Mattblack

This simple snap-together kit caught my eye in a model shop when I was on holiday in the summer. Built out of the box apart from felt 'carpet'. The paint is Plasti-Kote metalflake, the base is made from a piece of vinyl floor tile covered with builder's sand.

Looks like I need to get building!

Very cool! I love stuff like that, cars chopped into pickups, mobile workshops, wreckers... give me a 'working' vehicle over a low slung sports car any day.

Back in the 80's, a guy in the UK built a lowrider out of a 1955 Peugeot 203. It was featured in 'Street Machine' magazine in August '85. Now I still had the magazine, and I still had a Heller 1/43 203 kit from when I collected model Peugeots... so with a set of wire wheels from ebay I set to work. I had to open out the rear window as the kit is of the earlier model.

Just posting this as a heads up... my finished models have been packed away for about 10 months, all packed in boxes with polystyrene 'chips' type packing. last night I got them out to put back on display and found that the chips had stuck to the tyres on the rat rod I built from the old Airfix Chrysler Imperial kit (ex MPC). I managed to get the marks off with careful use of spray furniture polish, it was the only model affected. So if you have any older models packed away it may be worth checking them.

A few pictures of my latest build... I had had a project like this in mind for a while so I was pleased to find this old Matchbox/AMT 'Budweiser' Model T van kit at an antiques place. There were a couple of parts missing and the engine had been assembled but it was usable for what I wanted to build. The packing case, barrel and sack are model railway parts, the fence posts are cut down bamboo skewers and I made the sledgehammer.

I bought this old MPC snap-together police patrol car kit from a shop that usually only sells old diecasts and action figures. Although it was still sealed the glazing was missing so a roof chop seemed to be the way forward (although I would have chopped it anyway...). I started it some time ago but had to pack all my models and modeling stuff away as we had the house re-wired. For simplicity I did a pillarless chop, lowered it, shaved the trim and door handles, frenched lights and aerials and fitted '48 Ford bumpers from the spares box. The Appletons, Moon discs and lakes pipes came with kit, but I stripped the chrome from the latter two. The paint is some generic metallic blue car touch up rattle can I picked up from a autojumble (swapmeet), over a silver base. It's a bit rough and ready but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

This kit was a real challenge to build. Vague/misleading instructions, poorly moulded parts, lots of flash, poor or non-existent locations for parts... if hadn't been a Christmas gift from my partner it would probably ended up in the spares drawer. Anyway, I added an aftermarket distributor and leads, fuel lines and carbs and rear wheels from the spares box, the later because I manged to destroy one of the originals (don't ask). The grille is made from Christmas ribbon and the paint is rattle can Ford Purple Velvet and clear.

Absolutely stunning! The 'green stuff' growing under the windows looks just like my 1:1 Cortina (not washed for about 2 years...)

That is so cool, the prizes are very well deserved. I've got the Matchbox/AMT kit in my 'to do' pile, I'm planing a depression-era 'dust bowl' truck.

Some time ago I bought a job lot of part finished models and bodies on ebay, including a couple of these Revell Thunderbirds. I decided there was enough to to make something from the two, and this 'something' is the result! The rear wheels and tyres, seat and steering wheel are from a Dodge Viper in the same job lot. The numbers are cheap self-adhesive stickers. It's a curbside model and there's a lot of plastic card holding it all together...

My Mum bought this kit as a present for me a while ago, and I wanted to do something a little 'creative' with it. I thought it would make a good candidate for a little scrapyard diorama, circa. the mid 70's.. The 'mud' is household filler mixed with sand and sawdust and the fence is model railway scenery.

I've got a bit of a soft spot for 70's British 'Street machines', and I loved the 1/32 custom car kits that Airfix issued in the 80's. So when I got hold of this kit I made a few changes... Rear end is jacked up by mounting the axle under the springs, rear wheels and tyres are from an old friction drive toy, it has real dummy sidepipes, small steering wheel with the rim made from an 'O' ring, spoilers and 'power bulge' made from bits from the spares box and a fur interior (self adhesive craft felt). Paint is Ford Roman Bronze.

Thanks for all the positive comments! There were a few times while building it I felt like hurling it across the room...

I got this kit from my partner for Christmas, just got it finished. I swapped the wheels for the ones from the old Matchbox/AMT 'Snakebite' Shelby Mustang, stripped and painted, added a new bed floor of Obeche strip, homemade seatbelts, plug leads, fuel lines and a solenoid and battery cables. I shaved the hood trim and 'Ford V8' moulding on the tailgate and added the pinstripe decals. The paint is Ford Meadow green rattle can.

1932 Chrysler Imperial...

Like it! The mismatched plug leads are are nice touch!

Just watch the valve covers... IIRC the part numbers and the illustration in the intructions don't agree on which side is which, mine are the wrong way round, which means the air con compresser bracket is too high, so I had to modify the air cleaner to get it to fit. (Of course, it could have just been me being dumb...)

That is one sick puppy! I like it... a lot!

Thanks for all the positive comments, they're really appreciated! The woodgrain decals came with the kit.

Built out of the box, paint is Ford Tibetan Gold rattle can, interior is white automotive primer.

WOW! I kept looking at the last photo and thinking 'is that the real thing that inspired the build?'

I bought this old kit from a trade stand at a local steam toy fair we go to every year, mainly because it was the sort of model that I loved as a kid. (who am I trying to fool: I STILL love this kind of thing...!) At first it was going to be a quick out of the box build, but I thought it was a shame that the funky mid-engine was pretty hidden, so out came the saw... I also filled the recess for the 'peace sign' badge on the front and removed the front spoiler and nerf bar mounts. The paint is Ford Electric Orange pearl rattle can, the iron cross is an old model aircraft decal, the lettering is Letraset dry transfer and the decals on the rear came with the kit.

And I thought I had a weird imagination! That is excelent!

I built this one as a beater/'fixer-uper'