Faust

Oh, interesting. I didn't even know there was such a thing. He doesn't strike me as the "VW" kind of guy in a lot of ways, despite it being his idea to have a car that looked like a beetle.

I think I’m like most modellers in that I’m nostalgic for some of the older kits I built as a kid when I was first getting into modelling. However, for me it’s not so much model cars and planes that do this to me as it is model mecha. I love robots especially ones from animes, and when I found out that I could get MODEL robots I was over the moon! Some of the first Gundam kits I built (I’ve built well over 100 now) were the small “no grade” and bigger, deluxe (for the time) High Grade (HG) Wing Gundam kits. Back when they were new, 22 years ago, the 1/100 HG kits were the pinnacle of Gundam models>. However, times change, and to keep up with things, Bandai has released Master Grades (MGs) of all the Wing Gundam main machines. The first HG I ever built was the Shenlong, and so it only seemed fitting that the first MG Wing kit I built would be the Shenlong as well. It’s a very nice kit, but I have to say that the proportions are a bit off. Check out my finished MG Shenlong at the link below, and let me know what you think, both about my build, and about the machine’s proportions. https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/mecha-robots/bandai-master-grade-1100-xxg-01s-shenlong-gundam/

I've only ever seen the Norseman once - and the guy wanted some obscene money for it. I don't know why, but it did look like a cool kit! I'm the same with the Twin Otter - I'd love to do one on floats and one on wheels, but I can't decide. A widebody Spad family picture would look awesome!

Okay, it’s almost summer, but not quite, and the weather where I am has turned cruddy. It’s a grey, windy, “Blech” day on the “meh” side of staying in bed all day. So, to get everybody pumped back up, I decided to dig out my own sunshine, in the form of some old Matchbox “Sunset Stripe” box art. I love Matchbox kits, and the addition of the oh-so-80’s street van-esque “sunset stripe” to the boxes only makes these kits better. It’s like they’re trying to be something they’re not, but in the end, it just makes them cooler as relics of a long-gone age. Check out the pictures of my stripers at the link below; I hope they photos bring a smile to your face and some warm memories to your mind. If nothing else, they’ll give you a bit of sun on a cloudy day! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/matchbox-planes-sunset-boxes/

That's very true, on both fronts! I just picked up the ICM G4 the other week, and while it's a much nicer, and more accurate, kit by far, it doesn't have the same visceral appeal, at least box art-wise, as the Marui. It's all politically correct, not HISTORICALLY CORRECT (why be true to history on a model kit, right?) and it just comes with some random staff officers. I was hoping to not have to build the marui, since it's such an interesting bit of history, but what's the point of a G4 without Hitler in it? Seems kinda weak...

You're welcome. There was a time when I built nothing BUT robots, and I almost quit modelling because it got so repetitive. Thanks to my friends in my local club (IPMS London, Ontario) I got introduced, or re-introduced in some cases, to lots of different subjects. Now, like you Al, I love seeing and learning about different kit types. Heck, I'm even buying armour kits now!

I don't think there are enough Twinkies, Mountain Dew and Doritos to fully deal with this thing... You gotta wonder just what and what else went through the people's heads when they made this.

Sometimes the neatest things are NOT what you are looking for, but you find them anyway! I can think of a few examples of things like this I’ve stumbled across, and I’m sure you can too. However, every now and then I come across something SO weird that not only wasn’t I looking for it, I didn’t even KNOW to look for it? Confused? So was I! The object in question was an old, large-scale Corgi from the British children’s TV show “The Magic Roundabout”. Given that tomorrow is 4-20 (with all the countercultural implications), it seemed that there couldn’t be a better time to post this oddest of little oddities! Check it out for something completely different! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/corgi-807-dougals-magic-roundabout-car/

I’ve been concentrating on loser cars and realistic airplanes for a while, so I felt the need to get back to the “What If”-side of my personality! I remember back when Dragon first started issuing kits of some of the Luft ’46 projects; I was hooked! I didn’t even know what these planes were, but the models were super-cool. Sadly, they were also more expensive than I was able to pay at the time. Thank goodness for shows and a nice supply of cheap Luft-46iness! This is the first of the Dragon Luft ’46 kits I’ve built. I know some people say there are fit issues, but this little guy wasn’t too bad at all! Check it out and let me know what you think. I should have bought the nachtjeager version of this thing when I had the chance! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/dragon-172-messerschmitt-p-1101

I have that Glidden one; but without the box. I'd never seen the box. Apparently, the 1:1 was taken to races to promote the Glidden/Ford team, and to be raffled away at the end of the season. I've looked, but can find nothing to corroborate this anywhere. I do like the wheels; my copy has the same lame 4-dot "mags" (i.e. Porsche 929 knockoffs) as the normal EXP and LN7. Has anyone else ever seen anything on this real "civilian" Glidden EXP? I wouldn't mind an EXP. They're certainly unique, and despite being gutless little tin cans, I'm sure they'd be an interesting driver. Hell, I learned to drive on an '89 Escort, so it can't be much different! I haven't seen one in at least 20 years, though... they largely did melt away here in the Ontario "heavy salt" winters!

I remember those kits! I had forgotten there was an LN7 dragster to rival the Blue Max EXP!

I don't mind the early EXPs, but I really think the grilles on the LN7 were overdone. Still, as a kid, I had a poster of an LN7 in my room, so I can't say much! I wish I still had that poster... drat. There's a lot of similarity in the EXP and Omni-024 in both styling and overall role/genesis. It's funny how the O24 evolved into the Charger/Daytona, but the EXP just ended up a kind of useless Escort it's whole life! Glad you guys enjoyed it!

It’s one thing for a car’s styling to be weird or polarizing (or both – ask AMC), but it’s another to be both of those things and STILL be forgotten! If you think about the Ford EXP (which I do, more than I should), it was pretty odd and polarizing too. Weird bug-eye headlights and odd two-seaterness certainly made it a car that most people recognized, even if they didn’t want to. Now imagine being even weirder looking than that, and then being almost totally forgotten! That’s what it’s like to be the EXP’s upscale brother. That’s right, the EXP had a twin: the Mercury LN7! Most of the time, Mercuries don’t get kitted for some reason. However, back in the early ‘80s, Monogram came to the rescue and re-tooled their EXP mould to produce the bubble-backed Mercury version. It may be a small kit, but it certainly captures all the increased awkwardness of the real thing! Check out the 1/32 Mongram LN7 at the link below. Remember, sometimes we forget things as a favour to ourselves; you’ll see what I mean! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/monogram-132-mercury-ln-7-sport-coupe-oob/

Hmm... the 70's ones aren't my strong suit, but it sounds cool! I think a weathered one would look pretty bad-arsed, actually!

While I don’t get as many of them built and posted as I’d like to, one of my favourite types of kit is a mech kit. I grew up in the ‘80s loving Tranformers and Robotech, and have, since then, been a big ‘robot junkie’. Normally, the robots I build are Gundams, but I have a few others from different series as well. One series I was both thrilled to find that I could still get kits from was the planned successor to the Gundam franchise – Metal Armor Dragonar. I got what amounts to the whole set a while ago, and I thought it would be fun to take a look inside one and see what an old-skool mech was like. The Dragonar kits are surprisingly nice for their age, and are much better than Gundam kits of the same era, actually! Check out the first of my Dragonars; the half-plane, half-humanoid (but not a Gerwalk/Guardian) Schwalg! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/bandai-1144-flug-armor-ffa-02-schwalg-oob/

Beautiful work, Tom! They both look great! What colour did you use for the grey bumpers? It's perfect! I love the scale ladder on "your" van, too!

Oh man, that's awesome! I asked my Brother and he has one! Man, I wish they were more common! I'm surprised MPC didn't do a first generation Voyager/Magic Wagon; the lame '80s customs almost write themselves!

Thanks, guys! I was amazed when I built it. I found myself really liking the subject matter; I always disliked the last Volare/Aspens, but now, I think they're kinda cool. They're not so terrible looking in today's context and when tricked out nicely, they really make a cool boulevard cruiser. Nothing much from this time period was a major road-scorcher anyway, but with some good colour combos, the car isn't at all bad looking!

Well, I finally got it done! After a lot of fighting with the bumpers and a few other fit issues, my take on the MPC “Fuzz Duster” Volare is finished. Since I like to try and immortalize the “losers” in as stock a form as I can (usually), I chose to do the model as a straight-up 1980 Road Runner. These are not common today, and weren’t even very common back in the day, actually! With it’s very square looks and very staid motor, the last Road Runners weren’t much to get excited about. However, the Fuzz Duster kit has everything you need to build one of these now largely forgotten “muscle” cars, and it’s a nice opportunity to build something that you just don’t see anymore. Check it out and let me know what you think! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/cars/mpc-round-2-125-1980-volare-road-runner/

NICE! There are so many things you can do with them. You can customize them to try and make them cool (I did that once already... I have to post that still), you can meticulously research them (like me) to make is as good a replica of whatever trim is appropriate, or you can weather them and beater the crud out of them so they represent their last, sad, highschool/college-driver days! Don't forget some trash in the back seats and cigarette ash on the carpet, too, for that choice! I am, to use a seemingly odd phrase, "tickled pink" that so many people are getting out there and digging up these old oddball and loser car kits. It's time to make people remember there's more than just tri-Chevies and muscle cars out there! If we forget how sad driving got, we'll go back there for sure. Have fun with the kits, Gary!

My brother has the Cavalier promo. I wish I'd had one; I could have ripped the wheels off of it and been away to the races! I always thought the EXPs were loveably ugly. That's why I've got two on my site and another 3 waiting to be built! Oh God... that is soooo sad. I feel bad for the Japanese, and yet, the Corolla-Novas were no great shakes either. What goes around comes around, I guess!

Nice! We can create a "loser car" revolution! UP with the LOSER MACHINE!! As for Cavaliers, the MPC is a really nice kit, except for the wheels. They're only good for when you put the flares on. Otherwise, they're too wide and they stick out too far. I actually lost 1st place at a local show because of that. No fault of mine, but that's how the cookie crumbles. If you want to see a built Cavalier, go here: https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/cars/125-mpc-1982-cavalier/

Oh man, that's a great idea, Scott. If the boys at Round 2 could find the Omni mould and clone it to a Rampage/Scamp that would be fantastic! A great counter-point to the MPC El Camino I have, too! I saw a Rampage at a cruise night a year or so ago. I couldn't believe how small it was. It looked so thin and frail and small compared to today's "compact" cars, even like a Yaris!

It's amazing how I could have gone through life not knowing about this one for a while. Many thanks to F-J for the hookup on this one. I believe the Omnis were direct ports of the Talbot Horizon in France, among other things. the TC3 body looks a lot better than the boxy one, I think. Oh man, you have a D-50 too? I love that kit! I wish it had the right decals, because it is one of the D-50 Sport editions (or whatever they were called) as far as I can tell. Still, I agree, it's a nice little kit! I see what you're saying, for sure. However, when you compare them to the all-out performance machines that came before them, and the nice roomy cars as well, they seemed pretty cheap, tinny and gutless. Now, that having been said, we all know muscle cars don't handle well (or stop well, for that matter), so in a lot of ways these light little nimble cars would be superior. However, I can't not call them losers. Really? A two-figure HP number? God... I always find it interesting to compare cars of this era to my personal benchmark, which is my Turbo T/A. While the 301T might be reviled, it's pretty good overall, at least on paper. Whereas this "sporty coupe" was bringing 75 hp and 90 lbf torque, My T/A brought 210hp and 345 lbf. Uh... even though my car weighs almost double, it's got like, 3x hp and 4x the torque. You can't really be sporty if you're that weak. That's loser territory. I have an O24 that I did as a "Super Bee" custom a while ago. I've not yet posted it, but I should some day. With tinted windows and nice wheels/flares, the 024 looks good. Seriously!

I'm sorry if it posted three times. I only see it once, but if someone edited it for me, thank you! Chuck: I know how you feel. I was so excited when I found out about this one that I was in 7th Heaven to get my hands on one! Yeah, I'm not surprised they needed a lot of work, That was kinda standard for Chryslers of the era, and Fords, and Chevys and...