Casey

You may want to look into using LEGO tracks, or tracks from a toy, too.

Here's a huge image of the Chariot: http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae72/DaleStringer/Lost%20in%20Space/chariot2-1.jpg and some decent shots of another built up here: http://cs.finescale.com/FSMCS/forums/p/104962/1033651.aspx It appears to have typical '60s car steel wheels, and maybe even tires for whatever the idler wheels are called.

I changed my entry, updated my earlier post, and started working on the AMX GT last night. So far I've collected a Johan '69 AMX kit...: ...and the ribbed sidepipe covers from the Revell '67 'Vette kit: I started sanding the body, removing the mold seam ridges, cleaning up the edges, and finished by sanding off the molded-on ribbed rocker panel moldings. I was a bit worried that this tooling hadn't held up well over the years, but I came away quite impressed with the Johan body. The details are very sharp and it was crisply molded, with little to no flash anywhere. Before: After: I did some test fitting of the bumper/grille/headlight buckets and hood, too: So far so good. I will need to remove the hood bulges and fill in the two holes, not mention acquire a '76 Gremlin kit to use the rear quarter of the body. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the AMX roof and simply shorten and slightly lay back the A-pillars or go with a completely different roof, in order to better capture the look of the AMX GT show car:

Though it was originally released in '96, Revell's '65 Chevelle SS 396 Z-16 kit is still one of their best, though it seems to have been largely forgotten or never looked at in the first place. I never completed the kit I had, but I remember being impressed by the fit and feel of how the parts looked and went together.

Yeah, the roof piece is what caught my eye on the 1:1 van, and even the front sirens look to be the same as on the 1/32 scale Monogram kit: The Vandal came first, then the Vanbulance, just like the 1/32 Chevy and Dodge custom then emergency versions.

^^ Those aren't even big block Mopar valve covers, and even worse, they're not Mickey Thompson (M/T) valve covers. Here's a real M/T B/RB Mopar valve cover: The closest I've seen are the BBC M/T valve covers from Calnaga Castings:

You're not thinking of the Monogram 1/24 scale '29 Ford Roadster Pickup kit, are you?

No comment on if the truckers are accurate to their 1:1 likenesses, but at least there are options.

True, the existing figures could be much improved upon, or better yet, new figures created or modified. I have seen some military figures which are quite realistic, but again, the auto figures lag far behind in terms of realism. @Ed- those figures remind me of the other thing which I don't like about "stand alone" figures- the molded on bases. I understand they are there to keep the figures from toppling, but it kills the realism for me. At least with seated figures (like the one you have sitting on the repair ramps), such a base isn't needed and therefore not seen.

I'm not exactly certain how nor from where kit and die-cast tires are sourced, but the Testors BFG tires sure look like the larger Monogram/Revell Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special tires, based on the tread and width. Sadly, I don't think there's ever been an accurate bi-scale BFG Radial T/A tire made. The Arii tires are too chubby/bulgy and the MPC tires have super-thick tread blocks.

Here's some good advice, regardless of which brand or what type of paint you are using: http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/feature.php?article-id=35

What, no key in the ignition switch? Great looking dashboard.

I like the color, but on my computer screens it comes across as more of a champagne color, but GY4 can vary quite a bit. Still one of my favorite Mopar colors, and it always looks good on E-bodies. I actually prefer this kit to the Hemi hardtop and 'vert versions, as I like the hood better, but the rear spoiler always seemed a bit too tall. The main drawback of building this kit is foiling the four fender gills- not fun.

Buy the Dick Landy version. It will be near impossible to sand the vinyl texture off and have the smooth roof come out perfectly.

Not sure if that's a Gurney-Weslake engine (or just the cylinder heads), but f the MPC Gurney Olsonite Eagle kit should have something very close:

Shabo has been OOB for a few years now, I believe. Dry transfers or decals will work, or simply find some older issues of the kits (or just the tires) you wish to use. Round2 and Testors don't seem to have and tire licensing issues, as the '41 Chevy die-cast from Testors has a nice set of semi-firm rubber tires with BFG sidewall lettering:

Count their lucky stars that they didn't fall into that crevasse.

Step off, Most! I'm actually collecting most of the needed parts to do just this. I have the Johan AMX, the sidepipes from the Revell '67 Vette, wheels from the Monogram '70 GTX, and a piece of styrene sheet for the chassis. I keep thinking back to Jack Pennington's amazing asymmetrical Gremlin show car featured in SAE years ago, as that model really caught my attention and made me realize how much room for improvement there is with the Gremlin.

I think that's true to a degree, but wouldn't it fall under the "practice makes perfect" category? Nobody builds a perfectly lifelike vehicle on their first, second, or third attempt, but after building 25+, your skills get better (or at least should ). I think one could reasonably modify a figure by sanding down the glutæus maximus area of a seated figure,, but as noted, there haven't been any good non-racing seated figures included for many years.

Great for ski resorts, too:

I actually typed then deleted a disclaimer of sorts, indicating that I was asking about figures which were for the most part intended to be used in or with the vehicle, versus Revell's semi-recent pre-painted figures which are intended to be displayed alongside the vehicle. The figures in the '56 kits are specifically designed to be placed inside the vehicles, and are unfinished, like the rest of the model kit, hence why I chose not to include anything die-cast based or pre-finished. At any rate, the question still stands.

Call me a nit-picker, but if you go through the trouble of creating bare or worn metal areas on certain parts of the model (the forks for instance), why not be consistent and do the same for other wear areas, such as the running boards and the step up to the cab area? Surely such a used machine would show wear and tear where the operator's boots rubbed the paint away after daily use, not to mention wear from hands grabbing the roof supports after repeatedly getting into the forklift. As Dave mentioned earlier, the best weathering is that which goes (mostly) unnoticed, just like it does in real life, so kudos to those who can and do pull it off.

That could very well be. Maybe it was because figures were considered too toy-like?