Dave Darby

In focus or not, it sure looks great!

I agree. If they really wanted to do a "one in one" version, they should have used the new tool '57. The old tool 57 is so worn out (and inaccurate) that about all it's good for is the spare parts. Ooooohhh those sweet extra goodies. One heck of a nice pair of Chrome reversed wheels, the 409, Vette grille, and a nice set of Keystone Klassics for starters. If I were in charge, I'd be opening every gate on that thing, and hunting up the old box art. I do have to give Mike W. props for making that old war horse look as good as it does on the new box. When I built it in 1995 for the Chevrolet Classics set, it was kind of a PITA to build.

Not positive, but I think that was supposed to be a putty applicator. The original had a front end extension that for some reason is still MIA. They opened some gates on the chrome tree portion of the tool, but evidently neglected the other part. Or, it could be that that area needed too much work. When I did the box art for the 1994 issue of the 65 Galaxie, the body had a lot of little nubs on it from rust pits in the tool. I had to sand all of those down before painting. Could be what happened here.

That is just gorgeous. Stance, color, wheels, and detailing. Simple, yet elegant. I like it.

I started to build one of those about 15 years ago, and finally gave up on it. Yours is just gorgeous. Do tell me the details on that roof tho!

Over on that OTHER board, the guys have an end of the year tradition called the Amnesty build. This is where you take a languishing unfinished project (or broken/tired older build, and finish it up before the holidays end. This is the story of one such build. It's an MPC Flip nose 57 Chevy that I built 20 years ago. I swapped out the rear wheel wells from an AMT 57 so it would have stock wheel wells, and I dropped it in the weeds. I painted it with some sort of houseold spray that was a satin finish, and cleared it for gloss. After the famous orange paint explosion (happened when I was building a box art model for AMT back in 93) and getting dropped a few times, it went in a box, and only occasionally poked its little nose out. I wanted to restore it, but just never got around to it. Here is what I started with... Anyway, I got tired of that look, and decided what I really wanted was a Gasser! I decided to leave the paint as is, because I really like patina, and just build a new chassis for it from the 53 Ford flip nose pickup that shares the frame. As you can see, I had to make some new spring perches to get the front end sitting as I wanted it. Anyway, here is the finished product, in all of its still faded glory.... Under that nose you'll find an aluminum firewall, the complete engine, including headers from the AMT/MPC 57 Vette Gasser, with a vertex magneto from the old tool 57 Chevy and a homemade straight axle (aluminum tubing) and springs from the AMT 33 Willys. It's rude, and crude, and everything mother warned you about, but at last it's back out of the box, and on the shelf. I still need to mount the Moon tank, and throw ona couple decals, but for now, it's pau. Thanks for looking, and more photos of the build can be seen here at the link... 57 Chevy Gasser Amnesty Build

Looking good! Having built a few of those (including the box art for the Chevrolet Classics 3 car set back in '95), I know that kit is a challenge to build. You did it proud.

The reason for the headlight lense issue is that somewhere between Lesney's ownership of AMT, and Ertl's purchase, the clear tool came up missing. (I think it also did for the 25 T and the 40 Willys as well, which now has some very crude engraving on the lenses), anyway, they tooled up some new glass, but dropped the ball on the engraving (or lack thereof.) The older issues have that engraved detail. Anyway, that is a beautiful build.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you, Bill. Whatever minor problems the wheelwells may pose pale next to the side trim of the old tool '57, which at least 2 scale inches too high on the side of the body. Once you notice it, it stands out like the proverbial sore thumb. Here is a real 57... And the old tool 57. Look at how the side trim and louvers line up with the angle on the headlight bezel, and compare them to the real car. And then, at the door, instead of following the beltline like the real car does, it heads straight back. It's as if somebody tried to pick up the car by the side trim, and it slipped. Look at the door handle and lock cylinder. On top of that, you have a worn out tool with parts that don't fit, and a lumpy steering wheel. Of course it is still better than the Monogram 57, but I digress. Now here is the new tool 57. Looks alot closer to me. I think the worst issue it really has is the dinky tires they gave it, and it sits up a bit high for my taste. It isn't perfect, but it's a lot closer. Anyway, not to offend, and that silver build is gorgeous, but if I wanted to make a show model, I'd be using the new tool 57, or grafting the hardtop roof and beltline to the new Revell kit, which looks fantastic. The best part of the old tool kit is all those cool optional parts that used to be in there.

Hey Bob, is that my old 58 Ford you got from me? I'm glad she's in a good home.

Another alternative would be the 58 Edsel chassis and floor pan. I have a feeling that one would be a better fit.

I think they look great. I think my fave is the red one. The steelies are a great choice. I wish Revell would have put something a little more period correct for valve covers. Are you using the macro mode on your camera? It looks like a flower. It will give you much sharper photos when shooting at close range.

Dave Darby's Groovy Photo GalleryI am pretty darn proud to have been along for the ride. Here is the cover I did for you 8 years ago, along with the logo I designed. Thank you, Rik Hoving for the Photoshop lessons! Dave Darby's Groovy Photo Gallery

Seldom is there as much anticipation as when a new model kit comes out, especially an icon, such as the chopped 49 Mercury. The 49 Mercury is as much a pantheon of the custom circle as the fabled Deuce is to hot rodding. This said, when you come out with something like this, you had best get it right. If you don't, you lose more ground than you gain. A good example of this is the new tool AMT Ala Kart of 2002. Conceptually, it was a winner, but coming at a change of guard for design and tooling, it could not have been a greater disaster. Grossly misshapen, out of proportion, with an under scale motor, the best thing this kit was good for was to drop the collector prices down on the original issue kits. So where does the Revell 49 Merc stand in all of this? Let's open the unique 2 sided box, and have a look see. Conceptually, it'€s off to a great start. You have a nicely proportioned chopped 49 Merc body, devoid of any chrome trim. The only bone I have to pick is the rather large holes in the rear quarter panels for the tail lights. This sits on a platform style floor pan and interior, with tuck n roll inserts on the seats, on a separate frame. So far, so good. For power, we have a 50's era Cadillac engine, with three carbs, and chrome no name valve covers, likely to save on royalties. This is a great choice of power plants, and famed Barris Kustom collector Kurt McKormick, who owns a pretty famous chopped Merc of his own, will be happy to tell you so! Not to mention that the Hirohata Merc is Caddy powered, so maybe another version may be down the road? This kit comes with a multitude of options, including two hoods, one louvered, one plain, and here is one of the few disappointments. For some reason, the front of the hood has a couple of large flat spots flanking the peaked nose area as if they didn'€™t fully round it off as they were grinding the tool, resulting an almost angular shape. One hood is worse then the other, but both exhibit this flaw. This is only minor though, as you can prime, and then sand this to shape. The same cannot be said for the Cadillac "€œSombrero"€ wheel covers. They lack the graceful curves of the real ones, and for sticklers, would best be supplanted by after market resin. This is a shame, because a kit with this many cool extra custom parts would be worth its price for these alone. Speaking of extra custom parts, lets go down the list. For starters, you get the aforementioned pair of hoods, the Caddy Sombreros that go with a set of no name wide white wall tires with inserts, plus a set of larger chrome reversed rims that fit some generic black wall radials. (I would be happier if they interchanged with the Sombreros, but I digress…) You also get a beautiful set of stock bumpers that have been relieved of the bumper guards, and a set if ribbed Brizio "Desoto" style bumpers. In back, you get a choice of 49 Lincoln Tail lights with blue dot decals, or a pair of frenched 59 Cadillac bullets. In front is where things really get cool, as you get a choice of not one, not two, but THREE grilles! You get a smoothed stock Mercury grille, a 54 Pontiac Grille, and a really nice 53 Desoto grille that will allow you to duplicate the Wally Welch Merc, or any number of others. The guys at Revell really scored a home run with these grill selections, as they cover just about every classic style. This kit is worth it for these alone. To finish this kit off, there is a large decal sheet, with flames, and several different colors of "Von Dutch"€ style pinstriping for the hood and deck, plus the aforementioned blue dots (two sets!), and decals for the trophy stand (complete with miniature Mercury on top). When you consider that Revell has recently gone through it’s own changing of the guard, This kit has not fared nearly as badly as the if fated Ala Kart kit. Still you must wonder how things would have been, if the guys who cut the tool were as big of car guys as the guys who conceptuallized this kit. It isn'€™t perfect (few kits are), but it sure will make a lot of people happy, including me. If they would fix those wheel covers, and hood shape, and flash over those large tail light holes, they would have the perfect kit, but even as is, this is a "€Must Have" kit for any old school model builder, as you can not only build a really nice chopped Merc, but just like in the old days, you get a TON of the coolest extra parts you could ask for. I bought two!

WalMart??? Did you see if Mel has any? BTW, hit me OTB. I've mooooved....

AMT made two 1957 T Bird Promo tools back in 1957. Both the Trophy Series/Styline kit, and the Craftsman kit originated from these two tools. Too bad most of the Styline pieces are gone, but it would be interesting to know whether the Craftsman tool still exists. In some areas, it had better detail than the glue kit, such as Ford lettering on the wheel covers.