Stef

Just saw hpiguy's 1959 Imperial build and review: Now I want one more than ever. Something about the rear got me thinking it was time for a ghetto-quick PhotoChop™: Thoughts?

Never knew about that kit, and can't seem to find anything online about it. Post more pics of yours!

Passed on this kit a squillion times cuz the box art made the kit look so toy-like. Your build is clean and mean; will have to pick one up and throw on some evil meats like you've done. Did you add a smoke tint to the headlights? They have a nice depth to them.

Totally agree. So happy to relive the nostalgia of things I built as a kid, and things I never got around to building the first time around. I'm supporting the kit companies as much as I possibly can, and do appreciate when they scrape up enough cash to give us something old, new, borrowed, or blue. Loved gluebombing MPC's 78 Pinto back in the day, and hoping to do better this time around; can't decide whether to pick up the tempting Pony Express reissue, or wait for the upcoming 77 hatch.

SECOND MODEL? Clean build, strong theme, great paint. You sir, will be a force to reckon with in the future.

I agree, that super-dark grey is badass; I'm considering trying a two-tone police Monaco with the hot rod grey primer and flat black. Thanks, Brent. I do try to keep things light and fun, and need to constantly remind myself to not get so stressed out over all the millions of little flaws, heh. Nooice, Rex. Is that Revellogram's 69 Shelby GT-500? Looks more Mad Max than Mad Max.

Ha ha Thanks, guys. The truth is, the flat black is a compromise. I just don't have the time, or the eyesight, to do all the stuff I used to do; insane detail painting, polished clearcoated bodies, foiling, decaling, etc. All through the 80s and 90s, I built every 50s classic, muscle car, Mustang, Corvette, Firebird on the planet, and did tons of research on each to nail colours and correct details. Good times. But these days, especially after seven false starts before I'd finished my first kit, I'd decided to pull back, and simplify my approach. Really big into oddballs right now, stuff I never built, and stuff I hadn't built since I was a zygote. I love the pure joy of building model cars, and there's so many kits I'm dying to build, so hopefully I can bang out a few more in 2019.

Hello everyone Been lurking here for years; I love the mindblowing stuff you guys do. I came back to the hobby in late 2015, after a 13-year hiatus. 2015/2016: started seven kits; completed none of 'em. 2017: started another five kits; finished them all, plus two from 2016, for a total of seven. 2018: started new kits, and finished some old ones, for a total of twelve. Questions/comments/critiques are most welcome, and I certainly can post more photos of anything you see here, if you're interested. Until then... LET'S KEEP BUILDING IN 2019! CLITAURUS - AMT 1991 Ford Taurus SHO Started October 2017 - Completed January 2018 Clipped bumpers, body smoothing, modified HOTROD Lincoln headlights, ported Lindberg Crown Vic wheels, mounted behind deep dish trim rings AMT 1970 1/2 Chevy Camaro Z28 Started late 2000 - Completed February 2018 Box stock model was 95% complete for 17 years; removed foil, decals, spoilers, plate bracket and mirrors, sprayed body flat black, while leaving everything else as it was originally painted. Added wheels/tires from Monogram 1979 Camaro. Monogram BMW 635 CSI Started December 2017 - Completed March 2018 Box stock except for wheels/tires from Revell BMW 318i CAPRICIOUS - AMT 1976 Chevy Caprice Started September 2016 - Completed May 2018 Body smoothing, Revell 2013 Camaro ZL1 hood scoop, Revell 2006 Camaro concept wheels/tires/disc brakes, chassis floorboard/gastank/firewall/engine compartment surgery/rebuilding, ported grille, Lindberg 1/20 scale 1993 Camaro bucketed headlights, various late-model Chevy engine/detail parts, custom dual exhaust, custom front and rear roll pans Revell 2003 Ford Thunderbird Started June 2018 - Completed June 2018 Basic box stock build, except for Revell 1999 Mustang SVT Cobra wheels and tires, ported hood scoop, body smoothing, and deep panel scribing Monogram 1932 Packard Speedster Phaeton Started November 2017 - Completed April 2018 Basic box stock build except for minor smoothing and cleanup, as well as replacing plastic spare tire covers with whitewall tires (and wheels), from Monogram's 1939 Mercedes 540-K roadster. Chrome was bad on this super-vintage, nearly flawless kit, so rather than go full flat black, decided to try Tamiya silver leaf TS-30 accents for a nice contrast. Johan 1970 Mercury Comet Started June 2018 - Completed July 2018 This was a mint, flawless, sealed kit I picked up at a model car show, for an insane price, but was worth every penny. Built mostly box stock, except for ported/backfilled side marker lights, headlights from Revell's 32 Ford five-window coupe, lengthened steering column, raised seats, and a couple coats of Tamiya TS-71 smoke on the glass and wheels. GALAXIAN - AMT 1969 Ford Galaxie Started November 2016 - Completed August 2018 Body smoothing, sunken grille, larger wheel wells, peaked and "squared-off" front and rear fender caps, removed front plate bracket, sectioned rear bumper, stock wheel covers mounted inside the BACK side of the custom wheels/tires found in Revell's recent 1/25 1970 Cuda (not the 1995 or 2007 1/24 versions) DAYCLONA - AMT 1988 Dodge Daytona Started October 2015 - Completed September 2018 Hemi, main chassis, exhaust, wheels, interior bits, heavily-modified wing, came from the AMT 1969 Dodge Daytona, while the 88 kit got body smoothing, tucked-in rear bumper, parts box headlights, Round 2 redlines, and a hybrid McPherson strut/torsion bar front suspension, bashed together from parts box items and several Revellogram late 60s Mopar kits. Round 2/MPC 1974 Ford Econoline Started September 2018 - Completed November 2018 Mostly box stock build, except for hacking off the lower grillework and reconfiguring the pushbar/lights, removing the vent windows, mounting the exhaust to the frame rather than the floorboards (and extending the tips with styrene tube), reworking the side vents, raising the sagging rear suspension just a bit, and cutting the top of the doghouse off AMT 1991 Chevy Beretta GTZ Started November 2018 - Completed December 2018 99% box stock build, except for Monogram 1985 Camaro Z28 wheels, mounted inside ported AMT Eagle VR 50 tires BUSHWHACKER 2.0 - Round 2/MPC WWII Jeep Started May 2017 - Completed December 2018 Massive American Satco Desert Dogs, thicker, scratchbuilt shocks, deeper wheels, wider track, axles flipped underneath leafs for higher lift, 340 V8 from Round 2/MPC's 1975 Dodge Dart reissue, custom exhaust, scratchbuilt side-saddle fuel tank, cold air intake through driver's headlight, tons o guns, chopped windshield (olive colour achieved via Tamiya Smoke TS-71 on one side, and two coats of Tamiya clear green X-25 mixed 1:5 with Tamiya clear X-22 on the other side), scratchbuilt side-mount for 50. cal., scratchbuilt hard case spare tire and double jerry can mounts, bespoke Confederate flag graphic design for spare tire cover. Thanks everyone, do hope you cats enjoyed these. Considering posting my 2017 builds; let me know if you're interested. In the meantime, can't wait for Christmas 2019 to see what you guys built the rest of current year. Take care.

Hello everyone Nice review as always; was so looking forward to getting more epic fat rubber from the original Datsun kits. MPC's Rising Sun had these on the front, and IIRC, even wider meats on the rear. These tires were common on MPC's NASCAR kits, ie., "Southern Stocker" Regal, Monte Carlo, etc. Would love to get more and throw 'em under everything I'm working on.

Hello modelercarl, thanks for your help; I made sure to select "Goods and Services", and the seller has kept in touch, so I'm feeling confident things will go smoothly. Now if only Canada Customs will let the kit into the country without a $500 "model release" form, heh.

Hello everyone Awesome! Thank you all for the super advice, it really means a lot! You've all been very helpful. Yes, I'm in Canada, and the seller is in the US, and he just responded with more helpful info as well. So hopefully, within a few years, Canada Post will get around to stopping by, and deliver it nice, rather than stuff it through the mail slot. A man can dream.

Hello everyone A model car YouTuber is selling a super rare kit on behalf of his friend, and I've been lucky enough to purchase it. No other takers, perhaps. The owner is selling it via PayPal, and I'm unsure how trustworthy such a transaction can be. Will there be a postage tracking number? How long will it take to get to me? What recourse do I have if the seller flakes? What sort of questions should I ask the seller before sending money? Thanks so much, I love this board, and you guys build some truly amazing models. I've finally finished off a couple of my own after a 10+ year hiatus, and will be posting pics soon. Thanks again!

NOOICE. The 57 doors do make more sense than van doors, and these new blackout wheels are badass to the bone.

Hello Guys, thanks for the comments. Jim, will you be blacking out all of the glass, then? It looks like the leading edge of the 57 door matches up well with the trailing edge of the van door. Scribing in van door lines through the 57's front fender should be a breeze. Eagerly watching this build; thanks so much for bringing this idea to life.

Amazing idea, love it. Wonder what it would look like with a chopped roof... so to speak.

Hello everyone The recent MPC WWII Jeep reissue has five of them: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c_JQdMe1NvM/maxresdefault.jpg And two can also be found in the recent reissue of MPC's 1978 Pacer (optional rear tires for the rally version): https://adamrehorn.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/pacer-oob-004.jpg As a kid, I built an MPC 1976 or 1977 Pacer, and it also had them. Finally, IIRC, the MPC Cooter's Tow Truck had 4 of 'em on the back in a duallie setup. Hope this helps, thanks.

I bought this exact kit in the mid 90s from a LHS that specialized in original, sealed kits. Mine was moulded in orange. Bashed it with a Monogram 1970 Boss 429 to create a slammed, proto-pro-touring racer, heh.

Thanks everyone for your awesome encouragement; you all rock my world! I've refined my initial concept, and come up with a name. Here's a more concrete vision of where this baby is going. Been an insane week; aiming to get more progress done ASAP.

Spread the body apart at the rear, and spread it further apart at the front to clear the engines, while creating a wider grille opening. Tacked the left and right halves together using styrene strip. Next up, filling in the roof and hood with styrene sheet, then slicing off the trunk and repositioning it to create the hunchback. Still working on the revised sideview mockup. Coming soon.

Sliced the body and hood down the middle, and taped the left and right halves together.

I've created some basic hood sides from .020 styrene sheet, and mated them to the hood tops. To ensure proper vertical alignment, I taped the grille shell in place. Now, I'll split the hood and body down the middle, tape the left halves and right halves together, wrap them around the engines, then trace out a frame pattern. Also, hoping to finish the revised Photoshop side view mockup ASAP.

Hello everyone I noticed the middle passenger side window was too wide, so I risked taking a super-thin slice out of the body (A). That delicate cut ended up working out OK, and also straightened out the misaligned rear valence (B). I've rethought the hunchback trunk cuts, which I now think can be done by simply hacking out a horizontal slice from the rear window/sides, and pushing the trunk up (C). Hope this works. Hey, misterNNL, I totally overlooked the necessity of a beefy frame. I was prepared to start with the kit-supplied rails, but now you've inspired me to create something thick and meaty, from scratch. Thanks! Ha ha, mod3l Lover, yes, that would be total badassery. I have the 1/25 Revell Peterbilt 359 that I would LOVE to gut for this thing, but I already have plans for it. Photoshop mockup attached. I hope I can get to this some day.

Since I want the Hemis enveloped by the bodywork, the new double-length hood will provide the depth, but not the width. Going to widen the body, spread it apart more at the front, widen the grille, and rework the cowl area to clear the engines. Seriously considering massive headers exiting the hood sides, and/or hardcore induction setup sticking out the top. NEXT UP: More refined Photoshop side view mockup; I've got a few new ideas I'd like to explore.

Thanks everyone for your continued interest and support! Sliced one hood down the middle, spread it apart, and mated it to the back of the other. Joined both baby moons to make a mega moon. Here are the wheels and tires I'll be using for this baby. Hey, 68shortfleet, I love your half-window dragster idea. Bicycle wheels up front, fat stacks on a blower, and with a top chop, it would be a quarter-mile quarter-window, heh.

Those wheels, those redlines, that crazy two tone; looks like a vintage Hotwheels. Can't wait to see this finished.