Karl LaFong

Wow! Great job!

Yeah, that was my original intention - the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray!

WIP info can be found here: This represents a street stock that would have been run at some of the southeast PA/southern NJ dirt bullrings, places like Nazareth (R.I.P), Grandview (the kind of place where you got to watch fights AND racing), Bridgeport, and New Egypt. The decals are from the MPC pavement modifieds, and the Model King NASCAR kits. The license plate and dancing bear decals that were made by me. And, yes, this would represent a car before day one of racing!

Almost done! I did keep the stock dashboard, minus the ignition key. Color is Testor's Model Master Hugger Orange lacquer. I still need to cover up the "1970" in the rear bumper. The fresh from the salvage yard '69 Olds hood was painted with Testor's Model Master Nasseau Blue. It fit about as well as the resin '70 hood. A couple more details, some decals, and next stop is "Under Glass"

The engine is a bit of a mashup. While most of it is from the '69 442, I lost the water pump, so I pulled out something (Pontiac?) that sort of looked like an Olds pump. The valve covers are from the funny car parts bag - they were the closest things I could find to stock covers. I scratchbuilt the filler tube from Evergreen tubing and photoetch. I painted the engine Tamiya metallic blue, which to my eyes looked like the correct 1970 445 CI engine color. The distributer is a Replicas & Miniatures item; the engine was weathered with rust and oily black washes.

Two years ago I purchased a bag containing Jo-Han AMC, Ford, and Oldsmobile funny car parts at a model car show. With the exception of a hood and stock engine parts, most of a 1970 Olds 442 was included in the bag. Since the Jo-Han interior and chassis were promo style, I also purchased an AMT ’69 Hurst Olds at the show. The ’70 body was a bit rough: (The missing A pillar was in the bag): I soaked it in Purple Power and I was able to obtain a resin hood. I decided to go with a Baja/off road racer: But, for the life of me, I couldn’t get the resin hood to fit. After much shimming, sanding, and cursing, I threw the mess back in a box and gave up. A couple weeks ago, I found a spare ’69 Olds in my parts box. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it was perfect for an outlaw/hobby/enduro/Saturday night special stock car. I had gutted the interior for the original Baja build, so other than removing paint, it was ready to go. Since I wanted it to portray a non-442 car, I needed to modify the grill. I carefully Dremeled the grill and vents (intact vs. removed): I added brass mesh to the grill area and Evergreen sheet plastic for headlight and turn signal covers: The Jo-Han radiator was meh, so I added the fan shroud from the ’69 Olds: The wheels are from the MPC 1975 Corvette; tires are parts box items that look late-70ish. I sanded off the 442 badges and door handles and opened the side markers. When I was opening the right side marker, a chunk of the body broke off and disappeared into the rug. I cut a piece of Evergreen styrene, added some rivet decals, with the result being a quick sheet metal repair: More work tonight!

A shame it isn't the MPC Mustang II, the AMT chassis is kind of meh. Photo: 5 | AMT 1977 Ford Mustang ll #T487 album | DRASTIC PLASTICS MODEL CAR CLUB | Fotki.com, photo and video sharing made easy.

The Simeone museum in Philly is THE premier auto racing museum in the Philadelphia area. Located about 10-15 minutes from I-95; it's mind-blowing what cars are in this collection! Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum (simeonemuseum.org)

WOW!!!! Spot on! I've seen some contemporary Eastern dirt mods that are kind of ok, but yours is outstanding!

I got some color on the truck - for a change, it was exactly what I had in mind. The only downer is that there's a sag on the passenger side of the bed, so I'll be doing some sanding/painting later this evening. I tossed the Foose wheels; the decal "disc brakes" just looked like decals. In their place I used Pegasus Chrome T's (18", I think). I wanted big 'n littles, so I sliced a couple mm off the front wheels and used skinnier Revell tires. This kit is a hoot to assemble, so far no drama!

I got the engine painted and assembled. For my purposes, I like that the engine isn't stock, but it would nice to have the stock parts available. I also have most of the interior tub completed. The leopard skin decals are from Scale Motorsport, window cranks and door handle are Model Car Garage items.

... or what to do with the decals from the MPC "Tiki Trike". First off, I think AMT hit one out of the park with this one - so far assembly has been the most fun a man can have with his clothes on. In the original issues of the Ford and Chevy trucks, the decal sheet included a BIG sort-of-monster decal for the tonneau cover (in the words of most parents from that era. "That's disgusting!"). The decals from the Tiki Trike are very much in the spirit of that era, so I'm going for a 21st century interpretation. Wheels and tires are from the Revell Foose Pontiac Firebird; exterior color will be Tamiya's TS-41 Coral Blue. While it's not spelled out in the instructions, the front end can be lowered by glueing the axle block in upside down; the reat block includes holes for stock and lowered stance. Unfortunately, the front axle wire now needs to go through the engine, so I drilled a hole in engine block (shades of 1960!). The enigne was airbrushed with Testor's Ford engine red lacquer (R.I.P.), I'll need to touch up the hole.

The W.I.P. info can be found here: Finished it up today. Decals are from various Revell kits, the hood ornaments are Monogram '58 Thunderbird items, tires are new AMT, the rest are the parts that came with the kit.

The previous owner had painted several engine parts with silver enamel. These were stripped, and airbushed with Molotow chrome.

The weather cooperated and I was able to shoot some paint. The color is Testor's Purplie Metalflake over Tamiya Gloss Aluminum. As an aside, I wonder if the convertable version is still lurking in the AMT/Round2 archives. It was last issued as "The Bird of Paradise" in 1969 and hasn't seen the light of day since.

I picke up this 1960 Thunderbird at the M.A.M.A.s show several weeks ago. Surprisingly, it was intact, so I decided to do a periord custom, using only the parts that were in the kit, and to keep it simple - no body work, no engine wiring, no difficult two toning (K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple, Stupid). It had been brush painted with purple enamel. I sanded off the emblems, and let it soak in the purple pond for several days. Since the original builder had gone for a purple color scheme, I'll be following suit, but with a Gloss Aluminum top. The tires were shot, so I'll be using some modern AMT white walls. Here's where I am (so far):

Thanks to all for the kudos! This kit is the way to go if you want a hearse - you could buy 3 AMT ambulances for the cost of one 1966 Johan Cadillac hearse. I didn't go nuts on the interior - it still has the ambulance jump seats, and it should have casket rollers, but these would only be noticeable if you picked the model up and peered in the windows. When I was researching this, I discovered that there were many variations, including body style, body color, and hearse/ambulances. Yes, not all hearses are black!

The new AMT ambulance seemed like a natural for this one. The fender antenna hole and roof holes were filled, Evergreen sheet was used to cover the windows. The Monogram '59 Cadillac supplied the wheels/tires and steering wheel, the landau iron is from the Monogram '58 Thunderbird. Paint is Testor's Black enamel, shot through an airbrush. The license plate was downloaded and reduced. If you gotta go, go big!

I picked up an amazingly intact AMT 1960 Thunderbird at yesterday's MAMAs contest; the only parts missing only the side pipes and fender ornaments. The paint is brushed on enamel, so a soak in the purple pond should take care of it. The chrome is in good condition, about the only unusable parts are warped tires (luckily, the current AMT whitewalls fit perfectly).

Wow, just wow!!!

I finished the Hudson altered today. Decals are by Slixx, WIP info can be found here:

Nice job! Glad to see a drag car that doesn't have an OHV V8. Dare to be different!!

Almost done - I just need to add some details. Next stop: "Under Glass"

Outside of the interior, the gurney does look narrow, but once it's in the interior and the window decals have been applied, you don't notice the size.

Wow!! NICE job! Looks like someithing out of a 1960-ish Rod & Custom.