Oldcarfan27

Pretty smart!

Nice that you showed us how you made the hinge, but I hope you didn't tear apart the finished car to do it.

Where do you keep coming up with these great, unique, original builds? You're doing scratchbuilds faster than most of us build regular kits. Have you cloned yourself? Fantastic, keep em coming!

Is that the old Revell kit from the early 80s? Or a newer tool like a fujimi type? Like this... Which came from this... Or is it similar to one of these.... Since it's Revell, I'll assume it's the former. But since you have it - I had to ask.

That's a kit? I had no idea. I saw 5 pounds of those models at my grocery store for 4 bucks! Anybody want to trade? LOL

Just my 2 pennies, But I find it kind of amusing that Japanese model companies like to make kits of Japanese subjects, but in the real car world the Japanese LOVE importing American machinery! I've seen reports of some of their carshows and they rival Americans in their turnout of all kinds of American cars. So when people say they're missing the boat, I say yes, but it's American car kits over there. As well as Japanese cars over here. I guess the grass is always greener......

Or graft a complete windshield frame from a monogram flatnose kit, they seem to be everywhere - cheap! I may be able to cut one off a junker I have somewhere, if you want it. I'll give you the whole frame and cowl area, you trim to fit. Let me know. BTW - Great score on some great kits!

I gotta see this movie again!

That roof and section make the car look sleek! But I have a question about those headlights - If you kiss it will it turn into a prince?

I didn't see his when I wrote mine. But his is different anyway. His is a poll on if it matters. Mine is for people to show us what boxes DID influence or inspire them to buy it. I love good box art. Let's see some good ones.

The wagon looks like a pretty basic shape, why not try to get side profiles and detail shots and try to scratch build one out of sheet plastic? That hood area looks roughly like 53 Chevy chopped down - and go from there. Scratchbuilding isn't that hard, if you have scale measurements and break the object down into basic shapes. And you can get measurements from side views of cars online. Try it, what have you got to lose? Happy building!

And one of my "Grails"

Hands down, the best artists were at Revell, they could make the most mundane model kits look like a million bucks!

What is your all-time favorite box art? You know, the boxes that you'd see at the store that made you have to buy it because the lid made it look so interesting! Never mind if the kit didn't measure up, lets just see the artwork that got you going. Please try to attach photos from online or wherever, OK? Most of my choices come from my childhood memories of what the kit would look like. Looking at the complete kits now, many of them are pretty lame. But when I was a kid, the box art held the promise of what the kit COULD look like! A goal I've been trying to achieve ever since.

Great job. Keep it up and have fun. That's what it's all about! My son just turned 13 and he loves building. I'm going to teach him how to spray paint soon. We love seeing younger builders getting interested in the hobby. Just don't defect off into military, or ELSE! Just kidding - enjoy building.

Take a picture of it outside - totally believable! I think I saw a real version of it on Craig's list recently.

Now all it needs is a figure of Arnie Cunningham getting ready to buy it from the old man! (Christine movie reference BTW)

Oh the pain! I wish Revell still had this one. I have so many ideas for it.

Leave it alone it looks too cool the way it is! Dust and all! As far as wagons , I'm sure there are resin kits available for 70 Ford Galaxy, 69 LTD wagon, and 71-76 Caprice. I don't know who makes them, but I saw a bunch built up on Google Images.

Try this. When you're done with your modeling session, touch the tip to a tissue to draw the excess glue out of the tip. Dab a small amount of Vaseline onto the tip and then cap it off and put it in the freezer of your refrigerator. The cold keeps the glue from drying and the Vaseline keeps it from sticking to the tip. Anything else can easily be cleared out with a pin. Hope this helps.

I'm not sure if this has been done already, but I haven't seen them, if they have. I'm really needing some stock polyglas or radial tires in sizes from the 1970s (P235/70R15) - With thin white walls centered in the tire! You know, the kind that all of the Cadillacs, Tbirds, Gran Torinos and LTDs used to wear back then. And not the Firestone Supremes or Silvertowns that we have parts boxes overflowing with. They'd have to be stamped with the white wall on them, because only the cheap, bottom of the line cars came with black walls back then. I'd also like good representations of big and little tires from the 1970's like Mickey Thompson, Pro Trac, BF Goodrich radials (they looked different from the TAs produced from the 1980s to now) and ACCURATE Rally GTs! Tires like the back pair issued in the AMT Baldwin Motion Camaro would be great. And some accurate Good Year Wingfoot (with the thin line around them), Radial GTs (outline white letters) , Eagle GTs (OWL), Eagle STs (solid white letters, they originally came in the Revell 34 Ford street rod snap kit, but I haven't seen them in anything else since.) By accurate, I mean with tread that mimics the original pattern on those tires! Not the smoothed over side walls of the old Polyglas GTs with "Radial GT" stamped onto them. Radial tires don't look like bias plies, folks! They could amortize the cost by running these tires in parts pack sets first - and then put them in the model kits for the era the represent afterwards. They wouldn't become obsolete, because they are part of the history of those cars. Many of the tires I mentioned were OEM equipment when new. Street Machines, Street Freaks and Street rods in the 1970s ran the Mickey Ts, Pro Trac 50s & 60s and Rally GTs. Late 70s Corvettes, Trans Ams, Z28s used G/Y Radial GTs. Third gen. Trans Ams and Z28s used Eagle GTs. So every reissue of those kits can include those tires and ALWAYS be accurate. What do you think? Parts packs of new tire sets. 8 or 12 to a pack would be great!

While Hasegawa may have put out a good Ferrari Testa Rossa kit, its priced well above $120+ dollars, I certainly can't afford that version. But that brings me to another question: Why is it Japanese kits can't be more competitive with other markets when it comes to pricing and presentation? I know that people will say that their prices are high due to import costs, I say I could agree up to a reasonable point. But at 3 or 4 times the cost of their competition, it seems to me maybe they could put a little less Hi-Tech and just do a straight forward all plastic kit at a competitive price and sell to more builders and less connoisseurs. If Toyota and Honda priced their cars that high above their competition, they'd have a real tough time selling them to average consumers - no matter how good they are. On the other end of the spectrum, when Japanese kits are priced cheaper, they only come with basic details - no engine, platform chassis, out of scale steering, shallow interior and toy like appearance. I'd like to build that Ferrari, but at that price, it might as well still be on my dream list.

Ah, those were the days!

My son just got one of those Aero Chiefs for $12.50. Huge kit - huge discount. He was ecstatic!

If we're compiling a list of 50s cars to model (or any other subject), We should collectively gather a list of top 10 most popular choices, and post that for the model companies to see. That would give them a realistic goal - rather than us wildly throwing darts at our individual favorites and hoping they pick the right target. Here's my top 10 list of 50s cars, including optional versions to increase potential sales. 1. 56 Lincoln Continental Mark II. With optional Kustom parts. Check out Richard Zocchi's chopped, yellow custom online for example. 2. 56 Cadillac Eldorado or Deville 2 door. With optional hardtop or convertible and more 50s Kustom parts. 3. Jaguar XK150. Why this beauty hasn't been a popular 1/25 kit by now is beyond me. 4. 57 Ferrari Testa Rossa. Ditto for this classic. 5. 55-57 Pontiac Safari wagon. Pontiac's version of the classic Nomad. How about an optional jacked up highboy version with 60s lace panels and sponsor decals. Think of Revell's 57 Ford wagon as an example. A hardtop would be cool too! 6. 51 Ford Victoria. I remember a sectioned Barris custom of one of these, looked soooo sleek. Stock looks good too! 7. 56 Studebaker Golden Hawk. With supercharger - Nuff said. 8. 57. Ford pick up. With fleetside and stepside options. A companion to the AMT Cameo and overdone 53-55 Ford p/u. 9. 56. Olds Fiesta or Rocket 88. So good a song was written about it. Another base for a classic custom. 10. Packard Caribbean. Any version would be a classic. It would be a sacrilege to put a custom version in this kit. How about a pick up option? Or an RV back-halved to it? Just kidding, but I did really see that done to one once! Poor thing. Honorable Mention: 51 Mercury coupe - Why hasn't this itch been scratched yet? Yes, I know I've favored cars with custom options. While I like customs, I prefer these cars stock. I suggested options to make them exciting to more buyers. Thus, more sales and higher probability to be produced - get it?!