Casey

Opening the image in a new window gets it to full size, and there seem to be more 4-door sedans and one two-door wagon on the left third of the photo. Plenty of details to comb through, for sure.

1986:

If you click on Brian's image, you can see "NORTHWEST'S LARGEST VOLUME MERCURY DEALER" in lettering on the wall, and after a Google search, it turns out the building is (was, hard to tell if anything of the old building remains) located in Portland, OR. *edit* the banners state Portland, ORE, too.

No, the 1/24 Monogram '55 Ford Pickup (shared tooling with the 1/24 '55 Panel Truck) is a completely different kit than the 1/25 Revell '56 Ford pickup with opening doors. I think the AMT '53 would be the best choice for you. The Monogram kit cannot be built anywhere near stock, so that probably rules it out for you. The 1/25 Revell kit is not the easiest nor most enjoyable kit to assemble IMHO. As Mark said, with a lot of patience and much test fitting, it can result in a very nice finished model, but for an enjoyable build, I wouldn't recommend it.

This isn't intended to be a factory stock truck, and I really like the well-designed FE-series V8 from the '60 Starliner, so the fact that I had one on hand made for an easy choice. I don't think the fenders were widened on the resin cab as they should have been, so it fell somewhere between an F-3 and F-4 in my mind.

I built and mocked up the Ford 534 Super Duty engine from the AMT Ford C-Series kit, but felt it was a bit too heavy duty for this truck, so I started assembled the Ford FE-series V8 from the AMT '60 Ford Starliner, which feels much more proportionate. I will need to change the trans to something more truck like, but I think the FE will work better. Comparison shots of both engines: I also decided to ditch the rearend from the IMC Dodge and use the Revell '41 Chevy rear instead, but have some future mods in mind. Spring-to-spring width matches the new rear much better, and while it might be a bit undersized, it is far better detailed. It feels more proportionate, and while I will still need to make it a two-speed style rearend, I think this is a better rear to start with compared to the IMC part. The Revell rear did have two sinkholes which I started filling, but here's a shot of the rearend and a rear leaf spring together:

LHS had one left in the natural aluminum, but at least two each of the anodized blue and red sleeves. Not sure if people want those, though. ?? This arrived today, too. Was pleased with the first one I acquired, and found a second one for a reasonable amount:

I found this and think it works well for bi-scale models. It would need to be blackened or something to tone down the brass color, but the links are tiny:

Picked up a few small things:

Here are a few pics of a vintage 1/25 AMT 1962 Buick Special Wagon kit I saved a while back. Not being reissued, just looking back. Instruction sheet here, too: https://modelkitreviews.proboards.com/thread/465/amt-1962-buick-special-wagon

Huh, tiny door handles are present on the maroon/original issue kit's body, too:

Sorry, no. The 1/24 Monogram LUV was reissued last year, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find if one wants to try recreating the Mojave Mule version:

Good to know. There are always kits like this which creep up in value, but if you're actively looking for one, best to keep that info on the down-low. ??

Here's a look at the contents of the (original, I think?) 1992 issue 1/25 Monogram '59 Cadillac Eldorado Seville Hardtop: https://modelkitreviews.proboards.com/thread/1661/25-monogram-cadillac-eldorado-seville Though I never built it, it was worth the cost for the Cadillac V8 engine alone-- I have yet to see any other 1/25 scale Caddy V8 which comes close to this one in terms of fit, detail, and overall "look". I think the chrome stickers were an odd choice, but maybe just the folks at Revell-Monogram trying something new.

I saw more than a few which sold for $30-$40 under the Completed listings, but there are some which sold for more money. Two factory sealed for $35 and $40: Now I have to keep my eyes peeled...

Maybe there exists a separate insert for the earlier cab and Stepside bed? The H&M was a combination of the later cab and Stepside bed, so it might be possible. Found these nice images of the MPC Sodbuster and Chevy Stepside kits on eBay: Earlier chrome plated parts from the Chevy Stepside Off Road Pickup:

I measured the smaller tire I have, and the O.D. measures 1.265" or so: Tread width measures ~.390".

The crispness of the engraving of original/early issue kits always blows me away, but I guess it's not surprising. It's also a great reason to seek out older issues instead of buying the latest reissue. I think everyone has a pair of those custom tail fins/fender pods and custom seat backs in their parts bin, right?

I guess these are the new wheels: https://www.facebook.com/Round2Models/posts/10165783448305402

They are unique to this model as far as I've been able to tell. Similar to some other Monogram/TD designs, but not quite the same: The above is available on eBay currently for a very reasonable price and looks mostly complete, save for the light bar. Someone should contact Revell (and Ed Sexton specifically) and ask if the inserts fir the Mojave Mule version still exist. The fleetside(?) bed version was reissued not long ago, so I think the chances of getting some good info now are as good as they'll ever be.

Didn't sell well enough to justify more expense for a negative ROI. Looks like they're selling on eBay for $30-$40 or so, not much more than a reissue would cost. ?‍♂️