Andria H

Start on a 1/25 scale AMT/Ertl 1969 Ford Torino Cobra, painted in Krylon Dark Copper Metallic to approximate era-correct Dark Saddle Bronze Poly, with the interior to be done in a corresponding shade with black carpets & the rest built out of the box with only minor engine and chassis weathering & aged tire treads. I have the whole Class of '69 muscle car set (a 1999 Kmart exclusive) by AMT/Ertl to build. The '69 Barracuda is going to be a "secretary special" with a bench seat and 273/automatic, the Hurst-Olds will be detrimmed into a Cutlass 'S' trim level and made into a primered project in progress hot rod using leftover items from the Torino and Barracuda.

Thanks all, and especially to @Pierre Rivardfor chiming in. This kit will be here tomorrow sometime.

Got this kit on eBay (estimated time of arrival this Saturday or Monday) for a great price. I had been wanting to build the kit for probably 20 years, but Pierre's post about superdetailing this kit ended up taking me over the edge and made me seek out a kit. Ultimately, this kit is coming to me from Tucson AZ where it had been secreted away in an estate purchased by the seller since 1987. My intent with it is not to go as far with it as Pierre did, but to make a nice looking classic build that is higher to the fidelity of a 1920s/30s German sports car than the pic on the box of a grossly overrestored car. Some parts will be dechromed and painted, such as the wire wheels, dash, firewall, carburetors, and running boards, with the Dunlop Cord tires made into solid blackwalls, the seat and interior panels textured/painted to look like Mercedes' famous Rosen leather that they have used for most of their existence, and the overthick windshield glass will be replaced with a custom cut of clear packaging plastic. Vintage European license plates from my decal sheet stash will be used along with a 1940s-older style Shell Oil decal under the hood. This kit and the Bugatti Royale & the 1/16 scale 1912 Stutz racer, 1914 Mercedes land speed racer, and 1910 Model T Ford, could have been game changers for Lindberg, but sadly it took until George Toteff reinvigorated the brand in the 1980s/90s for them to be even taken mildly seriously.

Nice one. Now I like the MPC modified chassis, it is 1955 Chevy rails and a tubular upper structure and I think it is more appropriate for the '33 Ford or '36 Plymouth bodies than the Pinto or Vega bodies. But this is even better

I've built all three plus the AMT pickup gasser. It really depends on what you want out of your build. I converted the Revell pro street to a gasser and opened the trunk. Here are 4 of my in progress pics of how I made a gasser with a tube frame from it. And a little tip on the AMT kit, it has 2 different rear spring placements, one is for the pickup and one is for the coupe. This is like the MPC tool (also sold as AMT & I believe as Esci-Ertl overseas) 1953 Ford F100 and 1957 Chevy Bel Air sedan flip nose rod/gasser kits and their similar rear suspension quirk.

2004 Subaru Outback in sage green.

thanks Ben...

First round of decals.

Yes. The AMT kit is a '72, the Monogram/Revell ones are '74-'75 and they changed the character line in 1976 adding it full length for 1977. This style is the 1982-93 grille/lights. Also, the rear license plate in the door was gone after '78.

This is the truck I recently showed in the WIP forum. The 1982 era Monogram snap-tite roots of the kit made it a surprisingly uncomplicated and straightforward build. License plates and fuel tax tabs are attached along with vintage style "Northwest Trucking" door logos, I added a few accessories, made it a single stack, and even added some stainless steel chains wrapped around the tail end of the frame.

thanks everyone for the comments & likes! Time to "put it under glass"

Grille is opened up and fitted with a mesh screen instead of the stock bars, engine is detailed, Denman flotation tires are fitted up front with Bandag radials on the back axles, stock wheels are dechromed and adapted to use better designed tires than the sandwich-style Revell items, paint is Glidden brick red and matte black, with brown upholstery and black rubber floormats and a Monogram '40 Ford truck long whip style shift lever inside, and there is still a fair bit to do on the build including decals, aging the tires/griming up the underside and tow hitch, and a number of small bits like air & diesel tanks and air intake system. Will be getting photos of the finished build at a city park in force perspective style, in downtown Eugene tomorrow when it's all done.

So another day, another kit bargain. A 1/25 scale Revell Historic Series '80 Peterbilt 359 Conventional, being made into a custom "old iron" tribute intended to evoke old needle nose trucks, with a parts bin day cab that will be backdated to not have the paddle-style door handles (it is a Kenworth, but I thought it flowed with the rest of the rig, and it is "within the family"), and a cutdown interior that will be a retro-styled simple affair. Single large round Dietz headlamps replace the stock items, grille will be body color with custom made slat or screen inner section, and base color inside/out will be Glidden brick red with Glidden matte black as second color. Found at Michaels today and it rang up for a touch under $20 as many Facebookers hinted at. Plus, it was the only land vehicle kit available, so it was a Pete or nothing. First look at it in paint and mocked up. This interior used hand painted upholstery/mats/dash/etc, a custom steering wheel/column/shifter (not shown) and had material taken out to make a sleeper cab Pete interior work in the denuded Bandag Bandit KW cab that I made look more like an old Pete needlenose crossed with a Diamond T or an IHC westcoaster.

Rustoleum Black Knight Metallic rattle can and Gundam markers, with Apple Barrel brick red and copper paint pen for the seat.

thanks all! the figure is a miniature replica of my old friend Wes that was (I believe) a G-scale cast resin figure that was already painted like James Dean. I painted Wes' features and jacket patches on. He is gone now and his jacket, albeit unwearable and ragged, still hangs in my closet in his memory.

Instruments are highlighted with radio face to be detailed when I install the shifter, column, etc. and do the black and grey washes on stuff, and I will do a flat black drybrush on the rugs and heel mats & Testors Dullcote on the interior and door cards, the door jambs and latches will be detailed & the doors mounted to be posable, and I have a great deal of engine and chassis detail and assembly to do along with gluing up the glass with thinned white glue. I might add a couple of contingency logos or Studebaker insignias or both on the firewall, and am going to install decal emblems and possibly gauge faces. Of course, the Halibrand centerlocks aren't yet installed.

Due to a "happy mistake" (thanks Bob Ross lol!) I am building the car in the rare color combo of Sea Spray Green over an elktan and black interior with fawn as the third accent color and the proper factory white headlining with silver rollbar. It will be a plain R-1 with no supercharger so I can use the set of Paxton blowers on other builds, and will use some type of period correct custom mag wheels but be stock otherwise, with Avanti logo custom booster plate used on the rear/no front plate.

Had a bit of a change of plans after listening to old jazz LPs and drinking a refreshing cold drink and reading Tam's Old Racecar Site and old parts catalogs. This is being built as a Sterling Silver over Red upholstery/black carpet early 289 roadster, with some upgrades that would have been available from Shelby-American in Venice California via mail order or dealer option, such as the roll hoop, air scoop in hood, half tonneau cover, custom magnesium wheels, Goodyear "wide boots", factory oil cooler, and trunk mounted battery for weight distribution purposes, with full safety harnesses for driver/lap belts on both seats, wood steering wheel, front/rear hoop bumperettes, and full street windshield. It will receive 1960s California plates or something equally apropos in the end, along with a Ford Engine Blue block on the 289 V8 and iron colored 4-speed transmission with detailed linkage. Not a replica of any specific real Cobra, but it is inspired a bit by the jazz/blues legend Herbie Hancock's '64 289 roadster as well as by modified Cobras, MGA's and Big Healeys from the car magazine & show scenes in the late 60s-early 70s.

thanks all! My color ended up closer to sea spray green like @RACINE ISHRAQUR RAZA is using in his own Avanti, but mine will have the 2-tone elk/black carpet interior with sea spray green dash. I'll update with photos asap.

Thanks all! Sid's a good guy, very upfront and no-bull kind of guy, & calls it as he sees it.

thank you!

As a big fan of C.W. McCall, I approve. Wonder if he tried to compete for Mavis Davis' love with ol' C-Dubya.

Another I am picking up from the top secret honey hole. Since this kit was tooled as an early '63 and I wanted a rare color scheme, I went with Avanti Silver-grey Iridescent over an elk tan & black 2-tone interior or a 2-tone red/black, whichever is rarest, unless 2-tone black & fawn interior with burnt orange seats is rarer still in said body color. Updates Monday afternoon or evening

Just opened the box. This is going to be a pure street stock Shelby 289 slabsider in factory silver with body color frame/suspension, black floors/trunk mat & inner body, battery relocated to trunk, red "Connolly hides" on door cards, dash and seats, all stock equipment or available stuff from Shelby-American, red detachable half tonneau, and more. Updates start Monday afternoon

distressed sleeper, aged Jimmy Flintstone cab, and a bed upcycled from thrift store rejects, loaded with lots of tools and that sleeper that's just 5x2 of fame in song & story, set up as an old timer working rig for a handyman/mobile mechanic.