Ragtop Man

Like taking an umbrella to a ballgame, or sunglasses to the beach. That said, I know Steve is a fan of the T-Bird and HCDJ, so anything is possible with support and funding.

Hey, can we get back to what is currently announced and in progress? Maybe wish lists could be its own thread.

Kevin Lutz, to the Big Bad Blue courtesy phone please!! Check this build out, it really sings.

I love the coupes, but would dig that even more as a Roadster. Your speculation is spot on - and I really like how it turned out. Scooping up Blue Banditos wherever I can find them...! One question tho - Are there other Monogram-sized wheel covers for the insert whitewall tires beyond the Olds Fiesta (last seen in the '58 T-Bird) and the excellent Dodge Lancers in the '59 2-in-1 Revell kit? (or was it the '60?) I'm briefly excepting the T-Bird spoke wheels in the pickup... but they might be interesting at some point.) I really enjoy the look on an early rod, very "roadsters in roto" look of quality home built rods, where real "mag" wheels were just out of sight even for a bucks up guy.

Strolled through That Outlet Place and happened upon a stack of the tankers, figured it would be a good slump breaker at some point. Shaking my head going through the kit - if it had only been 1/25 or even 1/24 it would have been a sensation at the time. Anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.... the markings in the Atlantis kit are uninspired. Thinking something like a Texaco, Gulf, Mobil, etc. would be much more rewarding to build. Esoteric, to be sure, but gotta change it up now and then.

Imma take a wild guess that when AMT was knocking out the Craftsman / Trophy Jr. series the toolmakers and job setters were working to get product out and might have just grabbed the Coupe/Convertible insert. Wondering how many production runs the Craftsman version of this had before the tool was scrapped (Which Steve G. confirmed in my discussion.)

Yessir - that hood does open and when I did peek inside, the compartment looks like a good amount of thought went into the design. So, we can cross fingers for a Stovebolt or good rendition of the W-Engine.

Got to look at the buildups at the show, cautiously impressed with the table 'presence' and engraving of both the wagon and Barracuda. The wagon "X" frame was particularly well done, had to look twice to see if it was a traditional platform type. Should respond well to weathering/painting/washes. Hoping the dimensions lend themselves to bashing with the outstanding Revell '60 Impala...

Thank you - I will check that out.

I'd look at MP Firefighter as the base to build SD, just enough of the stock bits from the AMT kit to pass. Excellent 429 in the Revell 007 '71 Mustang, and not far off, either. Ansen slots for F/R might be a tougher ticket, I'm not recalling many in scale even though they were ALL over the street in the day. I'm sure someone here will know a good source.

I wasn't aware that was a thing in the late '60s. But not juding, here.

Before or after release? That will be a help, regardless. Appreicate the heads up.

Is the roadster body in there, too?

That is amazing looking - to get an incredible build out of a relatively crude kit. Nice work, and I agree 100% on the paint color! Was this mostly box stock, or did you have a lot of scratchbuilding work to get to this point?

Someone send a picture of this to Ed Sexton, here is the next box build for that kit. Fantastic job on a largely unhearlded kit!

Damn! That's the snap kit? You got everything that one had to offer, and more. Great color choice and build!

I'm a broken record on this, but, the 1/25 cars get the back of the hand, compared to the rest of the products. Moreover, I fail to understand why R2 - after going to all the trouble of the part shots on the bottom of the box - does not post those online for further study. They go to all the trouble of opening the gates to geek up the lunatic fringe, but we don't get to see what is actually there until it lands at the LHS. A few recent releases have had some remarkable bonus content, such as the '69 Galaxie XL, which now contains a good portion of the '67-'68 Galaxie XLs. Don't need to explain why that is a huge deal... That said, I'm in dumb love with the Streaker 442 - can see a few ways to crack that box - or get out the saw and have at a GTO that's just sitting there. Looking forward to seeing the setups and buildups at the DAAM show next weekend.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^ - Thank you, Tim! I will be looking this up on my DVD and bookmarking. Beyond the Charger, so many of Tim's build stories had/have great suggestions for solving the simple faults that seem to work their way into so many kits, the reviews were invaluable to me as a buy/pass guide. Well, mostly buy. Knowing there IS a way that a simple mod can take a build from 'eh' to 'Oh!' is invaluable. Tim's reviews were one of the best parts of the classic SA (with E) and other mags.

Love the look and feel of the build with the more normal tires. FWIW, there is a West Coast NASCAR page on FB, with pics from 'the day' when they were so innovative with race cars of all different types and stripes. Several Olds' and Buicks in the shots, esp the A-Body cars. The rules and purses were open enough to encourage the diversity, far less 'factory' participation that made GN a Ford/Mopar affair for a decade. Could easily do much the same with a GTO or 442 and the common Chevelles.... really cool build that I'd like to see more of.

Enjoying this build so much, what a great change of pace and a great build to do with a pedestrian kit! FWIW, there was an episode of RoadKill where the main event was a 25 lap sprint in used up CVs - hilarous. They could have called it the Donut Cup...

They pop, big time. And it shows what great kits they were that now, 60 years later, they still look like the tools were cut yesterday. Like many under-appreciated AMT Trophies, if they had never existed and were released today, we would be blown away.

The engine detail is great. Really makes the build! Will keep the window and grille in mind when it is time to get going on mine - many thanks for the heads-up.

This build is so great, it is easy to miss how much work it took to get there. It would belong in the Chrysler Museum if there was still a Chrysler, if not that, then the NHRA Museum in Pomona, CA. Super well done, the scratchbuilding is amazing.

Ditto.

More's the pity on that Pinto/V6 - the european calibration in the excellent firstgen Capri was excellent. Should have screamed... instead of burped.