whale392

Thanks for that heads-up Tony. Now I will have to go back and check my 'Redheads' for slippage! I have the first portion of the SVO-T/C comparison in text. Now, I need to get off my tail and get the pics taken and everything organized for that subject. One question though; where would such a comparison go? I would think in 'Tips and Tricks' as it is showing tips for a better SVO, but I can see it ending up in 'On the Workbench' as well. Any thoughts on where to post it, guys?

Nice to see you back Ed. All of your suggestions were great and spot-on for what could be a 'Good Used Car' facility. I used to go down 'the strip' outside Norfolk N.O.B and just laugh at all the second-hand car dealers....some of the junk they would try to pass off as good used cars. Oh, and E1-up financing availiable!

Wow Jason, what an edit job you did. I could see returning the info and pic comparo to your post, as it was quite helpful for those who don't know the FOX as well as others of us. The 'angled pic' concern was well-founded and your comparison showed exactly why. With work, I think a more accurate Coupe could be made from the R-R body. it will take some research and good pics, but it does provide a better start for a conversion for the 1/24th scale crowd. I am eager to see how the upcoming Revell 1/25th Coupes proportions will look. I still like my RM 1/24th kits, so one or two of these are still a consideration (as my AFXn Scale resin bodies are junk).

I am REALLY liking the look of this car! The overall use of Ford/Factory parts to do this makes it even better in my book. Your choice in rolling stock will go wonderfully with the mods/bodyline of this car. One question, are you going to shoot the exterior in that Burgundy you have the dash shot in? If so, this will be a sweet looking ride all shined up!

I know the feeling; I was going through my second closet and found an original release of the AMT KW K123 Cabover, as well as an AMT 'Midnight Express' Pete 359!

Looking good Tony. I will have to get pics up of the convertibles progress. I have also started the comparison between the recently reissued Monogram (Revell) SVO and the Revell 1987 Thunderbird TurboCoupe; to include a 'mix/match/swap/cut-n-paste' on what parts to swap into the SVO for a better overall model. This is taking some time, as writing, revising, photographing, mocking-up, and revising text before posting is taking a bit of work. I really need to just consentrate on one build at a time! Throw me working on stuff to send to Ed Sexton (Revell product developement manager) for their upcoming 1/25th scale 1991-93 Mustang Coupe 2-n-1 release, and I get really busy and life gets short.

Any Chrysler dealer will have the correct Orange color in stock and availiable over the counter as a spray. They have almost every engine color they used as a spray for guys restoring their cars: Race Hemi Orange (as the name implies, and Max Wedge engines) Street Hemi Orange (1966-71 Street Hemis and 68+ 440 Magnums/383 Magnums/440+6s) Chrysler Engine Red (Old style Hemis of 331, 354, and 392 inch, 60s Slant-6s, Poly 318s, and 273 Hypers) Chrysler Engine Gold (old style Hemis of lesser cubes/earlier build dates, some early wedges) Chrysler engine Turquoise (standard 383s, 1967 440s, 1968+ non-Magnum 440s, and 400s) Chrysler engine Blue (later 174/225 Slant-6s and some later LA series engines) Black (most LA engines up to their demise) These are just guidelines to go by, as Chrysler did some strange things and my memory isn't the greatest (but it serves me pretty well these days).

Many thanks for the tutorial. Even though I am not a lowrider builder (unless you count 1:1 lowrider Bicycles), I can see the benefits of these tips (I use them when I shoot a bike). You do awesome work in scale.

It does look very nice. I will have to see about picking one or two up.

Looking good either way you decide to go Tony. As to the 'T-Top' Billy build; how about a Burnt Orange color? Ford actually had a color called 'Bittersweet' back in 83-85 that was VERY rare to see on a Mustang (it was more of a bright burnt orange in color), and I do believe you could get close to replicating it with existing colors from Testors.

One more folded Flag, one more grieving family, one more brother lost so that those who send our young men and women into harms way may sleep soundly and wake to remove yet one more freedom that those very soldiers defend your rights to. My flag will fly at half-staff for a fallen brother or sister, but never for a politician. My thoughts and heartt go to the family of Cpl. Turner.

I believe the Ertl is an AMT kit. If it is of the same caliber (build-wise and parts count wise) as the other AMT offerings of the time (truck kits here, not cars), it will be a very nice piece once completed.

Personal opinion alert here (as others may not agree with me): overall execution looks good. As you mentioned the flaws in the paint (to be honest, it doesn't look that bad in the pics, and I doubt I could do better), that I will not hold against it. The wheels and tires combo looks good on this body style and go well with the lowered suspension and body color. It looks as though you took some time to properly integrate the longer 2JZ into the engine bay of the Firebird instead of just hacking and stuffing. I would say, overall, you did a very nice job. I don't hate it, and can see the workmanship in it. Keep building, and we'll keep looking.

Very nice Vitamin-C A-body! Looks great from any angle.

I think you guys have talked me into the comparo. It will take me some time to get together and posted (I will more than likely do it in segments and start another thread on the subject) as my work schedule and time off don't seem to mix positively. I should be starting it sometime later next week, with a parts breakdown of the engine assemblies along with my honest opinions/evaluations of them and how to mix/match/scratchbuild them to be more correct. Thanks for the interest. Seems the FOX cars are popular on the streets, but not so much in scale (especially a 4cylinder!).

I keep plugging it too! Speaking of which, I will need some fliers from the meeting tomorrow. Seems Dayton is a little short on promotion material!

Hey Tony, Sorry about the reference to 'Gloss'. That is what happens when you read half-asleep! My mistake and I will eat that one. as to the trim coloration; all body trim (beltline molding, taillight detail, spats, headlight buckets) on the 1985-86 will be Dark Charcoal, with the window trim (front, door, quarter window, rear hatch,t-top surrounds, mirrors) in Trim Black (kind-of a slightly higher Semi-Gloss Black). The cowl grill will also be Black, but any decal striping (like the GT Blackout hood stripe) will be Dark Charcoal for 85-86 as well. All trim on the 1979-84 models will be 'Trim Black', no matter where it is. That is one of the biggest 'oops' things that guys restoring their 85-86 Mustangs do, they want to paint the trim all Black. Personally, I like the all-Black better than the Charcoal/Black mix, but if I were going for a 100pt car............ Kit build is looking good Tony, keep at it. I am a little further along with the 83 GLX, but the 1991 still lives in its' box until I have a LOT more time to mess with it. Also, it looks like some of the guys are talking me back into doing the TurboCoupe/SVO comparo, so that is looming closer to back on my plate. 40 FOX builds is going crazy!

I already have the day off, and I will be there! Can't wait for the show.......I miss seeing some good plastic in large numbers!

I think between Mark and Dave, the technical merits of a 'correct' interior have been covered pretty well. It will depend on the end-user to convert the existing resin parts/kitbash/scratchbuild a correct interior to match the year of the car being built. Don, this is no slam to you, so please do not read more into it than is there. Dave does hit a good point though; if you are going to market something as 'Correct', please be sure it is. There are more than enough people out there that are fanatical about a certain product line (witness the response and FOX love here) who are very knowledgable on that line that will call someone out who claims 'correct' and is not. Again, no slam to you or your products, as they are the closest to correct that have yet to be offered. Just a little look at where some of the percieved 'hate' might be coming from. Should you ever offer the coupe somewhere besides Ebay, I would think about getting a few and doing an LX/5.0 and a 4cyl/5spd. Combine the Ten-Holes you offer with a corrected coupe interior with some modified front seats and a toned-down 4cylinder from either the reissued SVO or the Thunderbird Turbocoupe to create a nice base LX. Time will tell and money will see.

Location is fine Tony, just sticking out being sunk is what kills the quarter window spats. You are making this into a very nice representation considering the kit beginnings. I do have a question for you though; you said you were going to paint the spats and trim Dark Gloss Gray. Why? Original trim color 1979-84 was Semi-Gloss Black (trim black), while 85-86 got the Dark Charcoal trim color. Yes, 4eye FOXes forever!

Dave, I am not blasting the kit by bringing up the faults, just addressing them so that someone who is NOT like me (who has at last count 5 of the RED originals and now 3 of the WHITE reissues) will know what they are getting. Believe me when I typed (and type again now) that I am happy this kit returned. I am a FOX lover, and seeing another FOX kit return to the market makes me smile!

Wow, that hatch is whacked! I would suggest some hot water immersion and cold shocking it to try and straighten it out Tony. The thing that gets me the most on the body is the quarter window spats looking like a gaudy 'Buick Porthole' stick-on! The real cars were recessed, and seeing them just jutting out from behind the quarter windows makes me think the kit maker had an afterthought about adding them! Looking good with what you are doing to it though, and I can't wait to see it in color. I won't be doing the T/C-SVO comparo, so I can get back to working on my convertible this week. Might have some more done on it by the weekend (althogh the model club meeting is Thursday, and over an hour away from my house). We'll see.

Any plans on offering the correct LX interior with it (seats, dash)? If so, I may have to take one of each, coupe and vert.

Mike, In scale, the 383 and the 413/426 are 'close enough' that unless you are a real Mopar guy, you won't see the difference. Using the 426 Max wedge out of the PL 65 Dodge will work. Also, being as you do build Mopars often; if you have a Revell-Monogram 440 laying around, it will serve you well for a 413 or 426 as all 3 are the RB series engine.

Thanks for the info. I am not a Gundam person per-se, but I do have an old built-up that I did probably 10+ years ago. Yours is looking good, and I will keep an eye on this build whenever I can spare it!