Chuck Most

Thanks for that link, Aaron! I can see that being pretty useful.

Thanks guys! It's the old Monogram snap kit, so it's a bit simplified here and there, but it's a pretty good basis for a fun project. Yes, it's a 720- had a little keyboard dyslexia when I typed the thread title, I guess!

This is the Revell (former Monogram) reissue, it's box stock, but has a few modifications, as I did not want to have the front brush guards or roll bar. I bent the diff skid plate upward so it would meet the frame. I might add a tool box and tow hitch at some point.

I didn't find one on the list (didn't think I would) but might there happen to be a source for a Cummins V8-185, or something that could be modified to stand in for one? I'd like to build a Lindberg Dodge as an L-700 with diesel power, and I'm pretty sure there's no Perkins 354 (the other available diesel) in scale. I'd go so far as to scratchbuild one if I absolutely had to, but I can't find any physical measurements for either engine, so if I could start with something in the ballpark I'd be happy.

That's exactly why I haven't looked for replacement tanks yet, or started making my own. Ten seconds after they're installed on the model, the AWOL kit tanks will magically fall from the ceiling over the workbench, if the past is any indication.

Thanks guys! R&R used to cast one- with Ray gone they obviously aren't being done anymore but you still might be able to track one down.

I did earlier... and I think I've come up with a better name. How about "Axl Rose's Flying Circus"?

Can't rule that out as of now. Thing is, this was an incomplete kit, but I know it still had both fuel tanks when I started building it.

Gotta love it when the fuel tanks you plan to use up and walk away. Looks like I'll be resorting to Plan B, as soon as Plan B is formulated...

They should cost whatever it takes for the manufacturer to turn a profit. As to what that number is, I have no idea- I don't work for a kit manufacturer. Personally for me there's no real price ceiling- if I want the subject badly enough, I'll fork over the cash for the kit. But maybe not before doing a little bargain hunting, of course.

I'm in. When or with what I don't know, but I'm in. Not always, Rob- a local junkyard used to use a Cutlass Ciera with the trunk lid and back seat removed to carry a cutting torch and transport parts- nothing really in the way of "utility" about a Cutlass Ciera, but it worked okay for them.

It doesn't matter to me 99% of the time. Your favorite football team is made up of entirely different people than it was 20 years ago, but you still follow them. I don't typically write off a band simply for replacing one key member. Or two. Or three... I will admit I was against the idea of Chester Bennington- the lead singer of a band I passionately hate (Linkin Park) stepping in to replace Scott Weiland- lead singer of a band I love (Stone Temple Pilots), but after I kind of choked back the dry-heaves and actually listened to the songs, I thought a Weiland-free STP might actually work. And, lo and behold, turns out maybe Bennington wasn't the sucky lead vocalist I'd originally written him off to be. (It should be noted that I still can't stand Linkin Park...) In many cases it's an improvement- I really think Black Sabbath got better when Ronnie James Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne. I also thought Vinny Appice brought a little more to the band- not that he was a better drummer than Bill Ward, he just had a different style he brought with him. I generally prefer Van Hagar to Van Halen. Know what? They were still good with Gary Cherone (just not as good as they were with Roth or Hagar). Megadeth was down to being basically just Dave Mustaine and three session musicians for a few years- even during that time they could still produce a decent album and put on a great live performance. And any Megadeth fan will tell you they put out their best stuff when guitarist #3 and drummer #3 (Marty Friedman and Nick Menza, respectively) were in the band. The grindcore band Napalm Death has none- repeat NONE- of its original members, and hasn't for about 25 years, yet that's seemingly done little to diminish their fanbase. On a similar vein- how many "solo" performers, like, for instance, Alice Cooper, have gone through more supporting bands than anyone would want to count? Sometimes bringing back an original member can bring dire consequences- just ask any Morbid Angel fan what happened when they brought back David Vincent after he'd been out of the band for almost a decade. Then again, they did the album which featured his return without their original drummer... Then again, pretty much the same thing happened with Anthrax when they brought back Joey Belladonna, and they managed to actually put out a good album, after a couple of less-than-thrilling albums with John Bush on vocals. I do know it cuts both ways, though, even for me- the band called Guns N' Roses today would be more accurately described as "Axl Rose and Whatever Fifteen Other People He Managed to Drag Out On The Road". But that could just be because so many people stopped caring about Axl Rose around 1995 or so. I can handle Jason Bonham behind the drum kit with Led Zepplin, but I couldn't see Pink Floyd without Richard Wright.

N-I-C-E! Thanks for reminding me- I need to pick up one of these kits now that they're back out.

^Now THAT'S a transformation! I think your rendition looks way better than the way it's "supposed" to look.

Something puzzling me about this kit- the hood vents. All the 720's I've ever seen either had slatted black plastic hood vents or no hood vents- the kit has hood vents that look like they're supposed to be cut into the hood. Is that a factory setup? EDIT: Never mind! I did finally find a pic of one with the style of hood shown in the kit- so I know it's a factory hood. Also found some decent reference pics (truck in the thread's a King Cab, though). http://community.ratsun.net/topic/56483-1980-720-beater-project-pics-bonus-project-and-pics/

Just a pretty basic project- Revell '57 Ford Custom, Morgan Automotive Detail four-door transkit, sign and decals from a Johan '59 Rambler, and a crude-but-workable taxi meter on the dash.

Jonathan's right, they do make them in that configuration. You just can't a short bed with a regular cab on the Super Duty, though more than a few guys have built their own that way.

Those aren't Ford factory jobs- Ford did not produce COEs themselves until 1938. The trucks in those pictures appear to be conversions by a company called Dearborn, though there were other companies which did the conversions as well. At any rate, I'll be keeping an eye on this one!

They have WAY too much cool stuff on their site. http://www.modelmakershop.com/modelmakershop/

These were fantastic looking highway tractors, even in brown it seems! Very nice job on this one.

You might be right on- I do have to confess I've never really paid that much attention to Walmart's rigs, having worked for Meijer and all. Since I actually started watching out for them, though, I've noticed quite a few more of them- I've even spotted the one in the photo a few more times since.

Love how it looks in those colors- they really jazz up the otherwise plain-Jane Road Boss. I wouldn't let Keith Moon behind the wheel with it parked that close to the pool, though...

I was reading an article by noted AMC historian Pat Foster on Nash and Rambler police vehicles, and this car was mentioned. One officer was quoted as saying it would be perfect for parking enforcement duties, and went on to suggest that the car was so small a female officer would be able to easily drive it, thus saving the precinct money and freeing up the male officers for the more serious work. Yeah, that was what the gist of what this particular cop said. Ah... very politically correct times, the '50's.

X2. I'm actually messing with the idea of getting good at soldering so I can just make up my own mirror brackets, so I don't have to live through the headache of messing with kit mirror brackets like these.

I've been disappointed a few times, but the biggest one for me was when I got the reissue of the AMT '50 Ford convertible a few years back- during the twilight era of the RC2 ownership. I was expecting flash and maybe a few warped parts, but this thing was just silly. It was absolutely riddled with molding errors, and a couple of short shot parts for good measure. The body was so bad I knew I couldn't get a decent result trying to fix it. Best of all was RC2's refusal to try and make amends- emails and snail mails regarding the matter went unanswered. So, the kit went in the trash (I didn't even bother trying to save anything from it) and the next time I needed a '50 Ford drop top I just sought out a Millennium Edition version, which, though still fairly rough, was a much better quality molding than the later reissue. I actually stopped buying RC2 products for a while after my experience with that turd of a kit, though I went back when Round 2 took over.