ChrisBcritter

From the photo of the real car, I think I see the issue: the roofline should be straight all the way across the top of the door glass, then curve down?

Great to see this one and tbill's version finished at the same time! Could you please give us a shot of the chassis? tbill didn't mention any trouble with the rear axle and I'd like to compare them.

Great to see this one and JerseyRed's version finished at the same time! Could you please give us a shot of the chassis? JerseyRed had trouble with the rear axle and I'd like to compare them.

Great match! Was the paint a custom mix, and what did you use?

Sharp! Was that GTO bumper (second from top on the left) cracked when you sent it?

How are the engines in the Danbury '57 Dodge pickup and '58 Plymouth? Would it be better to get a damaged one of these and pull the engine - and maybe make resin copies?

I've done this with foil and Bondic - made copies of '58 Ford side trim for my custom '56 Plymouth. Works quite well.

Yep - that's a built kit, not a promo. That old Jo-Han kit plastic is very hard and can be brittle, so be careful.

OK: HobbyTown USA has one '29 roadster. Hobby Lobby has two '29 roadsters and one '30 coupe. Happy hunting!

Checked HobbyTown USA in Deerfield this afternoon; none yet and they're not sure when.

Hit three hobby stores today; got the most important thing I've bought in a LONG time: long-nose angled tweezers. Already used them several times yesterday to pick up dropped parts.

The Revell '53-'54 Chevys. The modeling masochist in me keeps wanting to make a fourth attempt at one of these, even with all I've learned about them since I last tried. Probably because my family had two white-over-light-blue '53s.

I'll check the Deerfield Hobby Lobby and HobbyTown USA tomorrow and let you know what's there.

OK, now that's funny - riding a bike in L.A. to buy a car model. ("B.P.D." - Burbank?) Seriously, looking forward to your build. Guess I'll check Hobby Land tomorrow, and start scribing out the hood on the '64 Comet tonight.

This is an obscure tip, but hopefully someone will learn from my mistake. I've discovered that old Hubley kits from the early '60s use acetate for the glass instead of styrene. This results in shrunken windows on the Renault promo and kit; the big Fords seem to fare better. However, when the '60 Ford wagon I'm resurrecting got its bath in the purple pond, I put in the windshield to remove a decal. Left them in there for several days; finally got most of the paint off but the glass had shrunk and became rubbery - and now it's all curled up. Which is why I have a Wanted ad for another windshield.

Good to know - please post up a comparison when you do it.

Great! Thanks for the info. I just dug into my collection, did some measuring, and got the following comparisons for these old AMT kits: '61, '62, and '63 Falcons: Length 6 3/4", width 2 1/2", wheelbase 4 3/8" ('60 should be the same) '61 Ranchero: Length 7", width 2 11/32", wheelbase 4 3/8" (extra 1/4" is in rear overhang) '64 Falcon: Length 6 13/32", width 2 11/32", wheelbase 4 3/8" ('65 should be the same) '61 Comet: Length 7 1/8", width 2 1/2", wheelbase 4 1/2" '64 Comet: Length 7 7/32", width 2 11/32", wheelbase 4 9/16" Overhangs in front and rear will vary, of course; we'll know more when someone gets a '65 built. Hope this helps!

I think you and I are in the vast minority. For me they don't need to roll like Hot Wheels but I do like them to rotate. Funny thing was I had a whole 8'-10' shelf of models that went through the Northridge earthquake without falling off; reason turned out to be that the shelf was painted with latex and the vinyl tires had lightly cemented themselves to it...

Ron or Rick, could you tell us the width and length of the chassis? I'd like to start planning some conversions (Falcon, Ranchero, '64 Comet, etc.).

I bet that thing on the floorboard is the blower motor for the underseat heater. Note what looks like water lines running up to alongside it. Nice to hear that everything fits well! I have a fastback I'll tackle someday (when I figure out how to make the '46 grille more accurate )

Considering how well the rest of the car captures the look of the original, I can only guess that AMT was in a big hurry to get this one into the stores.

Here's something I don't think has ever been asked: Does Super Clean dissolve clear acetate? I have a very specific reason for asking, but depending on the answer, I'll either kick myself or make a date with the funny farm.

VERY impressive. Did you put a black base coat on it? I'm going to have to try one.

Hmm. Now if you backdate the '35 Auburn Speedster to a '34, and stuff in a supercharged '37 Cord V8 and front wheel drive unit... or maybe the drivetrain from a Danbury Mint '41 Cadillac? Rules say flathead V-8s but don't specify Ford...

The bucket seats are from the AMT '49 Mercury. This is turning out real sharp!