Chuck Most

Slight shift in concept with the interior- I'm just going to leave it as-is and not add anything beyond what's there already- with the full glass and grimed up windows not much will be visible inside anyway, and anything that'll help speed up the building process for this one is fine by me. (Remember- this is basically going to be a big piece of diorama filler.) Hope to have this one wrapped up in the next couple of days- then I can think about making up a top skeleton and tattered fabric for the Hornet, and maybe starting on another junker for the scene.

Corey- How far are you from DeWitt? That store has the '68 Mustang, '50 Ford F-1, and the '49 Merc in stock, as well as the '62 Impala California Wheels and the Viper.

Fine print- the 'free' one has to be of equal or lesser value. But yeah, I've taken advantage of this deal.

You might not be happy with the way the bumpers fit to the body on this one- as in, they don't fit too well at all. Other than that, looks like a fun project!

I don't have this kit yet, but I've seen one a friend bought, and I'll say this. It only took 50 years, but the Y-Block V8 engines in the AMT '56 and '57 kits are no longer king of that genre in 1:25. I know there's always seemingly an issue or two with Revell's body proportions or why they designed this or that the way they did, but if the engine builds up and responds to detail as well as their other recent kits, I'll be buying a few more of these just for that engine. And I'm not even going to get into the obvious improvement in underhood/chassis detail compared to other late '50's Ford kits...

One more for today.... The weathering is getting there. Still a bit of work to do in that regard, and I still need to weather and possibly mangle the bumpers a little bit.

This is the first body dropped LUV I've ever seen, in scale or in 1:1. Should be pretty sweet.

Exactly. It's the trim level. Not the model. "1993 Silverado" is telling me nothing. Now, if you call it what it's supposed to be called, say, 1993 K2500 Silverado, then I know you have a 3/4 ton, four wheel drive truck. (With the Silverado package. ) But just calling it a Silverado would be like me calling my truck a '94 Ford XLT, or my neighbor calling his truck a '99 SLT Laramie... and nothing else.

First stages of weathering have begun. A round file, some heat, and a little cutting came into play to create a few dents and a rusted-out rocker. The hood and trunklid will have a few rust holes as well. I see I neglected to take a photo of the passenger's side- that side will have the rear skirt in place. This side, as you can see, will not. And the first stages of the actual finish- a mix of Tamiya Hull Red and some cheap-o hardware store yeller paint. Brush painting, washes, and some selective sanding will handle things from this point.

"Original Miles". Originally, the car had ZERO miles. It's actual miles, people.... "Tri-Power" It's a three two-bbl. carb setup... on a PONTIAC. Chevy, Olds, Ford, Mopar... those are not Tri-Power. They have their own names for their three-carb setups. "Posi", "Posi-Track", or "Positraction". That's Chevy's brand name for a limited slip diff. Your Ford 9", therefore, is not equipped with a 'posi', no matter what. If your 'Sawzall' isn't made by Milwaukee, it's not a Sawzall, it's just a reciprocating saw. Silverados are Silverados. C/K series trucks are not. They also aren't called Z71s or Cheyennes. Jeep is not a generic term for 'SUV'. (I'm looking at YOU, Missy Elliot). They're 'brake pads' not simply 'brakes'. There's no such thing as a Chevy GMC, Chrysler Jeep, Chrysler Plymouth, Jeep Eagle, Ford Mercury, Ford Lincoln, or Toyota Scion. It's one or the other. Also, that truck is an International, not a Navistar, or a Navistar International.

Since the Olds 88 was about the only car that could give the Hudson Hornet a run for its money at the racetrack 'back in the day', I figured it would behoove me to build a '50 Olds which somehow complemented one of the many Hornets I've built. But which one? I knew I wanted to trash at least one of these new Oldsmobile kits, so I decided to go that route. Going for something like this long-abandoned '52 Hornet droptop... Eventually I want to display the Hudson and Olds together in a proper diorama setting, but I might build a few more cars for that depending on how I decide to lay it out.. Anyway, onto the Olds... Since I 'needed' the engine for something else, I glued down the hood. I misted the body with primer and was happy that the majority of the mold lines were gone after a few minutes of wet sanding. Even the sink marks in the hood (over the locators for the hinges) went away after a few passes- what little is left of them are minor enough to be dealt with by subsequent coats of primer and sanding. The car will eventually be sunken into the dirt, so I'm not doing any detailing at all to the underside- there is just enough suspension installed to keep the wheel and tire assemblies on the car, and I left out the rear springs entirely to get the car to 'squat' a bit to depict the car having no engine and worn rear springs. The chrome is stripping as I type this, and I'm hoping to have the interior at least dialed in shortly. I still need to map out rust/collison/etc. damage to the body, and what kind of junk I want to use to fill out the interior.

Well, in a sense. This '51 Buick has been an on/off project for about three years, though it spends much of its time not on the bench, but in an AMT '51 Chevy box off to the side. Maybe that's the problem?

All parking lots need to be like this.

They seem to be most common in boats around 50' in length, but I've seen one on a 30' Chris Craft. Ford also sold this engine as a stand alone power unit.

How about using the spare 534 as a marine powerplant?

I don't think so... the operator sneezes just once and he'd wipe out a good two or three acres worth of grain.

^^^^^GOLD MINE!!!! ^^^^^

Posted this in the other thread, but I'll duplicate it here. Enjoy my delicious copypasta! A few things to think about- There are a handful of 1:25 ag tires I've seen on diecast Ertl promos, but I've seen just as many (if not more) 1:1 car/tractors with medium or heavy duty truck tires on the back. I'd also look into WW2 era 1:35 and 1:24 military kits- some of those might work, and many 1:35 tires will fit bi-scale wheels and still look 'right' on the model. As Dr. Cranky mentioned, the reissued Willys Jeep kit's tires would be suitable as well. You could even fabricate your own spoked steel wheels, like the kind seen on the Model T conversion kits sold by Shaw. Also, some retained all four stock wheels/tires, or had a set of builder-fabricated dual rear wheels. Sometimes the stock wheels were cut down to fit a different diamter wheel rim. Ertl did make a few 1:25 farm and construction kits, but the drive tires would be WAY too big for what we're talking about here- the tires in those kits are meant for a 14 to 20,000 pound machine, not a flyweight like a doodlebug. You could use pretty much any early '30's or older vehicle as a starting point, though the vast majority were Ford based. Model T Doodlebugs normally had improved cooling, as the Model T engine wasn't as well-suited to field work as it was to simply moving the car. Often the frames were reinforced, and in many cases the rear axle was solid-mounted to the frame- no rear suspension at all. Also keep in mind that no two will be exactly alike, even if they were based on an aftermarket kit like the Shaw setup. Builders equipped them and set them up for their own uses.

A few things to think about- There are a handful of 1:25 ag tires I've seen on diecast Ertl promos, but I've seen just as many (if not more) 1:1 car/tractors with medium or heavy duty truck tires on the back. I'd also look into WW2 era 1:35 and 1:24 military kits- some of those might work, and many 1:35 tires will fit bi-scale wheels and still look 'right' on the model. As Dr. Cranky mentioned, the reissued Willys Jeep kit's tires would be suitable as well. You could even fabricate your own spoked steel wheels, like the kind seen on the Model T conversion kits sold by Shaw. Also, some retained all four stock wheels/tires, or had a set of builder-fabricated dual rear wheels. Sometimes the stock wheels were cut down to fit a different diamter wheel rim. Ertl did make a few 1:25 farm and construction kits, but the drive tires would be WAY too big for what we're talking about here- the tires in those kits are meant for a 14 to 20,000 pound machine, not a flyweight like a doodlebug. You could use pretty much any early '30's or older vehicle as a starting point, though the vast majority were Ford based. Model T Doodlebugs normally had improved cooling, as the Model T engine wasn't as well-suited to field work as it was to simply moving the car. Often the frames were reinforced, and in many cases the rear axle was solid-mounted to the frame- no rear suspension at all. Also keep in mind that no two will be exactly alike, even if they were based on an aftermarket kit like the Shaw setup. Builders equipped them and set them up for their own uses.

These First Gear Ford pickemups have been quite the popular subject of late!

Wrong body style if a '73 is what you want.

Don't remind me...

Hey, a 1994 model is two years away from antique vehicle status in many states, so... I'm just stunned there's such a thing as a 1994 Neon. I thought 1995 was the first model year for the Neon?

I think I like 'er.

I'm in. My granfather has a '25 Model T USPS van with the skis and tracks for winter use, and of course I can cobble up a Doodlebug with the Model T and A parts I have on hand. There's a 1:1 Doodlebug in my neighborhood, based off a '30 Model A truck. Hitch a three bottom plow to the back and it would be perfect...