ChrisBcritter

There's not a lot of trim to begin with; I should have been clearer - AMT failed to add those side moldings to the body on both the kit and the promo. The Modified Stockers aren't too hard to find or expensive; there are a couple on eBay right now for $24 and change.

Are the wheel openings OK? Maybe you could graft them into a Modified Stocker body. Note that both are missing the side trim that runs along the lower crease and over the wheel wells.

Almost forgot - picked up a Reynolds vacuum seal bag and pump setup - thought I'd try it as a mini-vacuum chamber for some of the small stuff I've been casting lately. For $3.98 at the Salvation Army store I thought it was worth a shot... also got a confetti hole punch which makes circles in several different sizes; gonna try to make some whitewall stickers.

Crossed another endangered specie off my list - Thanks to Tom P., I'm now the proud owner of a '65 Olds 88: This was a partly finished restoration that doesn't have too far to go. It's nearly complete except for three of the four taillight lenses; it came with a set of Modelhaus factory alloy wheels, but I found out they were only offered on the Starfire and Jetfire I. The standard wheel covers were never kitted, so I'm going to post on the Wanted section for some Polar Lights GTO wire wheel covers - close enough to the Olds optional spokers. I'll save the alloys for when I find a gluebomb I can combine with a '65 Grand Prix roof to make a Jetfire I.

Rich, unfortunately the '62 Dodge reissues (USA Oldies series) came with a '64 Dodge interior bucket and a '63 Dodge dash. Keep your eyes on eBay; original issues pop up now and then. Here's what the correct one looks like (ignore the rear speaker):

Thanks Joe!

Maybe your typical WWII staff car, a '42 Ford four-door sedan? Or a general's limo, like MacArthur's Packard or Patton's Cadillac? Maybe one of those old Army/Navy ambulances that went on to haul surfboards, rock bands and tow race cars when they were surplused?

Rick, take another look at that chassis - Jo-Han/X-El was using nylon push pins to attach the chassis at that time; shouldn't be too much trouble prying them out. The interior would be heat-swaged on, but it looks like the PO dismantled it to paint the interior, so you may get lucky. If you give it a bath in the purple pond, the silver paint will be the first thing to go. I got one of these way back when and did the trim in Bare-Metal; a challenge to my sanity talents but it turned out pretty nice: Good luck with it!

Indeed, many of us could echo those sentiments; including myself. tl, dr: Me too!

What's a good size to look for to make accurate 1/25 scale lug nuts for your average '50s-'70s Detroit car? Like zero point what mm, or inches?

Shrink it and print it:

Can't ID the maker, but I gotta say that's a very accurate-looking '27 roadster - they got that rear bodyside curve right, unlike all the others I've seen.

Some items found on eBay listings a while back:

1946-48 Plymouth; only way to tell them apart is by the serial, from what I've read.

Very elegant - Edsel Ford would have loved it!

Judging by past performance, an act of God (or Congress). (I kid, I kid...) So. Let's wildly speculate on other kits that fit Tim's description... MPC '66 Dodge or Toronado? +/ - one year and then customized.

Great find on that T-bird! As I said, it's also the only way to get a correct '66 coupe (the full kit is a convertible with a tacked-on roof; interior's wrong for a coupe). Did you get the glass for it as well?

I've done the same thing! How about a photo? JC, if you want to skip the front bumper, this is the way the front pan looks:

Could we get a photo of the wheels, Luke? It'd be cool to see some 4-lug chrome reverses.

It did have a full tank; don't know if it's SOP to remove a tank that's full or if it should be emptied first.

So as I was saying under "What did you get today?", my best modeling buddy Tom Piagari and I went to Des Plaines Hobbies yesterday and he dropped off his Dodge minivan at the Car-X repair shop to fix a small fuel leak. They said it would be about $650 because it turned out to be a broken fitting on the top fuel pump that fits in the tank, and it would take several hours. Got a taxi back to his place to chill for the rest of the afternoon, then called back around 4:45 to see how they were doing. The phone rang and rang, then went to a full voice mail box. Odd... We checked online for another number, and as we're scrolling down Google, I notice a headline link "Fire engulfs Des Plaines Auto Shop". "Tom, look at this..." "Oh, my God, it couldn't be..." We hopped into my car and drove over there, and sure enough... (You can see Des Plaines Hobbies in a couple shots. It was already dark by the time we got there, and two snorkels were still pouring water on the place.) Turns out that gasoline spilled when they were dropping out the minivan's tank to get the pump out, and something set it off. Tom sent me this photo of what's left of it, still up on the lift: Fortunately nobody in the shop was hurt, so now it's off to deal with the insurance companies... P.S. Just so you know, Tom OKed me to post all this; he's a member here but doesn't do a lot of postings. Do check out what he has put up, however - some amazing work.

Hit Des Plaines Hobby with Tom (Feretzrus) yesterday and picked up some Alclad Aqua Clear to see how well it works with Molotow chrome, and some Testors Radome Tan paint to do some touch-ups on the '61 T-bird promo I'm restoring; turns out to be a perfect match for the molded tan plastic. Meanwhile we dropped off his Dodge minivan at the nearby Car-X shop for a fuel pump repair... (continued in Off Topic under "What Irked You Today?")

Ironic in this case; AMT's original '61 Pontiac kit has a lot of weird fit issues with the bumper/grille unit and hood as well.

I'm probably shooting myself in the foot with this one (now the prices will go up!), and it's way more toy than kit, but... OK, OK, quit laughing. This '57 Buick Roadmaster was made in Argentina by a company named Bichi (I said quit laughing!) and it came out in other versions: including a Man from U.N.C.L.E. version. Thing is, it's a direct crib from the original promo, it's 1/25 scale, and... it's molded in styrene and straight as new. I'm sure a good builder could transform this into a master for a resin kit. I've seen one up close and believe me, it's doable - maybe kitbash it with a junk promo's wheels and chrome and a '58 Buick kit chassis and interior? Thanks to Tom Piagari (Feretzrus) for giving me the heads-up on this one.

"Rabid Roy" (a spoof of "Rapid Roy") on the driver's side roof, "Indio Auto Dismantling" on the passenger side roof and front fender, and atop the trunk (Indio is a small town in the CA desert east of Palm Springs), "427 C.I." twice on the hood along with "09", "Racer in Toe" on the vertical part of the trunk lid, a Pennzoil decal on each rear quarter, and the old AMT "eagle on slicks peeling out" decals on the quarters as well. Trunk lid is bolted down with plates from one of the AMT Modified Stocker kits (Falcon or Olds I think). Happy Modeling!