Chuck Most

Looks like that is at least correct. (After reading this thread and seeing the upside down lettering come up, I got curious and did a little digging...) I agree- I think they look great on a variety of muscle car subjects.

That's what the 1994 copyrighted kit I have and the RC2-era 'AMT Muscle' issue both had, the latter actually came with two sets, for whatever reason! Back to the upside down lettering- is that actually correct? I've heard guys say Firestone actuallly did make tires with upside down lettering like that, but I've never seen a 1:1 Firestone from that period lettered that way.

I don't see why you're not 100% satisfied with it- it looks great from were I sit!

I bought a kit for a few parts (a snow plow and some 8 bolt wheels), so I figured I'd have a little fun with it. Post-apoc it is. No zombie hunting for this one, though.

Don't. The 'Fred Flintstone Braking Method' isn't quite as effective as you've been led to believe.

I had an '85 Ranger with just over 250k on the clock and the original clutch wasn't missing a beat. Same thing could not be said for the rest of the truck. On the other hand, my girlfriend went through two clutches in one year in her Jetta. Third time around she had it changed at another dealer and it was still fine when she traded it in with about 30,000 on the third clutch. The tech at the VW dealer she took it to the last time was a bit more thorough- he checked the pedal freeplay and IIRC he even bled the master and slave cylinders when he changed the clutch.

I've used liquid superglue- run a steady bead all the way around the bottom of the seats. That should not only keep the seats firmly in place, but act as a barrier between the styrene and vinyl. I don't know if they've reformulated the vinyl so it won't burn the plastic parts, but I haven't personally seen a kit made after the late '80's with vinyl burns on any of the plastic parts, so I'm guessing something was changed somewhere down the line.

Seems to happen all the time with engines, anyway. Check the Red Ram Hemi from the 2002-era Ala Kart against the same engine in the original Ala Kart kit or the '29 Model A roadster and you'll see an obvious difference in size- the newer engine is a bit underscale, while the original is just a teensy bit overscale from what I've seen. Every Chrysler 392 varies somewhat in size, even among kits of the same scale by the same manufacturer. I guess that since the engine is mostly hidden away in the engine compartment when the model is built, the manufacturers might be willing to fudge the numbers a little bit more than they would on more visible parts of the model. Not sure if that's true or not, but seems logical and it works for me.

Period perfect! The things that can be done with a Beverly Hillbillies Olds kit, some scratchbuilding, a little aftermarket influx and a steady helping of skill never ceases to amaze me.

I think big wheels look great on big cars, and a Deuce-and-a-Quarter is a big car, no doubt. This came out fantastic!

Right here- http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51809&hl=%2Bfire+%2Btruck I also did a quick review of an original kit and compared it to the current reissue, that's in the December issue of Model Cars. I now realized I failed to point out the incorrect suspension setups in both the online and print reviews.

All of the 1:25 late model Hemi engines seem to differ in size- the one in the AMT 300C is just about in between the Revell Challenger and Magnum engines, though it is quite a bit taller. That one also has those weird exhaust manifolds sprouting out the sides of the block. Both the Revell engines look correct aside from the size discrepancy, though I could not tell you for sure which one is more accurate as far as dimensions go.

Just saw that- the orange Isetta caught me, and I HAD to read the story after seeing something like that!

Figuring out the engine, and poked some holes in the hood for it to breathe.

Yeah, I noticed you kind of have a thing for tractors. Still debating belly mower or scraper for this thing....

Probably should have told you this right off the bat, Casey, but this thread is for straight six models, not for tearing down a 1:1 car and painstakingly making the parts look like they came from a model.

Incredible job on both of them.

I liked that one too.

This is part of their Stegosaurus Series...?

Always love it when somebody takes a snap together kit and makes it look better than a lot of the full-detail kits out there.

You had me at Crosley.

Love 'em both! It's no secret I'm a big fan of the Fire Truck- glad to see somebody finallly do it right and put the proper front and rear suspension setups under one.

Let me get back to ya... I just can't get past that blunt bow at the moment, much less soak in the rest of it.

Huh.... why does that site sound so familiar... ? Thanks for the info, Steve!

Too late to warn you, but once you start casting your own parts- the floodgates are wide open! It gets a bit addictive, and you'll find yourself casting multiples of stuff you don't even need. Well, that happened to me anyway!