ScottE

First - Thank all of you for the views and kind words! Chuck, I did use the stock '60 front (and rear) suspension, I was working on a deadline for the presentation and skipped some details. That was one, another was the Bowtie "10" badge behind the front wheel wells. Is that available from anywhere? I came across a '63 annual on ebay when I first started this project - in bad shape and way expensive! Made do with what was affordable. Here's two pics of the real vehicle.

Recently finished this as a gift to the manager of the now-closed car museum where our local club has been meeting. We've had 2 contest/swap meets there, and they were great about moving cars out of the museum to give us room for vendors and contest tables. Unfortunately, the museum was unable to continue, but I volunteered to put this together for the manager as a thank-you. It is a replica of one of his personal vehicles. Most of the model comes from the AMT '60 pickup. The step side, wheels, tires, hood and rear bumper are from the Revell '65 pickup kit. I designed the '63 grill and hubcaps and had them 3D printed by Charles at Texas 3D Customs. I did have to add some 1/8" strips to the top of the rear chassis rails to get the step side bed to sit right, and I also ended up cutting off the bottom of the windshield to get the interior seated properly. The hood from the '65 is a bit short, but with it opened up that's not an issue. I notched the driver's side rear fender for the spare tire and filled it in with sheet plastic, and filled in the "gills" behind the side windows with putty. The red & white paint is Tamiya lacquer, with a mix of Tamiya and Hataka lacquers for the rest.

Thanks everyone for the kudos and for letting me share.

Back in '72 and '73, Revell and Kawasaki sponsored motorcycle model contests. The model had to be based on one of Revell's motorcycle kits, and that was about it for rules. Kawasaki provided the big prizes - real motorcycles! Can you imagine giving away motorcycles as prizes now? I was in high school still, and fascinated by bikes (choppers in particular). Didn't finish in time for 1972, there was a due date for sending in pictures and entry forms that I think I missed by a day or two. Got my entry in on time for '73, though. Inspired by the movie "Easy Rider", I used the engine, transmission and rear wheel from Revell's 1/12 scale LA Chopper. The frame, front forks, and sissy bar are soldered together from brass sheet, rod and tubing. The seat and gas tank are balsa wood, and my sister helped me stitch the naugahyde seat cover. I turned the spiked nut covers on the front end out of aluminum in shop class. Our next-door neighbor owned a plating shop and was kind enough to triple plate the brass parts for me. The front wheel and tire are from a Pyro kit (some kind of beach trike, if I remember). I won first in Street/Custom and was awarded a Kawasaki KX175, what we called back then a dual-purpose bike, my first motorcycle. Here's some pics of the model as it is today, one of me on my prize, and an article written by Cycle Magazine's Joe Parkhurst. Most of the plating has held up well, but there's some bubbly spots on the frame, probably from not cleaning off the soldering flux well enough. Any surviving entries from back then?