Snake45

I have a NIB DW kit, so I should be good. I'm kind of doing this glue bomb as a practice/warmup for doing that one, in fact. Gotta work up my nerve to take that side trim off it.

Looks like there are at least three bodies, not two: Some versions (such as the pink one) have flared fenders; others don't. I never realized there were so many variants of these kits! Thanks for the education/documentation!

Interesting Dyno Don fact (from the book): Nicholson ran two different '68 Cougar funny cars. The first was originally the STP Cougar (kitted by Model King in the early 2000s) and was pretty much destroyed in a highway accident. The second was a new body put on the chassis of Eliminator II, the '67 Comet. Do you know what this means as a modeler? It means you can build one chassis and have two bodies for it! (You'd have to do the late-season Eliminator II after he added the blower.) In fact, I think I shall do this very thing, but feel free to steal the idea. You're welcome.

Scott, a Net friend of mine just finished a Planet Models Hughes H-1 racer in 1/48 and it looks great. I'd post a link but the pics are on a private board so I can't. You can google the kit if you're interested. Seems to be available but somewhat spendy (@ $50 or thereabouts).

Nothing like announcing Intent on the internet. Yikes!

The currently available Revell Beetle is 1/24, but the ones from the '70s are 1/25. Yes, I'd be interested in trading for a 1/25 body shell (and hood, engine cover and glass; don't need bumpers or lights). What do you need for it? Email me direct if you want at SnakeACP45 at AOL dot com.

Thanks, Casey! I had the MPC '69 on my list, but I've added the Lindberg '61 Chev and the MPC Pinto. We're up to 10, then.

Warren Zevon also did a nice song called Renegade: And here's a stunningly beautiful, live unplugged version of it with violin accompaniment. If this doesn't moisten your eyes just a little, you ain't hooked up right.

I'm reading the Doug Boyce book on Don Nicholson, which has this statement vis-a-vis models: "When it comes to cars replicated in plastic kit form, no drag racer ever enjoyed the same popularity as Don." I have my doubts. I'd have thought that title would be held by Garlits, or maybe Prudhomme or McEwen or even someone else. I can think of eight Don Nicholson kits offhand: AMT '62 Chevy (they did do one, right?) AMT '67 Comet funny MPC '68 Cougar funny Revell '69 Mach I Mustang (Nicholson decals for the one-race only '68 Cobra Jet Mustang; DN never campaigned a '69 Mustang--hat tip to Mark) MPC '69 Cougar super stock JoHan Maverick Pro Stock (Hat tip to Casey) MPC Mustang II Pro Stock ...and the upcoming Moebius '65 Comet FX. Are there any more? And does anyone else (Garlits, etc.) have more than that number of kits? (And yes, we'll count 1/16 since the author didn't specify a scale.) Or by "enjoyed...popularity" was the author referring to kit sales? I wonder how one would go about documenting such a fact? EDIT: Casey added two more: Lindberg '61 Chevy MPC Pinto Pro Stock So that's 10. Maybe he IS the most kitted.

Fabulous idea! I am TOTALLY stealing it! If one doesn't have index cards handy, I imagine those annoying subscription cards that fall out of every magazine you buy would serve the same function.

Another super-clean RandyB build! Well done and model on!

Sparkly!

Fabulous score! I think I paid $15 for mine, hoping the whole time the guy didn't realize it was an original annual (easily worth twice that) and not a "new" one. And you got both seats and the grille insert with yours! Oh well, I got (most of) a hood, and I was able to score a repro grille with the insert on Modelhaus's FINAL SALE day, and KHills sent me seats from a "new" one, so I should be good to go.

That's the one I have.

That pic helps a LOT, thanks much! ETA: Thanks to your ruler, my dial caliper, and the IMC Bug which just happens to be handy, I quickly determined that the Airfix is bigger--at least 1/24, maybe even a point or two larger! Thanks again--you just saved me 15 frogs!

I think the RR cartoon might have been only a '68 thing--looks like they might have done away with it for '69, or part of '69. The S&M book is not as clear as I'd like about exactly what cars they had, and when. I was hoping it would clear up all (or at least most) questions like the Jenkins book, but, not. Still, lotta great pics of their cars.

I bought them for 10c, 11c, 12c, and 13c. Then they skipped the 14c price point and jumped right to 15c. I think I paid $1.79 for one yesterday at Hobby Lobby.

What they "offered" didn't mean much. I saw them still advertising things two catalogs after they told me something was sold out. I ordered something from a vendor this Monday and got it Thursday morning. The first thing I thought was, "What a difference from the old Auto World days."

Interesting! I checked the book. Two pics of '68-'69 Roadrunners ('69 grilles clearly showing in both pics, but who knows what the rest of the car was?) with nonstandard hood scoops, though they don't appear to be the 440+6 type scoop. But if you've got pics of it with that scoop, good on ya! Are you doing it with the RR cartoon on the rear fender? I have the Slixx decal sheets but they don't have that. Have been looking for it. I'd like to do their '68 RR at some point; guess I'll have to make that decal myself. Oh, also, most if not all of S&M's engines were painted...Ford Blue. Jake King painted them that way because of his long former association with Ford. Strange but true. (Jenkins and Landy both painted all their engines black. Ain't trivia fun?)

Did S&M ever run the 6-pack type hood on a Hemi Road Runner? I'll have to take a look in the book....

Got it all done today except the side trim, which I should finish up tomorrow. I had it sitting on the bench next to an AMT AWB '65 Falcon I'm working on and noticed they're almost identical in width. Did some research and measuring and discovered that both the wheelbase and overall length are just a hair over 1/25, but well short of 1/24. Woohoo, it can sit on my 1/25 shelves!

That didn't turn out half bad, Scott! You're making me want to dig mine out and actually build it! Well done and model on! (We're not losing you to Model Airplane World, are we?)

One of mine is a bright green like nothing seen on any 1967 Ford--it's somewhere between 1972 GM Spring Green/Julep Green and '70 Ford Grabber Green. Just last year I was able to buy one in a more accurate dark blue, which I have not yet laid the Snake-Fu on. Those Johnny Lightnings, with full metal chassis, are HEAVY!

Oh hell, I thought I'd just got even with you. Now I'm gonna be in your debt AGAIN! DOH!

It only hit me in the last couple days, but I have a very vague recollection of building this kit back in the day. I was a HUGE Dyno Don fan at the time; I don't know why I wouldn't have. Nothing of it survives, so it must have been lost in the 1968 fire. I think I might have painted it Pactra Red and tried to hand-brush the white stripe, unless that was a decal. So I'll probably be building another in simple, retro style, though I might alter the rear wheel openings to a more stock shape (instead of radiused); I think that would look better, even if they're still too far forward. I notice that the chassis in this kit has the less common dual leaf spring front end, which was also in the Nova and Tempest kits. The Mustang and Falcon (and Chevelle) have the single transverse spring "suicide" front end , which was seen much less often on real funnies of the day than the dual spring setup. I might swap this chassis out with one from a Mustang or Falcon since it isn't remotely accurate anyway. Another plan might be to make that swap, and then see if I can substitute the coilover front axle from the MPC '72 GTO or similar for the suicide front end. Could be interesting. And I think I'll try to get together a "nice" Eliminator II too, along the lines of Magicmustang's above.