John Goschke

Very sharp! Nice crisp detailing! A great example of why we should view promos as raw material!

Very cool, Tulio! The black paint is beautiful and looks great with the black wheels and whitewalls.

Thanks, Marty! Thanks, Steve! Thanks, Bill! Thanks, Tulio! For overall proportions I much prefer the original, old tool Edsel kit. The new one looks like it's had a slight horizontal section job and is missing a scale inch or so through the middle of the body. In addition the upper windshield corners, the A pillars, and vent windows seem too angular. The interior is very nice. I wonder if it would be possible to kitbash the chassis and interior from the new with a cleaned up and detailed old tool body... Thanks, Lee! Thanks, Espo! I was four years old when these cars were introduced and couldn't wait to see one and have been a fan ever since, especially of the Ford-based '58s, the Pacer and Ranger. Thanks, Richard! Sssshhh!, he'll hear you, wherever he is! Actually sideview were optional on most cars back then - that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Thanks, John! I figured it was best to keep the changes simple and easy. Glad you like the grill! Thanks, Hector! Thanks, Bill! This is the kind of custom I like best, where paint, stance, and wheel/tire choice are the main attractions, everything else is gravy! Thanks, Troy! Thanks, Bernard, for the kind words! What I like about this one is that it still looks cool while missing almost all of things I'd do if it had been started as a fresh build – maybe I'm working to hard on all the others! Thanks, Ron! Sometimes I wish I were really a magician! Just think about the possibility of tapping your favorite car with a magic wand and having an instant copy in 1/25th!

This old '58 annual Edsel has a nice old paint job in what's likely Testors Metallic Red. I just color sanded and polished it out and wound up with a pretty nice looking body – way too nice to cut the roof off to use on another model! Decide to rebuild it with a recycled interior from a convertible I built around 1976. The lowered chassis is from an AMT '59 Edsel and the wheelcovers are JoHan '57 Olds. The tires and wheelbacks are circa 1961 AMT items. The original builder removed all the emblems along with the center peak on the hood. He also filled in the taillights, so they had to be ground out with a Dremel tool. The taillight lenses were salvaged from another vintage Edsel build that was pretty rough. For a mild custom frontend treatment I ground out the grill mesh from the center section and cut down a piece from a salvaged Edsel horizontal side grill and installed it vertically. Now that this is done I can I'm back on the '58 Ford! Fabulous photo from the original eBay listing! If I remember correctly I was the only bidder at around $19 or $20! Interior, chassis and wheels were brushpainted ultra-flat black! The convertible interior I built in 1976 was salvaged for this car.

Wow! What an impressive debut! Welcome to the forum. Beautiful build - this car looks great in that color. You've perfectly captured the nose-down stance of the original Avanti. Excellent photography as well.

Thanks, Rich. I was thinking that's what it might be. I just don't remember PW being so hard or grip so tightly to styrene. Thanks, Tulio. I really liked what this guy did and two other unbuilt first issue examples of this kit in my stash for a build of my own it seemed only right to do a more simple clean, repair, rebuild on this one. Thanks, Pete. His work was definitely above average. Obviously had a steady hand and a lot of patience. Thanks, Tom. I know you love these old builds and have some really cool ones in your collection. Thanks, Snake. I will say that it was a pretty easy decision to exercise restraint on this one since it was so nice. Thanks, Mike. Love that term – "sensitive restoration." Thanks, Mike. This one came apart very easily. The builder used cement very sparingly and, for those most part, didn't follow the instruction to scrape paint or plating from areas being joined. A gentle prying with an xacto was mostly all that was required to separate the parts. When I'm looking for an old model to rebuild I try to get the cleanest build I can afford. More often than not if it's painted neatly, the builder was also careful with the cement. If you must by something close to a gluebomb, watch for waving, distortion or sinkmarks on the outside from too much cement on the inside. many of these old models have fender skirts cemented on – rather than prying them off, to avoid breaking the body, I often use a dremel tool and slowly grind them off. A little more money spent on the $40 model may save you a lot of time and effort working with the $20 model. Thanks, Rich. This kind of project is very gratifying. Thanks, Pete. Yeah, MCMF does have its advantages! I just recently discovered that feature! Thanks, Troy. With all the AMT '49s that've been butchered over the years it was a real pleasure to find such a complete and well-preserved old build! Thanks, Ron. I know you've saved more than a few old models yourself over the years! Thanks, Hector. I like to think the original build made it cool and I just added some fresh ice! Thanks, Bo! Just which my hand was as steady as that of the guy who first built this thing!

Some shots during the rebuild. Any idea what the hard blobular material is that he used to make the hinge block? it is very hard, with a rough surface.

Early this year I picked up this vintage custom/hot rod build from the 1960s of AMT's great '49 Ford Club Coupe from one of the guys in my club. I recently took it apart for cleaning. polishing of the old black paint, repair, and refurbishment with very minor changes. I detail-painted the window and side molding in Testors silver, and sprayed the interior with Dulllcote 'cause it was REALLY shiny under the dust and dirt. The original builder was a detail-painting madman with a very steady hand – check all the little red and silver bolts and rivets and the snappy red details on the underside. Of special note is the opening door with a single wire hinge and the door jam and door edge filler panels made from metal from a Testors glue tube. The tires have hand-painted WWs on both sides and the original builder set the killer stance with wheels and hubcaps from the first-issue '40 Ford coupe. I replaced the head and taillights because the chrome was badly oxidized and the broken and missing traction bars and lake plugs. Putting this old model back together was a great slump-buster!

Another beauty, Tulio!

Stunning build with extremely crisp paint and foil work! Love that color, too. Beautiful photography as well. "10s" straight across!

The cove does seem kinda large but the basic shape looks better than the MPC kit.

Johnny Nitpicker, here. I'm seeing proportion and shape issues with the grill and placement errors with the round front emblem (How does the MPC kit compare?). Otherwise, I like it. Of course I can't complain too much 'cause I still like the old SMP '59 - '61 kits with their blunt fronts and beady headlights!

I built one of these motors when I was in my teens when Lindberg reissued their 1/48 Stuka in motorized form. The motor did work, but not for long because (1) the hand-wound armature was probably unbalanced and (2) there were no bearings or bushings where the metal shaft went through the plastic housing, so before long the combined effects of heat and a "wobbly shaft" (In voice of Groucho, "And we all know how much trouble that can be!") smoked the little motor. Useful motor life: approximately five minutes (being generous.)

Love it! Just the right look and it's not often you see that original hardtop roof.

Nice job in spite of the issues! This kit has been around since the mid-late 1960s so the molds may be a kinda tired, which contributes to the flash problem – but better to much plastic than too little! I really like the color combo. I've been wanting to see that Candy Lime Green on a model for awhile, since I've bought a couple cans cheap and haven't found the right project for it yet, this gives me an idea! If you still have an urge to build a quad-light 'vette you should seek out the Monogram Pro-modeler '58 which has been reissued by Revell I think, it's a much better kit.

Wow! That's different – nice work! When I was about 10 years old, in 1963, my Dad was new car shopping, ordering brochures thru the mail, and when I saw a Checker brochure arrive one day I was really upset 'cause I thought they were ugly. Then he got a used sedan loaner from the local repair shop and it looked like a giant toad parked behind our '58 Del Rio Ranch Wagon. But my Dad didn't like the Checker because it had a six, and he was a "V-8 man." He finally traded the Ranch Wagon for a used '61 Olds F-85 wagon with the little V-8 – man, was I relieved! No taxi cab!

Thanks, PorkChop! (No, YOU da man!) Thanks, Ron! Thanks, Jim! Here's the original grill... Thanks, Bruce! Thanks, Richard! I'm happier with it now! Thanks, Merc! Sort of a Ford man, myself, especially '58s. And Buick, Olds, Pontiac man! Thanks, Dale! Thanks, Bo! Thanks, Marty! Thanks, Peter! Here's the original build thread. I don't think I posted it "Under Glass," before now. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/76836-smp-58-impala-ala-larry-watson-interior-done-final-assembly/ Thanks, Al! I do seem be stuck 'back in the day," both as a source of inspiration and kit and parts source! Thanks, Clipper! It was long time comin' around, too! Thanks, Tom! Sometimes the second time is the charm! Thanks, Dan! Yeah! Rockin' with "some Tony Joe White on the stereo!" Thanks, Steve! I like the '58 Impalas, but I love 'em without the "pitchforks"! Thanks, Steve! I think it suits it, too, sorta brings out the Chevy's inner Cadillac, if you know what I mean.

When I originally finished this car my grill idea didn't work out so I just blacked out the stock one. While that's a treatment I always liked, it didn't seem correct for this car and, worse, felt like a cop out. This weekend I decided to work up the nerve to partially disassemble the model to grind out the old grill and add a piece from a vintage Aurora Custom Grill & Trim set. I like this a lot better!

Shiny = good. Clear it!

Thanks, Tom! I hear you on the self-control problem – gotta try to keep primary focus on the '58 Fairlane project!

It took a little tweaking to get the engine in from an old AMT '57 T-bird. Had to extend the tailshaft a bit to get the distributor to clear the firewall and shorten the fan pulley to clear the radiator (it still needs a little more air in there.) I also swapped the oil pan around to front-sump configuration like the full-size Fords then drilled it for the good old wire axle to make things easy (and cause furrowed brows among fans of "full detail".) Also got rid of the flange on the T-bird air cleaner. Still needs some radiator hoses made. Check it out... With a couple elbows of bent styrene I'll get the exhaust hooked up, though it might be cool to add cut-outs for some lake plugs. Yes? I also took a few minutes before The Daily Show to make a bed cover from some "V-groove" styrene. Fortunately the bed is reasonably square!

Love this kit! Great color choice!

Looks sharp! That shade of red really pops!

Oh, man. Every car modeler will need to purchase these dvds or something similar in book form and practice, practice, practice, before displaying any figure with their model or we're going to be doing even more cringing at the NNL. http://www.darkswordminiatures.com/shop/index.php/dark-sword-masterworks-miniature-painting-with-marike-reimer-4-dvd-set.html

Absolutely amazing!