ChrisBcritter

Went down to the Niles Hobby Lobby with my final (?) 40% off coupon and after some looking, finally picked out the MPC Godzilla Jeep. Went to the checkout and after I bought it the nice lady gave me back the coupon, saying I could use it tomorrow. Frankly, I'm more inclined to laminate and frame it, and hang it over the workbench . As for the kit, has anyone tried converting it to a 2WD DJ-3 Dispatcher? I'm thinking of doing that and swapping in an Olds 215 V-8 from the Jo-Han F-85 since I simply can't leave well enough alone enjoy a challenge. P.S. They also had Mr. Super Smooth Clear Matt Finish spray this time - looks good in the YT video; anyone tried it?

Love to see something in desperate shape brought back to life - more please!

I used to have one of these, unbuilt, that I was going to part out after taking the Woodlites for the Monogram Packard phaeton - cooler heads prevailed and I ended up selling it off complete. Hope the buyer enjoyed it. Now you can get 3D printed Woodlites, so no need to swipe or cast these. I'd forgotten it had an early Corvair setup - but I see it's a manual, so again the Road Agent is still the only source of a Corvair Powerglide.

Make a mold of the grille, then drill out the lenses, put the mold back on the grille, put a little transparent resin into the holes and you have perfect fitting clear lenses. Add reflectors and done.

Jo-Han screws are a little thinner and longer than AMT/SMP: Left one came from a '60 El Camino; right one came from an original issue '62 Chrysler 300. And to be complete: From a '62 Chrysler Newport.

Easiest way is to number them. Many have been IDed but just to get them all in one place: 1-3. AMT '53 Ford pickup. 4. AMT, possibly from a trailer - the lug nuts riding a raised circle was in a few AMT kits but the flange on the inside is throwing me. 5. AMT '58 Impala most likely; '59 El Camino was the same but I think this blue shade was used on the Impala. Front wheel. 6. AMT '52 Chevy, whichever one was molded in this color. Rear wheel. 7-8. AMT '37 Chevy coupe/convertible. #7 is a front wheel. 9. AMT '40 Ford coupe/sedan/sedan delivery. 10. AMT '57 Ford. 11. AMT '65 GTO, molded in yellow - nice wheels, molded a bit deeper than most - would look good chromed; I'm casting them. 12. AMT generic open wheel used in most of their full-size kits from '61-'64 or so; easy to find but low detail. 13-14. MPC Jeep and Jeepster (likely the latter since they're molded in white). 15. AMT '49/'50 Ford and '49 Mercury; rear wheel. 16. MPC chrome reverse with center drilled out; used in their Pontiacs and Mopars (full-size only?) from '65 to '70 or so. 17. AMT '66 Comet Cyclone GT and '67 Fairlane GT. 18. A tough one, and a rare one - took a lot of looking, but this wheel is from the SMP '61 Chevy Impala. The tabs cinched it: Next challenge?

Major contender for the Silk Purse Award!

Got one last 40% off coupon in yesterday's Tribune - will hit Niles this week if it ever stops snowing. Models weren't listed as on sale in the ad this time.

on red light

I sat down last night with the new AND old Nova wagons - and after comparing them both, here's my take. First, the body: Overall dimensions are pretty well spot on, and the engine compartment is improved Emblems are more delicately molded on the new one Door/tailgate openings are much less deeply engraved on the new one No sink marks on the new one - my old one has at least six Old glass will fit the new body, but new glass won't fit the old one - its roof is thicker underneath around the edges Grille bars are not as sharply molded on the new one; no turn signal lens pattern and the horizontal lines are missing from the wraparound trim. It will fit the old body; old one fits new with a little filing on the sides of the tab Rear bumpers will swap; only difference is the new one doesn't have "1963" on it Taillights are little jewels on the new one - red lenses are back, and for the first time, AMT added the middle reflectors on the bezels (just hit them with a drop of clear red). They should interchange on the old body for fit The new hood will swap with the old one just fine and vice versa except for the clip tab on the old one Next, the chassis: Really good clone of the original; every bolt, floor plug, cable and line is accounted for down to the 24 bolts on the spare tire well Width at the rear tapers a bit on the new one; it fits the old body but the old chassis would have to be trimmed 1/16" on either side at the end, tapering forward to the wheelwells to fit the new one Motor mounts match; the six/PG from the old kit and the 327/stick from the '63 hardtop drop right in The underside of the new chassis is more relief engraved; if you remove the molded-in exhaust or rear springs you'll have to do more filling Wheelcovers/tires are an excellent match to the original; treads on the new ones are better defined The new chassis, oddly, is missing a small (1/8") chunk out of the rear stub frame next to the front spring hanger on the driver's side - easy fix Finally, the interior - this has some concerns for me: New and old interiors interchange for fit very well Engraving on seats and especially door panels on the new one isn't as good as the original - door and window handles are barely suggested, the crosshatch texture in the rectangular panels on the seats and doors is missing, and somehow nearly all the detail on the top half of the driver's door panel appears to have been filed or polished off Dash has no molded-in gauge detail like the original, but the instrument cluster decal is a beaut, right down to the microscopic turn signal indicator arrows Radio looks like an aftermarket (cassette?) unit, with no pushbuttons and what appears to be an AM/FM switch on top - old one was AM pushbutton Glove box door and ash tray are recessed into the dash, rather than with engraved openings like the old one Steering wheel is excellent - nubs on the back are more in-scale than the old one Engraving on the cargo floor is more even and consistent than the old one - but of course both have large push marks near the tailgate with the pattern ever-so-slightly misaligned (some things never change!) So, in the end, I'm very happy to see this kit return, or be reincarnated - I think when I build it I'll scrounge up an original interior and maybe grille/bumper for the best of both worlds. Thank you Round 2!

^^^Just ordered one of those scribers. Also stopped by the Deerfield HobbyTown USA and picked up the Nova wagon (they have one more) - haven't heard from Des Plaines Hobbies yet. Then I hit HL down the street and didn't see any kits I wanted that much, but made a big score on a Testors Model Master Fantasy War Figure Metallizer paint set - regular $24.95, marked down to $6.24 (they have one more on the rack) - five bottles of flat metallics plus thinner. Won't be painting any fantasy war figures but I'm sure I can do some engine and chassis detailing.

Hmm. The grille and wheelcovers were on the same (chrome) tree; did the rust damage to the tool cause a partial redo?

Probably because Jo-Han brought out their USA Oldies kits at the same time, so the Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler were already hitting shelves - which already happened to Revell in '62, so once bitten...

Hold my (uuurrrp)

Great makeover, and the backdrops seal the deal!

I really like where this is headed - the Merc has a lot of subtle differences from the Ford, but you're getting them!

The original issue wheels were more accurate, slightly; you'd still be better off making a mold of the spare (which, defying all odds, they got right) and casting four copies of the center.

Try using Brighto!

Aw man. Only got to see her once, back in '83, but it was a memorable show also with Darlene Love, Martha Reeves and Ronnie Spector.

Paul, you may want to take a look at the custom headlight/fender extension setup from the AMT '64 Pontiac Grand Prix: Nice design, and you almost never see the Grand Prix built custom, so it's not too familiar - but not too hard to find the parts either. I recognized the airplane parts you used - they're from the old 1/48 scale Aurora B-25 bomber.

I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this one! One note: The headlights in this kit are nearly flush with the top edge of the front fenders; they should be more hooded. For my kit I took the hooded headlights from the AMT 1959 Mercury to adapt to the front end; they're a close match. I took the opposite tack when I did a 'shopped sedan delivery - chopped the front to match the rear:

I'm ready!

braised lamb chops?

Agreed on that GTO. A lot of different bodies can be made to fit that chassis - hmm. Maybe the Hemi Under Glass '66 Barracuda, or '65 Comet, or...? Hope the '64 Cutlass gets announced in March.