Terry Jessee

Some progress. This kit is a challenge. I'm having problems with fit issues because tolerances are too tight in some places, meaning that there's a lot of file, fit, file, fit, sand, fit... That plus all the tiny, fragile parts already installed require very careful handling while you're trying to add new stuff. But it's moving.

That pickup has always been one of my favorite Boyd models. Good to see it again.

Mostly from the box. These are goofy, but they're fun.

Yes. You have to be careful with the transfer case. Everything seems to center on where that fits. I'd think it would be better to complete the rear axle assemblies, then use the drive shafts to place the transfer case because there's no definite mounting point, otherwise.

This is 1/35 scale 5-ton truck. At this point, the chassis assembly is more than 210 parts. I set the tires on it for a photo, but still have to finish painting those. The truck will be black, but the underside remains olive drab because I don't think people probably crawled underneath to paint the bottom black. So it's part olive drab, part black overspray.

Just built out of the box. I think the Chevy dog dish hubcaps were from Modelhaus.

I bought this model built to use for the MPC chapter in Hot Rod Model Kits. But it was poorly packed and had been returned to unassembled kit status by the time I got it. We wound up using a model from Barry Payne instead with photos by Bill Coulter. Later on I went back to this and rebuilt it. Paint's not all that great, but I decided not to mess with that.

These are both from a circa 1961 release of the AMT Double T kit. They're box mates. They were built for Hot Rod Model Kits. The coupe made both front and rear covers, but the stock pickup didn't make the cut. (MBI had only had budgeted for 85 photographs.)

Very nicely done. Have one of those projects in the works. Lots of ideas to steal here. ?

I did the first prototype for AMT's Chevy Sportside in 1989. I had done a story for that "other" magazine on building a Sportside using a resin box. The model required shortening the chassis. It was a fairly simple conversion, but was one of the first stories on using resin parts. John O'Neill--who was marketing director at AMT at the time--called me and asked if I would be willing to part with it. He wanted to propose a Sportside at AMT's new products meeting, and thought having the built one would be an incentive. As you can see, the model was still in primer at the time of the story, so he asked if I could paint it "some kind of red." I used GM Garnet metallic, finished up the model, and sent it off. When the kit was still in the test shot phase, I got a test shot in red plastic (late stage test shot--nearly complete). "Days of Thunder" had just been released, so I did mine in a DoT color scheme. I left the inside center of the front bumper unpainted just to show what it was, and used it for a first look segment in a column I wrote at the time. Eventually I sold the DoT truck, but if you ever see one with the red unpainted plastic underneath the front bumper, it's probably mine.

Simple and elegant. They're not junk. They're 60-year-old technology. For their time, they were the coolest. With work like this, they still are.

Beautifully done. So nice to see those old models done so well.

AMT Ram with Modelhaus utility box and cover.

This is a loose replica of the Mercury woody from the Mod Squad TV show. The actual car was a '50, but difference are pretty minor--park lights, some chrome trim. So I just had fun with Revell's '49. What was most fun was the weathered wood effect. Some of that was a happy accident, but it turned out pretty neat.

...with "modifications."

That car was the inspiration for the primered model.

Chris Etzel's beautiful little kit of the 1928 Stutz Blackhawk. Resin and white-metal.

Jimmy Flintstone

The Summers Brothers 1965 land speed record holder at Bonneville. The Chevy pickup gives you an idea of size.

AMT "Black Force." Wholly made up. No reference except my weird imagination.

...is often used in comic books (like Superman's hair...). So this is really a very dark blue. The shield on the nose was made from a plastic spoon.