unclescott58

Red lines!? I love red line tires. Have not seen a good set of 1/25th scale tires in a kit since the late 1960's. I too hope these become available in a separate parts pack to the near future. I've had very poor luck with the red line decals in the Revell kits. And I'm planning on building another '67 Revell Corvette in the near future. I need a set of red lines for that and several other car of that era. Oh, and Rob Hall, real red lines in the late 60's were always very narrow. Much narrower that white walls found on cars of the time. Now I haven't seen the resin tires you have. But they maybe correct. Scott

I still love the old AMT '57 Thunderbird kit. I've always found it easy to build, and looks good when it's done. I've build several over the years. First one back in the late 1960's. By the way Mr. Haihwood, the "Vegas" 57 is just AMT's old kit with a TV tie in box. Some minor changes have been made to the kit over the years. Some parts taken out. Some put back in, depending on the reissue. I remember buying the first issue of the Monogram '56 in the mid to late 70's. This was the version with the metal body. A couple of years later, I believe by 1979, I bought the second issue. But now the body was plastic. Exact same kit. Just metal vs. plastic body. I like the plastic body better. I also have the American Graffiti version. I forgot that that was issued by Ertl? It reminded me a lot of the Monogram kit. So now I'm wondering what scale it is in? I do know the Ertl American Graffiti T-Bird is a '56, just like the real car in the movie. As far as the '55 kit Mr. Haihwood put a link to. That is the old AMT promo offered in kit form back in the day. It was in 1/25th scale. The only '55 T-Bird I know of ever offered in that scale. I can only assume that back in the day, AMT upgraded the tooling for the car to a '56 for 1956. Then to the '57 for '57. It was a curbside model with no engine. AMT also did both the '55 and '57 Thunderbirds in 1/16th scale back in the 70's. The '57 was basically nothing more than their 1/25 scale kit in a larger scale. Really no better detail, despite the larger scale. Though you did get opening doors and crude looking spark plug wires. Bought one once. I liked the 1/25 scale version better. Their 1/16 scale '55 was identical to the '57 other than it being a '55. One thing I do remember liking in that kit was the option of '55 Mercury station wagon taillights. Despite that, I built mine with the stock taillights. AMT's and Monogram's T-Birds are both fine kits. They have satisfied my needs for a '56 and a '57 Thunderbird in those scales. The one I'd love to see done in 1/25th scale is the '55. I wasn't around in 1955 to buy the one offered then. Scott

OK John, I have to ask. I love the color. So what color is it? What paint did you use? Scott

I hope this doesn't stay on the back burner to long. I'm curious to see how this turn out. Scott

Looking really cool. Just got the AMT 3-in-1 boat in the last few days off of eBay. Going to build mine as the stock runabout. I'm glad Ira asked about the paint you used. Always a question I have. The Reving Red, does that have metal flake in it, of is that just the way the light is reflecting off of it? And what brand of paint did you use? And the last question? What was the deal with Walking Dead reference in your earlier post? I got the impression from a couple of the responses that may be some kind of joke? Sorry to say, I'm sometimes not quickest wit when it comes to understanding some jokes. Was this a joke? And if so, what did you mean? Scott

That's right! Barbara Bach was the the gal from the Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. In my opinion Barbara was not as hot as Cathrine was. But, still..... Not bad. That brings up a point. The heck with the General Lee or the Bandit. Give me what ever Bond, Jame Bond is driving. Most of the cars he's driven over the years are cool, and he always got the girl besides! Scott

I'm with Mike on this one. Girl vs male cousin, brother, what ever. I'll take Sally Fields over Bo or Luke any day as a riding partner. Better yet give me Daisy Duke. Bo and Luke maybe related to her, but I'm not! Put a young Barbra Bach in my car any day. Or better yet, her and I in her Road Runner. Yeh.... Sorry about that. I can't help myself. Scott

Dale you got an "!" ? Sounds exciting! Scott

For me, Castrol Super Clean has worked the best. I used Easy Off oven cleaner for years with fairly good results. But, then other members of our local model car club told me about Castrol Super Clean. I'll never go back to Easy Off again after trying the Castrol. I've tried other automotive cleaners that salesmen at auto part stores have told me are the same as the Castrol. But, in the few cases I've tried the other brands, I've had no luck what so ever. In fact, the Easy Off worked better. So I'm very specific that I only buy the Castrol Super Cleaner now. Because that's the only one I found that really works. Scott

OK, beating a dead horse part 2. I did some research on AMT's '66 Skylark kits. The original and Modified Stocker. Those kits represent a Skylark GS. And the Skylark GS came with Buick's falsely advertised 400 cu. in. engine. The engine was really a 401. But, GM didn't allow engines over 400 cubes in their intermediate size cars until 1967. Buick's was close enough, as long as they advertised it as a 400. And guess what? The 400 ( a.k.a. 401) is a nailhead motor. So again, that with not work. Both the regular AMT '66 Skylark kit with engine, and the '66 Skylark Modified Stocker came with an obvious nailhead motor. So sorry to say, these will not work either. And the AMT Craftsman '66 Skylark was a GS model too. But, with no motor. Curbside only. As Mr. Brame pointed out, the closest engine maybe Jo-Han's Olds F-85 215 cu. in. V8. The block of the of the real engine was the same as, and developed by Buick for their '61 Special/Skylark line of cars. The Oldsmobile engine had different heads though. The basic architecture of that engine was used to develop Buick's first V6, and the family of Buick 300 - 340 - 350 V8 engines. The 215 was cast in aluminum. The others in cast iron. The aluminum V8 was sold to the British in 1964, and power things like Range Rovers until Ford bought that company. The Buick V6 went to Kaiser Jeep in the late 1960's. Which was then purchased by AMC. AMC switched Jeeps over to their own straight six. Putting the V6 into mothballs. Until Buick bought the tooling back after the first gas crisis in the mid-70's. This engine evolved into Buick's bulletproof 3800 that stuck around until the mid-2000s. A long way to bring home a point. The AMT Skylark motor will not work in this kit either. Scott P.S. The '67 Skylark GS 400s were power by a new, and true 400 cubic inch V8. This engine was part of the Buick 430 - 455 family of engines. Similar, but not exactly the same as the Buick 300 - 340 - 350 family of engines.

Very nice. I especially like the '32 Ford. Scott

Thanks for info Austin. And very, very nice Ford you've built there. Scott

Not to beat a dead horse here. But, belonging to and being active in the Buick Club of America, I've had the privilege of meeting a man by the name of Danny Manner several times. Mr. Manner is very interesting in several ways. 1. The new '66 Riviera kit from a few years back was modeled on his personal 1966 Buick Riviera. In fact the photograph on the box was of his actual car. 2. Is why Mr. Manner owns that particular 1966 Riviera. Denny work as an engine engineer for Buick for many years, starting in the early 1960's. And his favorite project he worked on at Buick, was developing the dual four barrel setup for the 425 nailhead. He claims they first tried supercharging the nailhead, but the transmissions wouldn't take it. So they went with the dual fours instead. When it came time for Denny to retire he wanted a car with that engine in it. He found a '66 Riv with that factory setup. Hence why the model kit of same has a 425 nailhead in it with dual four barrels. I started this by saying I didn't want to beat a dead horse. But in this case, on engines in '66 Rivs, real or scale, I kind of got the info right from horses mouth you might say. No offense meant to Denny Manner. Scott

By the way, can somebody tell me, is Tamiya paint lacquer? And how does Tamiya paint work under Testors' lacquer when doing two-tone paint jobs? Scott

Ah, Mike you suggested using a engine from '66 Riv kit. The '66 Riv engine in real life, and in the kit is a nailhead 425. I'm just pointing out that the '66 Riv you suggested would not be right. So am I right or wrong? Did I misunderstand you? I don't know. But I hope it's OK. Danno thinks quite highly of you. From Danno's posts I think quite highly of him. So if Danno thinks your OK, I'm sure you are. I'm just questioning the suggestion of the '66 Riv engine. No offense was meant. Scott

Nice to see one of these built. The last time I saw a Jo-Han ambulance built was back in 1972. Seen a hearse or two since then. But no ambulances. Cool to see one again. Scott

Very nice. Very early '60s. Very cool! Scott

Yes it's crude compared to today's kits. But, one can still have some fun with it. The old AMT kits still go together quite well, and turn pretty good when they are done. Unlike other kits tooled up in the 60's. You want to see crude? Look at old Pamler, Premier, and some of the Pyro kits from the same time. The old AMTs are light years ahead of those. Take another look at your '32. You might be surprised what you can do with it. Some very nice models have been built over the years, using that kit. Scott

Why would question if this is a valid model to build? AMT's old '32 is this great kit for what it is. I just paint the flathead for that exact same kit yesterday. The Revell '32 5W is a much better kit in many ways. But comparing AMT's old '32 to Revell's newer '32, is like comparing vanilla ice cream to chocolate. I like them both. But sometimes I want one over the other. And at other times I like twist cones. If you get my message there. Just build the kit the way you like and have fun doing it. Scott

Hate to disagree with you Danno. And I think this is first time I ever have? But, Buick's 340 is totally different engine from Buick's 425 nailhead. The nailhead has a look all of it's own. Hard to mistake from any other engine, even in 1/25th scale. Buick's 300 - 340 - 350, and later 430 and 455 are more conventional looking engines. So in this case Danno, I don't agree with you, Mike Cassidy is not right on this one. Sorry. Scott

Very nice. Like others I like the color combo. Scott

Buick's 430 was introduced in 1967. So it's very doubtful that would have been the engine used. And Buick never offered a "440" as stated on the link to model, above. My guess is that Mike Cassidy hit the nail on the head. Scott

I'd love to see a picture of the stand. Anybody out there still have one? Scott

All nice looking models. You should be pleased and proud. Scott

Gary, your from North Carolina? This looks more like something we would have seen up here in the rust belt. I saw a lot of real cars in my day that looked like that. Early 70's Japanese cars, like your Datsun, rusted out very quickly here in Minnesota. My Dad bought a new Toyota Hi-Lux pickup truck in Feb. 1971. Five years later, my sister put her foot though the floor pushing on the accelerator pedal. My Dad loved that truck. It was very good truck, other than the quick rust out. Your model scares me. Your model is that good. It brings back a lot of bad memories of cars I and others drove as winter beaters in the past. Thankfully those days are past. By the way, I love the extra tranny in the trunk. More bad memories! So I guess you did a great job. Scott