bonehead23

I have had this kit for a long time, and finally decided to build it. I don't normally build box-stock, but this time i did just that. Monogram's take on this kit is different than AMT's 289, and fitment is a bit quirky Small aggravations like the interior tub had to be trimmed for the chassisito sit right, and the radiator hoses absolutely don't fit, but the overall look is right on. I used grabber orange with a good coat of Pearl Clear to come up with a different color than Shelby used!

A friend gave me a perfect unblemished '59 hardtop promo...and I hate to mess it up! But it is molded in pale blue. I agree, white is nice. I may get bold and paint /detail it, but the '59 has such a crazy shaped hood it would be hard to cut it open. I was thinking a metalflake red roof...or maybe black or gold....nice wheels, lowered a bit....

I took about 1/2" from the tail, and each side had to have a slight angle cut to fit within the rear of the fenders. Also the wheelbase is a bit off in the rear, so you must trim out the wheel well according to where the wheels end up once the chassis is installed. Donot cement the rear wheels on until the body is fitted, and wheelwells are centered over the tires. Do this, and everything looks bitchin'. You may also want to cement the interior tub to the chassis before doing anything else, and finish the interior or at least secure the dashboard. This insures the tub and chassis are aligned proerly inside the body!!!! Then you can fit the rear wheels and know they will be right after paint and finishing.

Do not let anybody tell you this kit is a fluke...it isn't. With a little bit of a trim, the chassis fits just fine, in fact better than I first thought. Here's the proof. I know, the stock bumper and lights look a little off, but I want to build a stock one, with a trailer, and I want the two cars to be identical except for the air dam and engine, of course...and the slicks...and....etc...I took a few pieces from an old junker for the deck lid scoops and body parts.

With a klittle trimming at the rear, and opened wheel wells on the rear of the body, it fits...and the trailer is pulled by a stock 'Vair. Update: Bodies are painted, and John Greczula sent me an extra set of decals for the tow car!

I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining, this is a good kit once you get the chassis trimmed properly, and the body's rear wheel wells opened up a bit. I have the chassis finished, and the body fits after alteration.You just have to have good "eyeball engineering" ability to get it right. If not for these re-issues, i would be bored to death!!!! Chezoom will be on a trailer pulled by a stock Corvair in identical paint.

They should be ashamed to ask so much money for this piece of junk. I started one, and actually put a Mustang 5.0 in it, and better wheels, but the chassis and body problems sent it back into its box. Nothing fit without tons of work, and I gave up. I seldom ever do that but this kit is THAT bad. I'll probably use the wheels and engine in another project. Nice concept, miserably poor execution, overpriced final product. If you dig doing a lot of work, I mean a LOT, get one. If you don't like to scratch-build and re-engineer everything, avoid this one.

Yup, us old farts will figure it out! The instructions do show this mod, but not very clearly. I was thinking, it could have been possible to modify the mold to fit better...but I am ignorant of tool costs etc....and possibly Round 2 wamts to re-issue the Barracuda as well???? I'd buy two! I want to build a stock "Vair to pull the 'Zooom" on a trailer...so I am committed to finishing it now!

Anybody bite on this one? If you do, be prepared to alter the Barracuda chassis to fit the "vair...in a few words, it does not fit. Another case of "Didn't anyone try to build this before releasing it?" category. I am determined to get this thing built, but it will take a lot of work. Beginners better stay away from this one...99% of them will give up and use the parts somewhere else or be so disappointed that they give up building models!!! The concept is cool; the product suffers a bit, missing details like steering gear and brake detail, radius rods in front, and they could have included the little scoops that go on the deck lid holes...but as i said, I WILL get this built no matter what. It does have some very neat parts regardless of the chassis not fitting at all.

I finally got new shelves!!!! These replace an ugly old entertainment center. (See the post "Jus' call me Bonehead" to see the difference) The goal was to create more space, but within two days i had filled every shelf. The good news is they are spaced far enough apart that i can add more as time progresses!!! It also made the room brighter and appears larger. You can see every model this way...before, a lot were hidden behind tons of junk. Much better now!!!!

Apologies to all for my ridiculously bad memory...Bad Medicine was a dragster, right? Patent Pending is the Dr. Krook's car??? At my age i am lucky to remember my own name,but I keep building my old rare kits even if I forget what they are called!!!! I don't save the boxes; i would need a whole room just for them!!! So I forget ....Thanks to those with a solid brain who remind me of the proper appellations!!!

Yup, and isn't it a thing of beauty??? I regret not getting more than one of these; that chassis is excellent!

My good friend John Morrow and I are in EastWenatchee, where there are no clubs, shows, and only one Hobby Lobby to get kits from other than on line. Why isn't there a STATE-WIDE modeler's club? We would love to be included in that. But anyway, John and I have been at it since we were very young, and we're full of advice, among other things....Feel free to ask us anything, this is a great place for that.

Dave, I think your company is incredible. Thanks for the explanation; I am sure many modelers are clueless. I on the other hand have been into this hobby since 1958 and to this day i enjoy the challenge of "correcting" flaws, and basically, i take turkeys and make eagles out of them anyway; i build them MY WAY and as i said, enjoy the challenge of an "imperfect" kit. I completed a survey by SAE mag a few years back, and the question was, "Would you pay 15-20 dollars or more for a kit?" HELL YES! I understand how expenses are rising, and modeling is such a large part of my life that i will pay 50 dollars for a good kit without a second thought. It is nice to be retired and have the time and money for it...years ago with two jobs and a band playing every week, raising two kids and a manic depressive wife, i never had the time or money. Now it seems to be we are in the "Good ol'days" that will be lamented and mised in the future when they cost 100 bucks a kit...and i will STILL buy your models, as they are truly different and amazing no matter what the "rabble" says...they all have their priorities and information all wrong.

This is a resin body, using Revell '59 sedan parts. I could write a lot about resin stuff...but I'm sure you already know this was a lot of work!!! Those who never tried one, let's say it is a challenge. And some are better than others! This one wasn't too bad, only the windshield fit was off a tad. But the chassis and 348 from the sedan fit very well. Flintstone, i think....man my memory stinks....

yeah, I couldn't remember what it was called!!!!

I have a $100.00 camera myself...the "resolution" and other quirks sometimes distort the proportions, wheels look off-center etc..be careful of camera angle..I always use "autofocus" in "close-up" mode, but most important is your lighting...I turn on every light in the room, and have a 60-watt bulb in a gooseneck light that when positioned right, makes a better photo. All my photos are taken on top of a white towel draped over a model box and tacked to the wall; makes better contrast than a dark background for me.But never give up and keep whackin; plastic and shooting photos; keep at it as experience is the best teeacher. My paddy wagon is a twin of yours only mine might be dustier!!!

Every time I dig out an old rare kit, I hesitate on building it...but that is what I got them for in the first place, so they get built! After I sold 1,600 kits for $14,000.00, I realized I sold them for 8 bucks a kit more or less...so they are only worth what the buyer is willing to pay. At those prices, I will build the remaining 1,000 kits vefore i croak as a toast to those collectors who buy cheap and sell outrageous...

I was asked what other Corvair powered things I have built...here's a few; the Revell "Gran Turismo" dune buggy, a '28 Mercedes vair rod, "Bad Medicine,", "T-Bone Stake", and "Meter Cheater" from Revell, The T-bone has the turbo option included in some AMT 'Vair kits. And I think the other one is a Roth Orbitron...it has a really cool chassis that would make a great base for a cool rod...

The kit was a Tamiya, I think. I had a resin Ghia body but then this kit came out, so i still have the rather crude resin body. I did not think to take construction photos,It uses the stock VW transaxle, which I imagine would have to be beefed up a lot in 1:1...I wonder if the "vair trans and suspension would fit? Another project perhaps! The mill is straight out of an old '69 AMT 'Vair with Webers and scratched exhaust.

Revell's "Meter Cheater", "Dr. Krook's Medicine Show", and the "T-Bone Stake", all Corvair rods, a crazy loking Revell dune buggy that looks like a shrunken 'Vette (Can't remember the name) And a '29 Mercedes with a "Vair mounted in front like the dragster. Curiously enough, I do not have a Corvair on the shelf; i am anxious to get the '69 and Chezoom, add a trailer and have a Race team ala "Vair.

Yes, you are right about the frame...I did build another rod using the Mummy..but I forgot which one! The tranny is just some old GM parts box unit! Wish I knew...but I have a lot of parts on hand I have slim idea where they came from! All I can tell you is they were very old AMT decals. I have a large box full of them. Friends have "donated" their childhood collections to me in the past, and I never throw anything away. In one bunch were many decal sheets, but only a model trivia champ would know where they came from! The "Corvair" decal came from a 1960 3-in-1 kit. The rest are, like, ???????

I think Stacey David's rod would have looked meaner as a coupe, meaner still chopped. I sent him a photo of this, he probably didn' t like it. I got no reply. If you try this, or any other deuce body, keep in mind they all fit this chassis...somewhat... What i liked about this issue is of course the wheels, and that Chevy engine that is accurate as they get, the hood, and exhaust setup. But to do a body swap, you must use the interior for that particular body, and expect to do a little nip and tuck to get it right! Just sayin'. I had hoped to use the cool Roaster interior, but it will not fit well in the coupe. I need to delete some old photos to make room here!

I have a love for Corvairs, and put the motors in all sorts of things, but this is one of my faves. I got the iodea when a friend showed me a photo of a real 1:1 BLOWN Corvair mill, so, I built one using an AMT Mummy Machine frame and a lot of eyeball engineering.

This is an older issue of the VW cabriolet...and i had an old Lola GT car in the junk, so I installed the rear subframe, suspension, and engine from the IMC Lola...it fits too! There's a radiator where the stock mill was, and the snakey exhaust runs out the back over the suspension and rad hoses. The license reads "Litemup" and I bet it would.