Chuck Most

Love it!

My ten ugliest, and please note that I actually like a couple of these in spite of (or perhaps because of) their aesthetically-challenged nature. 1. 1961 Fullsize Plymouths- I'm not sure if it was meant to look like the '60 model after it had hit a pole dead-center, or some kind of mutant space bug, but that front end is unlike anything else ever designed. Probably a good thing. Still love the car, though. 2. Buick Rendezvous. This is the sister of the much maligned Pontiac Aztek, but for me the Buick is uglier. Especially from the back- it kind of looks like a LeSabre in poorly-fitting booty shorts from that side. 3. '68 Fullsize Fords- these actually looked good, except for the front end. Why Ford went with such a frumpy looking grille design after the swoopy '67's is a mystery to me. 4. At the risk of being overly general, every Cadillac except for the first-generation El Dorados. Older models were overwrought and garish, and the new ones are trying way to hard to look like M-Bs. 5. '73-77 Chevy Chevelle/Malibu/El Camino- particularly the later 'four eye' models. I don't think I need to elaborate. The Oldsmobiles of this era are way easier to stomach. 6. '99-'05 Pontiac Grand Am- These always remind me of a cross between a Barbie toy and a Tim Burton-era Batmobile. 7. '56-57 Hudson (aka "Hash"). Just do a Google image search and you'll see what I mean. Take the Step Down, and then take about ten steps back. 8. '50-51 Studebaker Bullet Nose. Yeah, it's ugly, but I still want one. 9. '91-'94 Chevy Caprice. Man the harpoons! The Impala SS, on the other hand, looked way better, but even when the Caprice adopted the taller rear wheel openings from the Imp it seemed to do little to improve the looks. 10. Olds Toronado, post-1967. The '66 and '67 Toros were beautiful cars- why did Oldsmobile decide to beat the car with a progressively larger ugly stick with each passing model year?

In the most recent issue of the 'other' mag, Tim Boyd says that the tooling was indeed scrapped in the late '70's. But who knows? They completely retooled a couple of the old Tom Daniel kits- maybe the same could happen for this.

LOVE this! Wasn't even aware a kit of this existed. Now I've got to get one...

Take out the 'some of' and I agree 100%. The LoneStar changed the game as far as 1:25 Class 8 tractor kits go. This ProStar should continue that.

Just wondered if there were any out there- any help appreciated. I'd just like to know before I start modifying the kit bucket seat tub.

Funny you mention Meijer- I was toying with building this as a Meijer reefer unit. Thing is, I've never seen a Great Dane in use by Meijer- it seems like they use Utility trailers. I should have one of those Louisville van kits laying around- I'll see how well that door fits. Guess we'll see if I steal any more of your ideas... or maybe I'll just pick up another Great Dane and try out the liftgate on that.

Thinking about replacing the kit doors with a roll-up unit, either scratchbuilt or sourced from another kit. What do you guys think?

Sweet- even has the exhaust soot on the firewall!

I'm actually using a Matt Hay T-Bird chassis under the Buick- the wheelbase is almost dead-on. I might repower it with a Buick 455, but that 3.8 turbo sounds tasty too.

So... I had a set of Crankyhead decals, a '62 Impala, and a Potvin-blown SBC I'd assembled years ago. So I figured I'd combine them, like so...

Beautiful job on both!

One big beautiful brute.

Spotted this old girl out behind a local repair shop... add one more to my 'gotta build this' list.

Ambroid and Tenax bottles are designed to tip over easily.. that wasn't your fault! At least that's what I tell myself whenever I do it. Now I just slip an old kit tire over the base to give bottles like that a bit more stability.

I think it was meant more for parallel parking situations- the rear seat passenger's could get in from the curb side rather than have to step out into the street.

Now that's campy!

N-I-C-E.

Think this shows any promise? It's an '88 Buick Regal if you're curious.... I'm not even going to start on this one until I've had some progress on the Chevelle and Falcon, though.

This kit is on the 'to-do' list for me. Love the car and would love to replicate it. Nice job on this one!

I've only ever seen that kit with this box art-

Looks like the fourth guy in line is here!

It would depend. Is the body in good shape? The interior? Did everything work (AC, cruise, power accessories, etc.)? Did you put a significant recent investment into it, such as struts, a front end job, tires, or anything like that? If the van still seems worth fixing, you could get a used or reman engine for it. You might have a couple grand in it by the time it's all said and done, but if the van's still in nice shape you'd probably still be in it for less than buying another van. Then again, with 135 K you might be rolling the dice a bit. (You know- put an engine in it, then the transmission blows...) On the other hand, you could probably part it out and scrap just the hulk and make a little bit more for it than the $400. Just scrapping it would of course be the easiest way to do it, and that does sound like a pretty good price- most of the local yards around me go by weight, so you're getting about $350-450 depending on scrap prices. You could also try selling it as a fix-er-up project- again, if it's in good shape you could put it up for under a grand (you can always go down from the original asking price if the potential buyer wants to haggle, after all). Who knows? If the van is in nice overall shape, there could be a guy out there with a wrecked or rusty Windstar with a good engine looking for a better van to put it in.

The idea here was a car that was done up as a mild custom years ago, mothballed, then dragged out and treated to a mechanical refurbishing and an interior refit- just enough to get it road-worthy before a repaint. I did polish it in spots to burn off the dark grey primer and expose the 'original' green paint beneath- I'm sure Crazy Jim will notice this one's shiny it at least a few spots. The chrome has also been 'refinished'. I left some debris in the paint on the stone guards, though, in an attempt to make it look like lightly pitted pot metal. The model has the chopped body from Morgan Automotive Detail, a Revell Cadillac three-two manifold (from the '49 Merc) as well as that kit's side pipes, Orange Crate valve covers, and the replacement printed wide whitewalls from Revell. All glass was cut from .010" styrene.

I own an even more rare Military version- it's in pretty shabby shape... http://public.fotki.com/ChuckMost/truck-photos/40s-reo-deuce-and-a-half/