RancheroSteve

Thanks! Wish I could remember better what the paint is (one of these days I'll learn to take notes), but from what I can recall I used some metallic purple Testors enamel that looked close, but may have modified it a little with a few drops of another color. I was just shooting for something that looked "about right" based on photos I've seen.

Great to see this kit restored to its original configuration after all this time - especially the box art, which is one of my favorites. I went to the trouble of building a Tweedy Pie a few years ago, which entailed suplementing the version available at the time with the trans kit from R&M and having to send parts out to be plated, finding the right wheels and tires, etc. All in all, a pretty expensive proposition, but worth it all the same. I love that little hot rod!

Here's another realtive rarity. Protar made a series of these bicycle kits sometime in the eighties. 1/9 scale, mostly metal, with some rubber and a few plastic parts.

The only plastic T-87, as far as I'm aware. Too bad it's 1/72 scale.

A quote from Jack White (formerly of the White Stripes) that I read in Sunday's New York Times: “This generation is so dead,” he said at one point. “You ask a kid, ‘What are you doing this Saturday?’ and they’ll be playing video games or watching cable, instead of building model cars or airplanes or doing something creative. Kids today never say, ‘Man, I’m really into remote-controlled steamboats.’ They never say that.” And Jack White (age 36) is probably a "kid" to a lot of us here, myself included. No real point, I guess - except that the world is in a constant state of change, and it's all a matter of perspective.

Looks great Mark! Just a thought on the wheel issue - would it make sense (on a future build of course) to re-shape the bodywork to better fit the tire size?

VRM makes really first-rate stuff - I used their decals on both the Cobra Daytona and the Cheetah that I built. You not only get the fabulous decals, but a whole booklet detailing the various schemes and their history.

Here's a 'then & now" comparison of one of the key (and easily identifiable) corners used in that clip from the show. I did a quick screen grab from the YouTube video, then tried as closely as I could to replicate the angle. As you can see, it hasn't really changed much over the years.

I've had a semi-moratorium on buying more kits, but that Revell-Germany McLaren MP4-25 had been calling my name for quite a long time and I finally broke down.

Very nicely done - period feel, with some contemporary touches!

I noticed that, too - looks like it's had a full restoration to me. Also, "arguably the best selling model in hot rodding history"? Not so sure about that, either.

I always thought it was shame they didn't sell better. In my eyes, it's a great subject, and even if the kit has few issues I'm glad to have it. Same goes for the McLaren. I bought a couple of each.

Oh, I see that it even says "Accurate Miniatures" on the bags. So these kits really are just re-boxed AM kits!

Looks like the same gray plastic that Accurate Miniatures was using.

I just did a Google image search for "Lincoln Futura" and found it. BTW, one of the best reference article I've seen on the Futura is in the December 1996 issue of Collectible Automobile. Twelve pages, with lots of photos and great historical info. Yes, that's my build - thanks.

It's actually hinged at the bottom rear, in the corners, as you can see in this photo. It's not too hard to separate the pieces and make the top removeable (I did it when I built this), but making it functional would probably require new canopies, as the thickness of the parts in scale prevents it from working prototypically.

I'll agree with Shane. The intake manifold is noticeably wider on the 351 and therefore the best visual indicator.

Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking there are some nineties era AMT F-150 pickups that might have the 351. EFI, of course.

Thanks, Joseph. This is a great piece of info (seems obvious once you know) that should almost be in the manual!

I'm glad I didn't try to build this as a kid! It's a challenging, but satisfying project for an adult modeler of moderate ability. Remarkably accurate and faithfull to its subject, with lots of opportunity to add detail.

Same here - I just made it 4011. You'll be at 5000 in no time at this rate!

Here's a photo of my parts after just a small amount of clean-up. Not too bad for a first effort, IMHO. But as you can see, some of the bolt holes near the edges have blown out a little. Hard to tell here, but these parts are pretty tiny - 1/24 scale block plate, trans faces and rear block surface. I'm not sure if this amount of detail is pushing the capabilties of the system, but I'm going to take another stab at it in the next few days and see if I can get it a little better.

Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely try putting the piece in the sun next time before etching. I was actually rather pleased with how even the etching was overall - like I said, I think I'd just take it out about a minute sooner.

Well, I just had a pretty successful first run! A couple of observations: 1. As advised in the instructions, I used a yellow bug light when working with the photo-sensitive film (much easier than working in the dark). I prepared the film and laminated it to the brass last night and exposed it to sunlight at 10am this morning. 2. After my first test (a few days ago) resulted in too much of the film coming off, I exposed it to the sun a little longer than recommended this time around and also developed it a little less then recommended. 3. After that, the etching process went pretty much as described in the instructions. I checked the fret every five minutes. In hindsight, I think I could have stopped the etching just a tad sooner - I lost some of the fine detail on a couple of parts of the fret. I might also be pushing the boundaries as far as the amount of detail that can be acheived with this process, but that's something that I'll find out by experience. Pictures soon.

Has anyone tried dropping this body over the Polar Lights (Buddy Baker) Dodge Charger chassis?