Chuck Most

Oh- the '98 Mercury I posted a while back is now dead- 13 years and 320,000 miles on the clock. I got my money's worth out of that one!

AMT '63 Impala is the same way. Personally though, I'd rather have the hood be a touch too small- paint tolernace is in check, and if it's TOO small, adding a bit of material to the edges isn't a big deal.

Twenty Two Years old Had a few too many Champaris one night and wrapped himself around a telephone pole

Loving that Comet- it's making me think of re-rebuilding the '62 Fairlane in my stash.

You are either talking about Thursday night at my Uncle Kevin's place, or the beginning of what looks like it will be a very off-the-wall, very cool Merc build!

I 'bumped' into him on Facebook a while back, he's a member of a couple of FB modeling groups.

Don't worry- I've got just such a creation in mind. Just want to get the more complicated build out of the way first!

Really cool- there are about two dozen jeeps just like this one around my area.

Shaping up very nicely.

Oh, I've got a Corvair-based truck or two in the works as well. Stay tuned...

Great job, Bernard, on the model, and getting every last ounce out of that double kit!

I'm thinking of getting some aluminum '99 Super Duty wheels, so I can use some Maisto wheels from the die cast kit on my proposed model!

Just took the wheel covers off my '94 F-250. Nobody makes the covers in 1:25, so maybe it will be easier to model!

I’ve had an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while now. I’ve always liked the ‘atomic bug’ front end on the ’61 Plymouth, and I’ve always wondered how it would look paired up with the tall bat fins off the ’60 model. I always thought such a vehicle painted flat black and de-chromed would have made a fantastic Batmobile! And I’ve been toying with the idea of building a late ‘50’s/early 60’s Ranchero-style car/pickup based on a Mopar, since Chrysler themselves didn’t get with that little program in this country until the early ‘80’s. A while back I built a Promolite 2000 ’61 Fury, and I was working on a second one when I copped an epic bone-up and ruined the body. I felt like a total clod messing up such a nice kit, but decided I was going to make something good out of the mistake. Now I had the ’61 stuff I needed, and I figured- why not try all three ideas on one model- ’61 front end on ’60 body, and make it a pickup? A couple of days ago I got a glue-bombed Jo-Han ’60 wagon. NOW the fun could start! The kit was immediately disassembled and dunked in the Barney Bath. The ’61 turned out to be a bit wider than the ’60 body, although it matched up perfectly at the base of the windshield. Well, as close to perfectly as one could hope, anyway. To make the fenders meet flush with the doors, I slit them under the side trim and pushed them in, then glued them flush against the doors. Now I have a use for the ’61 nose, and the swap meant no repair was necessary to the broken ’60 cowl. I’m not sure if I will leave the hood sealed or not on this one. So far I have not removed the b-posts, but I have rescribed the door lines from a 4 door to a 2 door. Not sure exactly how this will turn out, but it should be fun!

And just to make things interesting, I'm even thinking of giving the camper a lift-off top and a fully furnished interior.

2004-ish, If I'm not mistaken. Celery green car on the top, and its on that dark red background a lot of the Wal-Mart AMT box art had.

Did a little work on the Plymouth- it's got the 'atomic bug' front end off the '61 model, the big bat fins from the '60 wagon, and it will eventually (I'm planning) be an Elco-Chero type 'car/pickup'.

MPC used to sell some of its kits with a vial of clear 'browninsh' paint which, when brushed over chrome, gave the appearance of brass. I've never tried any other paint that got me better results, but good luck finding a usable pot of that MPC paint today!

Nothing past model year 2001 as far as Explorers go (technically the AMT kit is a '96, but the body style carried over until '01.) and nothing at all Merc-SUV in plastic, the 1:18 diecast Terry just posted is the closest thing available.

That one was in the lineup not to long ago. It had the body tub/interior/frame, and quite a few other leftover bits from the original-tool Ala Kart kit. Great parts box filler!

Duplicolor and Plastikote both made a three-step color shift paint- it was sold as primer, color coat, and clear. Advance sold one, and Auto Zone sold the other. Always liked those, but I can't find them anymore. Walmart used to sell Shimrin-brand paints which were available in many color-shift hues, but I think those went away around the same time they stopped stocking model kits. Haven't set foot in a Walmart in about four years, so I couldn't tell you for sure what they have nowadays.

And I also hope the guys who don't like full-detail kits see it as well. You don't need a 300-piece kit to make an impressive model. A good, clean build and good detailing are all it takes. Fantastic Buick, Erik!

Well, ya got 'em started, now you've got to keep the momentum going!

At today's rates, that'd be... what, fifteen grand or so in shipping. Yikes.

The newer issues of the '29 Model A roadster by AMT still include a bunch of Ala Kart parts. Some are used in the hot rod version, but a few are just 'parts box filler'.