Ragtop Man

Not sure my money would be on the table for it - but I would also bet that a 3D printed Magnum or 300 transkit would be a popular and profitable download, in that same commercial pocket as '70s Grand Am/Grand Prix with high interest in a narrow scope. FWIW, in 1979, I thought that 300 was the absolute shyte - Chrysler had resurrected a great name! Stalked the downriver dealer in Taylor after arrival, was sized up by the salesman as having insufficent funds for further conversation, but he did say they had a lot of interest and a markup on it. As 1979 unfolded and Detroit collapsed in the Iran oil crisis... the markup was gone and I'm fairly sure the salesman was, too. In the end, my last visit, the poor thing had been marked down to the bone, and I'm not sure if the store survived ChryCo BK.

Innaday, GM was a pretty soft touch for the planners on S-Truck - any means they had to increase retail sales penetration would get an audience. They needed as many 4-cylinder S' in the mix as possible, the better to chin the CAFE bar for the V-8s in full-size pickups that were stupendously profitable. No one has mentioned - yet - in 1:1 scale the S-Truck is an excellent low-cost frame donor for an early Chevy "advance design" pickup. If I'm recalling the story properly, the rig of choice is an extended cab standard bed, which puts the wheelbase in nearly the perfect location, and cab/bed mounts within backyard adjustment. In 1:25, I'd imagine similar results would be possible, might make a neat conversion if you had a partial or started kit just sitting there looking for some attention.

Can't say that MPC wasn't really trying hard in that era to bring value to the builder! As a kid, I learned a lot about 1:1 from 1:25 kits - and I also recall they went together fairly well. Sure would like to find a '68-'69 Jeepster builder kit, IIRC they were an early source for the diecast Ford XL wheel covers, or were pretty close.

In '74 There was a great story in CARS Magazine (maybe SSDI?) about that exact 1:1 vehicle and powertrain. Mag went in thinking they would get the last 440 but apparently missed a cutoff, ordered the hot 360 after a tip from their PR contact. Black on black, with just the wheel lip moldings, Rallys and G60 Goodyears, hood pins, TF+slap stik, Tuff wheel, guages, yadda yadda. Left off the kiddy candy, car looked like a million bucks. A B-Body was pretty heavy, then, so it was unlikely to ET but it was otherwise an excellent performance car.

Tim: Do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The winner swap for this would be the 3.4L TDC V6 that was in the Revell Grand Prix - I drove a prototype in the day and it was ALL that, unfortunately nixed just when they had it right. Northstars/Shortstars were a thing for a minute; 3800 is gutty and fun, LS4 transverse V8 from the GXP is a cool swap, too. Nice kit that I really need to revisit.

"Tilt"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is incredible.

Need to get this out in natural light and pump some love into the roof.quarter so we can see it better!

Agree - if a dealer lands on a combination of features at a good price that turns very quickly, they will keep re-ordering units for stock until the District Managar stuffs them with Station Wagons in July when the market is dead. "Tim, we've got an objective on wagons right now, let's order a few...for you. Then we can talk about those Charger Rallyes ..." All the reasons you cited are exactly why 'muscle' just went over a cliff.

Someplace, I have pics of another conversion of the R2 "2+2" showing the general location of the cuts. The AAM 2+2 was decent, but it was using somewhat earlier resin casting technology, not sharp like the best of Don, MLRC, others An alternative strategy is to add the rear clip from the '65 Grand Prix, a more complex project that will require some filling and finagling of the opening for the bumper. I'll see if I can find the pics of my AAM with sharpie lines that show where the original cuts were - sent to a local builder friend who was planning to take a 'chop' at the project.

Oh, it's still ug-leee... But a good build nonetheless. BOB

I could see a tune up (perhaps clone?) of the Super Charger that would use elements from the retooled '68 Coronets. I think that interest would grow if the program likewise included a retooled '72 Roadrunner of the same quality and fit. That said, I'd step on a row of boxes to get to the '70 Cyclone even though I'm sitting on several as we speak.

Great build - they are just as much work as the bigguns! A Monogram 289 Cobra would have been a great 1/24-25 subject, but I can easily see the product committee saying, "We already HAVE a Cobra..." at the same time green lighting another Corvette.

Oh heck yes! I'm heading to the Studebaker regional show in South Bend this weekend - this is a great inspriation for the trip!!!

Nice job on the "Michigan Strong Boy" - IIRC, the last year that you could get a 4-speed in the big car. Several documented '69s... dunno on '70s. Question to the group: would clear coating the new/recent AMT / R2 decals help? This build is very well done, love the contrast, looks just like they did backinnaday cruising around Dearborn. Sure would be swell if the 3Dverse had the die cast Galaxie wheel covers for '67-70 - I think the closest in any kits were the '68-9 Jeepster from MPC.

Nice! So hot rod, so cool. Too be clear, tho: Which kit chassis did you start with - ? Sit, stance and details are exactly right!

Just teleported back to the '80 Street Machine Nationals... you nailed the look and feel of that era. Great job!

Things that make you say, "damn!" for $500! Super clean and gorgeous, surprised we are not seeing more of them that exploit the opening hood. The paint is outstanding and love the interior match, that feels exactly like 1964.

Sick, in the good way! All kinds of cool Fiero 1:1 swaps out there. I occassionally fantasize about stabbing in the Grand Prix GXP east-west V8 (LS4) in an '88 GT... Spent a good part of my early career working on Fiero projects for our marketing agency, got to meet with the engineers, and toured the plant up close. Lots of stories, maybe some day they will end up in a book.

Both builds rock. The Monogram 308 is easily the best rendering of the subject for shape and proportion, its hard to mess up. Found a "Rally" version that looked like a good start to replicate the early Michelotto 308 developed under the customer assistance program. The 612 is great as a kit, too. I've got a stack of the late model front-engine (599, 599 GTO, 612, SA ) and look forward to digging in for some building once the project is in the bag.

Super builds on both - I like the color selection, especially the slate on the coupe. Makes ya think... there was a time when you could have a show-worthy 1:1 Gullwing or Roadster for the price of a new Cadillac. Now, literally, millions. I have always loved this particular car, and used to drag my father to museums just to see one. One of my first "realistic" builds was the AMT 300 SL in the original art version. First metallic silver paint job without blotching, and I even went as far as cutting away the molded in exhaust on the chassis and replacing with a stick of plastruct. For all the slagging over the years, mine went together pretty well, and if you are interested in the subect, early relases are not very expensive. Collection of things now includes the 1/12 Revell (ancient) and 1/16 Italieri (nearly as ancient) so I'll need to do some digging on YouTube to see who's taken a crack at them.

As a quick reminder, the 1/24 '32 Roadster in quesiton is the c. 1964 Monogram "Little Deuce" which has had several re-releases. Last one I looked at had replaced the Pontiac with a SBC (boo, hiss) but is still about 85% if the original kit.

Double Chubby Chuck with fries, and a Cherry Coke. Beautiful build, the kit is simple but it sure ain't easy to get it to look like this.

Rwarr... love the blue on it! Very nice!

So a while ago I posted a scan of the 1/8 Scale PC 88 Big Deuce decal sheet on the Spotlight Message Board, just to get some conversation going... and I was contemplating tracking down one for another project. Brandon Miller saw the post and gave the sheet it a rip. He normally does NASCAR decals, but decided to take a flyer on the 62-year-old sheet. I sent the highest resolution scan I could muster with my stone-age Canon that gets up to about 600 dpi. What he sent back knocked me out. Not only did Brandon absolutely nail every bit of the original sheet, but cleaned and sharpened some original speed equipment logos, and doubled up on the ‘flame’ decals as well. Just to make it even better, he also planning print this in 1/24 for anyone making a replica from the more plentiful Little Deuce, most of which is still in the recent “Basic Builder” kit. (A friend of the board is working on 1/24 American “LeMans” wheels… just to ice the cake. More to come, there. ) By copy of this, I will ask Brandon to step forward with a link to purchase in either size, or discuss whatever custom decal project crosses your mind.