ToyLvr

A few years ago my local model car club was having an internal contest for Model T Fords, based on the reissued AMT'25 T kit. I originally planned to build a nice T-Bucket, but my kit contained a badly deformed roadster body. Decided to build a junker out of it. Engine came from the AMT '51 Chevy, just to be a bit different.

Here's a couple of quick snapshots of an original AMT'61 Bonneville in my collection. This was built by my older brother back in the day (amazing that it has survived this long). This may give you some small idea of how they compare - see Tim Boyd's post on the subject and his link to photos of the Moebius test shots.

Time for an intervention here..... Steve, put the glue away and go outside into the fresh air and sunshine for a while. ;-) (then please finish that awesome truck!)

She's real fine....

How about a Corvair "Crampside" pickup?

I spotted the Tesla at a strip mall in suburban Cincinnati.....

Saw this bit of modern technology in a local shopping center parking lot.

"He who seeks to make a small fortune selling model kits should first start with a large fortune." :-) Yup, I've often wondered how many of these "speculators" or "hoarders" lost lots of $$$ when Round 2 decided to repop certain kits, and it no longer became necessary to spend $100+ on a rare original. Still, if opportunity presents itself, I'd rather have an original made from good ol' USA styrene than one of the repops with Chinese plastic. I *do* want to build the kits that I buy, and I find it a lot easier to work with an original kit with little flash and original styrene, so I'm often willing to pay a little bit more if that's what it takes. Also, I've gone the "rebuilder" route before, buying up glue-bombs to restore, and I found that I don't enjoy the "restoration" process half as much as just plain building a nice kit that hasn't been tampered with.

Far out!

Dave: Super job on this one! In fact, you're really on a roll with this bunch of beauties that you've posted. The Predicta is one of my all-time favorites, both the 1:1 and the kit, and it's great to see it rendered so well in your build up.

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Yes, it did. I have both kits, and I think Budd "the Kat" Anderson at MPC probably took that turntable design with him when he left AMT for MPC. The AMT "Car Craft Dream Rod" kit dates back to 1964, IIRC.

The revolving base is basically the same as used in MPC's "Tiger Shark" kit. It has a rubber band in it, and you wind it up. For lack of a better explanation, it's sorta like winding the propeller on a balsa wood model airplane.....

'62 Corvair Monza Coupe, 102HP, 3-speed manual, lots of flow-thru ventilation. Purchased in 1974 just before my 16th birthday for $100. Over 40 years later, I'm still driving Corvairs, and alive to tell about it!

Not too long ago, I used a can of Testors emerald green metallic enamel that was at least 20 years old, and it worked just fine. Like Tulio mentioned, it's some of their more recent stuff that I've had trouble with!

Acting on a recent tip that was posted here on the Forum, I started searching for a set of 13" tires from the recently reissued "Ohio George" Falcon Ranchero kit. Got a set for free from a local model club member, as he was going to put bigger wheels on his Ranchero. I compared them to what was in one of my original Corvair kits. They look great and fit just fine. So, unless your dead-set on obtaining the resin tires from Modelhaus, the Ranchero tires might be a good alternative.

A few years ago I contacted the museum to order a copy of Starbird's autobiography (authored by his grandson). A nice lady answered the phone, and took down all of my information for the order. As we were wrapping up, she asked if I would like to have the book autographed. I replied "of course, if you happen to see Mr. Starbird, and it's not too much trouble." She responded that it would be no problem, as she had seen him practically everyday for the last 54 years. it was only then that I realized that I had been talking to Mrs. Starbird all that time! In addition to the Mark Gustafson info that Casey mentioned, I highly recommend the Starbird autobiography to all of you who are fans of his work. Lots of great stories and photos.....

X3 What a trip down memory lane, Andy & Steve. I had a 1:1 '70 model "J" 455 in the late 70s when I was in college. Great car, except that the 455 had a tendency to eat harmonic balancers. I later sold it when I got married, as it was not exactly a fuel efficient family car. Wish I had kept it....

Yup; another winner from the corporation that brought us the Pontiac "Aztec".....

We live in a "disposable society" where there is so much waste. I'm not a bit surprised to hear this story about a decent kit winding up in the dump. Anyway, yeah, I'd take a shot at it if I were in the position to search the dump. In years past I have done searches in the next closest thing - my community Yardsale! ;-)

Outrageous! Love it!

Or if they were in a museum that just so happened to develop a sink hole in the floor.......

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Used to LOVE watching the "Jetsons" when I was a kid, especially George's "car". Also, my Dad would take me to car shows, and I would see bubble-top cars like "Predicta", "Futurista", the Batmobile, etc. Fully expected to be riding around in one of those once I reached adulthood (notice that I didn't say driving - expected the car to be fully automated and drive itself). Instead, we have mostly the same old boring cars these days, unless you can afford a Bugatti Veyron....