Ragtop Man

Nice work, the chrome on this kit is no picnic.

The Chevrolet Dealer that I worked at in Dearborn, MI as a car porter had that EXACT copper/parchment '77 Monte Carlo on the used car lot for a few days. Came out of an insurance auction, still dotted with red rubbing compound everwhere from the repairs. I must have scrubbed on that thing for hours to clean it up. Since it was a summer job, and there was NO shade, these would get hot as blue hell and the vinyl would be a frying pan. Always hottest when a customer wanted to take it for a test drive. and the salesmen would send me to the gas station at the corner to throw a few gallons in and cool it down. That said, the Montes moved very quickly in the day, so did the Camaros and Novas when we would get them.

The renderings on the box cheated up the Styline bits making them look more integrated. When pans are added without alteration, they do make the kits feel ponderous for the most part, especially the '57 Chevy and Ford. I like the '61 Ranchero/Thunderbird/Corvair parts in the Styline series that seem like they would have been either factory or Barris custom work, but later parts jump the shark for me. Mother's Worry can testify to a few that I built, still have one of them, we compared notes wayyyyyyyy back when Plastic Wood was still a valid filler option. Mikey, I promise to dig the parts out by the next DAAM show! However there is a solution to chase down - I've seen pics (Spotlight?) with the pans for the '57 Chevy thinned in the profile view. Wish I'd printed and saved THAT story, I have a stack the Trophy Ford and Chevy as potential victims. And I've wanted to re-create a Ranchero that my father built for me at the tender age of 2 (!) as a keepsake. He took pics, and put a ton of work into it. That lasted all of 90 seconds when I got my hands on it.

It's flowing, looking great.

I hear ya on the tire size. Did this to the Olds, a pandemic build to get something DONE. MPC Superstock tires, kit rims IIRC. Decals from a box of NA$CAR stuff I scored locally many years ago. Wanted "88" but decals weren't supporting!

Seeking source for 1/25 decals to do some epic cars from history in 1/25. Someone WAS doing the Proctor T-Bird, but lost the link: Dick Trickle Torino Clem Proctor Thunderbird Awww, hell, forgot the third one! Old age is a bugga. It's not the #33 Pearson GTO either. Hints or actual content always welcome!

Hey Mikey! You need to do a hardbody 1/24 of the Batmobile, with the flashing lights...

Thank you! The experience isn't all that great, but there sure are some cool kits.

Spent two cups of coffee searching, and only hit vendors or other sponsored sniper attacks... kinda frustrating. The appear to do some very cool products that I'd be happy to buy, but finding out what's there is a challenge. Thanks in advance for any good, proven links.

More pics, please. How did you save the A post and vent window? This is a common break point for the 88's. Really handsome build!

Looks great! The chassis and stance improve the kit 1000%

Many thanks, Bob! Anyone do this conversion yet? It looks very angular in the pic - even more so than the 1:1.

I think it is testimony to the quality of the original design that it is so hard to capture accurately in scale. All these years later, there's still not a bang-on replica of the '69 in plastic or diecast. This build of the MLRC AMT '69 is by Tom Mooty, who was working from the attached reference. IMO, pretty darn close. The bright grille surround is absent, and does much to define that aggressive grille. I'm overdue to take a pop at the recent Revell '69 B302, which sure seems to be a hit, seeing it at both the LHS' and chain store aisles.

Aghhh.... the clear body Gassers were STACKED at the local K Marts for $2.00 a pop back in the day. We thought the clear body was a stupid gimmick! Incredibly, while packing for our move and briefly sussing each kit boxes' contents, a fresh '69 clear body popped up. I'm gettng old... had 0.00% recall of where it came from or how it got there. Earnestly considering a 'box build' using all the illustrator's colors assuming I can find all the other bits; somewhere there is a chrome tree from the original kit with most of the parts intact, and the Boss 429 is not a big lift to find.

Super cool builds, Tim. How much of a task (or not) to fit the OG chassis in the Chally?

Great build - it works around all the obvious problems with the kit. Kinda gets me thinking about the Nomad... hmmmmm.

If this isn't one of the most obvious 3D projects, ever (Wylde!) I don't know what is. FWIW, the car IRL was never my cup of Cuervo, but I know it is an icon of sorts for many builders, and a clean car is a great entry into the collector / special interest side of the 1:1 hobby. Plus - you can use it every day.

Dead ringer for one I've seen on TR6's - would that help the search at all?

Oh hell yes! Great job - one of my first Monogram builds was the T-Bird, which stalled out with the complication my wire axle brain couldn't process (yet) Dad helped me get it together when he could see I'd stalled out. Once I started following the instructions, it got a little easier. Funny how that works in life. Think it got a cammer from a '68 Galaxie that we'd parted out to make a mold to do slot car bodies, like the #10 Bill Champion car we'd seen in Milwaukee over that summer. (IKR?)

The Pro Street Nova is a little bit tougher fit in the MPC 1/25 Novas than one would first think, mainly due to the interior interface with the chassis - just enough to be frustrating. Nothing a good sesh with the dremel can't fix, though. Sure would be cool to see the Ventura II surface, and I've seen some Pontiac V8s that are pretty crisp in the aftermarket lately so busting a kit isn't mandatory.

Or the 1/12 Torq Thrusts...

For a wheel so common to so many scale model Pontiac it is darn near impossible to find a good set in a kit that really hits the "gotcha" button. Chasing older aftermarket is hit and miss - would love to see a good set of them in 3D, preferably with centers that were separate from the trim ring which simplifies detailing about 100% Ditto that for the Pontiac Honeycomb 'polycast' wheels, or for that matter, the Rally 1.

Got a Pontiac itch that build really scratches. Nice work!

Badda bing! Perfect look for that car - did you massage the 1/4s at all? The build seems to have toned down the angularity a bit. The gold, yea, I'm loving that with the redlines and you can see why...

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo bitchin!