'70 Grande

Lovely... simply lovely!

Really like this build! The first thing I truly noticed was that the cab fits-right on the frame, (not reaching for the sky like most builds of these kits look like). What did you do to modify the cab's fit and drop it down so well?

Espo- I think you might be right!

My first thought was that it has the cab-roofline and front fender lines of a mid-1960's International Harvestor pickup, but my memory tells me that those IH's were much larger in overall size than the truck in your pic appears to be. Maybe some forum members will be able to identify it!

What is that multi-colored pickup, (next to the 1962 Red Corvette), in the 3rd-to-last pic?

Stunning... simply stunning!

That Revell 1970 kit is another of my Holy Grail kits as I owned a 1:1 '70 Grande, (hence, my forum ID). Thank's for adding those pics!

Fantastic build; looking forward to seeing the finished build! Really appreciate all the pointers you provided in this post; very helpful!

Post some more pics of that built-up Red convertible! That is a rarely seen kit and I don't think I've EVER seen a built one and I've been in this hobby over 50 years!

Looks really, really good! The hood scoop change is very well done! Looks like you got all the stray grass and weeds pulled outta those sidewalk cracks and now your pics could easily be mistaken for a 1:1! To my eye, that is the ultimate compliment for any model car build and you've accomplished that!

This has been my #1 Holy Grail kit since the mid-1990's. Prices are just plain out of my budget. The story that I heard in the early-2000's was that AMT/Ertl was evaluating all of their model car kit tooling buried in a warehouse somewhere in the US, and knowing that there was consumer-interest in this kit being reissued in its stock form, they were pleasantly surprised to find tooling with "71 Cyclone Spoiler" lettering handwritten on the outer-surfaces of the tooling they found. The tooling looked to be in good condition and ready-to-go, so they ran a test-shot and poured some liquid-styrene into that mold. Problem was, what came out of that mold was the MPC Hemi Dart! Well, that kit was also on the "consumer-wants" list, so that's what got reissued! I don't know if that story is true or not; I just remember that it dashed my hopes!

X2!

Excellent build! I always chuckle about that 1:1 story; so many racers with so many unique personalities!

I've been on-the-fence about whether I wanted to purchase this kit or not, but based on your excellent looking build of it, I now think I will! I was letting the kit-supplied tires be one of the main reasons for my hesitancy, and your tire-selection takes that concern away. I also was hesitant because I had never seen the built-underside of this kit, and yours looks awesome there as well! Nice job!

Your paintwork is outstanding on this build! I wonder exactly-what the metal plate underneath (just beyond the engine), is supposed to represent? I realize it's probably a reinforcement feature but just seems a bit unusual to my eye... like one of those details added by the kit manufacturer just to add some visual-interest to a rather plain-looking area. Looking forward to seeing this build up on its wheels!

Found in my library of "Automobile Quarterly" reference books is a wonderful article written about the artists that created some of these hood ornament masterpieces and the story behind what inspired them. The "beautiful, young and soaring woman" provided many of those stories, and for the same inspirational reasons, (lost-love, passionate trysts, etc), that anyone might imagine.

Both R/H/D and L/H/D dashboards; excellent news! Is this kit in 1/24 or 1/25 scale, (or something else)?

I expect 90%+ of the 1:1 versions were built as right-hand-drive, but the box artwork makes it look as tho this kit will be left-hand-drive. Can anyone confirm this?

A beautiful build! That engine is a work-of-art!

Excellent build! Your paintwork is outstanding! Many times, a minor addition on a build can add alot to the overall look; I think this is the case with the nice little cowl pinstriping you added to this build; it's like icing-on-the-cake! Great job!

I think its time I entered the "Bring Out Your Dead" effort to get this project completed! This one has been at this stage-of-completion for nearly 5 years. Yes, it's the old, often-disliked 1/25 MPC 1967 Pontiac GTO kit. I did some improvements to make my build more accurate to the 1:1, but didn't get too serious about all the needed revisions. Building it as a Day-2 car with some minor performance enhancements added to the engine and exhaust. The interior is completed and flocked; the body painted in a color similar to 1967 Pontiac Fathom Blue. This kit was molded in that Dark Blue styrene, so I didn't mess with primer; just painted it a Dark Blue like Fathom Blue. I also altered the body to make it a non-hardtop/2-door sedan by adding in window frames. The reason this build stopped 5 years ago was the kit's glass; molded in that crazy-Dark Brown color that would end-up hiding nearly everything in the interior. I wanted to replace it with clear glass, but that's where it stalled. Here's a couple of pics.

Very nice build! With the high-expectations that were in the model car world when this kit was released, I honestly thought we'd have seen more completed build-ups of it posted by now. Yours has a fantastic color-scheme and the vinyl roof application is extremely well done! Maybe this post will inspire more posts of this kit! Nice job!

Really nice build of this "been-around-forever" kit! The '68 Shelby GT500 is at the top of my all-time-favorite 1:1 car list, and in that great Blue color as well! I've got one just like your build in-progress; this post will motivate me to pull it out and finish it up! I'm curious if you know what particular Revell kit those great-looking wheel covers came from?

Great-looking build! Not only is the subject-matter unusual but so is the color treatment, which is excellent! In my hometown there was an old farmer that collected 1:1 early-1950's Kaisers; he had about 20 or 25 of them in various states of disrepair parked all around his farmhouse back in the 1970's. They came in a variety of unusual colors; not certain why, but the local kid's called it the "Bubble-car" collection. I think only one of the collection was driveable and I remember seeing that old farmer driving it around occasionally. It was a Dark Green color with a Pale Green roof. Thanks for bringing back that memory!

Stunning... simply stunning!