Terry Jessee

Well, there's an SS, too. And in answer to the other questions, this is probably about six or seven years old. The wheelcovers are resin, from the now-defunct All-American Models. Terry

This is Revell's Caprice police car, done as a '91 with resin wheel covers from All-American Models. I had to fill a lot of mounting holes, including the spotlight mount in the left A-pillar. That one requires that you not only fill the hole, but recarve the chrome trim strip that's interrupted by the spotlight. Otherwise, it's just out of the box. Terry

These are both Monogram Deuce roadsters. The first one was inspired by a car I saw in American Rodder years ago. The primer reacted with the plastic on this yellow plastic kit and produced a really cool, mottled primer effect--like the primer was old and weathered. So I kept that happy accident. The second one was an attempt at as nearly perfect a black paint job as I could get. It's not perfect, but it's one of the best paint jobs I've ever been able to pull off. This one is done as kind of a late '50s, early '60s LA Roadster-style car. I found a neat air cleaner housing in my parts box that looks like an Olds or Cadillac, so used that. I had a lot of fun with the skull shifter on this, too. Terry

Revell '77 Monte Carlo with Pegasus wheels Brookfield '97 Monte Carlo with Aoshima wheels. Terry

You know, Bob, I think that's better looking than either the Challenger or the Camaro. It just works. One of the coolest builds of the year. Terry This model was a whole lot of fun up until Tuesday when attempting a very minor repair my airbrush spilled satin clear lacquer over the roof, hood, header panel, windshield and front fender of the model moments before completion It had to be taken back apart, body completely stripped of detail parts and refinished; amazingly the glass was completely unharmed, the polish must have protected it as it buffed out perfectly. Refinishing included a bout with fisheyes. And four repaints of the roof alone due to problems with me, the paint, and bad karma, I guess. It was finished up Friday morning, lightning didn't strike it on the way to the show, and it attracted a good bit of attention this weekend; my humor returned after feeling like I'd give up the hobby for good after goofing it up so badly . I'd love to see this thing as a 1:1 concept at SEMA...the car companies would all have a conniption I love doing stuff like this; it's fun seeing people's reactions...both good and bad-I tend to like provocative designs (that doesn't mean Aztek, by the way ). I love how it came out, but I'm sure there are people that might have a lot less favorable reaction, and that's okay too. Hit me w/any questions/comments! Photos Here

The '78 Monaco is the Force 440 modified with a new body and interior. The kit was introduced in 1982 or '83 as part of the first release of the "Dukes of Hazzard" series of kits. When MPC released the Monaco four-door, the box art model was one of these Force 440 Dodge coupes modified into a four door. A couple of people had already done that by 1981. I saw one in Detroit contest coverage in SAE and started my own over the winter. I drew my own decals, changed the door lines around, and essentially finished the rest out of the box. I used AMT '69 Chevelle rally wheels to simulate the slotted cop car wheels. Compare this with the "Rosco" box art model. We were all of us dismayed when we saw that in the catalog because we knew it was wrong. But MPC did a pretty good job of redoing the tool to create the four door body and interior. I got hold of Tom West from MPC and managed to coax a test shot from him. I built that, and then built another which became the "Dirty Old Dodge" on SAE's January '84 cover. I've done several since. The last, oddly enough, was a "Force 440" two door. Here's my favorite one. Yeah, there a lot of similarities 'cause it's the same kit, just revised. Terry

Here's one built for business. Built this in 1984. Terry

Still do not remember the caster tho.... I remember him as a standard at our local NNL here in Portland. He's a big gruff guy and most of his stuff is pretty good. He doesn't make any of his own masters, just casts other bodies such as old toys and or Promos. He's not a big name company, but simply travels up and down the west coast plying his wares at shows and NNL's. In the beginning I remember a lot of the modelers ragging on him for doing slush casts... but that was only in the beginning. Sounds like that was Ron Bolton, Jairus. TJ

Classy as always, Zoli. I truly enjoy your work, and your workmanship. Terry

Doggone it, Virgil, you're making me want to be more creative!! This is an absolute blast! Thanks for sharing the build with us. Watching this come together has been a lot of fun. Terry

I'm reminded of a line from MacBeth, Act V, sc. v: It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. I haven't built a model for a contest in 20 years. Terry

Virgil, I am really lovin' that paint job. That is too cool. Whaddaya gonna do with the plated chrome parts? Terry

Got room for a few more ideas? Terry

They build up mighty pretty. I really think that this kit and the Ford Explorer that was done at the same time are probably two of the best kits AMT ever did. The subject matter is kind of mundane, so they weren't really popular. But if you ever wanted to build one of AMT's real masterpieces, this kit is it. Beautifully done. Terry

Yes, but you'll need to find some different wheel covers. The early editions of the Dodge pickup (73-74?) had a wheelcover that would be suitable, but otherwise it's a stock Monaco. I'm waiting to see what they did with the chassis. It's been too short for the last two or three incarnations. AMT changed it somehow and it hasn't been right since. Otherwise, you can. It's not the greatest kit in the world. You might want to get underpinnings and engine compartment/wheelwells from a '71 Dodge Charger. It just is what it is.... Terry

Over the years I've had a lot of fun with the Dukes Dodge police car kit. Here's a few. This is probably my original version. This was built in 1984 and used some decals I had had done. This one is from 1985. This is the TJ Hooker version, with some changes (wheels, light bar, more detail). This actually became the Gotham City Police Car box art model for the original version of that kit in 1989. It was destroyed in photography. My one and only "slam model." The chassis is shoved up inside the body (no interior) and the wheels are glued directly to the chassis to get the proper stance. Decals are all dry transfer or handpainted. This was built for "Build and Detail Scale Model Trucks and Emergency Vehicles." It's a curbside. My favorite, though. Terry

T-buckets have been around since about 1914. Here's a few T kits. This is AMT's 1925 Model T pickup from the original "Double T" kit. And here's a hot rod version--again, from an original Double T. This is a 1923 T built from the 1975 "Street Rods" series kit. Much different from the original '25 kit. This is built as I remember a drawing I did in about fifth grade. I wanted to build something like this from the Double T, but didn't have the skill at the time. So I did it later. This is the boxmate for the black stock T pickup--again, another original Double T model. Wheels are from an original AMT Parts Pack. This model is the AMT 1927 T Touring, built from the 1968 edition of the kit, and done to replicate the box art hot rod. Tom Daniel said that the "Red Baron" was an idea based on a T-bucket, so I include it here. This is Lindberg's old T bucket kit--this one is built from the 1970 "Tee Wagon" edition. And here's a Wild Willy Borsch drag T. Terry

Probably the Gakken/Entex/Minicraft 1885 Benz in 1/16 scale. There was a 1/43 scale built-up of Captain Cugnot's 1769 steam carriage at one time. But I think the Benz is it for kits. This isn't a kit. It's sort of a promo. This is a Minichamps 1885 Benz Patent Motorwagen that was produced about five years ago. It's 1/24, too. Very cool. There's an East German company (pre-1989) that produced some Wartburg models in 1/24 scale. The oldest of those is an 1898, I think. I also have a 1904 Darracq that was produced by Airfix. It's listed as 1/32, but as you can see, it's probably 1/24 or 1/25. I like old stuff, too. Terry

I'm either getting lazy or I'm too used to Modelhaus and Promolite stuff. But this is a real sow's ear. It's an R&R Vacuumcraft Checker, probably a mid-60s one, judging by the bumper. It has taken a bunch of work to get it to this point--lots of fitting and testing--and there's more work left to do. Nothing fits. This looks like someone took a bunch of parts that might go together and threw 'em in the box. The body casting is a good start, but one of the taillights is crooked, and there are lots of surface flaws to fix. The door handles are too small. The hood and grill are a real mismatch. I'm just going to glue everything up tight and try to get them to fit as well as I can. The interior is too narrow for the body, so that will require some shims, I guess. It's the only Checker model available as a kit. That's just about the only positive aspect of it. Terry

This is a Burago diecast I redid. I stripped it, repainted it, and added wheels from the parts box. Doors were glued shut, but I did some detailed in the interior. Neat little car. Sold it on eBay a few years ago, so this is the only photo I have of it. Terry

This is a Mod-ac kit of the 1877 Selden Patent Wagon. George Selden patented the concept of "automobile" sometime around 1879, and after that every company who built a motor car had to pay him a royalty. Henry Ford sued to have the patent overturned and did so in 1911. Selden didn't actually construct a car until the law suit, but did one from his original plans to show that the car worked. Ford won anyway. This kit was manufactured just after WWII--about 1946. It's primarily wood, but does have some plastic parts, most notably the wheels and the engine. It was, by the way, a Brayton two-stroke that was mounted on the front axle. Must have been fun to turn. I found this built in a "junque shoppe." Somebody did a pretty nice job. It almost looks like a factory-built model. I guess what you're looking at is one of the oldest 1/24 scale car kits of one of the oldest automobiles. Terry

I noticed a couple of questions about land speed record models (the Challenger and others), so thought I would add a little to the discussion. One of the first LSR resin models I saw was Jimmy Flintstone's "Goldenrod." This was the Summers Brothers car that ran for the wheel-driven land speed record in 1965. By that time, Breedlove and Arfons were already running in the 500 mph range with jet cars, but those were pushed by thrust, not by the mechanical action of the rear wheels. Intriguingly, nobody broke the Summers Bros. record for almost 20 years. One story I heard was that the car was a four-speed. Supposedly, Bob Summers broke the record at 406 and change in THIRD GEAR. Theoretically, the car was capable of 500 mph, but they never went back. The Jimmy Flintstone model is a solid casting with separate tire moldings and in the later version, separate intake and exhaust ports. This early version had only tires and intake ports separate. So you spend all your time cleaning up the surface and trying for a good paint job ("trying" is always the case where I'm concerned). The next LSR model that showed up was Chris Etzel's 1928 Stutz Blackhawk. This is a curbside, but builds up nicely. Frank Lockhart was killed in this car at Daytona Beach (then known as Ormond Beach) in 1928 when a tire blew. The car went sideways and rolled. He was running near 200 mph when the tire let go. Chris's kit is simple and easy to build, and is a tiny little thing. At the time that Lockhart ran the Stutz, land speed cars were generally powered by aircraft engines and were enormous. This one is the Irving-Napier Special, built to run at Daytona in 1929. It featured a Napier Lion aircraft engine (the same one as used in Britain's Supermarine Schneider Trophy aircraft). This was just discussed in the latest edition of "Resin Talk" in MCM. The kit was a part of a super short production run and is no longer available. Ed Cervo at Island Collectibles says that this is the only built example he has ever seen. This shot gives you an idea of relative size. Both models are 1/25. Here's another shot that gives you an idea of relative size between the 1928 Blackhawk and 1929 Golden Arrow. Tory Mucaro did a casting of the Craig Breedloves' '63 "Spirit of America" about five years ago. Like the Goldenrod, this is a solid one piece casting with a piece of pipe of the tail for an exhaust nozzle. It weighs about three pounds. That tire is a SATCO Firestone to give you a relative idea of size. This is a big model. In '64 or '65, Wen Mac did a promotional model for Gulf stations in plastic, but the resin model is actually based on Art Russell's original display model done for Breedlove in about 1962. Russell was a pattern maker for Revell and a hot rodder who knew Breedlove. When Breedlove was shopping the SoA around to companies to get sponsorship money, he took one of Russell's models with him. Here's a finished example. This is not mine. It was built by Dave--- I can't remember Dave's last name, so if you're reading this, Dave, let us know who you are 'cause you deserve credit for this beautiful model. Tory's kit came with decals, so you can build up a pretty nice example. It is nothing more than a paint job--a daunting one, but a paint job. Ten years ago a friend of mine named Ted Kellison built this little Bonneville salt coupe from a ZZ top kit. It's loosely based on the Pierson brothers coupe, and is the "Lo-Cal (low cal) Special." Ted did a beautiful job. He used the nose from a Revell '29 Ford roadster pickup kit and never really liked it, but left it that way. The car has a nicely detailed flathead and a similarly detailed interior that you can't see 'cause of the tiny windows. California Model Works does a beautiful resin and white metal kit of a Bonneville belly tanker. Here's a link to one built by Dale King that is displayed on the Grand Prix Modelers Association website. This is WAAAAAy better than the vacuformed kit I've seen. http://gpma.org/dkbelly.html Terry

I think I've posted this before, but this is the Aoshima "Mad Max Interceptor." It's built pretty much out of the box. Weathering is done with an airbrush and the Rustall system. To get the sifted dirt to stick, I sprayed a little Floquil Flat Finish in select areas, let that dry, then rubbed in the dirt. It slid off the "shiny" parts and stuck to the flat. There are also "dust" washes using Testors flats and a little thinner. The basic finish is lacquer, so it wasn't affected by the enamel thinner. As long as we're posting Mad Max models.... Terry

Over in the "General" section, someone asked about a model of the "Mad Max" Main Force Patrol Interceptor. There is a kit by Planet X from England (there are photos included in the thread). This is a sort of look-alike. It's a Cavalier Models (Australia) resin kit of a 1974 Holden Torana. The Torana was a kind of SS version of the Holden that was built to be available for the Australian racing sedan series. Since it was a hot contemporary of the '74 Ford Falcons actually used in the film, I decided to build my own version of an interceptor. This is primarily out of the box. I did the multi-color paint scheme for a story I did a number of years ago about masking and painting such paint jobs. The light bar is made up of bits and pieces from my cop car parts bin. Lettering is dry transfer. Since these photos were taken, I added a Main Force Patrol crest on the front fender. Got that out of the Aoshima kit. (There are two sets.) Anyway, that's my version. Terry

Here's a link to some photos of the actual car. http://www.carculture.com/albums.php?albumId=3682 Terry