Spex84

Well this is different! I like it so far :) The lengthening has helped the proportions quite a bit!

I just checked, it's gone already!

I have a folder on my computer full of shots of 80s and 90s VWs. I don't think I'll go full Mulholland look, but definitely whale tail and Vega taillights, haha.

I'll have to check Mindhunters out, it wasn't on my radar at all! Just last night I saw a listing online for a 4-door Chevette for $900. Usually, anything in Canada that runs is like 2 grand, even if it's an undesirable car. Thing with this Chevette was...it had super-low mileage, a very clean interior, and almost perfect paint! Even the rubber looked good. Owned by a little old lady and clearly stored indoors....and it occurred to me that someone should snap it up. Must be the only intact Chevette left in the country, haha! It would make a great movie car.

Funny you should mention the Beatnik Bandit II...this Retro-Billet inspiration had me scanning the shelves for something I could build in that style, and the only kit I could find that I don't already have plans for was a Revell VW beetle. As it turns out, the fat, small-diameter tires and hi-tech style billet 5-spoke wheels in the BB2 are sized just right for a VW bug! The sidewall height is much more pleasing than the clunky Goodyears in kits like the Lindberg '40 Ford police car 3-in-1, or the AMT '34 Ford street rod 3-in-1.

Dennis, your signature style was apparent even at 13! My models from that age...were pretty silly and ended up getting chopped up for parts when I was a little older and over-ambitious. I really want to join this build-off, but I have so many projects already, and I truly feel that if I'm going to do billet-era, it needs to be a fat-fender car. Hmm. We shall see. I have a '32 roadster that could be done this way...a '32 coupe...I'll have to think on it! Tim, that Vicky build looks awesome. It's definitely time for it to rise from the ashes! What was old is new again, haha! I'd point out that the description of this CBP doesn't specifically indicate '30s-60s hot rods or customs--what about minitrucks, imports?

Every so often I check auction sites hoping to find some of the old Monogram slicks. It seems to be difficult to find them with their original wheels, in OK condition, and not paired with an early Customizing Kit that is $$$! I can be patient though...

Looking good! And I'm always happy to learn of new sources for tall slicks. The AMT 1:25 slicks are just too short on open-wheel rods with tall fronts.

I just had a vivid memory of a narrowed 'vette with skinny tires that appeared in SAE decades ago when I was very impressionable, so I dug through the mag pile and found it: Joel Dirnberger's "The Shark", winner of the "Best of the Best" award at the Portland Roadster show in 1999. SAE August '99, page 12. It had a blue interior, too! This is the only pic I could find online. It looks better from behind, haha. I'd love to see your version :D

Cool stuff happening here already--like Dennis, I never bothered to observe the actual thickness of a '32 roadster's door panels. Now that I've seen how good they look thinned, it will be hard to leave 'em alone! I'm a huge fan of that Aztec Copper color. I've tried Tamiya PS-14, but it's more of a tangerine-copper. What brand of paint do you intend to use?

Glad to see this project pop up again. Looking good!!

Maybe if people know what they are...PM me! Thanks for the input :D I have a zillion pics of Firestone Indy tires, but those had a completely different tread pattern. Close but no cigar :/

Say, with all the Invader fans here, I have a question--does anyone know the designation of the Firestone tires seen on the 1967 Oakland show version of the Invader? You might recognize the tires from the Eldon/Doyusha Invader kit, or from MPC kits, or re-badged as Goodyears (but with the same tread pattern) in AMT kits like the '57 Corvette Street Machine. I don't think I've ever seen a photo of another set of those 1:1 tires anywhere! I'd love to know what name to search for.

Wow! Ambitious and creative, and nicely executed too! This truck is going to look extra stunning with the wood panels in place.

Oh wow, you're right! Like peas in a pod BMW should probably win an award for "most aggressively sneering car of the decade". All kidding aside, I think BMW is going for shock and awe, following the example of the Lexus Predator-face grilles. Whether it "looks good"or not is perhaps a tertiary concern..."People will be polarized at first, but it will grow on them." If that thing grew on me, I'd consult my doctor!

Welcome--that Torino looks incredible and the period-correct background is fantastic too!

My next build thread: "AMT '62 Corvette conversion: Scratch-bash a 2021 Songsan Misery Dolphin!" *edit* This poor car is definitely suffering from the Uncanny Valley effect. There are a bunch of styling features in this car that wouldn't necessarily suck on their own...but because they're such soggy imitations of a '58 Corvette, they're doomed.

Whoa! That truck looks serious! Impressive work in the diesel...looks like you used various spare kit pieces with a scratchbuilt block?? As a non-truck/non-diesel builder I'm in the dark here. What exactly is going on with that engine?

Rad. I'm loving it so far...the inspiration, the build (that engine rocks, haha) and RRR's version. This thread is off to a very good start!

I think that's exactly what's going on with Ridler and AMBR award contenders these days! All the impulses of the hi-tech era persist, it's just that they've been marinated in "traditional" so the end result seems current. *EDIT* So go for it! This guy would love to see what you'd come up with

Yeah, wow. Excellent craftsmanship; you've extracted the maximum out of this old kit! Nice foil work; the "Adventurer" badges look awesome, same with the reflectors (?) on the rear panel. I love the contrast between the paint color and those glowing one-of-a-kind DeSoto taillights. What a sweet ride. I'm appreciating the lack of mold seams in the bumpers, too. Nicely done!

That is some beautiful, precise work. Well done! I'd say you've done that kit proud.

I enjoy this throwback to the years when I eagerly anticipated "Modeler's Corner" articles This build is certainly bang-on for the era. Needs a tweed interior, haha! (Or was that more of a late 90s thing) I'd happily build a 90s style rod, but I really want it to be a chopped fat-fender sedan, and there aren't many kits available! Some aspects of the "high-tech" trend are pretty timeless still. Change the wheels and paint (and maybe the headlights) and this '32 could be updated significantly, even with the 90s-style body mods. Love the hood modifications! I still have sketches in my notebooks of similar ideas from the 90s when I was obsessed with "smoothie/hi tech" styling. I keep a bag of parts I've rejected from all the trad-rod builds in anticipations of eventually building some 90s-style stuff. Thanks for sharing and congrats on finally finishing the '32!

I really dig the appearance of that Chrysler grille in front!

When this thread began, I figured it was a long shot that it would ever reach primer, as ultra-ambitious builds tend to get put on the back-burner. But here we are, just a few months later, and it's lookin' like a car and everything I've been silently cheering from the sidelines the whole time, haha. Very inspiring!