Casey

Love it. There's just something about orange that works on big trucks.

Thanks, and I may just add a thin strip between the two frames. I don't want the bed to get too high off the ground, but I'll see if I can find some thin basswood strips to use. According to what the info I found online about the Continental turbine engine, it weighs only 150 pounds fully dressed, so it would probably balance out well with the truck driver's weight on the opposite side. I still have a long way to go with the car, so, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Thanks Gary. I have seen the long, square U-bolts used on cargo boxes, but wasn't sure how of if a semi-homemade bed like I'm making would be attached the same way or not, but I do like the idea of having the bed frame bolted in place. Guess I need to do some some Googling for images. Once I decided to go with a flat bed, I was using this truck as a loose guide, and the truck I'm building has similar rear tires clearance from what I can see: I'm hoping to get my hands on another C-series cab or kit to steal the wheel arches from, then transplant them in the back, in the hope they'll cover the little bit of tire which protrudes past the edge of the bed. I'm still debating adding full side panels under the bed to cover the storage bins, so if I do, I could work the arches in and gain a bit of extra width, too.

No, it hasn't been announced as coming back, so that person will need to find an SSP release.

I'm guessing the copyright date at the bottom says 1969 or so? Very cool find, Eddie. There can't be much IMC ephemera left anymore, but this poster is great. Is there anything on the back?

Looks like Round2 has updated their website to now include the Lindberg and HAWK brands: http://www.round2models.com/models/lindberg

Welcome aboard, Drew. You should definitely look into the Blog each member can have, found under your Profile tab.

Yes, I'm using it for the deck of a flatbed, so the thickness isn't an issue. It measures .040" thick (not including the raised diamonds).

I didn't want to reuse the stock grille after I cut it free from the bumper, so I've been trying to come up with an idea the last few days and found something which showed potential. I thought two more ovals in the grille would harmonize with the oval headlight surrounds, so after some cutting, filing, sanding and gluing, here's what I came up with: The two yellow pieces are air cleaners from the Revell 1/16 '34 Ford Coupe kit, and the bar connecting them is a piece of round (now half-round) styrene tube. I like the ribbed texture of (what would normally be) the air cleaner's filter element, but I think it might be too "Jet Age" '50s looking for a '63-'64 era truck, so not sure if it'll stay. Early '60s Studebaker truck grilles were not all that visually exciting, so there wasn't much to draw from as far as styling cues are concerned, and the cab's wide and long opening limits the grille's overall dimensions, too. The grille also has to either be very thin or set back to allow the cab to tilt forward without interference, so I might just make a basic stamped steel looking grille with four slots and call it good. I added a 90* rail and another supporting piece of rectangular rid beneath it to the bed's frame so the treadplate decking would have a more finished border. I haven't decided how to finish the front and rear edges of the bed yet, so the rear edge still needs to be trimmed to length:

Will have? They already, do, Mark. Very, very nice work you're doing.

What needs to be done to call it finished?

The "Streetburner" version of the 1/24 Revell '70 Dodge Challenger T/A (kit #2596) includes some underhood detail decals, including the early '70s Mopar coolant sticker, and maybe two or three others.

Not sure if this is some form of therapy for you, or if you're going to need therapy when you're done, but it looks great so far. I'd love to see a picture of the centering bar you use, as the rivets all appear to be perfectly spaced.

Today I received some of Don Mills' treadplate, and as mentioned a few times above, it's very nice. Each sheet is 4"x8", and you get two sheets per package. I would definitely suggest seeking out Don's treadplate if you need some:

Thanks, Jesse, and glad to hear you found it useful. I wrapped four more cubes today, but made the two fuel tanks a bit smaller in an attempt to get them closer to a scale volume of approximately 50 gallons. I calculated the kit's fuel tank volume to be 45 gallons each, based on exterior measurements, and found some real tanks online which hold 50 gallons, so I worked toward that volume/size. I still need to: Widen the middle two storage bins so they fit better inside their slots Make some fuel tank support brackets and straps, then attach them to the truck's frame Add fuel filler tubes and caps to both tanks Cap the red/yellow topped cubes with styrene sheet I just remembered I added some right angle strips to two of the storage bins, as you can see above, so I will do the same for the remaining two bins after I widen them. I also received some treadplate and rectangular slam locks from Don Mills today, too:

The Rat Roaster's blower is a Weiand piece, not a B&M part, just to be clear: I bet Garage Scenes did make one, as I looked at completed eBay listings earlier and they made Hampton and another brand of blower in metal.

Yes, the cash registers have electric cords attached, but again, there is no electronic record of the specific items purchased in store. If I buy the Revell Rat Roaster kit for $24.99, all they know is an item from the Hobbies section was sold for the price of $24.99. They may enter a department number/code (hobbies, fabric, art supplies, etc.), but the price entering process is extremely basic. Their website even mentions the lack of electronic price scanning. Their paint selection heavily favors Testors and Wicked Colors, etc. acrylic paints, so very few Tamiya paints in my experience. I think they started carrying the Tamiya spray primers in the last year or so at various stores. The coupon is available on their website, or you can view it on your smartphone and won't need to print out a copy of the coupon.

Hobby Lobby doesn't even use scanners, Bill. Their cashiers enter each price manually into the cash register, old school style. I think you might like it.

I've heard the same, and it's very similar to the Little Red Wagon A-100, so I've avoided them both. As Sergey mentioned, there are also the three varieties of AMT's Ford C-series medium duty trucks, which I would recommend. I was impressed by how well everything fits together on the Stakebed version I'm working on, and wouldn't hesitate to buy and build another.

I've got the '79 issue, but never will build it. That said, it's a very '60s style model, with some nice parts (SBC, multi-carb intake manifold with multi-piece carbs, nice quick change rearend), but the interior tub is way outdated, the steel wheels have ejector pin marks on the outside faces/lips, and there are some odd details, like the woodgrain firewall. IMHO, it's worth paying $20 for if you're using it for parts for another 1/16 project (i.e. the Minicraft Model As), or if you want a nostalgic trip down memory lane and aren't concerned with every single detail. The parts fit and engineering of the kit is not as nice as that found on Revell's 1/16 '34 Fords, but I don't see any cause for alarm on any of the parts or assemblies. You may need to really take your time with all the thin, fragile chrome front end related parts, but if you want a unique shelf model, this one'll work just fine.

Whatever was used in AMT kits over the last decade is stubborn stuff. I recently tried to remove the undercoating on the chrome-plated parts in the '02 issue of the Ford C-600 Stakebed kit, and it was anything but easy, much less a guarantee when using Easy Off in the yellow can. I'm talking multiple, fresh dousings, too, each followed by a toothbrush scrub and picking at the stuff with toothpicks. If the clear coat doesn't obscure details, I would also leave it in place.

Some previous comments/advice regarding cabovers: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=77383&hl=cabover

A must read, Ken: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5047&hl=%2Bopening+%2Bdoors#entry99875

Lemme guess, flat spots, too soft, and generally misshapen? The complaint line starts over there ------>, behind me. The new tires are awful, but older versions from the '69 Camaro and '67 Corvette 427 kits are usually very nice, and are molded in a firmer compound.

Is this the same diorama project, Brad?: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5117&hl=%22straight+line+modelers%22

Done. There's always going to be debate over what things cost, and the value each person finds in each kit, so let's move forward and try to stay focused on discussing the kit itself. Waiting to discuss to kit until after it reaches consumers' hands is an option every one of us has available to us, so if you don't care to read critiques and comments on what people see, like, and/or are concerned about based on pre-production shots, please move on and find another topic which does interest you. No more trolling, no more referring to others by juvenile versions of their names (i.e. "Chucky", "Timmy", etc.) as a cut down, and no more injecting your opinions over whether pickup are inferior to big rigs in Kit Reviews topics.