maxwell48098

Looks like they tooled new, wide front tires when you watch the video. It also now has two mixer drive options. I wonder if this was the new, big rig tooling mentioned last month? A.J.

If the price was right, I've done it. Just like I've purchased multiples of the same kit at the same time. And years later, I'll end up selling some duplicates when I need cash for the latest project. A.J.

Back in the early '70's when I was a service rep for Chrysler Corporation, I had a very small (20 vehicles sold per year) Dodge dealer in rural Illinois that had 7 or 8 brand new, old Dodge cars and pickups literally parked up against his barn at his farm home. (Besides being a dealer, he owned a farm that he leased out to others to actually farm.) When a new vehicle arrived at his dealership, he'd literally take out the check book and send Chrysler a check to pay for it, no floor planning or financing, just like his dad used to do dating back to the Depression days on the late '20's and early '30's. He would keep the vehicles at his dealership for up to two years, and if it didn't sell, he'd drive it out to his farm, and park it! He'd only have one or two "stock" vehicles for sale on his dealership lot, and every other one was a special order for his customers. The ones at the farm were all special orders that the customers backed out of, for whatever reason. While at his house for lunch one day, he gave me a tour of the place while his wife prepared the lunch. I guess the look on my face when we turned the corner to the back side of his barn was such that he burst out laughing at me. That's when he told me the story behind each of the vehicles there. He said that from time to time, he would sell one of these "sleds" as he called them, and had to work through our regional office in suburban Chicago to make sure that the warranty was honored. The last I heard is that around 1976, lightning struck the barn setting it on fire, and destroying the old vehicles when the burning wall collapsed on them.

I've built several of the '65 & '66 Fords, and haven't had a problem. A.J.

Bill, you'll be missed, especially by builders like me. I do want to say that your products were first class, along with your service, which is somewhat lacking in today's aftermarket ommunity. Tkake care of yourself and your family as that it the most important part of life. A.J.

It would be nice if they re-released the IH S-series kits which I heard some time back were missing some of the tools for one of the chassis sprues, but were otherwise complete. A,J,

I've used the "plastic spoon" fix for at least 15 years when that new engine wouldn't fit against the firewall. My wife thought I was nuts for stealing spoons from box in the kitchen, but good, cheap fixes last forwever. A.J.

I worked in the service and parts departments of a local Ford dealership while in high school and college from '66-'72. That "wrong bed" started life with the '57 Ford F-series pickups, and continued to be used on 4X4's from late '61 until '66. The dealership I worked for sold lots of fleet trucks and the local Reading body conversion up fitter would sell the "new" used pickup boxes back to our dealership for $50.00. We had an off-site storage building where we must have had 50-75 of these boxes on racks that we used in the body shop to repair wrecked pickups, or sell to other dealerships and local body shops for $300! Sometimes the color of the replacement box was a perfect match for the wrecked one. A.J.

In my 44 years of marriage, my bride has never, ever bought me a model, although I've been building car, truck, and fire apparatus models since 1958. For Christmas back in 1980 she bought me a clamp on, lighted magnifier that I've used ever since, even if it is just to light up my workbench. Best Christmas gift she ever gave me! (She says that she doesn't buy me kits as she said she's afraid that she might buy one that I already have. I never let on that I have bought duplicates or even more, of many of my kits. LOL ) A.J.

Take a look at what other builders have accomplished with the same kit over the past 50 years. Now think of comparing an automobile from 50 years ago with one of the new ones coming out today. As time has passed, technology has brought improvements not even dreamed of 50 years ago. Having grown up with the AMT kits since the late '50's, I appreciate improvements that I can easily recognize in today's kits versus those of 50 or 60 years go. But they can be built with patience. Here's just a couple I've done over the years that I still have: This is an original AMT KW925 torsion bar rear suspension kit with an added third axle, and Autocar dump box. Used second release AMT KW925 as the basis for this T800 conversion. This is another AMT KW 925 kit conversion using an AMT pumper body.

Here's my version following Phil's plans, but using the optional Holmes square tube booms:

I remember the chrome flaking off of the big rig kits I bought that were produced for Revell Germany back in the '90's and early '00's. You use a file or sanding stick to clean up the edge of a chromed piece before gluing, and you'd take 1/8" to 1/4" of the chrome on the face surface with it. You could scrape the chrome off with your finger nail, if you tried. Those parts didn't have the clear base coat either so there wasn't anything for the electroplating to adhere to. That's one reason I quit buying Revell Germany truck kits. A.J.

If you use a little imagination, you can turn that Concorde into a police cruiser. Here's a couple I did years ago.

I left out a critical part in my post above in that I cut the rough amount of BMF foil I'll be using, then put the remainder back in the fridge to avoid the expansion/contraction issue that causes the cracks and buckling. It remains at a constant temp in the frig. Here's my corrected BMF storage comment: Someone told me many years ago to keep my BMF in the refrigerator between uses. I bought directly from BMF and kept it in the frig without it ever wrinkling in 7 years, so far. I take it out of the frig and cut off the amount I'll be needing from the sheet about an hour before I go to use it which allows it to warm up, the back into the frig it goes when I'm done. From the way this guy explained it, the wrinkles are due to the expansion and contraction of the foil and adhesive. Seems logical, and so far I've never had a problem. A.J.

Someone told me many years ago to keep my BMF in the refrigerator between uses. I bought directly from BMF and kept it in the frig without it ever wrinkling in 7 years, so far. I take it out about an hour before I go to use it which allows it to warm up, the back into the frig it goes when I'm done. From the way this guy explained it, the wrinkles are due to the expansion and contraction of the foil and adhesive. Seems logical, and so far I've never had a problem. A.J.

Very well done. A.J.

Interesting how over the years, "flat black" has become more like "satin black" with a low level of sheen . "Flat" flat black must have been reformulated over the years for some reason. Used to love the original Krylon "no runs, no drips, no errors" flat back for painting resin and vinyl tires, and it had sort of s sweet smell to it. I inquired to Krylon about why they had to change the paint, and the reply I got was that it was for environmental reasons out in CA. I really miss it. A.J.

Seems like good minds think alike when it comes to Chevy panel Civil Defense unit. I made mine a 4X4. A.J.

I've used Fred Cady decals since the '80's. Fred silk screened his decals based on the individual colors, so for things like lettering and logos, you have apply each color layer over the previous to build up to the final decal. You start with the base or background, then add the other color detail layers one at a time. I've clear coated these all of the time with no problem. The key is the thickness of the decal film. The thinner each layer of the decal is, the easier it will be to blend them into the final surface finish. I've attached a few images of some of the models I've used Fred's decals on. A.J.

The weekly ad from Monday said that all boxed model kits were 40%. A.J.

My local hobby shop is Great Lakes Hobby and Toys. They are located at 43055 Van Dyke Ave, Sterling Heights, MI 48314 which is about a mile south of M-59. They are located in an old super market building and are one of the largest hobby shops in the Midwest, and everything is discounted 15-20%. They have a HUGE selection of models of all types and scales, including automotive kits. Definitely worth the the time to visit them. http://greatlakeshobby.com/about-our-company/ A.J.

Why only 1 Ford 8000 logo includes with that set as there is one on the left side of the hood, as well as one on the air intake on the right side. Looks like an Oops. Would have been nice to see the gas 700, 800, 900, along with the diesel 7000 and 9000 logos as well. Maybe they could do on with the logos and nose lettering, but without the grille? A.J.

I've already build a '66 Ford 4X4 by simply dropping the '66 body on the '70 F100 4X4 chassis. Used the engine from the '66 as well. Except for the rear cab mount crossmember locastion, every thing else is a simple drop on.

Remember that the Chrysler 300 was offered in this configuration in Europe., and those used a 3.0L Mercedes diesel, as well as a manual trans, with auto trans an option that few in Europe go for. A.J.

It's been around for at least 10 years as that's how long ago I bought the set that I have. Works well on heavily rusted items. A.J.