Chuck Most

If the decal represents a painted graphic or motif, it gets cleared. If it represents a decal, I don't clear over it. That's how I approach it.

Only 'iffy' thing with the wraparound might be getting it to lay right, but I'll see how it works out I guess.

Asked my local hobby shop owner, and he said he'd probably list it for around $35 or so when it comes out. In any case, this is one I'm getting for sure. I'm thinking of doing a day cab Michigan 'grain train' hauler, and of course I'm going to do one as the Green Goblin from Maximum Overdrive.

Interior is pretty much a done deal, just in need of final assembly. Not much to see in there, but it'll do. The dash is a strip of birch, and I added some auxillary gauges underneath. It also has turn signal indicators and a push/pull headlamp switch. The steering wheel is the '66 Nova piece, cut down. Yes, there are a few other details visible I'll outline later... Let's just say I'll be using clear coat after all. I also went ahead and did a second bumper, the one which will end up on the car. A '66 Michigan plate is the finishing touch for that.

Hubley, Entex, then Minicraft (with Revell AG in between). Minicraft got hold of this, the Mecedes 300 SL, and Triumph TR-3 after Entex went under.

"I see" said the blind man. Should have been obvious, but I guess I had a bit of a lapse on that one.

This is your idea of thrown together? Wow. I'd love to see a model you built with a little care and attention to detail!

Entex or Minicraft? I'm certain it's not original Hubley (this is molded in light gray with a black chassis and interior, and all the Hubley-branded releases of this I've seen are all light blue), and I'm pretty sure it's not the Revell AG issue, because it has chrome plated parts. What's throwing me as that I always thought only the Hubley versions had metal axles, while the others had plastic ones, but this kit has the metal axles. Or did the plastic axles come along later on?

Just got one yesterday, and I have to say my only gripe is the box. I wish it were just a bit larger, so that everything wasn't crammed in there as tightly. Fortunately there was only one loose part (lower radiator hose), and no parts had been twisted or ripped off the sprues because of the cozy confines. One observation about the box art... it's very eye catching and nicely done, but did anybody else notice that the car's model year is nowhere to be found on the box? Not griping there, just wondering out loud.

Well, might be a slight change of plans. Picked up this '79 Toyota yesterday for the princely sum of three bucks, so I might need to do something with it.

The diecast vs. plastic argument in the modeling hobby is about as pointless (and dare I say idiotic?) as the steel vs. fiberglass arguement in the hot rodding hobby. A model could be made of laminated tissue paper and I'd build it if I liked the subject.

Bob- I'm leaning toward a wraparound screen, like something you'd see on a '60's speedboat. Or maybe just a flat, laid back pane like on a more conventional roadster hot rod. Haven't really decided yet- I'm probably going to hold off until its up on wheels at ride height and just sort of see what the car 'tells me it wants'. DId a little work this morning- added some blue dots to the taillights- they were some leftover photoetched discs with the centers painted transparent blue. The bumper was narrowed and sprayed in Duplicolor bumper paint, but I think I might redo that to incorporate the stock tag bracket- it just looks a bit too plain as is, and the tag would just look tacked on.

Already planning mine! What do you think... something like this... Or maybe something like this?

Nicely done! As for your picture not working, sometimes it takes a couple of tries before the picture will show up.

Yes, I probably should have amended "I'd have never noticed the discrepancy with the quarter windows" with "until I tried to fit the glass". Or "until it was too late".

1210? And people thought Morgan Robertson was amazing for 'fortelling' the disaster in 1898? You guys knew it was going to happen 702 years before the fact!

Yes, I did. I laid a piece of Scotch tape down over the center of the trunk and cowl, and cut along both sides- after cutting and cleanup it works out to roughly 14 scale inches narrower than stock.

Income tax return time! Tomorrow payment goes out for a Models By Dave daycab and custom grille for that Lonestar. Got this just because I felt sorry for the thing- it used to be an MPC Caprice... '74-ish, perhaps?

Just got a pair of these today- Firestone lettering is still present on the rear tires. Fronts have blank sidewalls, but I think they always were, or at least have been since the Max Rat issue. Now if you'll pardon me, I'm off to see how hard it is to stuff that chassis under an AMT '66 Olds 442!

Wow! Did NOT know this kit was so wonked out! I'll know what to look for when I pick one up. Fantasic job on the model-year 'downgrade' and corrections for accuracy so far (I admit I'd have likely never noticed the discrepancy with the quarter windows). Makes me want to pick one of these up and do something REALLY crazy... like build it as a standard Regal.

Turned out very well- especially the stance. The weathering on the chassis also looks very realistic. I love seeing these built- the '64 Fairlane is one of my favorite cars.

I would assume the former Firestone tire lettering is absent from this version?

A local (to me) legend by the name of EJ Potter (aka The Michigan Madman) used quite a few of these Allison engines in his exhibition drag cars and pulling tractors. Apparently there was even a W-24 variant developed during WWII. The project was scrapped when development of the planes they were intended for, but a few engines were built for testing. They were essentially two V-12's 'joined at the hip'. This is a photo of one from his autobiography- According to Wikipedia, only 150 or so of these W24s were built (compared to some 7,000 V-12s). They were designated V-3420s,V-1710 was the V12 engine depicted in the AMT kit.

Body is painted. Needs some polishing- the finish is a bit bumpy. No orange peel, just lumpy in spots. I'm trying to get away with not using any clearcoat, if at all possible. I guess we'll see what happens.

Sad, sad news.