Danno

That's actually not bad at all! Kinda a radical-odd concept, but you really made it work! Congrats on doing something entirely new. ??

Tim Boyd said yesterday that it was his understanding it is comprised of all new material. I don't doubt Tim Boyd. But, I'd be surprised if Clambake resists the overwhelming urge and their track-record history of stuffing it with previously published material. But I'm just a skeptic. I hope Tim Boyd is right. It would be a better swan song than to just re-hash the same old same old. ??

The museum (before it closed) had more authentic vehicles in its inventory than it could display at one time. So, they rotated some of the displays. I don't recall which version of the Toronado may have been on display. There were three cars of the 66-68 body style, then another friend of mine, Frank Peterson, campaigned an updated '70 Toronado later. One of the interesting things about the Sanborn Toronado is that he was not the first driver behind the wheel of the car on the Peak. The first was Bobby Unser. Oldsmobile hired Bobby to help them shake down the Toronado in final development and race preparation. The car was fresh from the factory with a stop at the GM Proving Grounds garage in Manitou Springs, CO near Pikes Peak. The car was solid maroon (factory) and had no markings. GM rented Pikes Peak for testing (common practice among big buck manufacturers), and Bobby ran the Toronado up the hill several times. He gave the engineers suggestions and feedback which they employed in further developing the car. His times were close but slightly slower than the 1966 stock car winner. PS: The 'red' color of the Sanborn car was the remaining factory maroon. It was over-layed with white on the sides and blue along the rocker panels. The white was chosen to assure that sponsorship and advertising lettering would stand out. The result was an all-American red, white, and blue scheme. Bobby's contracts and scheduling prevented him from driving the car in the upcoming 1967 Hill Climb. That's when GM tapped Sanborn, who received a new car with the changes Unser recommended. The Unser car was handed off to another driver and competed in the same maroon finish. Sanborn was no slouch, having won the stock car class in 1965 in a hemi Plymouth. Also, one of the development engineers involved in the effort was famed driver/engineer/manager John Fitch (of Corvair and Corvette fame). In the '67 race, Nick Sanborn proved the Toronado to be a viable and formidable competitor by winning not only the stock car class, but the overall race (beating all other classes, too). ??

Thank you, Nigel, David, Chris, Gerard, and Bob! I appreciate your comments. The pix were quickies - before polishing out a couple of overspray spots that didn't seem as noticeable until posted on the 'big screen.' LOL. [Fixed, by the way.] Here's one of the photos I used as reference. It shows the Toronado at work! ??

The one and only model I managed to get to the finish line in 2020 . . . although many started, all were DNFs except this one. My club - Cactus Car Modelers - had an interesting challenge. A member donated a boatload of old glue bombs to the club; each member was allowed to pick two of them but was responsible for restoring/rebuilding at least one of them for a judged showdown a few months later. I was fortunate enough to get a '67 Toronado. I immediately knew what I would do with it. In '67 General Motors promoted its new front-wheel-drive Oldsmobile Toronado by providing two of them to two veteran Pikes Peak Hill Climb competitors. One of the recipients of the cars (and all-in engineering and monetary support from GM) was Nick Sanborn, a local racer who had won a couple of stock car championships at the Peak already. Sanborn ran the big GM car up the hill fast enough to win the overall championship that year. My grandfather knew Sanborn well. As a local law enforcement officer, he frequently chased Sanborn around the mountain roads near Pikes Peak whenever Sanborn took one of his race cars out on the public roads for "testing." Years later, I became a race official at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Nick Sanborn was still very involved in the race (although no longer competing) as a senior race official. I came to know him even better than my grandfather had. So, the gluebomb Jo-Han Toronado became a replica of Nick's championship factory-backed Toronado race car. This was back in the day. The cars were truly factory stock cars with race modifications, not one-off fabricated suggestions. The bumpers were fiberglass replicas sprayed silver. The interior was gutted but for a roll bar and a single bucket seat, racing harness, and shifter. I ground off the dashboard trim, radio, and instruments and replaced them with a flat aluminum plate and array of round Stewart-Warner gauges. The kit's wheels were replaced with Toronado wheels from an MPC kit and some heavy duty snow tires from the parts box supported all four corners. The decals were home-made by sourcing various logos online, and the numbers are gold-foil provided by a friend and his ALPS printer. It was a fun build! Thanks for looking. ?? PS: I never saw the 1:1 car compete . . . I was too young when it ran. PPS: The other competitor who was given a factory ride was Louis Unser. A third Toronado ran that year but it was privately fielded and had none of the blessings of GM's largess.

Stunning! Way to go, Bill! ??

Awesome! ??

I'm with Guido. I only finished one this year, although my to-do list continues to be lengthy. However, New Year's Resolutions are all about unfettered optimism, right? And to quote The Two Toms, "like most everyone else I reserve the right to deviate at any time with whatever strikes my fancy. Like Tom, I claim the "Look a Squirrel!" defense." I agree, we must go with the name. Having said that, there are some specific projects queueing up. Here's my current fire apparatus workbench staging area: 1970 Crown Firecoach, Engine 51 1972 Dodge Squad 51 (hiding) 1950-60 Seagrave Sedan Pumper (2), agencies TBD 1969 American LaFrance Pumper, Manitou Springs FD 1970 American LaFrance Ladder truck, agency TBD (Not shown) 1970 American LaFrance Snorkle truck, agency TBD ** The eagle-eyed among you have noted the dark gray shape behind the two resin Seagrave Sedan Pumpers. That is one of the ten (only) fiberglass originals laid up by Michael Eisbrenner in 1981. It is now 40 years old! It will not be built and will continue to live on in its original, unmolested condition. And, not staged for photography, but the police car workbench is populated with these projects (in various states of completion): 1957 Chevrolet Phoenix Fire Chief car 1957 Chevrolet Phoenix Police car 1978 Chevy Nova Denver Police car (Greg Wann resin) 1978 Chevy Nova El Paso County Sheriff car (Greg Wann resin) replica of my patrol car 1962 Studebaker Phoenix Police car (24 hour build?!) 1978 Chevy Nova (Greg Wann resin) agency TBD 1990 Ford Mustang AZ Highway Patrol car 1957 Ford Barton County Sheriff car 1950 Olds Hoisington Police car 1975 Chevrolet (Modelhaus resin) agency TBD 1985 Chevrolet (Modelhaus resin) agency TBD 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass El Paso County Sheriff car, replica of my unmarked patrol car 1978 Dodge Monaco El Paso County Sheriff car, replica of my unmarked detective car 1981 Dodge Diplomat El Paso County Sheriff car, replica of my unmarked detective car (die cast conversion) 1968 Plymouth El Paso County Sheriff car (restoration of old built-up) 1974 Dodge Monaco Manitou Springs Police car (die cast conversion) 1974 Dodge Monaco Colorado State Patrol car (die cast conversion) 1941 Plymouth police car, agency TBD Okay, it's an overly ambitious list. But I figure it will carry me through 2025 or 2035 without requiring the tedious re-listing every December! Happy New Year, and, Stay Tuned. ??

Here's a PT Cruiser I built in the style of an Aussie Ute. (I have never been happy with the front bumper; I've tried three different paint treatments and not happy with any of them. Think I'll strip it - again - and this time paint it white to match the flame fade.) Black Force wheels, scratched bed and real wood pallet-style slats. ??

Well, there is a certain very reputable resin caster of high regard and quality who has a hardtop Cutlass body in development . . . it should be ready just in time. ??

Probably in hiding now that some people have 'woke.' ??

If you are looking for a "better" 77 Monaco/Fury, the recently issued CHP version with the new wheels and tires, and a few bits, is just that: "better." The Yodels are not. If you are actually looking for a truly accurate and well-detailed replica 77 Monaco/Fury, keep wishing and hoping - but don't hold your breath. Final note: It's really not too hard to vastly improve the AMT kits with donor chassis from a number of sources, such as the 71 Dodge Charger, and detail accurizing. ??

Wonder if it features a Kalmbach car model standard: "The Nation's Top Modelers Disclose Their Expert Tips and Techniques for Building Snap-Kits." It may contain some 'paid-but-yet-unpublished-when-we-pulled-the-plug' material, but if it is true to form with most Kalmbach special booklets, it will be packed with reprinted articles we've already seen in the past couple of years in SA(no E) RIP. Hard pass. ??

Oh. When I saw the title of the thread, I couldn't open it fast enough. Not what I expected. ? ??

Looks like my 2019 . . . and 2018 . . . I actually have ONE for 2020! But, this is about you, Bill, not me. I agree with the masses: 100 In-N-Out Double-Double Animal Style Points for presentation!!!! ??

Hey, Walt! Welcome to the forum and welcome to the Cannonball! Maybe we should christen it the Canyonball? ??

Whoa. Those two are outstanding! Especially that A-bone. Just outstanding. ??

GT Fan Tim: Your Quattro vignette is terrific!! Sorry I missed it earlier. But, at least the images and the well-earned praise are still fresh! Other than the markings and the light pods (not necessary - and therefor not used - at Pikes Peak), it looks just as memory serves. They were awesome cars in their days and they shattered a bunch of 'barriers' and 'ceilings.' ??

Luc, do you have too much time on your hands? LOL. Why not ask those with real data - the buyers for the big-box chains (Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc.), local hobby shops, and the online distributors (Stevens, Megahobby, Tower, etc.). They crunch those numbers daily and they KNOW. Asking consumers who might be in a store for a few minutes a week or a month to analyze what they observe of other consumers doesn't seem likely to produce any useful empirical data. Not scolding, just wondering. You are usually very methodical and focused. I enjoy reading your threads and the responses you elicit. But, unless I totally missed it (which is 27.8% possible), this inquiry seems oddly vague and very un-Luc-like. ??

This one always makes me think of a big, inflatable front yard balloony-thing. Not a model car kit. ??

[Content self-edited.] ??

Sorry to hear that. Like everybody of my generation, grew up with Auto World - catalogs, kits, tips, tools, how-to pamphlets, and the legendary, world-famous unequalled Auto-Cutter! ? RIP, Oscar, Thanks for the great stuff and even greater memories! ??

Amazon did that. A couple of months back, before the holidays and before Covid-19 "got worse," Amazon was delivering (sorry, pun unavoidable) many items same day here in Phoenix. You could order in the morning and it would be delivered within hours - the slow stuff arrived the next day! But, of course, as soon as it started getting close to Thanksgiving, all that changed. Walmart is doing everything it can to keep up with Amazon, but all the other vendors and shippers are left out in the cold while the giants wrestle. Patience. It'll change. ??

Very nice model, Spence. Good job. I believe the Olds Aerotech was a contemporary concept project also; Corvette Indy, Pontiac Banshee, and Olds Aerotech were sorta cousins. Although GM kept its divisions separate, there is a lot of cross-pollination and shared/blended influences among the three. The Corvette Indy was developed first as a (non-functional) design concept in 1985 and converted to a fully functional, operational concept car in 1986. The Oldsmobile Aerotech was developed in 1987. The Pontiac Banshee was developed in 1988. All three underwent continuing refinement during their "lifetimes" before being retired to GM museums. ??