Can-Con

The Convoy van and Hardy Boys van is identical to this upcoming release except for the decals and color of plastic. You missed one, the "Brute Force" van is also based on this kit but has the big rig add-on parts. There was also a few other vans in sets with trailers , basically identical to the Mean Mudder.

Looks great Gareth. I honestly thought I was looking at a brochure picture for a second when I opened the post!

Yea, I really like them even with the vague underhood parts placement.

I'm pretty sure this is the old ESCI kit. I have built 2 and have 2 more unbuilt of the AMT kits and going by the parts diagram on the bottom of the box, this definitely is not the AMT.

The headlights aren't exactly round either. You'd also need a front bumper as the MPC grille and bumpers were separate, not one-piece like the AMT part.

Those Revell vans never had stock grilles and bumpers and the flares are molded to the body. They did have 3 or 4 different custom grilles though.

Gareth, I recommend the "Pro Tech" plug wire. I just started using it and love it. Just the right size and has the right "weight" to it . Save your phone wire to make plug boots with. one length of wire is enough to do about 4 engines. https://scaleproshop.com/ But, of corse, you could go old school and find some "wrapping wire". It was originally used by electronics hobbyists making their own circuit boards. It's 30 gauge and comes in a lot of colours. But it's getting a bit hard to find. BTW, love the paint on the T-bird. That colour looks like what Hot Wheels collectors call "ice blue". I actually like these cars, especially the '67-'69s.

It's called "customising" Gareth, and it's addictive ! ? BTW, the deal with the front pan below the bumper is the '70s were body color and the '71s were chrome.

OK, I got the top roughed in I cut the windshield away from the body and cut some notches in the cowl and door tops for the pillars to notch into. The line at the front of the roof is how much I ground off it to get the slant I wanted on the windshield. glued some tabs to the top of the frame and front edge of the roof. Here's the results with the windshield glued down and the gaps in the sail panel filled with strips of plastic. It should take very little filler to finish it up for paint. I see I'll have to re-check the passenger side window opening. Looks higher at the front but I think it's just an illusion

Please don't misunderstand Steve. I agree whole heartedly with you on this. What I'm trying to say is sometimes , contrary to what some may think, sometimes the domestic product is superior to the import. The Mustang kits being a case in point as it's the only one I know of that was produced by the players involved. And, yes, of cores subject matter is everything. There's really not to much Tamiya has at any price point that I'd rather have over the Nova.

Well, no, you can't really compare a Tamiya Porsche to an AMT Nova wagon. BUT, you could compare a Tamiya '94 Mustang GT to an AMT '94 Mustang GT ,, or a Revell/Monogram '94 Mustang GT. But no one really wants to do that, now do they? ?

Turned out great Gareth.

Rust got mine. By '94 it was too far gone. 15 year lifespan. My T/A is over twice as old. If you jacked the rear of the car by the bumper, the back 1/4 would fold up on itself. The front subframe mounts were going and the rear end was shot. All things I could easily fix now but I just didn't have the knowledge, tools and cash back then.

Over the last week or so, I've been getting simple one sentence ads sometimes but they have a screens worth or more of blank white space below it.

Beautiful rod.

perfect !! ???

The chassis is OK [correct but could be better detailed] Just needs updated engine and interior.

Here's a site with even more info for you Gareth. You'll be a real expert on them by the time it's done. LOL. https://www.novaresource.org/

Yup. I agree. I didn't think of the '70 until after I shut off my computer last night. ?

Big '69 Ford. Note the hood.

Now there's something you don't see everyday. ? Nice work, I was following along , cool to see you replicate your old ride. BTW, I did see a '79 painted just like that at a gas station a few weeks ago.

On the earlier cars, yes but for '79 it was on all Novas. My Nova was as base as could be but it did have that chrome.

got this far this afternoon. Cut the top off with an X-acto saw and added a small tab of sheet plastic to the underside of the back of the opening. I was originally going to cut the sail panels from the back of the roof also but as it turned out, I didn't have to. I just made a relief cut up each side so it would spread apart. I just sank the sail panels down at their forward ends and pulled the main part of the roof up. In the end I'll have about a 2 to 2 1/2 inch chop. When the sail panels are solid , I'll cut the base of the A-pillars and vent posts away, make notches where the cuts are. When I glue the top of the windshield frame back to the roof, the bottom of the pillars will slot into the notches.

Gareth, don't forget the trim on the front edge of the hood and fender extensions. It was standard on all models Nova in '79.

Um, no, not really. It's at least twice as big as it should be. It's the first thing I noticed when I had my 1/1 and compared it to the kit. [pic from the net, not my 1/1]