Terry Jessee

This is mostly out of the box but with some aftermarket Cragars and Firestones.

Wow. That would have been a treasure.

This was just out of the box with a little weathering. "The Mummy" is one of my favorite movies. There's an in-progress shot with an AMT Ram promo to give you an idea of relative size.

AFV Club M54A2. And no.

Yes. AFV Club.

Posted some pics of this earlier, but here's where it's gotten to. Big pieces are all together now--just some windshield pieces and small bits to add. From here I'll start the gun box, which is scratch built. But it's mostly flat shapes so should be fairly straightforward. The box is slightly more complicated than just a single wall box, but that's part of the fun. I'm into this about 300 parts so far. These kits are way over-engineered and don't fit all that well. But this is an interesting project, nonetheless. As I've searched for reference photos, I've discovered that there were at least five different versions of this truck. Mine won't be 100% accurate to any particular version. I'll combine features I like, I guess.

This is a fun, simple kit. The only tough part was getting the driver's hands on the steering wheel and shifter. I had to stick him in the seat first, then attach his arms. I also added some better jerry cans and a few other small details.

Meng released their F-350 King Ranch pickup in both 1/24 and 1/35 scale. This is the 1/35 version. I found photos online of some of the trucks that were used by Iraqi insurgents, and the F-350 figures prominently. One in particular looked pretty interesting as a model project and most of the parts were available in that scale. The gun in the back is also from Meng. It's a Russian ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun. I liked the color scheme and had fun with that. Because the windows are small, the interior is hard to see, so I included a shot of that before I finished assembling the truck. That Chinese assault rifle is really tiny in 1/35 scale. There's a shot of that before I painted it. I've also included a couple of photos with other vehicles to give an idea of relative size. Hard to believe that an F-350 is as big as a WWII GMC 6X6.

On the original cars, only the left taillight had the "stop" lettering. It was black and the letters formed an arch around the top of the lenses. At the bottom was a small red circle that almost looks painted on. I knew that the taillight had the lettering but never found any good photos of it until recently. So I've left it. I'll do differently on the next one. Have a convertible to build yet.

This is a Modelhaus conversion kit for AMT's '57 Chevy. Has a complete ambulance interior with cabinets, oxygen tank, and a gurney (which you can't see because the windows are too small...😝).

Some progress. This kit is a challenge. I'm having problems with fit issues because tolerances are too tight in some places, meaning that there's a lot of file, fit, file, fit, sand, fit... That plus all the tiny, fragile parts already installed require very careful handling while you're trying to add new stuff. But it's moving.

That pickup has always been one of my favorite Boyd models. Good to see it again.

Mostly from the box. These are goofy, but they're fun.

Yes. You have to be careful with the transfer case. Everything seems to center on where that fits. I'd think it would be better to complete the rear axle assemblies, then use the drive shafts to place the transfer case because there's no definite mounting point, otherwise.

This is 1/35 scale 5-ton truck. At this point, the chassis assembly is more than 210 parts. I set the tires on it for a photo, but still have to finish painting those. The truck will be black, but the underside remains olive drab because I don't think people probably crawled underneath to paint the bottom black. So it's part olive drab, part black overspray.

Just built out of the box. I think the Chevy dog dish hubcaps were from Modelhaus.

I bought this model built to use for the MPC chapter in Hot Rod Model Kits. But it was poorly packed and had been returned to unassembled kit status by the time I got it. We wound up using a model from Barry Payne instead with photos by Bill Coulter. Later on I went back to this and rebuilt it. Paint's not all that great, but I decided not to mess with that.

These are both from a circa 1961 release of the AMT Double T kit. They're box mates. They were built for Hot Rod Model Kits. The coupe made both front and rear covers, but the stock pickup didn't make the cut. (MBI had only had budgeted for 85 photographs.)