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Nice job grafting the front end on there, this turned out nice.

I think you achieved the look you were going for, good save on that old kit!

Look at this beauty. Exactly what I was going for, right 😉

Nice!

There are no good images of the real cars running gear from the underside, that I can find at least. When you search, you get mixed up with replicas and tributes that didn’t replicate things exactly…understandably Pinning in some rails with brass and the A frame ‘wishbone’ will be polished aluminum. Plan to bend that metal A a bit more as needed to make room for engine and transmission

After looking at this kit sit on my shelf for the past 30 years or more. I think it's time has come to do something with it. I'm leaning heavily towards a stock box build. The more commonly called 'KISS' method. (Keep it simple stupid.) But....i have the resin sixpack hood and a rat roaster intake to go MP car. Problem is I'm not sure i want to go another more detailed build with better chassis etc etc etc. Might come down to how well the paint on the resin hood turns out I'm plan to use aftermarket decals either way. Odds the kits decals are any good...is unlikely An issue to deal with is, there is not a lot of info / pictures out there on this particular car So far I, pretty certain there were actually 2 SM birds Both hemi 4spds, with white interior no console in either. The SS/E car had a blue painted roof , the MP car was stock black vinyl top Neither car had the Bird specific scoops on the fenders m WHY, I've no idea. Decisions decisions

Very nice!

Very nice.

Nice!

Welcome Michel

Nice.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BL37KRRD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Very nice.

Nice.

@kelson Yes, and I heard it's great for converting the Pro Stock Lincoln Mark VII LSC into showroom stock which is something I want to do one day.

Nascar Tbird for sure!! Had to splice two 66 chassis together. A 68-72 Grand Prix rode a 118 wheelbase. While a Monte rode a 116 and the rest of the two doors rode a 112 wheelbase.

Nice.

Thank you everyone for the compliment! Much appreciated!

Cute little gadget. Like the color choice and the wheel swap really made this model. There is quite a bit of satisfaction in one of these quick builds. Good job and thanks for sharing.

Thank you everyone for the compliment! Much appreciated!

Background: It's summer so it felt like the right time to tackle another open-top car - this time Fujimi's Fiat Barchetta, a simple kit for a simple car with a nice line in Italian flair and style. Shame it's front wheel drive. I've seen a few examples built on the internet but it's relative obscurity as both a car and a kit also appealed to me. Pros: Looks correct to the real thing. Easy to put together and little cleanup required beyond a few seam lines. Comes with both a soft-top and a hard-top roof, along with the default option of open-top. The interior has been designed to make painting the bodywork-colour parts somewhat easier. Cons: The in-box wheels are about the most boring choice from all the wheels the real car ever came with. The dashboard is a little flat compared to the real thing and the chassis is somewhat simple, with only a few parts. No engine, typical for kits from Fujimi (and others). Windscreen fit isn't perfect. Verdict: If ever a kit proved that simple is not necessarily bad, this is it. Despite a low parts count it has exactly everything it needs to easily build a very nice reproduction of a Fiat Barchetta. Build notes: Built over one week in June 2025. Painted with Halfords M3-680 paint (memorable name eh?) and clear coated with Mr Hobby Premium Top Coat Gloss. I swapped the kit wheels for those from a Fujimi Toyota Altezza which fitted perfectly with no alterations needed, added some seatbelts, retainers and interior carpets, and used Italian number plates from a Revell kit. Also included in the kit but not in my photos is another transparent part, the wind breaker behind the driver and passenger. I felt it spoiled the lines when the roof is down.

Its a shame, too, because the window on the AMT is better. The Revell window has these weird cloudy parts, not sure how I'm going to address that. Maybe sand it down and polish it?

I've seen the flipped front axle (SOA to SUA) on some 1:1 Effies, and while you can do it, it can lead to some clearance and handling issues. A lot of F100 owners will get new leafs for the front end that 1) lower the ride height and 2) center the wheel in the fender. Some go with a dropped axle or a dropped axle with new springs. But in general, these trucks are relatively easy to lower without a ton of mods and still ride decently. On the kit, it's much easier to flip the axle then it is to do anything else. I'd say your build has got a stance that would be totally workable on a real '53. And yes, that radiator is from the original, lime green issue of the Revell Malibu SS Pro Street "Max Rat" kit.

Mike, you are right about the AMT body, readily available, and inexpensive. I tried that one too, but unfortunately, its a bit too narrow at the top. I took a couple pictures of it. A guy could probably narrow the yellow roof and taper it down to the gray, and maybe add a sliver of plastic to widen the back part, but it was more work than the purple one. The purple one was also too narrow, due to the scale difference, but not as much.