ChrisBcritter

And I got my '60 New Yorker (scruffy but savable, now becoming a mild custom Windsor) along with a '61 Continental convertible for a little over $30 thanks to a badly worded eBay listing. Now if I could only find a ruined '64 Dodge promo for its interior...

Not weird at all - but it makes me want to put it on a 4x4 Bronco chassis...

Welllll... ...uh, how about some shots of the Plymouth two cars down?

I can see it.

Number 1 for me - groovy and patriotic (grooviotic? ).

Big fat pile of trivia coming: In a few cases they even outdid AMT - for example, the roof and quarter windows on the '62 Jo-Han Olds F-85 are more accurately shaped than on the AMT '62 Pontiac Tempest (both 1/1 cars used the same roof). Ditto the roof on the Jo-Han '61 F-85 wagon vs. the AMT '61/'62 Buick Special wagons. Jo-Han's most consistent problem was their inability to mold wheelcovers correctly; anything convex seems to have been impossible for them so most of the ones they made look strangely flat or concave. This is a tough thing to fix if you're building a stocker; if you have the following kits here's where you can find accurate substitutes: '62 Chrysler 300H - Revell '62 Chrysler Newport '62 or '63 Dodge - Revell '62 Dodge '64 Dodge - AMT '65 Dodge Coronet or AMT Display Case Trailer '64 Plymouth - Lindberg '64 Plymouth Belvedere (see below if you're building a Sport Fury) Speaking of the '64 Dodge and Plymouth, they were molded as promos in Polara and Fury trim respectively, and the promos have correct bench seat interiors. The kits kept the body trim but the interiors were upgraded to Polara 500 and Sport Fury style with buckets and aren't correct for the Polara and Fury exteriors. You can get the Plymouth promo interior from Modelhaus, but not the Dodge. To make an accurate Polara 500 you'll need different wheelcovers, probably scratchbuilt. For an accurate Sport Fury you'll need lettering for the quarter panels and "Sport" script for the trunk lid, and add tri-bar spinners to the Lindberg wheelcovers. Anyone want to chime in on engines?

Looks great in baby blue! Any issues assembling the chassis or engine? (By the way, if you're not using the Fiesta wheelcovers, would you be interested in trading for something or other?)

Well, the Country Squire was the first '57 Ford kit; molded in a color similar to Ford's Silver Mocha (the original darker version; Ford changed it mid-year to a lighter version). Despite the multi-piece body and lack of glass, it resembled the 1/1 car very well for the time. It was later modified into a Ranchero by filling in the rear door openings and cutting off most of the roof, but they didn't extend the front doors to match the real car, so it's always been inaccurate. When it was reissued in the 1970s it was custom-only (mainly a modified '59 Ford front bumper and grille surround with a tube grille and moon discs). It was later reissued in the 1980s with a severely chopped top and new wheels, and the original grille and front bumper were put back in.

How about the Auburn rubber version? Not 1/25 but as close as you'll probably get. Maybe do a resin copy and work with it?

Maybe Bondic? The UV light should pass through the clear plastic and cure the liquid, theoretically...

Two-tone paint was standard? Was single-tone considered a delete option?

Change "58 Biscayne" to "61 Dart Seneca" and "Sears" to "Motorola" and you've got my dad listening to the Cubs losing on WGN. Similar for us - we bought a '78 Olds Delta 88 equipped the same way; the delete plate was fake wood to match the dash panel and snapped into the radio hole with metal clips. And here's a base-model '77 Pontiac LeMans dash; no radio, clock or A/C:

While on vacation, I got the AMT Polyglas GT tires at the Hobby Lobby in Paducah, KY - with the coupon, natch. (Every other HL I've been to only has slicks for some reason.) I'll see how they look on my '64 Malibu, but they might be a bit anachronistic with the Radir wheels...

The Le Mans was a one-family-owned car, sadly - idiot woman down in Orange County hit the wrong pedal and clobbered it; it was all over the net a while back. The remains went to an insurance auction not long after.

Specifically the Monogram '56 T-bird, not the '58 which would have been an FE?

Yes, the exhaust manifolds and crossover are molded to the engine block and you're on your own from there to the exhaust pipe. It's not too visible when installed, fortunately. I went with duals (second one cut from a spare chassis and modified) and bent some copper wire to go from the manifolds to the pipes. Not totally perfect but pretty good.

I know what you mean - it's a great old kit that captures the lines of the real thing very well - but it's a fiddly monster to assemble. You did a great job!

Just got the glass from a '64 Continental sedan - I've already fitted the roof from the '64 I scrapped to a '65 convertible body; now I've got no excuse not to finish it...

Meanwhile, a few ABnormal people will be running in LeMons this weekend... http://hooniverse.com/2015/06/09/24-hours-of-lemons-b-f-e-gp-preview-at-high-plains-raceway-2/

Somewhat, but the grooves are deeper on the T-bird covers. I'm using a couple '58 T-Bird parts cars for tires (they fit the wheelcovers perfectly), drivetrain and front suspension bits.

Big spender today - a buck seventy-five: Been watching these for months and finally got 'em. They're the custom wheelcovers from the old Monogram '55 Chevy kit, which just happen to be near-perfect copies of '61 Ford units in 1/24 scale - so I can use them on my 1/24 Hubley '61 Country Sedan and they won't be undersize.

Oh yeah - love that car! When the taillights lit up, they read "Genuine Ford Parts" - and its owner was a very pretty blonde girl named Riki Krieger. Wonder if she still has it?

Cherry in color and quality! How was the fit of the new AMT tires on the old AMT wheels?

William, you can find pretty near anything on YouTube now: The very beginning and end are production music that wasn't part of the original record - easy to tell which is which; the added-on stuff is stereo.

A corollary to that from the great-but-eccentric Canadian aircraft builder Bob Diemert: "It was a great idea; it just didn't work." Seriously, I'm doing all my builds right now practicing my strengths - carving/whittling/filing/sanding - and trying to work up the nerve to start painting again. Case in point - a '61 Comet on which I've whiled away hours reshaping Opel GT wheels to look like four-lug Cragar mags, realigned the axle blocks to get the stance and wheelbase just right, and now carving the dual exhausts out of a Ranchero chassis to adapt to the Comet chassis. But when it comes time to paint...