John Goschke

Thanks, Bernard! I did like the red wheels, especially the way they harmonized with the red interior. But when I saw how nice a job Dale did plating these wheels, I HAD to put them on this car! Brett, I think these wheels also come in the more recent issues of the coupe kit. The wheels in the Tudor sedan kit, and the original issue coupe, have a flat center behind the lug nuts. So you can see the difference, here's a closeup showing the original flat center wheel from my coupe, which was built from an early issue of the kit.

Nicely done!

Thanks, Wayne. This is the AMT kit. Thanks, James. You can contact Dale Horner's Little Motor Kar Co. at lmkco@outlook.com Thanks for the comments guys. For fans of the red wheels, I hear you, but chrome seems more appropriate here.

Wow! That's gorgeous!

Hard to believe I finished this model over six years ago! Since then the red wheels have increasingly seemed inappropriate for the time period, 1959 to 1961, and the style of car – a hot rod that's more show car than driver – it turned out to be. So when I recently had a set of wheels an AMT '40 Ford Sedan Delivery plated by Little Motor Kar Co. I knew right where they had to go when they came back all shiny! In the process of changing out the wheels and tires, I resolved another nagging issue with the build – sagging tailpipes – by drilling through the pipe and into the rear corner of the frame so a piece of thin styrene rod could be cemented in to serve as a pipe hangar. Nothing causes the jitters quite like drilling holes in, and changing wheels and tires without removing the suspension from, a completed model! Anyway, I'm happy with the result! Maybe it needs some angel hair to complete the picture!

Beautiful model and great photos!

This kit was actually a modified reissue of Monogram's second all-plastic car kit (kit #P-2,) which was originally molded in shrink- and warp-prone acetate. Suggested retail price was 98¢. This version had a dual carb flathead, street tires with hub caps, and didn't have the zoomie headers. It came in a smaller 6.125" x 3.625" x 1.625" box. At some point during its production it may have been released in styrene. Prior to its re-release as the "Drag Strip Hot Rod" it appeared again, under Monogram's "Four Star Plastikit" branding, probably molded in styrene, with re-vised box art, and an expanded decal sheet. This is the rarest version of the kit.

Excellent work on the windows, Bill! Congratulations on resolving that issue!

Love seeing such meticulous workmanship on this model! Your stance adjustments were definitely worth the effort – one of the most important aspects of a great model! Great job on the "ghostbusting," always a frustrating task, but another one worth the effort. Having lived through those dark ages of opera windows, fake burl wood, and crushed velour, I always thought these two-door Matador were one of the best-looking cars of the era, especially compared to the horrendous 4,000 lb. "intermediates" from GM and Ford!

The short answer is, no, the '69-'70 Wildcat 2-door and 4-door hardtops did not share the same roof stamping. While they are superficially similar, the 4-door roof is longer and has a larger back window opening. The side window openings are different in profile, where the 2-door is shorter in length. In these photos you can see difference in size between the back windows, the overall length of the roofs, and the different side widow opening profiles. The 2-door hardtop is a true coupe, in the sense that there is less leg room in the rear seat, while the 4-door rear seat leg room is the same, or nearly so, as the 4-door sedan.

That came out great! That color suits the car very well. Excellent foil work on those thin side moldings and wheel openings!

Um, um, Um, Nice!

Excellent build and great photos.

Looks great, Ron! Very attractive color combo and your careful detail painting make it a standout!

The channeled coupes look cool, but the stance or something looks definitely goofy on this highboy. Too low in the back or too high in the front, or both...

Thanks, guys!

Outstanding job as always, Bill! This was delight to watch in progress and the finished model is beautiful.

Looks sharp!

Wow! Stunning detail and workmanship on this build!

Some interesting old kits there! Looking forward to further developments.

I foiled an earlier issue of the Belair that was molded in light turquoise. Took it out of the box in the hobby shop and started foiling and didn't have a problem. But it couldn't to give the body a wash and dry in warm water with a little dish soap. Remember, let the weight of the knife do the cutting. Have fun!

One of several projects I fooled around with before concentrating on finishing the '59 Sunliner was this '40 tudor inspired in part by Lee Pratt's beautiful gold '40 coupe which he had recently fitted with '56 Olds wheelcovers. I also wanted a tudor sedan as a shelfmate for the '40 coupe I built some years ago. I put out a call on the TRaK site for a set of the capped headers that came only in the early issues of the kit and was delighted to receive a mint set from Ed Fluck. (Thanks, Ed!) I also wanted to add some detail to the kit's Olds engine, mainly to eliminate the "Magic Levitating Generator!" Then I got the bright idea to add louvers to hood using section from the Revell Deuce roadster hood sides – the body work on the hood is still a bothersome work in progress! Anyway, here's the first mockup. Oh, and the stock bumpers will be smoothed of their guards and rechromed.

Great custom work! Good luck with the repaint!

This looks terrific so far! With the level of craftsmanship you're clearly capable of there's no reason in the world you shouldn't be able to tackle a foil job! maybe you could practice on junk body or a simple snap kit – Revell's '57 Belair hardtop snapper is the perfect practice piece. Don't Fear the Foil!

Beautiful color!