Casey

The framerails are permanently joined, and I've started cutting away the molded in floorboard pieces and the framerail joint plates. I will correct the framerail shapes/unions, then add the four plates are a separate piece, as on the real vans. I'll add rocker panel extensions, extend the wheel houses, and come up with a plan for the engine bay since the hood will be opened soon. Here is the frame (which should be one with the floor, being a unibody vehicle) resting against the interior tub:

If you're talking about the "Post It" labelled boxes they have near the registers, no. The free boxes from USPS.com are ALL Priority, Flat Rate, or Express Mail, so if you want to ship via USPS First Class or Parcel Post, USPS has no free boxes for those last two services. Here are the free boxes from USPS.com: https://store.usps.com/store/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=subcatMSS_B_Free&categoryNavIds=catGetMailingShippingSupplies%3AsubcatMSS_B%3AsubcatMSS_B_Free I buy boxes from http://www.uline.com/ and they usually come out to $.50/box with shipping factored in. The 6x4x3 white crush-proof box is great for smaller items, weighs about 2 ounces, and they're very quick to ship. I get mine the day after I order from the Chicago warehouse. They have a ton of box sizes, so you can chose the best size for your needs.

It's been available on eBay for a few weeks now. Contact Jeff @ Motor City Resin Casters directly (via PM or e-mail) for direct buying info.

Flat Rate boxes are only a good value if you're shipping very heavy items, but then you're restricted by the box size. They are designed for people who don't want the hassle of weighing and measuring packages, and don't mind paying a flat rate. I try to avoid sellers who use USPS Flat Rate shipping, as it's usually at least five dollars cheaper to ship in a Priority non-Flat Rate box. You can get every Priority Mail box USPS.com offers shipped directly to your door, for free, so you will always have multiple Priority Mail boxes to chose from, and the "shoe box" is great for shipping a standard model in, too.

They currently have Tom McEwen's Mongoose R/E T/F kit in the lineup. See the review here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=52244&hl=mcewen As for anything Prudhomme related, there was talk about licensing being difficult to obtain, so who knows what can and will happen. iHobby is coming up in a little over six weeks, so we'll see what Revell has for new and reissue kit announcements at that time. Which Snake/Mongoose kits were you hoping to see re-issued?

Are you forgetting about the new tires to match those wheels? This is pretty much what almost everyone expected when this kit was announced in May, and what we can expect for the '67 Coronet kit, too. Nothing too exciting for the hardcore builder, but look at the bright side- Revell isn't radically and irreversibly altering the tooling to create a one-off kit(s).

Not everybody finds inspiration in the same things.. To each their own. It doesn't have to matter why someone finds something inspirational or uninspiring. It's a personal feeling, period.

I received this in trade from Marty today:

I am pretty sure Model Car Garage make 1/25 scale keys, and includes them on various photoetched frets.

I got the frame section and re-joined, and the gas tank was cut free, but I have yet to finish removing the floor sections between the framerails. I am going to attach the framerails to the underside of the interior tub, cut away the sidewalls of the tub, remove the engine cover/doghouse, and generally backdate this van to what it would've looked like stock. Below you can see why I'm removing the kit-stock front suspension. Did I mention I don't like kits with solid metal axles?

The only thing better would be if you take the model to Boulder Dam and take pics of it there. You've really done some fantastic, inspiring work here, and should be incredibly proud of how it turned out.

I think that's a great decision. The '69 Hurst/Olds kit is about to be reissued, too.

You're gonna need to stock up on more trophies at this rate.

Try typing "67 impala" (with the quotation marks) into the search box, instead of '67 Impala, and I think you'll be more satisfied with the search results. It works great on eBay, too.

The shift levers are the same shape, too? I only know Dodge 3-speed manual column shifters, which are an "H" pattern and have different lever shapes/bends between auto and manual column shifters. How does the Chevy 3-speed manual column shifter work? Is it all inline? I would think there needs to be some allowance for for and aft movement if it's an "H" shift pattern.

Using the Google search as suggested above - site:modelcarsmag.com "Started by blubaja", I get eight posts Frank has started. I see the problem with searching Frank's "Topics" here: blubaja's Content There have been 5 items by blubaja (Search limited from 04-September 11) I'm not sure why the search is limited from September of 2011. Maybe Gregg or Dave Ambose could answer that?

Are you looking for a specific post(s) of yours? Did you try typing your screen name into the search box? Doing that pulls up two pages of posts, the oldest going back to 2007.

The porthole windows have been filled in, the body sections permanently joined, and lots of sanding/truing and scribing done: The roof depressions have yet to be sanded: Next I'll shorten the chassis/floorboards:

Agreed. I think the JPS/Special Edition T/A color scheme pretty much sold itself in the '76-'78 time period, and a shaker scoop and screaming chicken on the hood would've been even better.

This is a guess on my part, but if Revell anticipates people buying the kit just for the snowplow, it would be better for them to make it closer to 1/25 scale than 1/24, even if the kit it is included with is 1/24 scale. It may look a little bit small on a 1/24 scale truck, but if it was 1/24 scale, it would be noticeably too large on a 1/25 scale model. I hope (think?) that makes sense.

This project has been long overdue, so today the 1/25 MPC '74 127" wheelbase Tradesman van body went under the knife and was shortened 18 scale inches to make it a '71-'77 109" wheelbase "shorty". Both body sections are prepped and will be joined tomorrow, then the chassis will be shortened to match. Not sure if I'm going to bother shortening the interior tub at this time, or just add some ribs to the inside walls when I fill the porthole window openings. The front suspension is one molded in blob, so that will be removed, too, as I have more reference material and hands on experience with these vans that any person should. *Warning- the image quality is poor* Before: After: A few comparison shots of the 127" w.b. versus the 109" w.b.: MPC corrected the roof for the '74 "Truckin' USA" release, as shown on the left. The earlier '73 roof, shown on the right is incorrect. I wish they wouldn't have added the porthole window openings, either. Ah well, those are easy to plug.

Your math is correct as far as size goes, but this plow is totally new, and has never appeared in any kit previously.

I am liking this, especially the Grump Lump.

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