Chuck Most

A while back, I snapped up a few AMT Ertl Rides Magazine Escalades for dirt cheap. Mostly to rob the 4x4 specific parts for other projects. This was one of those. More than enough of it left to do a quick slammer. The remainder of the kit was used to create a fauxtina'd, bagged, and body dropped street truck. Other than the Michigan plate from Three Inches Under, everything is out of the box. I even used one of the Rides Magazine decal plates up front. Paint is Tamiya Light Green, sanded through to expose primer and weathered with Vallejo acrylics. I avoided rust on the plastic parts of the truck, though doing this to a real truck would probably be done with a vinyl wrap. I left the bed cover off because Ertl inexplicably did a great job replicating the Avalanche/EXT cargo bed, and eventually I plan to put something back there.

As you said,may not be an accurate representation of a MH conversion, but dare I say I think it looks better.

I'm pretending that Coke cooler is just absolutely crammed full of snakes ?

Nice added touch with the fuel filler cap, something MPC forgot to really address as the 1:1 trucks moved away from the in cab fuel tank. Also, great job with the grille/splash apron fit. That's easily the worst part of the kit as far as parts fit goes.

New AMT kit with a few minor alterations. The front bumper and lift gate were scratch built, and optional mirrors from the 1992 1500 kit were swapped on. Don't try any "spot the stuff from Iceman Collections" drinking games. The base model grille came from Iceman Collections , and so did the kegs and milk crate in the bed. That fantastic little toilet is from jaysresinwheels1948 on ebay, though Iceman also sells a toilet as part of a diorama set. The vending machine and cooler came from a couple AMT Coke branded kits, and a Moebius F250 spare tire and wheel fill out the rest. The body was weathered and damaged and I gave the rear suspension a sag. Not sure where Larry is taking all that stuff but the truck can almost handle it.

Could be it is or it could just appear that way because I didn't detail the cargo light areas at the ends.

Yep, it's the newly re-created AMT kit. I built it out of the box with three exceptions. First, it has a current style Michigan plate from Three Inches Under. It had originally planned to use the kit's Lazy Larry markings but opted to save those for a junker version and I used Magic City Car Wash graphics from a Gopher Racing sheet. And I used the optional mirrors from the 1992 1500 kit because they more closely resemble the aero towing mirrors available by 1996. Not much to gripe about. I could get the driver side quarter window to snap into the opening but the passenger pane didn't wanna play ball in that aspect. The instructions seem to have the upper and lower lens numbers mixed up. I installed what's called out as the upper lens in the lower bezel and vice versa and the lenses look and fit better. Paint is Tamiya Camel Yellow outside, Revell Ochre Brown inside. All in all I like this kit better than the 1992 1500. I'm kinda hoping AMT will roll out a crew cab version at some point.

Anybody take a look at the decal sheet? What is "constriction clean up"? Is Lazy Larry also a snake handler? ?

Makes sense. Since the only Expedition kits I have in my stash are the SSV version (2wd chassis plate) I tend to forget about the 4x4 chassis. ? And hey, since you just repositioned the axle it shouldn't be too much of a chore to adjust if the rear wheel placement starts bothering you too much. ?

Glad you actually read it. I can't tell you how many times I say something like "I got the grille from such and such a source" and the replies are "durrrrr... Where did you get the grille" ?‍♂️

Nice result, despite the shortcomings. Question. Why not just use the Expedition chassis rather than stretch the Lightning chassis?

Great job of blending the various models and eras of vehicles into a cohesive whole. That IMC front end has never looked so good ?

Love it! If it didn't have slicks on the back it would be perfect for back road bashing. ?

That looks just plain incredible. Like... I hope somebody sees this and does it in full scale.

I actually finished this quite a while ago but never posted it. Basic model is the 1993 extended cab with the chassis cut down for a short box from a 454SS glue bomb. A phantom dually GMC grille was modified with letters from a Sonoma. The headlights were cut out and halogen headlights were cut from two broken 88/89 grilles. These were then attached to the core support. Wheels and tires are from a 1989 promo and the side mirrors came from a glue kit. Most of the bumper stickers were printed at home, the Bondo decal is from a Lindberg 1997 F150. Ironically the model actually has no filler on it. The flag is Woodland Scenics. The model is basically an amalgamation of three different GMT400 trucks that I see locally.

Well done, please. I may look like a caveman but I don't eat like one. ? Personally I've always been able to get by with a plain old pickup topper and a sleeping bag (maybe augmented with an air mattress if I was feeling swanky) but that looks like a far more comfortable setup.

"Typical AMT fit". You could have just said "absolutely nothing fits". ? Nice result on a notoriously janky kit.

This was two incomplete AMT kits, with a bunch of spares tossed in. Along the same line, the engine is a Cadillac 500 fashioned from various cast off GM engine parts. Shark mouth decals came from the Surf Shark kit. The idea was a 70s/80s street machine dragged out of a long nap.

You have a number or email for this Kernersville Kustoms place? I want them to build my '53 F100. ? Seriously though, lovely looking truck.

Wow. The people around you are so tired of hearing how cold you are you had to complain to a Tesla? ? See, I can just click a button and keep my trap shut. I don't look like a lunatic to other drivers, talking to no one about my cold feet.

Will be driving this shortly. 2004 Lincoln Town Car Signature. 110,000 miles and I'm the third owner. It has the typical Town Car rust (around the rear wheel openings) and it's spent a lot of time sitting but overall in fantastic condition for a 19 year old Michigan car. Interior has one cigarette burn but otherwise just needs a little dusting.

Fairly recent but I forgot these existed until today (because I just bought a 2004 Lincoln Town Car)... Heat and fan controls on the steering wheel. No car has these anymore. Now that section of the wheel is taken up by the hands free phone BS. Even if you set the climate to auto sometimes you wanna tweak it a degree or two after a while.

That's Ertl for you. Chrome headlights well into the 90s.

Yep, you're right on the mark about the time frame. Though to be fair, AMT kitted the SHO. Yes the Taurus was a mainstream car but the Taurus SHO was, I don't know... The Hemi 'Cuda to the standard Taurus's slant six base model Barracuda. Quite a far piece from a base model sedan. ? The fact that Ford commissioned a promo probably didn't hurt and of course they were going to go with the new get up and go Euro fighter version to promote. And by the time the promos and kits came you had the Robocop buzz going, even though none of the Tauruses used in Robocop were SHO, or even police versions (Robocop being filmed in 1986-87 and the proper police package Taurus wasn't a thing until 1990), and boy howdy Ertl leaned into that too. ? But I guess that doesn't guarantee a kit. In the late 90s and early 00's Revell did every Ford SVT product ... Except he Contour. Naturally the Lightning and Cobra were kitted, even the Focus when Revell had their brief fling with tuners, but they ignored the Contour SVT. Much like the world at large ignored it. ?

The cab and bed on these kits never line up, so just know that many others feel your aggravation.