Chuck Most

I've been watching her show for about two years. I still don't know how to turn on my oven.

Cool! What kind of paint is that- it looks like re-entry into the atmosphere didn't phase it one bit.

I like it. Has a very Olde English feel to it.

First time I saw a photo of the Big Drag Challenger kit, first thing I thought was 'how fitting'...

Here is how I see it... You can take apart a 1:1 '32 Ford and rebuild it as a hot rod, and nobody will dispute that the end result is a hot rod. But, if you take apart a factory-assembled die cast car and rebuild it, suddenly a dispute comes up in certain circles that it somehow isn't a model. I don't see the difference, really. It's a lot like the 'steel vs. fiberglass' arguement in the 1:1 rodding scene... again, who cares what material it's made from? Somebody built the thing. But because one has a body made from a material that isn't accepted by a somewhat small but VERY vocal segment of the hobby, you run the risk of being shunned. When you think about it, fiberglass reproduction bodies and parts kept the hot rodding hobby alive during a few lean stretches- I think if more people accepted starting out with diecasts in scale modeling, the hobby would be stronger and more diverse. As far as some diecasts not starting out in kit form... I don't see the validity in that arguement, either. Promos came from the factory fully assembled, and I've seen quite a few very killer models built from dissassembled and rebuilt promos. Quite a few resin kits you can buy are basically reproductions of promos, sold in kit form. In both cases, no one questions the.... legitimacy, I suppose you could say, of the finished product. Such activity only seems to be viewed in a negative light when the subject starts out as a diecast body model. One other thing I've noticed- there seems to be quite a bit of apathy toward snap kits, as well. Those are plastic too, right? Again, I don't see the point. Sure, the majority of them don't have an engine, but neither do a lot of the high-end Japanese curbside kits, and the diehards among us swoon over those. If you want a late '70's Coupe De Ville, a '75 Cutlass Supreme, a late '90's Dodge Ram 2500/3500, or an '88-00 C-series GM dually, a snap kit is your only choice. If you're so inclined, you can kitbash any one of these with a common full-detail kit, but a sizable number in the modeling community overlook them simply because of the skill level number printed on the box.

I suppose the shed kit would be a better anaology now that you mention it. I don't always agree with the kit itself being anything interesting, though- when the kit is unbuilt, yes, there's an appreciation for the work that went into it, and perhaps even some historical value if it's an old or long-gone kit. But to me, a kit really doesn't become anything interesting until somebody takes the time and skill to built it into something. Sure, an unbuilt kit may have some intristic value to some, but just sitting there in a box it's just a bunch of plastic castings, no more special or noteworthy than the thousands of others churned off the assembly line the same day. I think for me it's more of a symbolic thing. A kit is meant to be built. By buying a kit with no intention of ever building it, (and I can think of at least three guys in my somewhat sparsely-populated are who do exactly that, though I will concede that they are in the minority) you're depriving it of its purpose. Yes, I think some kits should be preserved in unbuilt condition for historical reasons, but for the most part, if I get a kit, it's getting built, period. (Diecast or not! ) And I know in most cases building the kit kills its value, but I'm a modeler, not an investor.

The collector thing might have quite a bit to do with it, now that you mention it. Still- I know quite a few guys who collect unbuilt plastic kits. That's another thing I don't understand- to me buying a kit with no intention to build it is like buying 2x4s, sheets of plywood, siding, and shingles and just letting them sit on a shelf in the garage instead of using them to build a shed.

All it needs is an apostrophe between the D and O. Danno? What's your favorite car of all time? I think I'm gonna build a General Lee version of whatever it is.

Toyish- no, not those particular examples! I think the majority of those aren't exactly 'project fodder', though, due to price. I don't know about many of you, but I'm not about to take a very nicely done model that retails for about a bill and a half (or more), then blow it apart and rebuild it! You can find good deals on them- sometimes something as simple as the orignal box being missing amounts to a 50% discount. (That's how I got my Franklin Mint '39 Ford Convertible model... which is VERY nice, by the way!) The more 'bargain priced' stuff is toylike, though, but even those are getting better. Heck- Kinsmart makes quite a few diecast pull-back toys ('98 Ford Police Interceptor, Dodge Caliber, and a Lincoln Stretch limo) that actually appear to be pretty accurate as far as body details and proportions go, and they can be had for right around five bucks. I'm well aware of the resin section, but it seems that section serves reviews of resin pieces more than anything. (And some very heated debates every so often.) I'm thinking the OP was suggesting having the diecast section as something more like the trucks section- where WIPS and completed models are displayed in the same sub-forum. Again, I don't see why they need to be 'quarantined' from other models with different body materials. Speaking of... I always wondered why there was a separate resin section, but nothing for photoetch or decals. Wouldn't having an 'Aftermarket' section be more useful, than just highlighting one particular medium used? I don't think having separate categories simply because the body or parts of a model aren't made from styrene plastic serves any real purpose. As far as the 'diecast aren't models' crowd goes- I don't get it either. What I really don't get is the 'styrene or bust' attitude... and then the guys with that mindset have no issues at all using resin, photoetch, machined metal, and other 'NOT-styrene' parts on their plastic kits. Besides... ALL of the diecast models and kits I have in my possession at the moment are largely plastic anyway... the interiors, chassis, engines, wheels, bumpers, etc, are all plastic... it seems even on a diecast, diecast itself is the least-dominant material in the whole works! If you are willing to use metal and resin parts on a plastic kit to build what you want, how is a mostly plastic kit that just so happens to have a diecast body any different?

Al has a busy work schedule, and he has to be away from home quite a bit. Patience is key sometimes. Haven't tried calling him yet, but if Frank says it worked for him it's worth a shot.

The Rambler suffers from that gigantic hole in the block- to me that's the worst offense on that particular engine. Sure, you can patch them shut, or just cross your fingers and hope the inner fenders and exhaust manifolds help to obscure them. Heck, I've done it myself... That's the SC/Rambler engine in a '53 Hornet. (By the way, that's not the kit air cleaner- I dug it out of my parts box, and the decal is a spare from a Fred Cady SC/Rambler sheet). Me? I'd still have to go with the Monogram Jeep CJ-7 piece- it's probably the best example of the second-gen AMC V8 in scale. The only deal-breaker (for some) is that it's 1:24 scale. That and you'd need to do something about replacing the transfer case with a proper 2wd tailshaft. The Revell Jeep J-10 engine (done in 1:25) isn't as nice as the Monogram engine, but still passable, though that kit isn't quite as easy to track down as the CJ kit. I suppose it would all boil down to how much work you wanted to invest into the finished model, and how dead-nuts accurate and realistic you wanted it to be in the end.

Why have a separate section for diecast? I'm of the 'don't care what material the body is made from' school of thought. Styrene plastic and resin are already accepted, I don't see why so many people still have a negative opinion of diecast metal models and kits, other than the fact the majority of diecasts are a bit 'toyish' as far as detail and proportions go- but even that is changing. I don't see why diecasts need to be put into their own separate bubble and confined from styrene and resin- that would (to me at least) only send a message reinforcing the idea that diecasts somehow 'aren't worthy' enough to be mentioned in the same breath as the other two mediums, regardless of scale. There are all kinds of worthy modeling subjects the plastic kit makers and resin casters (so far) haven't touched which are readily available in diecasts, in all kinds of different scales. Though I think the scale thing might be a whole 'nother can of worms.

Ditto. Either version would be cool for a model project though. I think Hot Rod or Hot Rod Deluxe did a full feature on this car a few years back- lots of cool chassis and engine shots in it. I'll have to dig around and see if I still have it.

And it was produced by Dino De Laurentiis. His granddaughter has a show on Food Network, or so I hear.

One of the cinemetographers literally lost an eye during a mishap shooting the runaway lawnmower scene.

I'm out. I'm done. Until I get a few more weathering supplies, that is.

John Carpenter did the movie- Stephen King wrote the novel the movie was based upon.

Photoetched cylinder fins would be VERY cool... and oh-so-fiddly to put together!

Probably not. The Car came out in 1977, and the Christine novel came out in 1978, and King has said he started work on the novel when he was still a sports writer in the early '70's. EDIT! The novel came out in 1983, the STORY in the novel takes place in 1978.

Barris is mostly regarded with the "Super Persuit" and convertible versions from the final season, the Knight 2000 car was designed by a guy named Michael Scheffe.

The resin kit is long gone- so's the company that cast it as far as I know. The car was based on a '71 Lincoln Continental MK III, and there's not kit of that either, so you couldn't go that route. All I can say is keep scouring the online classifieds... or make your own. If you're into such things, Ertl did a diecast of it in 1:18, too.

Well... $30 plus shipping, not too shabby for something 'pro built', I'd say. Could you even find this kit for that much?

I think mine will end up with a cut down '66 Nova pro street chassis, and a Mustang II front suspension. For some reason, this thing just seems like the perfect starting point for a drag car.

From what I remember all of the JoHan AMC V8s are the first-gen style, even the ones in the SC/Rambler and AMX. All they did was tool up a few new top end pieces to disguise the old engine as the second-gen AMC unit. That, and there's that big, flippin', 3/16" or so hole in the block.