unclescott58

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

Very nice! But you know it's not a Chevy? Right? '67 Mercury 390 V8s were painted Ford Blue. Being that your "handle/nickname" here is "Hard 2 Handle 454", I thought you might be getting a little mixed up on that. Other than that it looks good. Scott

Just about any model painted with Testors' enamel paint in the last 30 or so years has been a disaster for me. I took a lot of ribbing, and a lot of advice from different members in my local model car club (Model Car Club of MN). No matter what I did, most of my paint jobs ended up with orange peel. Club members were joking about giving me the nickname of "Sunkist"! I tried everything! Nothing seemed to help. Other than using a food dehydrator. That help a bit. Finally I decided to quit being cheap, and started buying Tamiya paint. It cost more, but you know what they say, "you get what you pay for". So far my models using Tamiya paint are turning out great. And not to put down Testors completely, I've had pretty good luck with their One Coat Lacquers. For somethings like chassis and engines I'll still use Testors' enamel. But never again for the main body of a car or truck! Scott P.S. Now you know why I ask a lot questions about others paint jobs.

I agree! I'm always interested in finding out more about the history and shared toolings of AMT, MPC, and Jo-Han. Plus, wasn't Bud "the Cat" Anderson involved in someway with creation of IMC? And what ever happen to IMC? When did they close shop and sell their tools? Did their stuff first go to Testors or Lindberg? Or someone else in between? Back to the Tiger Shark. What was the rotating stand that came with this kit like? How did it work? And how well? And it reissued with later reissues of the kit itself? One last thing. Where does the Hot Wheels Python fit into this story? Scott

Chevrolet's Frost Blue is what looks good to me. That's why I'm asking. Dave Isle's suggestion is much more helpful. The next time I go to Hub Hobby or Scale Model Supply, I'll pick up a can of Testors Icy Blue. Being that it part of their One Coat Lacquer line it should work out OK. For painting White coves, I'll have to use a lacquer paint for that too. Does anybody know, are Tamiya paints a lacquer or an enamel? And how do they react to Testors One Coat Lacquers? Scott

The Frost Blue is color I'm thinking of. Does Tamiya or Testors make a color that's close? Tamiya's Light Blue Metallic, TS-54 is too dark. So that will not work. Any other suggestions? Scott

I'm still not totally understanding this. Can you guys explain in more detail about this. Why would I use this rather than something like Solvaset or some other commercial brand of decal setting solution? And I too remember reading or hearing something about this back in the early 1970's. Scott

All I know is I loved the old Revell '57 Nomad. Maybe not the kit itself. But, the subject. I would love to see a modern tooling of that kit. I know people say it's been done before, and there are other variations of tri-five Chevrolets that need to be done. But it would be sweet to have a nice looking, fairly easy to build '57 Nomad just once. Scott

Hi guys! Just picked up Revell's '58 Corvette on Saturday. My first impression after opening the box? Very positive! I like what I found. Started doing minor subassembly and test fitting of different parts. So far everything looks great. I like this kit a lot! Now the question. What color to paint this kit? I love blue. But, I do not like the blue color Chevrolet offered on the '58 Corvettes. I've seen pictures of '59 and '60 Corvettes in much more prettier shade of blue. Any ideas on matching this shade of blue using rattle cans? Doesn't have to be prefect. After all it wouldn't be correct on a '58 anyhow. Just want something close. Scott

By the way Brian, what color did you paint your kit? It matches the box art perfectly. Scott