bill lanfear

Very well done! The boom is spot on!

Just finished my 4th build in my "A day in 1979" series for my future diorama. It began as the Moebius 71 Ranger xlt. I combined AMT's 78 Ford Firestone kit for the 4x4 components. I wanted a bare bones Ford Custom cab with a lower trim level than the XLT. I picked up a Moebius 70 Ford for the use of the door panels, seat, and tailgate. Modifications are minimal as the kit is pretty good as is. I had to fix the steering column to get the steering wheel straight, grind a little off the area where the firewall and interior tub meet in order to get the bed to line up with the cab properly, shave down the windshield wipers and pedals, and bend the exhaust to fit with the new suspension. Scratch built items are: mirrors, antenna, bumper guards, mud flaps with angle iron, gas filler neck and cap, shifters, dash pad, drive lines, exhaust extension, lock out hubs, starter solenoid, thermostat housing, heat riser, dip stick, all vacuum lines and hoses, throttle linkage and spring, battery cables, wiring harness, alternator bracket, brake lines at master cylinder, and the washer hoses to cowl. I used scale model spark plug wires from an aftermarket company (cant remember the name). Parts box items not including the 4x4 parts are: fan belt assembly, rear view mirror (inside), hub caps, valve covers, 4 speed transmission, and bell housing. I have a pretty thorough explanation of the build under the workbench section if interested. Thank you for looking and comments are welcome! I would be happy to answer any questions if you have them. Enjoy!

Nice job overall! Great color combo! Your placement of the stickers add to the realism.

Thanks again everybody! Your projects and comments have helped to keep me motivated in the hobby this time around, its been a long time (30 years). This one is my second build since getting back into it. I am rapping up my fourth build and it will be posted here soon. If interested, my 1st was a Revell 54 Chevy car, ( "70's glue bomb" under car section) 3rd was "project every which way" found on this board. (55 Chevy pickup). 4th is the Moebius ford 4x4 currently under workbench. Thanks again!

cool project! nice job on the mods!

Update! I created some mirrors using my "for sale" sign and some wire. I created some mud flaps from the same sign and also the angle iron used to mount the mud flaps. This build is to join my others I have built in the last few months, with the theme of "A day in 1979" with daily drivers as I remember them. I am planning a massive diorama for these kits but it is a ways down the road as my plan still has many more vehicles to build. I am near completion but still have lots of little things like antenna, wipers, gas cap etc. The engine bay is complete for the most part except maybe a "die hard" decal on the battery. I resolved my fit issues with the cab and bed alignment. It turned out to be a combination of the cowl and the tub not cooperating. Thanks for looking and as always your comments are welcome!

Love it! Great work!

Thank you everyone for your comments. Small update...I BMF'd the cab and put the glass in. I have been and still am struggling to get the cab to sit "all the way down" onto the frame so the bed lines up. I've narrowed it down to the interior tub and have been grinding away on the windshield and the leading dash edge that tucks up to the glass. Getting close but not quite there. I trimmed down the wipers to a reasonable thickness and installed the master cylinder in the engine bay. I began wiring up the starter solenoid and bat cables. Will post more as I go. Thanks for looking and commenting!

Good modeling going on here. What did you use for the 4x4 components for the suburban?

I have painted it with standard rattle can paint...just keep the paint light and use multiple coats as the cardboard will absorb it to point. The first coat acts as a sealant. It will handle it well if you have it stuck to a flat surface to keep it from curling or warping.

Excellent work overall!

Nice work on the mods! looks very realistic! Caution, if accuracy is your thing...the Moebius 390 has the wrong radiator hose position on the intake (easy fix). I explain how I remedied it in my post if your interested. Awesome build so far on this Bronco!

Lovin it! Great ideas and the stance....perfect!

Not to take away from Plastruct or anything but a much cheaper solution is corrugated cardboard glued onto some flat sheeting. Its available almost anywhere. I have picked it up from soda displays or the like from convenient stores...if thats not available, your local office store has it.

Great Goat! Some fine painting going on...I can't wait to see your future builds if this is your first!

Very Nice! Good choice on colors and lifting it up a bit! Excellent painting skills!

Excellent representation of a great classic Chevy!

Great restoration work on a great classic!

I agree with everyone on this...very well built!

Wow! I mean Wow! Very well done!

Nice work on the Ford, also the bed looks great!

Nice looking Jeep!

Well done! I like the plain Jane look!

Nice work! Great changes to the kit!

I would like to share my version of the Moebius 71 Ford. I like to build models of vehicles as I remember them back in the day. This build will represent images from my memory of a 1971 Ford 4x4 Custom that is roughly 10 yrs old (used but well taken care of). My grandfather had this pickup and I remember it being almost pristine in condition but as I said earlier also signs of being used as a truck. For this build I combined AMT's 78 Ford 4x4 with the Moebius kit. The 4wd components fit very well to the Moebius frame with very little work. I did not fill in the slots in the frame for the Moebius suspension pieces as I don't think they will be seen once the kit is complete. I had to extend the axles a little to get the wheels to look right without being too narrow. One noticeable inaccuracy is that the transfer case is mounted a little forward from the real thing but I am ok with that. I wanted a manual transmission and when I started this, I didn't have one for a truck, so I found something from my parts boxes that closely resembles the heavy duty 4 speed used on these trucks. The drive lines are spare parts with the ends cut off and I used straws I grab from the local fast food places I visit. I heated up the exhaust and bent it so it comes out behind the rear leaf spring. I extended the exhaust with a small coffee straw so it looks right. I do not use any aftermarket items except spark plug wires and other wire from old phone cords or electrical stuff. I apologize for the quality of the pictures...I am limited to my phone for pictures (apple I4). I will explain my work as I go in case anyone is interested. Hope you enjoy, comments welcome. Quick test fit to check for height and alignment. Weathered the chassis and frame using textured rattle can paint and 2 other colors of brown spray paint. For the engine I puttied the radiator hose inlet because 390's have the housing coming off the front of the intake. I used a piece of spru that had a 90 degree elbow and drilled out the opening. I then used a piece of my trusty for sale sign for the flange. I painted and weathered the engine before I realized the hose location was wrong. For the fan belt assembly, I went to my parts bins again as I didnt like how low the alternator was on the Moebius kit. Pictures I studied in research always showed the alternator up towards the valve cover. The white with blue paint is the Moebius part. Added some detail to engine and test fit on the chassis. I added throttle linkage and spring, fuel line, air breather to air cleaner now runs across the front, added pcv valve to back valve cover. I turned the coil around to face the front as almost every ford I ever worked on, someone flipped it around to ease access to the wiring. I used the kits oil filler cap for the vacuum advance unit on the distributor and ran a hose to the carb. I fabricated a dipstick and put it to the rear of the oil filter. Alternator bracket is made from my trusty for sale sign. Heat riser from manifold was too small I felt so I fattened it up a bit. One thing that bothered me from the start was the lack of a dash pad on these kits. Every picture out there of this generation of Ford pickups shows a dash pad that comes out over the bezel. I went to my trusty thicker for sale sign and heated up the tips (carefully as it wants to curl) formed it to the dash and glued it then followed up with some putty. I painted the dash (no decals). Extra detail painting on the exhaust pipe extension as this is the part seen in normal view. The interior is pretty straight forward. This will be a basic "custom cab" Ford so I picked up another Moebius kit (70 Ford) for the base model door panels, tailgate, and seat. I fabricated the two shifters from scratch. The pedals are original to the kit but they were a little "thick" for my taste. I simply trimmed them down and glued them to the under dash piece supplied. The gas pedal was also thinned down and trimmed to lay it down on the floor of the tub so it looks correct. The kit steering column was straight but where the steering wheel attaches, it was seriously not right as shown in the picture. I trimmed it to get it straight and removed the automatic shift lever. Another test fit and body now is painted. I sanded off the bottom trim as this is a base Ford "custom" . I started on the BMF on the side trim. The rear reflector light was trimmed down, then painted, topped off with some clear glue. I will have to create my own "Custom" decals for the rear. The hub caps used are accurate for 2wd Fords for sure and I only found one picture of a 4x4 with these hubcaps so I dont know how accurate they are, I like how they look anyway and fabricated some lockout hubs for the front. Inside the bed was given that "I use this truck" look with some good old fashion layer painting and removing. I splattered some paint up front for that time when some paint slid forward when you hit the brakes a little hard! The tops of the bed rails got some scratches as well as the tailgate. The radiator got some weathered treatment with a little gold and dirt. Rear bumper is a plain grey with some mild wear. I painted the tailights as I wanted them to be recessed into the housings instead of flush. The tailgate decal ripped a little on me (I was being pretty vigerous with it). I will take it off and probably paint the panel. I started on the engine compartment with giving the washer bottle a yellow wash and ran the hoses up to the cowl. I still have some touching up to do where the hoses enter the cowl. Made a starter soleniod from spru. Another test fit to make sure everything fits! Sorry for the LONG post and so many pics! Will post more as I progress! Thanks for looking!