RSchnell

It takes very little to convert an ICM kit to a stateside Model A, I doubt most people would know the difference. I've been messing with Model A's for 40 yrs and have restored a few dozen for customers so what stands out to me might not to the average person. The kits certainly have a lot going for them, I hope they continue to add body styles. Given their location this is probably easier said than done.

The fenders are the same between American & Russian Fords as they were stamped from the same dies. The running boards aren't correct for a passenger car but this is easily fixed.

Pretty much. That's why the radiator shell is twice as thick as the old Monogram or Revell Kits. Gaz A's used the 4 row AA truck radiator & rad shell. Passenger cars were 3 row and the rad shells don't interchange between the two. If they retool the fenders they can do a lot more with this kit. As it stands now, the only other body styles that the rear fenders interchange with is all Sedans, Victoria & A-400.

Big Lots and Party City LOL. I was in my local Ollie's yesterday and they didn't have anything. It was pretty well cleaned out I reckon thanks to Christmas.

The manager has no say in what's carried. Their business model doesn't work like that. If they haven't done any deals for kits, they can't sell what they don't have. Ollie's is a clearinghouse for inventory that has either been bought from defunct businesses or special deals like the Round 2 stuff that was common the past few years.

That museum & the entire Gilmore complex are on my list to visit next year. They're in the middle of an expansion which will allow more cars to be display. I've got some duplicates of original Model A Literature that I'm considering donating.

Since I had this laying on my desk already, thought I'd post the color schemes available for the 1930-31 Standard Phaeton for those interested. The Standards is a thick compendium that tells you anything you want to know about Model A & AA's.

ICM released their 2025 catalog and it has 2 new versions of this tremendous kit. The GAZ in German service kit looks like it will allow you to build a stock Russian GAZ A Phaeton. Ford sent multitudes of Model A tooling to Russia in the 30's & rumor has it that a lot of it is still in existence. I already have 8 kits of the original version and will probably be buying 3-4 of these new kits. Without a doubt the best Model A kit on the market despite a couple of shortcomings- commercial running boards, the truck 4 speed transmission and the interior side of the gas tank has the stamping as concave instead of convex, but this is easily fixed. This proved my suspicion that ICM documented a GAZ instead of a regular Model A Ford when they tooled up this kit. Note the GAZ A used the AA truck radiator & rad shell. The headlights buckets should be painted black too as they were carbon steel like used on commercial vehicles opposed to Rustless Steel used on passenger cars. The GAZ pic I posted is pretty close to a stock GAZ with the exception they used black artificial leather on the interior. The top isn't cut like an original but they were black originally.

They sure have the dream license out on the price for that '32.

I stopped at a Love's Truck Stop for a double round of gas. (Gas for the car and a sammich from Arby's) While waiting for the fuel desk line to die down I wandered around the store a bit. In one of the little glass cases next to some CB's were two AMT kits- the Bulldozer and 359 Pete. Didn't get a pic as I left my phone in the car. I thought that pretty unusual and was certainly not expecting to see kits for sale in a truck stop. Then again Love's sells all kinds of random stuff as they had knight armor & swords for sale years back.

Looks like y'all better bring a jacket in addition to an empty bag for the sale! I'm looking forward to this show.

The two walmarts by me never have any kits, but if they did it's a good chance I already have it or don't want it. LOL I'm really surprised Ollie's didn't have any kits for the Christmas season. I never even saw any of the Atlantis stuff in my local Ollie's aside from the few kits that have been growing roots.

What year are you looking for? 1932 used 18" wheels 1933 & 1934 used 17" wheels. These are the only decent '32 wheels I know of. I've got a few sets and they look good. They also carry the '33-34 style. https://www.3dscaleparts.com/product-page/1-25-stock-32-ford-18-wire-wheel-on-skinny-white-walls

I parted out a rough as a cob '56 Merc Montclair that had the automatic chassis lubricator on it. You hit a button on the dash & it shot grease into the suspension from a central point where a can of grease was screwed into a manifold. I sold that setup in the primitive days of ebay for what I thought was an ungodly amount. While not quite related to the car, Ford sold Charcoal & small Charcoal grills. I've been looking for one of these for my collection for a while! I have the brochure, but not the box of charcoal or grill. Ford also sold Portland Cement, Fertilizer, Potassium Nitrate, all available at your local Ford dealer's Parts Counter.

A good portion of Youtube is a wasteland, including some modeling channels. I don't watch any automotive related modeling channels & only a couple aircraft related primarily for unboxing. I've learned more from this site (and Britmodeller for the aircraft I build) than I have any facebook group or youtube video. I will say & have said in the past that the criticism of HPI Guy is warranted. If I was a manufacturer giving him kits & he continuously slapped kits together with shoddy paintwork, gluing functioning tailgates closed & parts put together wrong not only does it make my product look bad but the consumer is bound to think "couldn't they find someone who knows what they're doing?" It just comes across as halfa**, rushed & lazy. My family was in the grove equipment manufacturing business. Before we set our equipment at an expo (back when Florida still had more citrus than subdivisions) we gave the demonstrators a good cleaning & wipe down same as when I delivered a car when my restoration shop was done with it. I realize that's not a perfect example of comparison, but it's close. Now that my work desk is located next to my build desk so at the end of the day all I have to do is move my drink cup & glasses from one desk to the other, I'll actually have some time to build and maybe post a few here. Steve, how did you get a picture of the chili I made last week?

There was a Dodge in 1955 called the La Femme. It was geared towards women and came with a purse & raingear that matched the interior of the car. A friend of mine had one in his collection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_La_Femme

I'll shoot you a PM

It's kinda exciting to see your paintwork on the launchpad. I'm sure there's not many people that can say they've painted everything from Brass era cars to rockets. LOL

Every Christmas Eve Cocoa Beach holds the Surfing Santa deal. Even though it was cloudy and cool I walked down there to check it out. Not having to worry about parking, etc sure made it easy. Not my pics but ones to give you an idea of the size of the shindig. I don't do large crowds(unless it's a model or 1:1 show/swap) so I didn't stick around long. A burger & a beer at a local dive on the walk back home was the part that pleased me the most.

Never been a Springsteen fan, I always say "If Springsteen is the boss, consider me a disgruntled employee." With the exception of the Grateful Dead & a few others, bands I listened to even 10 years ago I seldom listen to now. Getting old is interesting.

I've noticed as I get older things that were once unappealing are now quite appealing and this holds true for cars. What are some cars that you once never cared for but find an appreciation for them now? Mine are in no particular order- '53-54 Chevrolet, late 70s/early 80's El Camino's, 4 door sedans- I used to consider these parts cars and still call them that sometimes. 1961-62 Mercs. Thought the 61-62 Fords looked better but I wouldn't kick a '62 Merc out of the garage now.

Postwar-

Hard to pin down just one, so I'll break it down first is prewar. -

Mine would be "build more than I buy" But I suspect we all have that issue!

I grew up right smack between Tampa & Orlando. They are just about connected to each other by development now. Moved to the east coast to fulfill one of my bucket list jobs(I can now say my paint work is going to space!), but now that I'm working remote I keep thinking the move is going to happen sooner than later. It's time to find a place where there's no snowbirds, tourists, etc. They get more rude & entitled every year.