Karl LaFong

Which, of course is fictional. But, what if Ford had never manufactured the Torino? The '69 Thunderbird could have been an alternative - it actually had a shorter wheelbase (114.7 inches) than the Torino (116 inches). It also had the aerodynamics of a brick... This one is a kitbash of the AMT 1969 Thunderbird/Allison Thunderland and the Johan 1972 Nascar Torino. WIP is here :

I finished applying decals and some other odds and ends. I just need to add the hood pins, exhaust dumps, and rear window straps, and it'll be off to Under Glass.

The fit of the hood was pretty bad, so I substituted a Modelhaus hood I found in my parts stash. I'll have to hog out the front wheel wells a bit more - I wish I had discovered this before painting and assembling - one of the joys of parts swapping. The decals are from the Petty Polar Lights Torino kit.

I finished the interior, with the exception of the fire extinguisher and seat belts, it's straight out of the Torino box. I also added the windows and front and rear bumpers - now it looks like a '69 T-bird. The holes in the hood are for the hood pins. I do have to fix the gap between the grill and hood.

I wired the engine and painted the body. The long black wires are future oil lines. The Johan chassis had plenty of flash and fiddly assembly, but it does look good when painted and assembled. (I do have to straighten out the front sway bar!)

Any chance that the interior racing parts from the 70's vintage Camaros and Firebirds will be included? I can see a future dirt track street stock!

What do you get when you combine these two kits? Hopefully the 1969 Petty ride that never was. Luckily the wheelbases of the two kits are very close, so major hacking wasn't required. I sanded off the side trim and windshield wipers, radiused the front wheel openings, opened the gas tank cover, and added the spoiler from the Torino kit. While the front end looks like it's too high, when I glue the chassis pan to the body it should sit lower. The color will be Tamiya French Blue. Petty ran dark blue wheels in '69, but I liked the look of white wheels (my fantasy, my choice). The Johan OHC engine was built as a 429. I wish the molds for the Torino could be found!

Looks great! What a cool idea.

Wow!!! I'll repeat what other said - great build and photography!

Nice! Where did you find the RonJon decal? I've been going to Long Beach Island NJ for 40+ years and pass the store on the way in and out of the island.

The latest version of the kit has both clear and tinted windows. Beats trying to tint with paint!

The decals in the latest issue of the AMT1965 Lincoln inspired me to do a surf wagon. After several false starts, including a straight ahead convertible, I finally finished it. I was going for an early '60's vibe, so I switched out the bench seat for buckets, the steering wheel from the AMT '51 Chevy, center console from the Johan '64 Rambler American, surfboard from the Revell 1937 Ford truck, scuba gear from the Monogram Blue Bandito, and photo-reduced copies of Surftoons and Surfing magazine. With the exception of wheels from the '67 GTO Weekend Warrior, and window decals, the rest of the build is out of the box. The license was made with Acme Plate Maker, and the exterior paint is Model Master Turquoise enamel, decanted and sprayed with an airbrush. The woodgrain decals were a bear to apply!

I got her painted and attached the body to the frame. The dangling wires are from the interior gas tank; they'll be attached to the fuel pump. The engine location looks wonky because I haven't glued it in position yet. I couldn't find a matching set of front shocks, so I'll be using the ones from the Atlantis Mooneyes dragster, combined with #4 crimp tubes.

Here's a decal blooper from the 2022 issue of the Revell 1937 Ford truck: I think I'll pass on the seafood from Captain Lou...

I encountered this vehicle today at the Awkscht Fescht in Macungie, PA: It's a styling concept by one Bill Flajole and is based on a Jaguar XK-120. And, yes, 13 years before the AMT 1968 Impala, it had no rear window (note the rearview mirror above the Plexiglass roof) Flajole also designed the Nash-Healy and Nash Metropolitan: For more info on this car, see: Bonhams : The prototype,1955 Flajole Forerunner Chassis no. S673772 Engine no. W7884-8S

I got some work done on the interior. The roll bar is a modified kit piece, I don't know where the seat came from, but I added seat belts, the shifter is from the AMT Ala Kart, and the gas tank is unknown. The hole in the gas tank is for a line that will run from the pressure pump (actually, a fire extinguisher from the AMT '63 Chevy II SW). In case you're wondering why they gas tank is next to the driver, in the 50's, drag gas tanks were often in the interior of the vehicle. The dashboard is a modified kit piece, with instrument decals from the Revell '40 Ford coupe, and buttons from HO scale bolt heads. The steering wheel is from the AMT '36 Ford.

This one is a mashup of several abandoned projects. The body, hood, and nosepiece are from the AMT 1940 Ford Delivery, the frame and floor are from the Revell 1940 Standard Ford, the front axle, wheels and tires are from the Revell 1948 Ford Coupe, the rear axle is from the Testor's 1946-48 Ford, the tires are AMT Parts Pack items, and the wheels are unknown. The engine is mostly the DeSoto engine from the AMT '53 Ford truck, with Ala Kart Dodge valve covers, the timing belt cover is from the '53 Studebaker Chrysler engine, and a fuel pump from the '63 Chevy II SW Chrysler engine. The final exterior color will be Testor's Metallic Copper.

The AMT '63 Chevy is a great slump buster - I built this one only using the parts and decals from the kit. The interior is painted Testor's Model Master interior metallic blue, the engine is Testor's red enamel, and the exterior is Testor's Metallic Blue enamel, decanted and shot with my airbrush. Chrome trim around the windows was done with a Molotow pen, trim on the bottom is Bare-metal foil. There was no drama in assembly. Hats off to Round 2 for creating a 1963 modeling experience!

PM sent.

Thanks, I'll have to look into Fabresins.

Does anyone make a hood for the Johan 1970 Olds 442? It's the last piece I need to complete one of my builds.

The poor fitting of the windows was the only reason I could never finish this kit - you just saved me 30 bucks!

Hmm, I was expecting flanges that looked like this: (from Home | Scale Auto Model Kit Reviews & Reference (proboards.com) ) rather than what was included in the kit: Thanks for the heads-up.

MAJOR improvement of this kit! Job well done.

Great job!