Ron Hamilton

Very nice Mike! I love your work and approach to subjects. I am going to do one of mine as a 72 Gran Torino Sport. I spent a small fortune in resin and plastic to pull this off. I may do something similar to Clint Eastwood's 72, as I was able to procure the laser decals a long time ago, and I had the single carb manifold and air cleaner from the stock 76 kit for the engine, as while the dual quads look fantastic, they are wishful thinking on this car. My project is a ways off, as I would have to remove the mouldings from the body, add a Vinyl roof, find a set of Magmum 500s in the parts box, as the JoHan Wheels look small, scratch build a proper set of interior door panels, re-contour the bucket seats and make a center console. Mine will probably be Triple- Black with red-orange stripes.

I cannot wait for this one.

Timing. Too much overlap in the market. Bizarre styling. Politics. Stagnant economy. Take your pick. One, some or all.

If it were real nice, I would sell it, take the profit, and get a slightly ratty one to work over. That is what I am doing with one. I tend to pass on the real nice stuff, as I am going to do wholesale changes to them anyway. However, a nice beginning will yield a better result. That is why I will not waste my time on third rate resin kits I have seen lately.

Absolutely! I bought some "goodies" from Fireball and Scenes Unlimited for my Bronco builds. I may get a Baja kit as a 3rd version , as well as an few bits from Olsen Bros. I have seen some fantastic builds from this kit.

I really like that Blazer. I may do one just like it. I have those decals the wheels and Tires and the kit. I was having some work done on my one-to-one Silverado, and the chassis looks similar with that patina. I may do all of my builds like that .

That is some fantastic weathering.

That is fantastic!

I have a couple of promos of a 87 through 99 Chevy 3500 crew cab "dooleys" that I may open up and put a 454 and Underwood detail in. Be careful of some of that resin, as it is hard to get right.

Same here with that kit. It looked fine utilizing that method. I built mine when the kit was first released as a GSX and as a GS Stage1 convertible, and I plan to do another, but as a Skylark, using the Model Car Garage photoetch set. I have to craft a grille, and fill the hole in the flat hood.

My wife has a hobby herself. She is not really into cars. To be fair I have a LOT of models, which I have been collecting for about 40 years, and I have over run the basement. Some of her hobby is in a storage unit, which she pays for. She has been pretty nice under the conditions, and she has turned me on to some good deals on models and tools. So I can also say my wife is a queen, and my best friend.

Very nice. I have one of those to restore myself. I once worked for a guy who had one of those cars in light blue metallic, and my uncle had a 68 landau in baby blue with a dark blue vinyl top, that I may do if I can replicate the wheelcovers.

That is a handsome model.

How about that. I only wish that my wife shared your wife's attitude about the hobby.

Sweet!

Beautiful. Your build puts mine to shame.

I have not received the Imperial yet, so I revisited the one I had. I have not looked at it for more than a decade, and I forgot what I had. I vaguely remember trading a 66 Hero edition for a 64 convertible. I really wanted a 66, so I bought the grille, rear bumper, and tail lamps, wheel covers and tires from The Modelhaus to convert the 64, not realizing the interior and bodies were different. However, I bought an unpainted near glue bomb 66 convertible and parts cheap about that time. The chrome parts were not as nicely plated as The Modelhaus pieces, so I am going to use them on this build. In the same box as the convertible, there is also a 1965 hardtop, that was a built up that my friend Dave Toups stripped clean for me. At the time, I had another 65 hardtop so I entertained the idea of turning it into " The Black Beauty", but I decided against that Idea. So since I have a built 64 that I did, and a 65 hardtop to build, why not a 66 hardtop. I have the parts from the old 66 convertible, and I am sure that I can do the modifications to that body for a 66 hardtop, which never existed in kit form from AMT I have to re-do the upholstery patterns, and the trunk lid. I will probably do it in triple black, lower it a bit, and install a set of detailed Appliance "Apache" wheels on blackwalls to give it the flavor of "The Black Beauty", the original one that is. In that vein, I have a 66 Lincoln Continental convertible project from last year to finish, and a 66 Cadillac Dr Ville convertible from a decade ago too. I have about 25 projects for this year started, which can be done between yard work and other household chores later this year. I am pumped up. I have the planning set, and the kits, supplies and paint. I have some surprises coming this year off of the bench.

Did you ask for these great goodies, or is she really tuned in to the hobby? In any case, that is really some nice items there in that photo. That is true love.

I love that truck. I had a chance to buy one when they were new, but for me it was too impractical. When that series of truck first came out, the only way they were available was as a long bed. I did my first bed shortening on the 1988 kit, using the dimensions from the brochure to get it right. It came out great, and I still have it in my collection. I may refresh it with some new wheels to take it out of the '80's. I have every version of that truck kit and promo in. my collection, as I sold them new.

I use my junkyard constantly to individualize my builds. It is very valuable. Mine is kept in several see through plastic tubs, categorized as to what part it is.

I believe that the manufacturers use of certain material compounds in the '60'smodel kits. I have restored many a 60's model car, and I had to replace the wheel covers and backs with resin pieces, which surpisingly did not melt, nor the Satco tires I used to replace them. Whenever I bought a vintage kit, I wrapped the tires, as I have found tire burn on various parts of the kits, which I have to repair. I have yet to write about the tire melt on my storage cases. My 1/25 cars are on wooden shelving with no effect, while my 1/18 die cast cars tires have left divots in the bases of the cases I stored them in.

I love It!!!!

I won a 66 Imperial convertible off of EBay tonight. I never had the 66, which is different from the 64 and 65 in the trunk area. I wish that they did the 66 hardtop as a kit, as the promo goes for really big bucks. I have an extra 65, where I may graft the hardtop onto the convertible.

Fantastic!

That looks great! I am glad that I made the investment for my build.