Mark C.

I’ve been waiting for this since the gasser version was introduced. Sure, you can get close by kitbashing with a Nova hardtop, but you still have to come up with a correct interior, steel wheels and dog dish hubcaps. I suppose you could buy an AMT wagon for the six, but now you’re into 3 kits plus whatever aftermarket stuff you have to get for it. Motivation starts to wane when the cost approaches $200 Cdn just to get a stock sedan. While I’m on the topic of versions I’ll never get, how about an Acadian 2 door sedan? Since Moebius is dipping into the dark side with their upcoming Canadian Mecury pickup, an Acadian would help complete the set!

Hey Albert! Glad I found you... now I know where to go for my California car show fix! Too bad about the goings on at the other board, I still go back and forth between this, that, and some other boards, but don't really call any one board home these days. This one seems to be the most civil and hobby-oriented board out there, so it looks like you've found a good place to be. See you around!

How 'bout some of these:

Looks awesome, Billy!

Thanks for the info, John. I've been thinking about giving them a try, and now I think I will. It'll eliminate the border/exchange rate hassles as a bonus. BTW, it's modelexpress.net. When I typed in .com it went to a site that tried to get me to download some kind of scanning software that I didn't want. Just a heads-up to anybody that is looking for the site.

To answer your question, this is a quote of Tom's from his board: "I was born with… …an automotive obsessive gene with emphasis on the miniature variety, and it’ll always be my number one priority." That says it all to me.

Nice job on the Caddy! I think this is the perfect application for this kit, especially since it looks like it has a mild top chop right out of the box. Looking forward to more progress pics!

Here's s'more: edit: I should clarify for those not familiar with Canadian music... these guys are the Barenaked Ladies... a band. Sorry for my feeble attempt at humour. :roll:

Great job so far! Here's the European production version: Here's a link to the website: http://www.chrysler.de/300c_touring/index.html

I'm not goin' with anybody on this, but I liked the "before" car better. :roll:

Thank you!!

Thanks, Peter. I can appreciate the language difficulty for you. (By the way, I could easily understand your review of the Monte Carlo.) I think a lot of members could benefit from your excellent work for the Bonneville. Sorry for asking you to do something so difficult! :oops:

Thanks for the review Peter. Very factual and well illustrated. I also enjoyed your review of the '60 Bonneville that you posted a long time ago on another board. Would it be possible to post your Bonneville review and repairs on this board for the benefit of those people who didn't see it before? A word on subject matter and kit flaws. For my $$ it's all about subject matter. I don't mind making some corrections on kits if I like the subject matter. I bought the Trumpeter Bonneville because I like '60 Pontiacs despite its high price and the many flaws the kit has. The Monte Carlo will not be coming home with me, and that's all I'll say about it. I hope this Monte kit sells well so that Trumpeter will continue to bring out more American car kits. I really hope that their choice of subject matter combined with the many flaws of this kit will not kill the chances of more future releases. The downside of this is that if the kit does indeed sell well it may turn off future customers who were not expecting all these problems on a premium kit. I also hope that somebody from Trumpeter reads this board so that they will understand the need to pull up their socks a little in the future. I don't like to trash a kit or manufacturer, but they have to realize that people just will not shell out premium $$ for a kit with so many serious flaws... those are the facts as I see it. Just my 2¢...

Yep! And without the complicated bodywork I'll at least have a chance at being able to do it! :mrgreen: BTW, thanks for your suggestions, Bob! All advice I can get is really appreciated!

Thanks, Bill! I hadn't even thought of MCW. I've been wanting to order something from them, and maybe this might be just the thing. Here's a pic I found on their website, compared to the Laurentian: It just might be doable! The MCW car also would get me out of hot water regarding the taillight issue between the Bonneville and the Catalina/Laurentian: I've gotta say their '61 is awfully tempting as well! Hmmm... Strato Chief? BTW, for anyone interested in Canadian Pontiacs, here are a couple of links: http://bruneauperformance.ca/intro.html http://www.manitobapontiac.com/index.htm http://www.magma.ca/~ann1946/index1.html http://www.canadianpontiac.com/ http://www.classiccanadianbeaumonts.com/kars.htm Thanks again! I'll keep you guys posted if I decide to go for this one!

Thanks for the responses, guys! I have to admit I'm getting a little spooked by this project. Bill, I hadn't noticed before that the fenders would have to be shortened behind the front wheels, but you're right... they do. So now I've got a couple of major problems with the body that I don't think I can deal with, given my current level of skill. 1. Given that the rear fins start out as a V shape in the rear and taper out to a point just behind the door opening, I don't know how I can cut a section out and fudge in the fin pieces, given that the distance between the fins is ever changing as it traverses from front to back. If I cut a section out then glue the 2 pieces together the fins will no longer line up at the cut. I can't just fudge it in because then the fins will make a little zigzag halfway along their length. The only way I can see it working would be to replace the entire fins from the front point right to the back. 2. The same situation appears on the hood. The great big Pontiac arrowhead that starts between the grilles and widens out till it hits the windshield creates the same problem. If I cut a section out here than it will no longer line up. Maybe it could be filed narrower at the cowl, but I'm not sure it would look right. (If my name were Juha or Bill maybe I could do it... but me?? hmmmm.... ) Thanks for the advice, guys, but the more I think of it the more I'm considering following my original plan... restore the Bonneville. Less chance of me ruining vintage plastic that way. Maybe if I want to make a Canadian Pontiac I'll start with something that has easier lines, like a Trumpeter '60 Bonnie. All the lines seem to run pretty much parallel on that one... Or start with an AMT '62 Cat... it's already shortened! LOL I dunno... I hate to give up on it, but a fella's got to realize his limitations! :?

Ok, yesterday I showed a bunch of my stalled projects. Well, they're safely packed away on the shelf to await a future day in the sun. So.... why not consider another project, huh? I'm afraid this one might be a little beyond my abilities, but I thought I'd run it by the board to get your opinions. As long as I can remember I've been a fan of Canadian Pontiacs. My dad was a Pontiac salesman back in the sixties and again in the seventies after a brief hiatus with Datsun and Plymouth. Anyways, I've long been aware of the differences between Canadian and US Pontiacs, which lasted right up into the eighties, after which they became more or less the same (aside from the Tempest of the nineties... a rebadged Corsica). Anyways, back in the heydays of the fifties and sixties, Canadian fullsize Pontiacs were generally the smaller American bodies dropped on Chevy chassis and drivetrains (no wide track in Canada) with differences in interior and exterior trim. The models in the late fifties/early sixties were (in decending order) Parisienne, Laurentian and Strato Chief (hmm... I may have forgotten some details here or there, but I'm wingin' it with no reference material in front of me ). Sooo... yesterday I was combin' the 'bay for Canadian Pontiac pics and I came across this auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1959-PONTIA...1QQcmdZViewItem A 1959 Laurentian 2-door sedan with 6 cyl and three speed (on the floor... I've never seen one like it before). I got to thinkin'... wouldn't this make a cool project for Ron Hamilton's BIG CAR CHALLENGE. I've had a gluebomb '59 Bonneville 'vert that I bought from HH kicking around in a box for 10+ years now. I've got a couple of '59 and '60 Chevy kits laying around that I could use for the chassis components and an AMT '60 Chevy pickup that I could scrounge the six cyl and trans out of. I also have a Tom Coolidge sedan roof that could be donated to the cause. Ok, I have the basic parts kicking around, but there are a number of problems that I forsee for this project: - The biggest one for me is shortening the Bonneville body to make it into a Canadian Pontiac body. Looks like some material will have to be taken out in the wheelbase and some more somewhere between the rear wheels and the bumper. But... those tapered double fins.... how do I shorten the darn thing and still get them to look right? - Body trim. There are a number of differences between the Bonneville and the Laurentian. A lot can be fudged with Evergreen, but what about emblems? I'll still have to do some more research to see what could be used for replica stock wheel covers (I don't really like the look of the Magnum 500s on a late fifties car). - Interior. Again, a little more research will be required, but I'm sure I could fudge it to be close enough. Well, there it is in a nutshell, and I'm thinking I'd have to be nuts to attempt this, but I haven't totally ruled it out yet. Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated. Have I overlooked something that I should be considering?? Thanks in advance!

Wow! :shock: There's some great stuff there that's begging to be completed! Thanks to everybody for posting their incompleted projects... now I don't have to feel so guilty from having unfinished stuff sitting in boxes while I contemplate starting new projects! 8)

Dan, Dan, Dan. I wasn't even thinking about those T-bolts. But now that you mention it....

It's summertime and I'm generally pretty busy with "life" these days, so there's not a whole lot going on for me at the model bench. So in the interest of participating on the board I thought I'd post a few pics of stalled projects I've accumulated. Some I haven't worked on in months, some not in years. Feel free to post some of your stalled projects so I don't feel too alone here! I've posted these before on other boards, so for those who've seen them before, my apologies (hopefully soon I'll be able to post some actual progress pics). Here are a few: '60 Chev Bel Air 2-door sedan conversion using a Tom Coolidge roof: A Johan '60 Olds roof transplant (from the '60 Impala): An AMT '67 Impala "quick build" from about 4 years ago: A '69 GTX experiment using metallics for interior colours (not factory colours, though) from about 15 years ago: A '57 Chev short track car "quick build" from about 3 years ago: A '69 Chevelle short track car on a modified NASCAR chassis from about 3 years ago: My '60 Fury Restoration Challenge (from the other board) car from a few years ago: Panther Pink '70 Challenger ragtop: A '69 Cougar body on a Model King (MPC) Super Stocker chassis: There are others... but that's enough for now! :oops: :roll: Anybody else out there as bad as I am for starting something but not finishing it??

I'll give it a try... I've got several potential unbuilt subjects sitting on the shelf. Now if I can only get off my duff and build one! This will be a really interesting challenge! Can't wait to see the results!

Awesome work! Love to see models of the cars that we saw most often on the road back in the day. While it was always a treat to see Roadrunners, the ones you saw most often were the regular ol' Satellites. The thing I find humourous is when I go to a car show nowadays and they're all Roadrunners... even the ones that weren't back then. Anyways, great job on the Sebring Plus! Looking forward to see the progress as it comes together!

Cool, Bill! Watching your video, I was just made aware of some features of the 1:1 that I didn't know about... like the opening cowl vent and the storage comparment between the seats. There's a reversal, I'm learning about 1:1s from a model! Thanks for sharing this with us... your builds are just amazing!

I just read this... my name should appear down below now... edit: There it is!

I usually post over at the Hobby Heaven board (that's where I found the link to this one). Just wanted to say that this board looks great, and I'm pleased to see some familiar names of folks who used to post over at HH but have been notably absent from there for awhile... it's great to see you guys! At a glance this place appears to be focused on model building with very little OT stuff (a definite plus!), and there seems to be a comradery here that is very refreshing! I look forward to spending more of my internet time here!