Ragtop Man

I'd be very surprised to learn a stock hood was not in the offing at some point for a version of the kit (Daytona Durability Run, anyone? E. African Safari?) I sure wouldn't let one of these get away for that reason.

I wouldn't put it past them - but there would have to be a pretty solid business case for the one-off. Pro Stock had advanced light years from the original Dyno Don car to the TJ Taxi. The innards would not be correct for an 'early' car, so the crossover work done with the F-Series is pretty well off the table. Drag kits always do well, maybe not as crazy as it would seem.

If the Revell "watchers" are in the house, please accept my sincere compliments on the outstanding box art streak you've been running lately. The '64 and '68 GTOs are superb, as well as the '68 Firebird and '70 Torino Cobra, now the L88 Corvette can be added to that pantheon of "we get it" merchandising. I'll add the '57 Bel Air 2D post to that group, as well as some others that appear to be the work of people who - WOW! - actually have heart for the subject.

Are the Butch Leal mags the correct ones for the actual car? And are they the same that came in the kit? Tripped over a bagged orange plastic Leal Duster prior to turn of the miilenia and it has just been sitting, it was missing wheels and tires and have not really pinned down what it was a.) originally molded with or b.) what the actual car used. Hoping the Moby Mavericks BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH the bubble of JoHan pricing so the excellent pro stock bits from that era become a little more accessible.

Excellent build, the new release of the Torino is on my hit list for DAAM. What is the tire source? They look interesting - an actual, in-scale T/A. The MPC T/As are poo; these look quite nice.

My neighbor restored a 1:1 Alpine for his daughter's 16th birthday backinnaday. IIRC he found a Tiger (!) parts car that was a worn out SCCA racer for parts... thought the V8 was no bueno, he loved the little high winding engines.

Dumb question, but: This is the new "Stranger Things" Camaro... correct? Innaday, my HS friend was helping a rich kid (neighbor to his brother's farm) who had a new 1:1 Z-28 but wanted more suds. Suggested that he tell the kid make tracks to the Chevy dealer for an LS6 crate and accoutrements for a BB install. Never saw the finished product, but had heard second hand it was a very stout machine when complete.

Madonn!

Trivia freeks will also note the Mach 2 show car (one of two, IIRC, need to re-read the book) is still intact behind the Maverick at Kar Kraft as late as this pic was taken, approximately 1971. MUCH speculation about what happened to it.

I had not noticed the wheels - they look as if they have a Motor Wheel center cap; wondering if there wasn't a project afoot ....?? Would love to know what the nomenclature under the "BOSS" on the fender is.

Thank you !!!!!! Those are the exact two that I was recalling from the Charlie Henry book. Both would be fun builds that don't crush the workload on the bench.

Use the Nova body on a cut down throwaway RC GM NA$CAR chassis from the early '90s give it a touch of the dremel and tune it a skosh, presto, BGN car. With all the colors and decals on the body, it hides the hideous proportions. With dremel work (more than I'd anticipated frankly) the much-better MPC X-Body chasis sit nicely on the pro-whateveryacallit chassis.

The Fuller Brush man... or a Babtis' minister come to call on Sunday to see how come Maw and Paw were not in the first row.

We moved to the west side of the state almost two years ago (!) so whenever I do get back and wander around, I'm a bit shocked at the changes. While we are on the topic, do you recall a hobby shop on Outer Drive at Pelham in the little strip mall... next the Jensen's pharmacy? My grandparents were only a few blocks from there, I'd go with my grandparents if I was there for a weekend and out of stuff to do. They carried mostly planes / military IIRC.

LP Sears had an excellent toy department. Thier 1:1 tool department was paid on straight commission - and those guys knew their stuff. Sears' customer base in the area was the Arsenal of Democracy, guys who worked with their hands since they could stand, and read a blueprinprint with one eye closed. Looking back, the manufacturing in the SW Detroit area was mind-boggling. My dad (a Ford engineer) who grew up the same way was always impressed that he got exactly what he needed, every time. I still have a few of the tools, at least those that did not get burglarized in the garage break in of '81. Back in the late 60's early 70's this time of year was rough- the pediatrican was about two miles away from Sears, so middle August we got shots and went back-to-school shopping (read: bore-doom) in the same kick. Mom could be a soft touch, tho. The bag of cashews were obiligatory, and after all wardrobe fitting, we'd head back to sporting goods or the model aisle to pick something out, and maybe a stop for lunch at Sanders.

LP Sears had an excellent toy department. Thier 1:1 tool department was paid on straight commission - and those guys knew their stuff. Sears' customer base in the area was the Arsenal of Democracy, guys who worked with their hands since they could stand, and read a blueprinprint with one eye closed. Looking back, the manufacturing in the SW Detroit area was mind-boggling. My dad (a Ford engineer) who grew up the same way was always impressed that he got exactly what he needed, every time. I still have a few of the tools, at least those that did not get burglarized in the garage break in of '81. Back in the late 60's early 70's this time of year was rough- the pediatrican was about two miles away from Sears, so middle August we got shots and went back-to-school shopping (read: bore-doom) in the same kick. Mom could be a soft touch, tho. The bag of cashews were obiligatory, and after all wardrobe fitting, we'd head back to sporting goods or the model aisle to pick something out, and maybe a stop for lunch at Sanders.

Jumping in here - for de-bonding styrene, as long as there is a seam to work with, hardware store mineral sprit and a medium sized water color brush will do just fine. Score the seam with the Xacto to create a fracture line, then brush in the spirits. Object is to keep flowing it so the seam stays wet. The faint crackling means it is working. Be patient, this can take a little while. After 5-10 minutes, the seam can be 'tickled' with a small pry tool. Keep going with the solvent. Brush, wait, tickle, repeat. Even if this only gets half a seam, now more drastic means - cotton thread, a photo etch cutter blade, etc. - need less grunt work to remove.

Ditto on the Mobys and Trumpeter kits, although none of those are what we would call a cheap date. Easy layup is the AMT '69 Cougar. While it does not have the shock-tower style engine compartment, the wheelbase is within an RCH, just knock off the rear upper wheelwells. The kit (Ranchero) core support and firewall work fine with it. If you are revisting this several months from now, DM me to see if I have made any progress resin casting the AMT '62-3 Fairlane engine compartment. While not an exact match for the Falcon/Ranchero, it's pretty close, and can be modified to suit the pre-66 AMT Falcons, Comets and '64-5 Fairlanes. In the meantime, if you want to get it to "3 footer" accuracy, the chassis and engine compartment from the AMT '69 Torino Cobra can be whittled easily to fit, too. Chassis is easy to section, exhaust pipes (hardest to paint) are separate and the chasiss is easily sectioned.

Jus Cos... A great source for accurate reference samples is SMS Auto Fabrics in Oregon. I bet you could copy a sample image, and then 'paste' the repeat a few dozen time and print. If you REALLY had the jones for a specific pattern, I bet you could order a sample swatch that could then be scanned and replicated. They don't have a scale to work from - and they are blown up quite a bit as well as being watermarked for SMS. A quick check on Ebay showed swatch samples... like this example for a 1962 Chevy. https://www.ebay.com/itm/395158158609

Love the thinking and the backstory of this. I think it would not have been rocket surgery to adapt the Pontiac 11" drums in 1:1 if you were of a mind. IMO the AMT Snapfast was the best and most accurate of the C1s... wonder if the tool went into the ether with the OBS Chevy Pickup tools, and presumably the Tahoe and other variants? Seems like a layup "Craftsman Plus" item.

Really nice! Marshall Griffin is a FB regular and always posting pix of the surviving Fastback sportsman car - he'd be very interested to see this!

Well damn! What cloth did you use? Not sure how this scales down (v. 1/12) but for some of the more elaborate interiors of the 50s and 60s (and did someone say 1/8 Camaro with "Conteur" seating and the repeating pattern?) this is a game changer. Absolutely cool and worthy of a mag article or how to!

Madonn! That is gorgeous!

There was a "Shelby" version for (I think) Ford of Mexico that looked pretty sweet. IMHO they were under-rated for street machine work innaday (c. 1980) ... we all wanted Cougars and Cyclones and Mustangs and Torinos. Part of the problem was the low cost nature of the platform, they rusted out immediately in the midwest after a winter or two of the salt and potholes. Not hard to imagine one with a warmed up Windsor and 9" taking plenty of tickets back then.

Sooooooooooooo... what would be the remaining missing items if a modeler were to score a deal on the Retro Deluxe "Mountain Goat" and the re-ish '72 Jeepster? Thinking that would be a pretty easy layup for the resing and or 3D community. While it's not my general-anesthetic strength happy hour cocktail, the MPC Jeep family is intriguing, and a good change of pace. Would really float my boat to find out the cammer powered Jeep wheelstander was in the cards, somehow; wasn't there a Car Model article on something similar? FWIW, my college roomie's father was corporate Secretrary for AMC in the 80's - during the 60-Minutes crisis - and now my sister's sorority BFF is General Counsel for Stellantis.