Casey

Maybe the next version from Moebius?

^This. I have one used wheel which had a spinner nut glued to the center hub, so the very center is not great anymore, but I think it's as close as you will find to be honest:

The color works very well with the Falcon body, and really, that's what counts.

Yes...and all of the above. I don't place that much emphasis on finishing, so if I lose interest, I'll trade it, part it out, sell it, or generally move on from it. Nothing's worse that forcing yourself to continue spending time on something you'd rather not. I definitely agree about the lack of skill causing a project to stall, but the good news is you can almost always improve that skill, then jump back in where you left off, now fully quipped to complete what you previously couldn't. I pretty much did that with one of my stalled projects, though on problem wasn't entirely to blame. A quick or radical departure from the starting vision is probably cause for many builds to derail and/or stall, but it can also lead to entirely new projects and ideas, so it's not always a negative. I try to keep in the back of my mind those ideas I envisioned which didn't work out, in case they can be applied to another project, even if it requires some re-working or re-engineering. If you feel you have a good idea, remember it, or better yet, write it down. I also find viewing other member's projects, either in progress or completed, will spark something and inspire me to at least get a stalled project back out to look over, even if I don't immediately jump back in with both feet.

Has anyone test fit the springs from the MPC Jeep Commando kit on the Scout's frame rails by chance? Just curious if those would be an upgrade for the '80s Monogram like all-in-one leaf springs/rearend found in the Scout kit, and if they would even be a good fit. I want to say the Commando is a bit narrower than the Scout, so the axles might not work without some widening?

I thought the Young Model Builder's Club was strictly a Monogram thing, but I've seen both Aurora and Revell kits "sent" as part of the series, so maybe multiple companies were involved, as it would've been prior to the Revell-Monogram merger. Maybe old stock Aurora kits were included in the YMBC after Aurora went belly up after 1977?

Well, 2018 or 2019, maybe, but this one just popped into my head as a possibility after noticing the real car use Firestone goldline(?) tires, which Round2 just happened to recreate and include with the Warren Tope Mustang reissue (though they would need to print the design on a wider tire): The kit was last reissued in 2003 by RC2, and in 1995 by Ertl, so the molds are already in China.

I think that is the most likely scenario, but I fear there would be so many corrections and improvements involved that you'd end up with 65%+ being new parts. It reminds me of the Revell Jeep Honcho kit in that the body shell is a good starting point, but everything else needs a lot of help to be respectable. I snagged some pics of eBay which give a good look at the unused parts and a built model, so you can see what you're in for. The orange parts are from an older Ertl-era issue, so I think the wheel backs have been updated to work with "normal" kit tires?: Here's a look into the engine compartment Dave referred to earlier: A look at the underside, and keep in mind on this kit the interior tub, chassis, and engine compartment are all molded as one piece, so pretty much everything you see panted flat black below:

I don't think any of the various IH Scout kits contain a truly correct grille, seeing as the top edge (and the hood's forward edge) is too arched, right? Now, if Round2 sees fit to correct the grille and hood, and is able to include modified/corrected older style grilles, that would be ideal...who thinks that will actually happen? Me neither. I'd be happy to see a new set of wheels and off-road style tires, along with a new decal sheet with the Rallye stripe option in black and white. No clue which tires Round2 is going to include, but hopefully not the small Desert Dog PCV tires from the Daisy's Jeep kit and others.

Yes, GM started producing their own 4WD trucks in house, instead of installing or supplying NAPCO components on the 1960 trucks. Now, I'm sure you could still order the NAPCO parts after 1960 and convert your 4x2 on your own, which is how many were done before 1960: http://historygarage.com/napco-4x4-pickup-trucks-forgotten-4x4/ http://www.napco4x4.org/history.htm I do recall one member working on a crew cab railroad owned truck a while back, so perhaps a forum search would turn up some hits. There's not much of anything available in terms of early 4x4 parts from the aftermarket, and zero in kits, so you have your work cut out for you.

Leaking front crank and rear main seals...nailed it.

My guess would be they are Jackman wheels. Hard to tell if they are white or not, but they kind of look like they are, and Jackman was heavy into off-road wheels during the time this pic was probably taken (1975-1977 or so?). The wheels seem to have more than the usual six or eight spokes, though, and the empty slots are mush narrower and the spokes much more curved than what is normally seen. Any idea what width the wheels were? 8" or maybe even 10"? 10" wide would explain the excessive curvature of the spokes. I can't think of a kit which has wheels like this, in such a wide width, though.

MPC-879 1/25 1969 Dodge Charger Slicker R/T Car (Snap)

Yes. Round2 reissued the logging trailer in 2009, and prices (at least on eBay) seem to be creeping up around $40 or so on them. I think the Wilson Livestock trailer was last reissued by Ertl in 2002, so people will be happy to see it reissued.

Good question. Usually the instruction sheet makes reference to the manufacturer, but no luck on this one. It doesn't seem like it would be based on a real wheel, based on how is assembles, but they might be similar to those 8-lug Pontiac wheels? These are the wheels in question, correct?:

Ribs?

Why wouldn't there be? Very few people have the artistic skill to end up with a finished product like that, much less have any idea how or where to go about starting such a project. If you do, you absolutely should make and sell them. People pay good money for things which are well made, and this model certainly seems to fit that description. Factor in the unique, obscure subject matter and you have a recipe for success.

Maybe the insert for the dump box parts is missing or damaged? With the Autocar tractor being reissued soon, it might be a good time to ask someone at Round2 if the dump truck version on one their radar, too. I wouldn't expect to see it before all the heavy truck kits reissued by Model King or Stevens International are again reissued by Round2, but it never hurts to fire off an e-mail message and ask them.

"***Single Stage Paint Color*** THIS PRODUCT MUST BE CLEAR COATED."

^^ Does that Falcon have heavy duty rear hubs, and maybe six- or eight-lug wheels to match?

Digging into some Hendrickson rear suspension reference material clarified the problem with the rear spring bracket, so I need to add a "hump"/half round piece of material inside the bracket's slot for the top leaf to rest on. I probably removed the material when I started opening up the slots way back when to fit the springs, so should be an easy fix to get the rear end of the spring back into the proper position, allowing the spring to sit more level. The factory service manual I'm using is for GMC trucks, but the Hendrickson RT suspension appears to be exactly the same as that found in the AMT GMC Astro/Chevy Titan kits, so I will follow it for the most part. There does appear to be a little bit of ambiguity regarding exactly what the rear leaf spring bracket looks like, but I think the line drawing without (pic #1 below) what appears to be a pin (shown on pic #2, just above the rebound bolt holes) is correct, as the arched line shows the lower end of the hump in direct contact with the top leaf: Also updated the post title...no more Studebabaker. Not sure how many times I read it and never noticed until now. A few more Hendrickson RT suspension pics, for reference:

Here's a good example of what Mark mentioned above, showing both mid '90s (left) and early '80s issue (right) clear parts from the AMT '41 Plymouth kits. While not as drastic as the Corvair example, the below shows how space was consolidated and the ejector pin locations changed, even though the parts count remained the same:

The top of the "C" does look flatter on the BW piece, and better matches the Charger/Modern T, without copying it directly. The body shapes and proportions on the Charger are so funky that you could really go just about any direction and have it look similar. I mean, fenceposts as bed rails? Come on!