Chuck Most

I've wondered if the wheelbase is a bit off on the kit. The Hornets did run the same wheelbase from '48 to '54, and as far as I know the body length stayed about the same as well.

Randy- that scoop is from the Monogram Tom Daniel Ice T.

Junk in the trunk? I haz it.

Dry spell is finally over! This one started out a few months ago, stalled, then I just kind of piddled with it until it got done. It's a sectioned Lindberg '53 Ford Victoria with a chopped and narrowed '60 Starliner roof, '37 Ford headlamps, and a two-tone green paint job. It also has an open trunk with a hydralic cylinder for rasing the front suspension for cruising and two former scuba tanks which now power the flamethrowers in the exhaust.

I have heard from Dave Metzner that the cut marks for the skirt will be revised on later runs of the kit. As for your build, love it. Looks 'terrible' in all the right ways!

Another rough '57 Chevy, and Mopar powered to boot! Man, you guys keep this stuff up and I might end up shedding some of my distain for '57 Chevys!

You mean, relatively speaking, right?

Right off the bat- DR. CRANKY DID THE PAINT ON THE BODY, NOT ME. I did the chassis, interior, and engine bay, but I got the body already weathered about a year ago from the Doktor himself. Funny thing is- it's been almost a year, but I've probably only got about five days total work in completing it! Again, Cranky did the body- the chassis, engine, and gut are all me.

This is really making me itch to try out that 'stripped Hudson unibody' project I've been kicking around! You could easily use something like this as the centerpiece to a really cool diorama.

I think the only people who DON'T want to see the hearse kits back ar the guys hoarding them hoping they'll climb up even further in value. I say bring 'em back!

I remember that, now that you mention it. In fact, my local shop never even stocked them until the second run (when they came in the standard-size Revell box). He said everybody who wanted one had already picked them up at Walmart, so he wasn't going to bother to stock them at the time.

Well, work on the Matador has begun! It will be a hardcore, pro-tourer! In true mid '70's up AMC tradition, it will employ parts from some of the other 'Big Four' manufacturers. First off... a '98 Corvette chassis.... I had to stretch the Vette chassis 9 scale inches to match the Matador's wheelbase, and it will need to be widened and have some length added to the rear overhang, but the wheelbase is now right-on, and since the Vette already has an up-to-date 4-wheel independent front suspension and disc brakes, won't need to try and adapt those to a stock chassis. From here we'll fill in the blanks. I will be retaining the rear transaxle, but the engine will be from Chrysler- in this case, a Viper V-10, with the chassis reworked a bit to fit the Dodge mill. See? Using parts from the other American manufacturers, just as AMC itself did for many years. And THATS my plan B for this one!

There is sweet, and there is BEYOND sweet. This one fits well within the second category.

The only reason I'm not in there as much now is, well, nobody else is in there as much now...

Plugged away on a few projects, and got most of an interior done for the '53 Ford from last week-

You do know the guy in the middle is out of his element, right?

Exactly. You've probably seen them- it's just a plate with a rudimentary oil pan and trans molded to it that glues in place of the engine. The Model King '71 Thunderbird and the AMT '64 Ford Galaxie came with one.

I've heard that people are actually less likely to buy a hybrid car that doesn't 'look like' a hybrid car. You can buy, say, a Ford Fusion hybrid that looks just like a standard Fusion except for the Hybrid badging, but people would rather have the Prius just because it has the shapeless hybrid look. I guess buying such a car is more about making a statement than actually helping the environment for some people.

Ah, untreated nekkid steel! I've been thinking of doing a project 'finished' this way. I do have access to steel shavings from a brake lathe, now that I think of it!

Yeah, that was an unintentional pun, but when I realized it was there I left it in. So fitting, isn't it? And Rick- mention one instance in history when Chevy WASN'T behind the curve?

That is perhaps my #1 gripe with Jo-Han kits (the second being glass so thick it could seemingly withstand a direct hit from a 12-gauge) is the shallow interor tubs. If it would be at all possible to tool up new, better detailed tubs, perhaps even with separate seats and consoles where applicable, that would be a huge plus in my book, and would no doubt tempt me to buy more from them than if they were straight repops with the original, shallow tubs. Keep the dashes, though- Jo-Han dashes were just as good as anything from the period, and still hold up well today. I'd still be very interested with the original shallow tubs, or no tub at all, but I guess we'll see what the market will bear out. I'd be all for a Stude kit or ten. I hope that infamous list Moebius has had a Bullet Nose on it- if the Hudson and Chrysler do well, maybe that will be their next project... I'd be happy just to have the Lark back (out of scale or not), and if they could expand or create tooling for other variants, so much the better. I'd really love to have a Champ pickup, as I've all but given up on ever finding a Premiere kit in workable condition for a less-than-stroke-inducing price.

Check the timestamp.... they did when the post was written, in 2007.

Interesting story, and once again, Junkman has me in stitches. The one thing I don't like about the current crop of electric cars (besides the price)? It's so easy for me to picture one wedged under the bumper of my F-250. And I know its an electric car- but does that mean they have to be so revoltingly styled?

Krylon primer and BIN are very good blockers as well. Floquil also makes (or made at one time...?) a product called 'Barrier'. It went on clear, and looked like it wouldn't block anything, but it worked very well! Oh- Yellow plastic is made by His Unholiness as well.

Oh, yeah- Dean guitars is still around. They have a series of Dave Mustaine guitars out now. The one I lust after is this one, but it's out of my budget at the moment- http://www.deanguita...staineGW409.jpg According to legend, Dave Mustaine actually came pretty close to buying Dean many years ago. Dean also put out a series of Dimebag guitars and amps quite a while ago- missed the boat on those, now they fetch some pretty handsome prices.