the bridge to pickup my own stuff and most times not even have to pay taxes.

[doctorwayne]

I learned this exact same lesson with UPS , basicly most of the charge was brokerage and the rest was tax and oh ya the customs 5 dollar handling fee. I have a import license from when I had my business and I use to just drive across the bridge to pickup my own stuff and most times not even have to pay taxes.

More like a mis-handling fee! Where else can you turn when you need somebody to assess you a fee for the "privilege" of paying tax? This is the CBSA ensuring that our borders are safe. I have a year long on-going debate with this and other points, and have written to the Federal Minister in charge of this blatant tax grab. He's currently in B.C. for a series of pre-2010 Olympics photo ops, though.

Wayne

[tetters]

sigh...UPS. I've canceled orders right in the middle of placing them if the web dealer only offers UPS as a shipping option. I got burned a couple of times by their ridiculous $40 "brokerage fee". Never again.

Seriously, it better be a donor organ or some other life or death item in that box before I pay UPS any money again.

[tomustang]

So how's that flute going...? :mrgreen:

[iis612]

Matt, thank you so much for the incredibly flattering comments!!

It's greatly deserved

[Spitfire]

I now have the "flute" painted, and installed, and the pipes have been added as well. For the pipes, I'm using a combination of Plastruct tubes and elbows, as well as some from the Walthers refinery piping kit

Here's the view from the front:



A close-up on a very thin pipe that I made out of wire:



And a view from the side:



I'm not sure what those 2 I-beams on top of the prototype tank are for, but I modelled them anyway.

cheers
Val

[iis612]

Being as how I am a misanthropist in real life, I am running out of compliments.
It's amazing where people find beauty. That benzol plant is a true work of art.

Matt

[tetters]