Chuck Most

I keep seeing this Gremlin kit, but every time I do, I'm really thinking of the '68 AMX GT concept car... Trouble is, where am I supposed to find a junker AMX body to use for the doghouse and front bumper?

There are a handful of Ford GT-40 parts in the kit (the engine is a Ford FE), I'm not sure what they based it from. I've never built it, but I've had a few of the kits- most of what's in the box has a kind of 'patched together' look. The parts I did use went together well, but I couldn't say how well the entire kit builds.

Uh-oh... now it's not a secret!

That is either one giant squirrell, or that is a tiny little car. My head aches...

Generally speaking, absolutely. Not too many fleets want to pony up the bucks for a Lonestar- that's a big-ticked, owner-operator rig. Even though it can be had with a lot of different paint/trim options, there are a LOT more possibilities for the Prostar. Speaking of possibilities- wouldn't it be nice to have a Durastar? Jada does one as a wrecker in 1:24, but who wouldn't love one of those in kit form? You can find pretty much any body imaginable on the back of a Durastar.

The tub was the T-Bolt kit's one big downfall, I've often wondered what was up with that myself. It's like they ran out of money by the time they got around to doing the interior, or something. Other than that it's up to snuff, though.

Everything from the original T-Bolt is still there.

I think it's been more than ten years since AMT has produced a new tool of a muscle car kit (aside from the Camaro Concept and the curbside Challengers), but as far as reissues go I'd have to say the '66 Fairlanes and '67 Mercury Comets are my favorites.

That thumping sound is me smaking my forehead.

Nice.

They don't, AND they don't fall into the 'Revell' category, either.

Obviously Cat did change their minds on the design, if you look at early 'supposed' photos of the truck. And there's still talk of a Cat highway tractor, as well...

For starters. I'm sure there are differences inside, and I won't even speculate on mechanical differences.

You HAD to bring up the Cat trucks, didn't ya? I'd be up for one of those, or even an aftermarket transkit for the Lonestar. That is, if I don't try making my own first.

Nice! You had me at 'International', but the cabin on the back is just sweet.

Models like this make me wonder why I even bother! Every inch of this one is just stunning.

Hands down, IMHO, the '72 Cutlass. Any gripes about it I have would fall in to the realm of petty nit-picking, but I will say I'd love them to introduce a formal hardtop variant... the sooner the better!

Yep. I think that option bit the dust when they retooled it in the mid '90's to restore it back to a stock version.

The intake would be gone for sure- the intake on the 3-valve Mod motors is plastic. At least the upper plenum, anyway.

I keep going back to those pics- they look like period photos of the 1:1 truck from an issue of Overdrive, or something.

The fenders are the weakest part of the kit- they're a bit too round in front, and just plain way off in back. You CAN graft on the better looking front fenders from the AMT '53 Trophy Series, you'll need to rework the '53 hood (which also looks better) quite a bit as well. Since the hood emblems are separate, you can use them on the AMT hood. The rear fenders are pretty much a simple matter of subsituting the AMT parts for the Revell parts. Not the easiest swap in the world overall, but the resulting model will look a lot better. The roof on this has never looked right to me, either- especially the big back window version. But fixing the fenders goes a long way to improving the look.

Forgive me if what I'm about to say comes off as a bit 'dorky', but here goes... When I see a car, be it a clapped-out old junker I pass on the freeway, or some old long-lost hulk that's been sitting so long in one spot it looks like it has always been there, It always gets my imagination reeling. How did the front fender get dinged in like that? Why is the driver's side rear door a different color than the other panels on the car? What kind of person owned it? And in the case of the last example, how did it end up where it is today? Weathering a model immediately gives the vehicle a history, a backstory. You can make up a back story for it, or let the viewer draw their own conclusions. It becomes really interesting when the model is set in a diorama setting (though that's a whole 'nother can of worms). If you built, say, a Monogram '50 Ford F-1 in an overgrown, wooded area, its hood slightly ajar and some scattered engine parts laying on the fender, for example- it will get the viewer of the scene thinking "What happened? How did that truck end up there?" You might even picture the frustrated old farmer who owned it, throwing up his arms and cursing, giving up on whatever 'field repair' he was attempting, and just leaving there to sit. To me, that's the kind of stuff that really makes a weathered model interesting. The fact they're loads of fun to build is just icing on the cake.

The key thing is a VERY careful and gentle touch when taking the paint off the raised lettering. Sometimes just polishing the paint lightly in that area will do the trick as well.

Of all the models I've built with a weathered finish, I think this one is my favorite- I was going for a 'barn find plopped on a later model chassis' look for this '26 Mack. Just a worn but still mostly well preserved truck, still wearing its original work clothes.

Given that car's lineage, it could be worth millions as is. Still, it is at least a little bit comforting the car still exists in the first place.