ZTony8

It's the same basic design block whether it's a 350 or a 400 or a 455.For model purposes just paint the engine the correct color and it'll suffice.

I just finished reading a book about the Chrysler Turbine car and I'm about halfway through a book titled "Who,Me?" written in 1940 by Christopher Sensibaugh who was,in the 1930s, the editor of Automotive News.He talks about the auto industry's formative years and the people involved in it-many of whom were still alive when the book was printed.

The Grand Prix chassis is the one with which to begin.That vintage Regal didn't use the Buick 3.8 v-6 until 1990.It used the Chevy 60 degree v-6 which can be sourced from a Citation kit or a Beretta kit or strip off the turbo equipment of the G.P. Turbo and modify the intake setup. BTW,the Allante and the Reatta use different platforms.The Allante is a "V" body( a V67),the Reatta is an "E" body (an E97 or an E67 if it's a convertible).That's todays RDA of GM body designation trivia.

I'll buy a built up if it's an example of a kit I've wanted,it's in decent shape or easily repairable,and it's cheap enough for me to afford.I'll buy an old unbuilt kit if it's one I've wanted but I won't buy something like an unbuilt MPC '70 Cuda because I don't buy investment grade styrene.I could buy a new Studio 27 or Model Factory Hiro kit for the same price but I won't do that either-they're way beyond the threshhold of what I'll pay for a kit.

Definitely go with the AMT '55 sedan.For the tubbed chassis you might want to look at the new tool version of the AMT '57 Chevy street machine.It has an already tubbed Tri 5 Chevy type chassis in it.

Tape off sharp edges and corners while doing your sanding/polishing.And ,for a while until your skills improve,avoid doing bodies that have a lot of creases and ridges ( i.e. '63 Chevy,'67 GTX,'66 Wildcat and full sized Mercury).Otherwise you might go nuts trying to shine all those crevices and valleys.

You lucked into the new All Season slick!

I have them both and they look like 1/25th scale to me.I believe they were molded in China but nowhere on the boxes or models does it indicate for whom they were produced. BTW-don't let anybody convince you that these are rare or uncommon promos and are worth a small fortune.They're not-they're maybe a $10 item.I bought my Regals 10 years ago at the Buick club national meet in Flint for $5 each.GM donated some to the Sloan Museum as fund raising material and there was a large quantity available.I found the Reatta a few years later as a slightly scratched item at a local hobby shop for $7.

I'm one of Art's exceptions.When I go to a model car contest/show I look at all the categories probably because I'll build something in any category(maybe that's partly why my skills are lax). Having said that,I've only attended one IPMS show and that was out of curiosity.I wanted to see if the stories about snobbery were true.I didn't notice any personally but I did get a sense that many of those IPMSers were WAY round the bend,far worse than ANY car/truck modeler I've ever encountered.Their intensity bordered on the scary.

I remember seeing a thread on one of the forums where a guy bought an old trailer home for his property and converted it for bulding models.THAT would be the way to go if you had the land and the cash.

The hot dog toy on the top of the dash gave me the craziest idea of a bun shaped airbag.I need rest.

Ed Sexton mentioned in Sylvania last weekend that the release date is this November. I thought the optional grille didn't look so great.Kinda like a piece of ridged Evergreen or Plastruct molded in the shape of the grille opening.Other than that,it looks like a winner of a kit!

This promises to be an amazing model. A little story-When I was about 5 years old the Fuller Brush salesman came by our house and dropped off a catalog.Featured in this catalog was Phil Hill,who had won LeMans the prior year(1958-co driving with Olivier Gendebien)and had been associated for a few years with Ferrari.There were several pictures of 50s era Ferraris throughout the catalog,among them the 340 Mexico coupe that Hill co-drove with Ritchie Ginther in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana road race.When I saw that picture,it said to my 5 year old perceptions "This is a race car".And,54 years later,I still have the catalog,torn cover and all.It's one of the prized items in my literature collection.

I saw the movie on September 27th.The story line is very good,unlike 99% of other racing movies.There's not as much racing action as I would have liked but what's there is not done as artsy as "Grand Prix".The story line,as well done as it is,is a bit concocted for drama.Hunt and Lauda were friendlier off the track than the movie suggests,having lived together for a while in England and Lauda has said that Hunt was one of the few drivers with whom he'd share a beer.

On Saturday at Sylvania I scored 4 old AMT Indy car kits(3 McLarens and a Penske PC6), a Fujimi Ferrari Daytona Convertible Entusiast Model(the show car version with the oddball top)and a built up Texaco liveried Tamiya Ford Sierra for a total of $60.I didn't need the Ferrari but for the $20 price I couldn't pass on it.

I have a boom box on my model desk for the times I want to hear music via CD or cassette or listen to a baseball game or catch a car related program but mostly I work in silence.Sometimes my cat will be down there with me for company(for him mostly) or he'll come down and meow for me to come upstairs because it's late.

That was the era of crappy steel being used by GM.I've seen Camaros of that vintage with the door mirrors hanging off due to rust in the middle of the door skin and Buick Regals where the roof was rotted on top and the only thing holding the 1/4 panels to the roof panel was the vinyl top!

I use my mug warmer often.I've never had a can go on me because of overheating and I've gotten some cans of Tamiya spray so hot that I couldn't hold them for very long.Maybe I've been lucky.

Ah,the Auto Melter-I mean Cutter.I never did get the hang of using mine.It ended up in a drawer in my model desk where I rediscovered it years later.The blade carrier was fused to it's threads and refused removal so into the round file it went.

Soon you'll find you have more kits than you thought you had.They breed in the dark.

I'd like to improve my consistency.I can do one nice paint job or a clean assembly and then the next bunch of models ends up with horrid paint or glue spots in visible places or parts break during assembly.

It takes me longer to paint the parts in a Tamiya kit than it does to assemble the kit!And some of the painted parts are invisible when the model is assembled unless you leave the body parts (or shell,as the case may be) unglued.

Many years ago in Special Interest Autos magazine there was an article about starting and driving a Model T Ford.I've never owned a T but I learned all about the experience from that article. As far as VWs go-the very early cars have a specially shaped crank pulley bolt head designed to engage a specially shaped hand crank.A buddy of mine has a '51 Beetle with this feature.

Always on a Saturday,always with coupon,but not every weekend.It's about a 25 minute drive one way so when I do go I stop at a Michael's that's close to the Hobby Lobby and a regular hobby shop not too far from there to make the trip worth doing.

In no particular order- 1)Pontiac Aztek 2)SSangyong Rodius 3)Renault Avantime 4)Renault Vel Satis 5)The last AMC Matador 4 door sedans 6)Any full size 1960 Dodge 7)1957 and 1958 Packards 8)The new Chevy Spark 9)Dallara DW12 Indycar 10)Ferrari "Uovo"