Chuck Most

Mike's recent work on his Matador has inspired me to get off my duff and blow the dust off my own Matador project for the first time in seven months! The wheels, tires, and rotor/caliper assemblies are installed for good, and I started work on the cowl induction scoop. Yeah, it looks pretty crude at this point, but it should look better once it's blended. in. Speaking of blended in... I also blended in the spats at the front of the wheel openings for a cleaner look. This kind of does/ kind of doesn't have the same effect as widening the fenders- the wheels won't stick out past the fenders, but it doesn't really gain you any room like widening the fender would. It's a lot less work at any rate.

That Matator is looking killer, Mike!

Yes, there is. I think you know what your next project should be... I've wanted to do something similar to this for a long time, can't wait to see how this one will turn out.

Going with a quasi-stock appearance at both ends- the stock '48 grille and headlamp bezels are still included (I still may or may not add the stock parking lamps), and while no stock taillamps are provided (and I had no spares), the kit does provide some vertical units which somewhat resemble the stock ones turned 90 degrees. Sort of. The stock bumpers would not quite fit the body, so I used the smooth ones instead. I'll be using neither of the kit hoods. Revell pitches this kit as a custom, but I'm going for more of a hot rod vibe.

Big scale... diecast... and it's an INTERNATIONAL! This thing is guaranteed to be sweet.

That engine compartment looks fantastic... just goes to show it's not about parts count, but more about careful detailing.

A few nights ago, I went over to a buddy's house and left with a couple of kits. A sealed Revell '48 Ford coupe, a built-up AMT '72 Nova with a halfway decent paint job, and an AMT '56 Ford Vicky with a resin 4-door body. When my friend Darrin bought the kit, a previous owner had started to rust and weather it. At first I'd simply planned to finish it as a beater, but then I got to thinking... Just like real rust does to steel, the simulated weathering had weakened and compromised the resin. I chose to use the spare AMT body for patch panels. I wasn't happy with the quality of the cowl area, and the thickness of the roof posts. So... The needed area was removed from the Vicky body... Ford's 2-door hardtops had a slightly lower top than did the sedans. Chopped top four-door, anyone? Here is the top roughed in, about three scale inches lower. I have also installed the stock and custom rear treatments from the Vicky kit- big roll pan up front, and what appears to be a body-colored, Imperial-based rear bumper treatment out back. DO NOT expect constant updates on this one, this will be a relatively slow-going project.

Close second to the Cheap Thrills Dart (c'mon... hose clamp trans mount!!!!), but I'm keeping an eye on this one anyway.

This will be the recipient of the Flathead six... you can tell it's humid outside when you can see it in the pictures!

For me it hasn't been the heat (just put in a new AC unit), just the humidity, which pretty much kills any thoughts of painting. I'm in the same boat as Donn- just building what I can, so I'll have a bunch of stuff ready to hit the paint shop once the humidity goes down.

Finally... a '38 Ford pickup model that actually IS a '38, not a Revell '37 with a '38 nose misidentified as a '38! :D :D You can bet I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

I've never purchased a vehicle because there was a kit of it, but I've been fairly fortunate that most of the vehicles I've owned are available in one scale form or another. In fact, I think the only vehicles I've ever owned which weren't available in scale were the '98 Mercury Tracer and the series of '81-84 Olds Delta 88/Custom Crusier wagons I had during high school.

Don't think that adding a CB antenna never crossed my mind! I did consider sticking one on there, or at least the bracket. Who knows, I could always toss one on later, along with some cheap mudflaps. Forgot to mention- this was built for Abell82's Mercury Cougar CBP- If you have a '73 or earlier Cougar of some sort, get in there and get some.

Temporarily attached the hood to the body so I could blend in the countours. Truth be told I'm thinking of keeping the hood in place and doing it as a curbside, but I guess we'll see....

For the '56 you could start with a Revell F-100, and widen the front fenders/enlarge the wheel openings to make it into a heavier-duty version. I'd start with the Hot Rod Magazine version, since it has a small back window. You could use an Opel Blitz for the chassis. I thought somebody cast a heavy-duty 56 F-series cab years ago, but I could be wrong. I'm not sure if anyone casts a '67-72 heavy F-series, but they would use the same cab. If there aren't any out there, you could start with an R&R resin '72 cab.

I'm thinking it can't be- the Henrix kits have a one-piece interior tub with separate seats, and the castings are usually way cleaner than this one. Didn't see any images of anything like it on STAR Models' site, that rules out Hendrix, Jimmy Flintstone, and R&R.

Nice! Love those cars.

Gloss all the way- I'm leaning toward a dark burgundy for the body, with a burgundy/white two tone interior.

But there's one thing you're overlooking there... even if you buy a car built anywhere but in the good old US of A... You bought it at a US dealer. The dealership made money off of it, as did the sales rep, who earned a commission by selling it to you. The car is going to need oil changes- so you take it back to the dealer, the local ten-minute place, or go to the parts store to pick up oil and a filter if you do it yourself. Speaking of parts... any vehicle will need them eventually. So you head on over to the local parts store and get them there- thus putting money in the parts store's coffers and paying the employees. So even if your car is a an import (I'm defining an import here as anything not built in the US), your purchase of it is supporting jobs here in this country. Yeah, the guy at the US auto plant probably isn't too happy, nor would be the guy who took it from the factory to the dealer, but since the same after-purchase rules apply to any vehicle, you really aren't cutting too many people out of the pie. And if you bought an imported car, somebody had to drive it off the ship or transporter truck and take it to a distribution center, then transport it to the dealer... those are American jobs too, right?

First of all, a bit of history... What actually became the '49 Mercury was originally meant to be the Ford, but management deemed it too big and it was instead used for the Mercury and junior Lincoln line, known as the 9EL or 'Baby Lincoln'. The larger Lincoln Cosmopolitan was a completely different car, though it did appear similar to the smaller Mercury/Lincoln 9EL. The 9EL was a bit longer than the Mercury, both in wheelbase and overall measurements, but I'm keeping the Mercury wheelbase and body length for this. It's a custom after all, right? Here I've cut the hood free, and extended it down all the way to the grille opening, by cutting the top off the grille opening and gluing it to the bottom edge of the hood. Compared to the Merc, the Lincoln's hood was a bit more narrow, and the fenders were slightly wider in front. I glued the hood along the front and sides, and then cut along the hood bulge. The former hood sides will be blended into the fender tops with putty. I've also blocked off the stock headlights- the Lincoln's lights were a bit lower and more inboard compared to the Merc. I will also rework the grille opening to resemble the Lincoln's. I happened to have a pristine set of wheel covers from an AMT '62 Lincoln Continental annual, and they fit the Revell tires and wheel backs after I filed the backsides flat. That's about it for now, I'm leaving the body mostly stock (the rear already looks like a Lincoln with the '50 taillamps), but I'm thinking of leveling out the 'step' in the fender line- that styling trait never made much sense to me. The interior will also be mostly stock, but the dash will be reworked into the Lincoln piece. For power I'm leaning toward the Laethem-blown MEL 430 from the AMT '25 T kit.

Nice! I tried telephone wire for the trailer lines once and had the same problem- looks okay bundled up behind the cab, not so good when hooked up to the trailer.

Awesome... Metro! That does qualify as an AMC for the intent of the CBP.

On it, perhaps not. IN it? Fuel and fluids may not be of US origin. But that's a whole 'nother ballgame...

Started out with a parts donor kit, and threw it together just for fun. My homage to the type of beater car you used to see in central Michigan high school parking lots in the '80's and '90's, with a few late '70's/early '80's street machine cues.

Looks fantastic in that color! A custom rig that can still earn its keep as a working rig.