Terry Jessee

This is a kitbash I did a while back. It's an AMT Chevy Extended Cab (from the snap kit) with the 6' box from the 454SS. The chassis is a combination of the 454SS chassis back half grafted to the front half of a Modelhaus extended cab chassis. They do the long wheelbase chassis so you can built the snap kit as a detailed model. I wanted a short box, so I combined the front and back halves to get this version. The W/T grill is a resin part from Uptown Automotive. The tool box in back is from Scale Equipment, Ltd. You'll note that I got the muffler and catalytic converter reversed. Wasn't paying attention.... Terry

Yeah, they're probably trying to figure out how a Dodge pickup got on the moon....

That's a great look. If you look at old photographs, there weren't a lot of wide whitewalls. That's got a great, authentic feel. Terry

When I was working on Hot Rod Model Kits, I wanted to get some of the Monogram Tom Daniel kits in. I started working on several, but eventually got to visit with Tom, and he sent some original color transparencies that the publisher was able to use. So my built-ups just went into the display case. This is the T'rantula. It's one of my favorites. As I built it, I tried to get that box art look, but had fun adding little bits and pieces, too. I asked Tom what the deal was with the little plastic spider (originally meant to be a pin) that was included with the kit. He told me that he thought it was a fun idea, and said, "I just think spiders are cool." As I was putting the model together, I decided to paint the spider and include it in the photo. Once I got it painted, it looked too plain, so I used flocking on the body to make it look hairy. One night my wife was down in our basement where my work bench was set up, and she thought the spider was real. I heard this "bang!" and looked around to see her holding her shoe and peering at the top of the work bench, where there were a bunch of little green plastic pieces scattered around. She looked at me and said, "I think I just broke one of your toys." So I got another one, and covered him with flocking, too. Terry

Those are beautiful. I really like the Miller Ford, and the stance on all of them is perfect.

Both of these were built from original kits. The yellow one was built from a garage sale find in 1978. I was pretty excited to find it because at the time the kit was long out of production. It showed up in Street Rodder's "Modelers' Corner" a couple times, once with Tim Boyd, and once with Mike Carroll. The stock T was built in 1999 from an original kit I found on eBay. I intended to use it and the yellow roadster for Hot Rod Model Kits, but that photo got cut. Anyway, here they are. When you think of it, both of them are 50-year-old plastic. It's a fun kit, and I'm glad Round2 saw fit to bring it back. I'm having fun re-photographing old stuff. Terry

No, it's about ten years old.

Yep, they really used these. They didn't accelerate real quick, but were fast on the top end. This is a Modelhaus kit. Terry

Modelhaus Ayala Brothers' 1940 Mercury custom. Cool kit. It's set up for AMT's '40 Ford chassis but the body receives it more deeply so the car looks lowered or channeled. Neat kit. Easy to build. Terry

Here's a couple. I like land speed record cars, and have a small collection of 1/24 scale models. They're pretty few and far between, so that rarity makes them even more fun. The group shot is the 1928 Stutz Blackhawk, the 1929 Irving Napier Special (better known as "The Golden Arrow"), and the 1964/5 Summers Brothers "Golden Rod." These are all resin kits. And anybody for a 1/24 scale 1960 Malcolm Campbell "Bluebird." This thing is huge--about 15" long. It's just a shell, but it's a cool shell. This is not my photo, by the way. It's the caster (can't think of the name right now). Mine is in primer. I'm hoping to get some opportunity to do some painting once it warms up a bit. Terry

I've been working on the Modelhaus '64 Dodge D100 CSS pickup. I'm working on foil now. I might actually get this one done before the new year. I think I'd shown a couple of these photos before, but I just got the chassis done, more or less. The model is actually based on an AMT '63 Ford pickup, and uses the Ford chassis. I'm sure it's not accurate, but I'm just building it for the shelf, anyway. I used an engine plug from Modelhaus rather than mess with finding an engine to fit. Can't remember which one this is, but I think it's a Chevy of some kind. Again, it's just a shelfer, and I wanted to fill in the hole in the chassis. I had to make a few changes to fit the Dodge chassis, and you can see those in the photo. Nice kit. I'm having fun with it. Terry

Fabulous! That is gorgeous. And 3D printed parts? That's scary. Great job. I love those trucks, and this is very special. Terry

Recycling, yes, Danno. We've been in the house three months and I finally have display space again--although not nearly as much. So I'm having to decide what stays and what goes.... Terry

Nice job. I don't remember the last time I saw a new build of that car. Is that Monogram's? Those wheels look great on that car. Terry

Now THAT is a hot rod. What a sweetheart.

I built one of these prepaint kits for Hot Rod Model Kits. I had already finished the original manuscript, but Steve Hendrickson--my editor at the time--wanted some updated material so I built this one. It really only took a couple of afternoons. The finish was nice as-is, so it went together easily and quickly. Neat little model. (Still trying to figure out depth of field on this little pocket camera.) And there's a little surprise Victoria, too. I had built the sedan for a workshop diorama but never got around to that. That was my one and only chopped top. Terry

These are great. The '57 Ford is one of my favorite cars. Terry

I got an IM asking to see this old relic. I built it in 1983 and it wound up on the cover of that "other" model car magazine. It was kind of the model that got me started writing about models. It was pretty unusual at the time because no one was really doing much with weathered cars then. Everything at the time was pretty shiny, so this got some attention because of that. So here 'tis. Keep in mind that this is 30 years old. It was actually built from an MPC test shot of the kit that I got from Tom West. I got the finished chrome parts from one of the regular kits once those were released. I notice that the "weathering" has eaten the plating off some of the chrome parts. Terry

Wow--what a Baremetal monster! This is NICE!

The real Fall Guy truck had a tool box that opened from the side, at least so you could see. Actually, the "jump trucks" were mid-engined for better weight distribution and balance, so those were actually service access doors. By the way, MPC didn't fall on hard times. They were purchased first by General Mills, then like AMT were purchased by the Ertl Co., which was sold to Kidde, International (better known for making fire extinguishers). The reason MPC was discontinued was because the MPC boxes were slightly larger than AMT and didn't fit in the packing carton. It was never more complicated than that. Terry

This is from an original '63 annual kit. I did it as a plain Jane sort of truck like my Dad drove. The only change from the kit is that I added a single carburetor and an aircleaner from an AMT '64 Impala (I think). Other than that, it's out of the box. I painted most of the chrome--bumpers, grill, wheels--to give it more of a base truck look. Terry

...well, to my mind, anyway. This is the 1928 Stutz Blackhawk Special that was designed and built by Frank Lockhart. Lockhart was one of the top drivers of his day and had already won the Indy 500. This car was to be used to challenge the world land speed record at the time. On his first attempt at Ormond (later Daytona) Beach, he went into a skid and unknowingly damaged a rear tire. On the second try, the tire failed and the car flipped about a half dozen times. Lockhart was thrown from the car (no seat belts then) and was killed by the impact. The model is one of Chris Etzel's beautiful resin kits--Etzel's Speed Classics. I wish he was still doing this stuff. I always wanted a Marmon Wasp, but he closed down years ago. He did some of the most incredible vintage race car kits ever. Anyway, this is my favorite Etzel model, and one of my favorite cars of all time. Terry

Nice work on that grill. Really makes the model. TJ

This is an original AMT Deuce coupe from 1961 or thereabouts. I built it for "Hot Rod Model Kits." It's on the opening page of the AMT chapter. This is pretty much right out of the box. The pinstripe decals are from Woodland Scenics' Pine Car series of dry transfer decals. Just fun to do. Terry

On the back page of the instruction sheet for AMT's first release of the '34 Ford pickup there's a drawing of a highboy drag pickup with parts swapping suggestions by George Barris. I rummaged through the parts box and found a number of original parts to do a street version. This has the Chevy from the old '32 Ford coupe kit. Wheels and tires were just stuff I found in the parts bin. Terry