Chuck Most

This one is still pliable- not as soft as it was before, obviously, but still has some 'give' in the material.

I have no idea what happened. I'm not sure if they are AMT or repops from the Orange Blossom puller truck kit, but I had them in mind for a particular project. When I went and got them out of the container ( I keep my loose tires in clear plastic bins for fishing lures), I IMMEDIATELY noticed the discrepancy! The larger one still fits the Orange Blossom rear wheels, but the one that shrunk is hopeless... it might make a decent 1:32 tire now.

Ahem... Not a thing wrong with Vegas or Pintos, but there is another reviled '70's American subcompact which was kitted and hasn't been seen in years... And lets not forget AMC's other oddball- the Pacer, which was kitted by both AMT and MPC and, again, hasn't seen the light of day in decades.

A year ago, these tires were the same size. Now, well...

I'm telling you... slim it down to TWO categories... Finished and Not Finished.

Wouldn't vintage parts make it a traditional rod, not a rat? (Well I guess that's not to say you couldn't build a rat rod with vintage parts, but still...) I think regarding the whole hot rod/street rod/traditional rod/rat rod labeling system? I think it has more to do with the owner's mindset than anything about the car. You might see an otherwise crusty tradtional rod or street rod, but its reffered to as a rat rod simply because that's how the owner defines it.

I've used Diamond Dust in the past (I've used every color in the One Coat line at some point or another) and have never had it come out textured like that. Sometimes it comes out a little bumpy in spots, but it is usually minimal enough for clearing it and polishing to solve the problem.

Latest installment- I hooked up a '60 Chevy radiator, fitted out the interior, and made up a fuel tank with brass tubing, styrene, and solder. Inching ever closer...

No, you were right the first time- one figure, molded in halves. It can also be made into a fairly decent stand-in for a '32 Chevy pickup. I've been working on two of these kits today, working toward a somewhat similar outcome. All I'll say for now is stay tuned.

Not quite... MPC was the responsible party.

Well, not halves, no. Those are the wheels for the coffin trailer.

Compared to the 2002-vintage RC2 AMT/Ertl reissue, there are a few differences. First of all, Round 2 has restored the kit to the MPC brand, and the new box art is a near duplcate of the original issue kit. It is also sold in the sturdy, double-fold box Round 2 has become known for. And speaking of things Round 2 has become known for, yes, you get a small cut and fold copy of the box, and an MPC logo sticker. Compared to the 2002 Street Customs reissue, this one seems to be molded a LOT better. The AMT reissue had quite a few bad ejector pin marks in the chromed side and rear steps- these are gone from this new reissue. It is also molded in the customary snow-white plastic, not the greasy looking light grey stuff RC2 liked to use. Of course there is some flash, but nothing to horrifiying for a 45 year old kit. The AMT reissue had quite a few warped parts- I'll have to check and see if this reissue suffers from that ailment as badly as the earlier reissue. The new M&H slicks are nice. They are hollow, and molded in a VERY soft vinyl. The tire size is cast into both sidewalls, while the M&H Racemaster lettering is cast into one sidewall and pad-printed on the other. Look past the bodywork and you have most of the main ingredients to build a '32 Chevy based hot rod- a mostly complete '32 Chevy chassis and a decent blown Small Block Chevy. The kit also has sweet five-spoke wheels and some nicely-done 'hairpin' radius arms with drilled reinforcement webs. I'll probably raid this one for parts, but I'm toying with the idea of doing one out of box and parking it next to a Munster Coach and Dragula. Even though there never was a 1:1 Vampire Van, it would look right at home among such company.

Okay, David. Thanks for the clarification.

Okay.... a '58 Thunderbird with all the trim and scripts shaved, shaved door handles, spot lights, Lake pipes, wheel covers that obviously aren't stock, lowered several inches and obviously wearing a custom paint job is not a custom? Sorry bud, that ain't a stock T-Bird with a paint job.

One more for today... dug up some Winston Cup 'truck arms' to use as front axle radius arms-

Today's efforts- might hook up a couple turbos feeding into the dual Potvin superchargers just to keep the 'Insane Meter' pegged in the red, but might just make up some elbows and run straight pipes.

Well "Villager Mercury" if read left-to-right. But yes, that's a Mercury Villager banner in the background.

Not if that puppy is laid out on the rockers. You know, because its unseen airbag suspension setup is 'aired out'.

Those louvers wouldn't happen to be scale railroad stairs, would they?

Here we go! The influx of Gremmies is upon us.

Yes, absolutely. BUT- a Raider's Coach could be entered into a Rod/Custom category, or a 'Show Car' category if applicable. Even if built box stock, it could win its class even being totally OOB, simply because... well, when was the last time you saw a Raiders Coach built in any style entered in a contest?

Exactly. The one with the wild paint job might get noticed first, but the main thing is, will it deliver upon closer inspection?

Oh, I have no intention of doing an exact replica of the concept... just putting my own spin on the design.

Normally not fond of Maroon, but man, does it look sweet on your Merc.

I've been to a few shows with a Hot Rods/Street Rods category, and you see quite a few of Revell's '32 Fords entered in that class. Sure, many have been modified by kitbashing or modifcations, but more than a handful are built straight from the box as Revell intended. No one disputes they are hot rod models. But that brings in what Bob Turner mentioned a few posts ago... all else being equal, do the strictly-OOB models stand any chance against the modified models? Well, picking a winner is far from a scientific process from what I've observed. I've seen it go both ways- sometimes a box-stocker will bring home the award, other times the highly modified kit will be the winner. At the contest level, pretty much all the models are 'nice', but sometimes it's purely a matter of personal taste (and yes, perhaps even personal issues with a judge on the panel and the builder) which determines who takes home the trophy. That highly reworked Deuce 3-window with hundreds of machined parts and thousands of hours invested in the build might be a fine model, but perhaps the builder built it in an unusual style, or maybe just painted it in a somewhat strange color. The resulting model just might not 'click' as far as aesthetics go, and in that case, the upper hand would go to a box-stock model of the same car, done to a more 'acceptable' style.