The RS Coincidence (or is it a Curse?)

[Red Two]

I've noted that many vehicles here seem to die at inopportune times or are killed outright.

Back in the summer of 2001, I spent a few weeks painting my Corsica. After getting the base panels and all good, I went to a buddies, parked, crossed the street, about to knock on the door, and BAM! I turn, and there's another car crashed and smoking inside mine.

(New link added)
roadsquadron.proboards41.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=news&thread=161&page=1

Result: Twisted frame, shattered axle, mangled rear quarter. Totaled.

Last tuesday, my Valkyrie and I were hit in a head-on collision with a Toyota Minivan-sized asteroid. Three days previous, I had just put the last touches on the bulk of the painting with only very minor logo work to finish her off.

Result: Offset steering column, smashed fork, twisted handlebars and every panel cracked and smashed. Totaled.

www.twinlitworlds.com/vf1a/html/index.html
(Reference 'Phase 3' for full pix)

What gives?

[Darth Marmalade]

Nooooo!

Aw, man, that's terrible! Are you all right?

And, yeah, what's up with the accidents? My old Cavalier (pictures on the Road Squadron Yahoo Group) wasn't totaled right away, but the beginning of its end came with a dramatic collision. Likewise Meerkat Six was struck while parked at a motel outside Indianapolis on the first day of Celebration II, less than a month after I'd painted the big Rebel insignia on the hood. It bears that battle damage to this day.

You'd think people could see us better. Maybe that's the problem.

Again, I hope you're okay, both physically and psychologically -- it's got to be quite a shock seeing your work destroyed like that.

Edit: I just looked at the pictures, and I hope you're recovering from your injuries. Wow -- it looks bad, but also like it could have been a lot worse.

[Red Two]

Thanks for the good words.

If it was just the panels, I was prepared to bondo them back into shape and keep the look, because you simply can't get damage like that without actually getting 'damage like that'. But once the shop said words like 'steering column', 'fork', 'suspension' that was basically all she wrote.

Apart from the stitches, I'm fine. Still got another week of those and I can now bend my knee some. Fortunately for me the 'asteroid' admitted to the police that he wasn't looking at all (waving a 'thank you' to the other space lanes for letting him through), he failed to yield the right-of-way (he was exiting a 'private driveway' -the actual infraction and 'cause') and it was a business parking lot he was cutting through to skip the traffic that he should have encountered were he being legal in the first place.

'Watch out for asteroids', as someone's thread states, indeed!

It figures that as soon as I'm about finished that something like this would happen. I'll know in another week or so how ugly this situation is really going to get now that he's invoked his insurance instead of the out-of-pocket option he was initially floating.

Could have been far worse, yes. Any landing you can walk away from is a good one (even though I was eventually carted off in an ambulance).

Ah well, the new YF-19 mecha are d**n good looking (this post automatically censors 'd**n'?), but I'll have to pay this loan off and see my next vehicle before I start dreaming about its' eventual paint job.

Maybe it'll be the X-Ray Delta 1 itself. I can make a 'HAL is my co-pilot' sticker or something like that. Cali LicPlate: HALCOPLT? OHH-HAL?

So, I guess for now I'll retire to the Judland Wastes in contemplation with my now honorary RS membership and the posthumous Valkyrie -until I've got some new wheels at least. I'll still look in on everyone though.

MtFbwY'all

[hanchwy]

I am trully sorry for your accident. I fear that happening to me all the time. That is why I try not to take her out to often, but that is not happening right now until we get our other car in for transmission work .Our truck got broken into the other day at a park and ride, and now we need to fix that, too. Whoever broke into our truck, also stole the Yoda dashboard driver that was in there. Is nothing sacred? I am very glad to hear you are OK and on the mend.

[Red Two]

Thanks for the good words! I got all the stitches out yesterday at last. But it will still be another month before I can walk normally again. The insurance stuff should be finalized this week or so.

Like I said, if it was the panels, I would have bondo'd them back and continued on my way. The smashed look was phenomenal!!! I was utterly psyched cos the collision cracked things up in such a way as I had only seen in my initial dreams. But, it's not for everyone. And I don't recommend picking a fight with an asteroid. Everyone loses!

That sucks you got broken into, freakin' jerks! I had been worried someone would swipe my bike, but figured the more custom I painted it, the less likely it would get nabbed. Afterall, what random thief would want a Valkyrie? There's no resale value. Lots of thieves might want a Yoda though.

Also, every single day for about a month someone was messing with my mirrors. The first time, I didn't notice until I was on the highway and going for a lane change. I was nearly killed. I eventually glued the minor mirrors into place and whoever it was, (probably the neighbor kids) stopped. But during this month, I was trying to figure out a camera rig for my bike. I didn't get to the point of researching specific products, but what I came up with was this:

Several wireless 'webcams', set to motion sensor mode and linked to my desktop or future laptop (harddrive recorder) stored in the trunk while I was parked. I would have glued the cams down and placed them as unobtrusively as possible so that it would be too late for the initial miscreant to hide themselves from detection...

Not a super solution, but for maybe a couple hundred bucks, a generally reliable idea. A fwd and rear cam to capture cool driving footage and, in case of accidents, document what happened. A driver cam or two to capture the pilot seat area, and one or two others to be determined. I think it would work and is great additional personal 'insurance'. The real trick would be in syncing them up and recording all at once.

[Obi-Shawn]

Ugh! My condolences on your loss, and glad things are looking up for you. The stitches might just have hurt less than the loss of your vehicle- I can truly sympathize, after totaling my H-Wing.

I get 'dinged' all the time- just this year I have been rear-ended 4 times by people not paying attention. How do they miss brake lights, not to mention an R2-D2, in front of them?

I'm sorry I didn't get to see your Valkyrie in person, especially since we're so close- I'm in Westchester/Playa. You'd done a truly beautiful job. I look forward to seeing a future project- the Discovery idea sounds great! I just recorded a bunch of Hal 9000 voices for someone, so if you want any custom sounds for the car, just ask!

I had a bike that I totaled before the H-Wing... I got into a wreck and tore my nose off.They stitched it back on, but the H-Wing is my consolation prize from my wife for giving up bikes.

This was mine, with a Star Trek Next Generation theme:

[Red Two]

Never once did I feel the kind of pain you might expect from the injury. Sore, heck yeah, it'll be weeks before I'm feeling normal. I've got just about got full range of motion back to my leg. Every day a little better. Would love to have kept the bike and it's new battle-damaged look, but it wasn't practical at all.

You kind of once saw her actually... Back in March/April when Compusa was closing down on Jefferson, you and the HWing were pulling out of the parking lot around 8pm as I exited the store, I caught up to and passed, you west bound, but the bike was just white and gold at that point, no logos or anything to suggest the next gestation phase. I gave a thumbs as I pulled up to you, (I think you were on the comm link) then I kicked the afterburners in and flew.

The HWing is really nice. Seriously great job on that. (And what a consolation prize!!! -not that nearly losing a nose isn't worth it! I'm glad for the helmet laws these days -now if I could just wear the rest of my armor like I should every single time!!!)

I first thought of your fighter as an A-Wing, but I see the H-Wing now. The extra lighting I saw that night in the parking lot was great too! The blasters on the side are magnificent! I'm hoping you'll throw a mini-tutorial up here on the electrical work! I was contemplating it for the VF-1A, but was concerned about weather, short-circuits, blown fuses and so on. I've done minor electrical work for models, but am not competent enough to know what to look for in this circumstance. It's a different league entirely.

I'll know soon about my next loan, another Burgman. Suzuki re-engineered the bike from top-down this year and it is significantly better in every way than the '06 (a maintenence nightmare!). I could be rolling again as early as wednesday morning. After that, it's into concept design, I don't like the plain gray at all. The new paneling suggests torpedo tubes along the side, but we'll see about that. I wouldn't paint it for awhile yet . Gotta get comfortable with the new design first.