Stef

The 65 Fairlane looks mega interesting; looks like it'll have A LOT of extras. Unlike some of the other more stripped-down kits in the Modified Stocker series, this one seems to have an interior bucket, two engines, 8 tires, 2 sets of wheels, full glass, and what looks like a freaky dual-snorkel air intake. Does anyone know much about this kit? I haven't come up with much in the way of pics, videos, or instructions. I love the MadMax skateboard look with those insane tires. Can't decide whether to get the Fairlane, or the 66 Chevy. Knowing me, I'll get BOTH.

Hello Oldcarfan27, you and me both. Let's get into the DeLorean, and get back to our future. Hello Tom, I salute your Dad for saving your 914. Get into the DeLorean with me and Oldcarfan27; we gotta get back in time, to save your kits from termite slime.

Ha ha, Jantrix, good one! Yes, I was a big dummy! Long story short... just moved into a new apartment with parquet floors, and the first thing I did was unpack my models and line 'em up along the baseboards. The floor got mopped with Future, and it spattered, splashed, sprayed, and sloshed all over about 90% of them. I was devastated. Chucked em, gave up on the hobby, and got into webcomics, ha ha.

Hello, Tom. Termites? Oh me oh my, what was that like? Did they eat away at the actual plastic? What a horrible fate for a plastic model to be eaten alive. Glad your Dad was able to save some, but what is it with parents and throwing away models? My Mom threw away about 100 of my builtups in my teens "cuz reasons" and I was furious over it. Parents, please do NOT throw away your kid's stuff; let 'em go through and make decisions for themselves!

Hello, Snake, I agree, the possibilities are limitless when bashing the old and the new. It also takes some of the pressure off me feeling like I need to treat an old kit with kid gloves. If I'd gotten an original 77 Pinto, I'd feel compelled to build it box stock, or encase it in Lucite. The reissue allows me to stuff in a 429 and rebuild the entire front clip, and not feel like I've committed sacrilege, ha ha.

I totally agree, Roadrunner. I'm very thankful for reissues, flea markets, hobby shops, internet forums, model clubs, swap meets, YouTubers, personal stashes, and estate sales. You cats are keeping the flame alive; I salute you all. Back in 2001, I threw away over 200 built models and gave away my stash; thought I'd never return to the hobby. Came back to it in 2015, and am thrilled beyond belief to get my hands on original, or reissued, kits. My tastes are expanding, and I'm loving Round 2's reissues of things I destroyed as a kid (Mack R685ST, 78 Pacer, Bad Company, WW2 Jeep), and things I never got around to building the first time(s) around (77 Pinto, 59 Imperial, Hijacker, Mount N Goat, 37 Chevy, etc.). Looking forward to getting the 25 double T, 66 Chevy modified, 75 Datsun pickup, Vega funny car, Hemi Under Glass, BRAT, and squillions more. Here's my vote for Round2 to bring back even more classic MPC kits: Bronco, Econoline (Stunt Van for the win), Chevette, D-50, Cavalier, EXP, Monza, Hemi Hunter Dart, and more more more. Keep 'em comin', boys. We're here for you.

I agree; all-new would be preferable. Failing that, I'd be happy with a body, grille, and wheels, and I'd figure out the rest on my own. Nice... it's essential we make this a 7-in-1 kit to cover all the years.

I would buy a squillion of these; any chance Revell could leverage anything from their Jeep Honcho kit?

Thank you, 89AKurt! I aim to do 99% of my building and test-fitting before getting to primer and paint, so there's as little handling of painted stuff as possible. By the time I get to paint, I'm usually down to about four main sub-assemblies: an interior, a chassis with engine and drivetrain, a body, and a hood. Once I lay down the flat black, a few things help me keep things scratch-free: - I take off all rings/watches - I trim my nails - I wash my hands constantly, trying to keep skin oil staining and slippage/droppage to a minimum - I do final assemblies overtop a towel - If I need to do some excessive handling, I throw on some latex gloves - If I do get some goo goos on the paint, I never wipe or rub anything across the finish. I either just blow, blot, or use running tap water, followed quickly by a hair dryer (to avoid water spots/marks). If I make a mistake with Tamiya bottled acrylics (for signal/head/taillights, etc.), gentle rinsing/blotting with Windex seems to work OK - If I screw up a bit worse, I will brush a bit of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black across the offending mark, then cry myself to sleep - If I screw up REALLY bad, I will respray through tightly-gritting teeth And once a model is done, and it gets scratched... too bad! Done is done and I'm not redoing it! I use these Dupli-Color products (available in Canada at Canadian Tire). Expensive, but worth it. It always sprays on beautifully all year round, works in super hot/humid temperatures, or dry freezing cold. Great coverage, fills like nothing I've ever seen, dries super fast, they use Danvern valves, and you can ALWAYS make it to the bottom of a can to get every last drop out. I hope this helps, thanks!

Hello Koellefornia Kid, very nice and clean builds. Congrats on a productive year. Especially your trifecta of HellBlazer, Eldorod, and Lincoln, with what look like 30" wheels! In fact, if your Eldorod and Lincoln had a baby, it would be the HellBlazer, ha ha.

Thanks, PappyD340! Hey, I can't seem to find YOUR 2019 builds. Would love to see what you've completed this year!

Thank you, Belugawrx. Flat black makes EVERYTHING look like a hotrod, ha ha!

Thanks, Roadrunnertwice! Ha ha, you're right, the VW Van is veeeeeeery fiddly, and curiously, it does not come with a back window. The multi-piece body builds up from the chassis plate, and despite all my test fitting, trimming, sanding, and prep work, the roof (which goes on last) did not want to snug down properly, so I had to tape it and burnish it down through the open back window with some heavy foil tape. Had to fill in the unsightly "chrome" gaps with some Tamiya XF-1. If I were to do this one again, I'd certainly find a way to assemble the body independent of the chassis. Ha ha, Speed Buggy, wow, that brings back some memories. The driver looks like Shaggy! I wonder... what a lovechild of Speed Buggy and The Mystery Machine would look like, hmmmmm.

Hello and thank you, Jantrix! You just gave me a serious flashback; I do believe I had a set of those all-chrome HotWheels, too! And I would bet my life I also had some of the gold-chrome ones, also. I'm thinking maybe I should create a special HotWheels-themed build, and ship it off to ChromeTechUSA. Ruh-roh, just saw he's retired.

Hello Claude, thanks for your compliments! The flat black thing just kinda happened when I came back to the hobby in 2015, after a 13-year hiatus. I'd just walked out of the theatre of MAD MAX FURY ROAD and I shouted I'M BACK, BABY! While I would LOVE to go back to all the fancy paints, foils, and hyper-detailing of my younger days, I simply don't have the eyesight, or the time, these days. The flat black is a nice compromise between quantity and quality, and my shelves are looking kinda neat with this little post-apocalyptic vibe. Plus, these are all "sins" cuz each and every one of these kits gave me at least one Linda Blair jump scare, ha ha.

Hello Bucky Fantastic output this year! It's like a who's who of everything I want to build. 240-Z: Sweet build and sick wheel choice; are they from the MPC 85-88 Daytona? They look soooo natural on this car. 66 BACK-A-RUDA: Dude, this is so amazing, I'm peanut butter and jealous. Have you seen HPI Guy's recent HuG re-release video? Can't wait to get this one: HONCHO: Nice and clean, and I agree with your choice to delete the brush guard. It's such a nice front end, and I plan to do the same with mine. MODEL T: Yours looks so good, I might need to find me some WHITE primer to do one of my own, ha ha.

Thank you, TooOld! True, I don't spend much on candies, pearls, clearcoats, or polishing compounds these days. But this flat black primer scratches super easy, and it gets real pricey, real fast, with all the respraying I gotta do during final assemblies!

Hello Bucky, thank you! Most Pacers I've seen are badass post-apocalyptic road gunners; flat black helps make this tame grocery getter look almost as sinister, heh.

Here are some alternate views; thanks everyone for inspiring me to keep building.

Hello everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2019 was a bit of an unholy year, but I still managed to lay an exorcism smackdown on each of these seven evil demons. Questions/comments/critiques are most welcome. 2018 builds here. Let's keep building in 2020, and as Snake would say, let's GIT ER DONE! MPC/Round 2 Rat Trap Chevy Vega modified stocker Started January 2019 - Completed January 2019 This kit was built mostly box stock, with just a few tweaks. Replaced the air cleaner, added a radiator hose, extended the side pipes with styrene tubing, ported out the taillights, added a spoiler from the Revell 1979 Firebird Street Machine, and cleaned up the look by deleting the hood, side bars, and front and rear bumpers. AMT 1959 Chrysler Imperial Started March 2019 - Completed May 2019 Heavily cleaned-up and smoothed-out the body, added bucketed clear headlight lenses, and created a rear bumper monotaillight. Not gonna lie: I hate how this one turned out. I rushed her. She's sloppy, with unsightly flaws, gaps, and oversights everywhere. For example, while filling and blending the rear fins, I didn't realize the corners had rounded themselves off until it was too late. This model would be a strong contender for a redux in 2020. AMT 1978 Dodge Monaco - Joker Goon Car/Gotham City Police Car Started June 2019 - Completed August 2019 Scratchbuilt front pushbar and lower front valence detail, added a parts box 6-pack intake, closed-off the engine compartment/fender gaps, created two antennas from broom tines, created lightbar stanchions, and made the rear bumper sides flush with the body. In keeping with my flat black imperative, created a CHP-inspired two-tone paint scheme using a dark grey primer. MPC/Round 2 1978 AMC Pacer Started July 2018 - Completed August 2019 Made tons of subtle fit, finish and positive location improvements, extended the rear bumper further away from the body, added headlights from the Revell 1970 'Cuda, wheels from the MPC/Round 2 Bad Company 1982 Dodge Van, and whitewall tires from the Revell 1976 Ford Gran Torino. GOOD BUDDY - AMT 1965 Chevy Chevelle Station Wagon Started July 2019 - Completed September 2019 This "Good Buddy" is a double-entendre tribute build to my highschool best friend. 28 years ago, we joked about how ugly and pathetic the yellow "Showdown" box art looked and how our local department store couldn't clear out their 20+ kit overstock to save their lives. However, we made a blood oath we'd each get one and do our best to make 'em look as cool as possible. The day we returned, they were all GONE. Current year: I got a hold of this 2001 reissue and got the idea to build it as a simple curbside with a big rig theme. Breaker, breaker, 10-4 good buddy. The interior was hacked off behind the driver's bench, a flat chassis plate was constructed from sheet styrene, and the exhaust stacks, front bumper, horns, and roof lights came from the Revell Peterbilt 359 kit. A busted-up Monogram 1/16 scale Kenworth W-900 donated its front axle and front bumper, which was converted to a rear wing. To finish off the look, a set of Moebius big rig wheels and tires were added. Revell California Roller VW Van Started August 2019 - Completed November 2019 Finding this near-pristine used kit at my LHS was a major coup; hadn't built one of these since 1986. This build got major smoothing, as I deleted tons of parts, such as the twin antennas, nerf bumpers, fascia crest, front licence plate, and side view mirror. I also shaved molded-in details such as the front turn signals, wipers, scripts, and taillights. I used the HUGE low profile tires from the Revell Plymouth Prowler, and TINY Fuchs wheels from the pink Revell VW Street Machine, and married them with parts box wheel rings. Added a cute styrene tube exhaust tip, clear parts box backup lenses and red clear taillights from the AMT Mack R685ST. Revell 1954 Chevy Panel Gasser Started January 2019 - Completed December 2019 This was my most ambitious build of the year. This kit underwent intense bodywork, including flattening-out the hood and front fender body creases, and hacking, hacking, hacking. Everything had to go, including the front and rear valance panels, bumpers, fuel tank, rear door, vent windows, headlights, taillights, and door handles. Underside, it took 28 years to remove all the injection pin marks, and the rear axle was lowered, widened, and upgraded with a parts box pumpkin, bigger shocks, and scratchbuilt shackles, traction bars, driveshaft, and driveshaft loop. Up front, the track was widened, and beefier shocks were added. Rolling stock features wheels from the AMT 1965 Chevy Chevelle Station Wagon, and the rear wheels have been offset with deep rings from the Revell Chevy Beretta Pro Street. Round 2 parts pack tires are used all around: wide whitewalls up front, and puffed-out MH Racemaster slicks out back. Inside, a full scratchbuilt rollcage was added, plus a beefier shifter, meatier floor pedals, a Revell Firebird funny car fuel cell, and parts box nitro tank and battery. Topside, the engine compartment features a filled-in and smoothed cowl, and a parts box master cylinder/brake booster. The engine features custom finned AMT 1958 Chevy valve covers, and a scratchbuilt intake using styrene tubing and sandwiched side pipe shrouds from the AMT 1962 Buick Electra. Extended kit headers with exhaust dumps were made from styrene tubing and modified roof flashers/sirens from the MPC/Round 2 1/20 scale HighJacker 1974 Ford Van. Thanks everyone; do hope you enjoyed these. In the meantime, can't wait for Christmas 2020 to see everything you guys built the rest of this year. Thanks, and take care.

My pleasure, David. This BUILD. Is. Awesome! I want to build the same; the Cord nose is just too perfect on this battle bug. Fantastic imagination, creativity, and execution. Can't wait to see her finished!

You know what they say about "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain", heh.

Loving where this build is going...

LET IT NOVEMBER RAIN: > TEA FOR TWO: Eager enough to build a chopped T; had no idea it was two complete models to double my pleasure > VIVA LAS VEGAS: Had fun with the recent RatTrap Vega reissue, looking forward to the upcoming Vega pro stockers, and this funny car will round-out the Vega trifecta nicely > TRAILER TRASH: Want a trailer for my unstarted Mack R685ST; this may work just fine

CONSIDER IT DONE: > Must. > Have. > This kit.