Chuck Most

Had this site bookmarked, lost it when I switched computers, forgot all about it until now. Thanks for that link!

Keep in mind that vertical measurement might not be 100% exact- I got it as close as I could with just a tape measure, measuring from the bottom rear of the fender up to the top of the fender opening. I think it would be close enough to look right.

Well, got over to where the trucks are- there was quite a lot more stuff jammed around them in the barn than there was last time! I did manage to squeeze in between them and get a measurement of the bottom of the wheel opening, 39", and height of 22". Armed with this, I dug out an AMT '53 Trophy Series cab, and tried those measurements out on the fender. Turns out, if you cut away the raised 'lip' already around the wheel opening, that will enlarge the opening enough to match up pretty well with the F-600's measurements. Then you'd just need to add a new raised lip around the newly-enlarged opening. I'll try and get some pictures up later on- because now I'm thinking of giving it a go on a spare '53 to see how close it really looks.

That's something I don't see. Maybe not the military modelers demanding accuracy, but fully accurate military kits. Flip through a copy of FSM or check out a military modeling forum, and you'll see that quite a few military vehicle kits aren't as accurate as we car guys seem to think they are. Almost every review I've read lately on military models points out at least one or two flaws in the kit with regards to accuracy. Often it is a concession to the scale- something molded out-of-scale for added strength for instance, but there are also a few forehead-slapping 'what were they thinking' issues and omissions mentioned,as well. Most of the military modelers I've spoken to seem to be in about the same boat is me, get it close- I can fix what's wrong and/or choose to live with any problems the kit might have. But, they also seem to be a bit more vocal about when a kit has a problem with it, more so than most of the car modelers I know. Then again, for the prices they're paying for their kits I guess I can't really blame them for being more likely to pipe up about it when the do find a problem!

1968? I'll never gripe about a project taking too long EVER again! Both are showing more than a little promise. There might be an Allison-powered example from my workbench one of these days.

Isn't out of the question at this point...

Best part about K&S is that they also include the metric measurements for the diameter. 1/8" would be fairly close to 3" in 1:25 scale, but you could just use the metric measurements and find one listed as 3mm or 4mm in diameter, since 1mm is extremely close to 1 inch in 1:25 scale.

I can't vouch for these particular wheels, but I do have a set of Casey's American Racing Salt Flats,and everything you said about these wheels with regards to casting quality applies to the Salt Flats as well. Right up there with the likes of Replicas and Miniatures as far as quality goes.

Best way to bend it is with a tubing bender, either the type you'd use on brake lines or one of the spring types. But it can be bent by hand without kinking if you insert a solid round rod into it first. I like to use pieces cut from the kit sprue, but sometimes I'll use K&S solid aluminum rod if the pipe is rather small in diameter and thus easy to bend by hand. You want the rod to fit into the inside of the tube as tightly as possible. Downside to this if you need the bend near the top of the pipe (where the open end will be visible) it doesn't work as well, as the rod will be visible inside the tube. In that case, using a bender would be the only option. If you just need an elbow, say, something that comes out from under the cab and turns the pipe up 90 degrees to vertical behind the cab, you can just cut the bottom of the tubing flat and bend a plastic or metal rod, then slip the tubing onto that.

Nice! Was that based on the AMT Louisville?

The REAL Chrome Stack Mafia?

Not really a tutorial, but for stacks I have used on semis and trucks I like to use K&S aluminum tubing. It's available in quite a few different diameters, cuts easily, and can be polished with just about any aluminum or wheel polish (I like to use Meguiars Hot Rims aluminum and wheel polish with a microfiber cloth), or scuffed for paint. They're also rather cheap- a buck and a half or two for a 12" piece, depending on what diameter you want. They look much better than any kit-based stack, because they have thin walls and of course they are hollow. Most well-stocked hobby shops could carry K&S tubing, and I've also seen it available online. Like I said, there are quite a few diameters available, so you should have no problem finding something the size you want. Some people like to cut it with a purpose-made cutting tool, like you'd use on 1:1 brake lines, but I've had good luck cutting it by rolling it under a sharp #11 blade, or using a fine-tooth hand saw.

HELLO CLEVELAND!!!!

Doesn't Italeri make a few newer-model Scania kits? I'm guessing they'd all be RHD, but it would be a start.

A mere three miles- catch was a few dead trees had to come down. Also had to dig it out of the ground a little- hence having an old Minneapolis Moline laying around was pretty handy. And no, no blue and yeller for this one- though it'll be something loud and irritating- maybe one of the Mopar late '60's 'High Impact' colors.

Who built the not-shiny one? Awesome looking Hornet, Art!

Got this a while ago, but just brought it home today. 1940 Dodge dump, in suprisingly solid shape other than the front fenders and lower door skins. It'll be broken down over the course of the winter for a little refurbishing. That's the plan, anyway.

Very cool! For a Rat Fink decal I'd just suggest finding a suitable one online, importing it into Word and resizing as needed, and then print it out on decal paper. I have a few Rat Fink decals around someplace, but nothing small enough to look right on a 1:25 motorbike! Turns out I had a few Revell motorcycle parts in my stash- thanks to your post I've positively ID'd them as being from the Honda!

It's something to chew on, anyway. I'll have plenty of time to think about it while I'm making the chassis- which will probably be the easy part!

What I have to ask is this- who, besides the folks actually working on this kit for Revell and perhaps Tom Coolidge, has even seen this kit in person? I can see the box art model as well as anyone else, but is that the finalized kit on the box art, or the first, fifth, or umpteenth prototype revision? We all know these things go through a few rough drafts before they actually hit the shelves- how close is that built up on the box going to be to the actual product in the end? I don't know, you don't know, only a handful of people at this point know. I'd agree with Mr. Kourouklis that the main thing to be concerned with is the accuracy of the car as the factory-stock coupe. But, again, I won't say anything until I have my greasy little paws on at least one example. And I WILL be buying a few of these, rest assured.

Really nice! And count me in as someone else who'll be stealing that door hinge technique...

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe it was functional.

Speaking of reference pics, I might also be able to get some for that '57. My father has a '57 T-650 (?) that's in pretty nice shape. (T-Series is an F-Series tandem, by the way.) Another fun fact about those Fords- see that hood scoop on the resin one you pictured? Looks like one of those highly sought-after Pontiac Super Stock hood scoops, doesn't it? That's because it is. Pontiac actually used the Ford super duty scoop on their drag cars- they even assigned it a GM part number so it would be legit with NHRA factory stock rules.

Ah, right- a 500 wouldn't have the wider fenders, just the larger openings. Wasn't sure at what weight class the wider fenders came into play. That being said I'll still see if I can get some photos/measurements this weekend, the guy should have a suitable reference truck out there.

I thought of using the Aussie GMC, but for that price I just decided to go with the Revell cab, since I'd still need to make the fenders anyway. I do want to get that kit and build it as the GMC one of these days, though! Chris- The '50 Ford cab is a little bit larger in pretty much every dimension than the REO's, and has a flat windsheild, where the REO's is a v'd two-piece. Either way it would be quite a bit of work, though I do think you're onto something with using the Ford hood as a base for the REO. It's a lot shorter, but the basic shape seems close enough to be workable.