Chuck Most

Have no fear, Nick- the '57 will have an ungodly cowcatcher of a front bumper by the time it's all done!

What I've been working on today, and possibly will continue working on into the evening. Except the Rat Wrecker, that's finished! Had to make a few repairs to my Rat Wrecker Rig- reglue the driver's mirror, replace a missing passenger mirror, and reattach the hook and chain to the boom. Started a '57 IH wrecker a couple of days ago, and I like where its going. (Note- Ed Shaver built the boom, the rest is my doing.) TRYING to get back into my rat rod groove... ... so I've got some inspiration up on the wall where my parts should be!

Yep, love Gearz! What I meant was I actually LIKED the program Trucks when he hosted it!

Ed- Thanks! That's the first non-gasser, non-hot rod, totally factory stock Willys I've ever seen, in 1:1 or model form!

Huh... I've never seen an "American Racing" or "Cragar" Licenced Product blurb on ANY kit boxes I've ever laid eyes on. Then again... I have seen a few kits with no sidewall lettering on the tires at all, yet there was still a "Goodyear" or "Firestone" licenced product blurb on them. What's up with THAT?

I've had hit/miss results with both painting molded letters and using decals, but Shabo dry transfers have NEVER let me down.

I do see the corporate side, but I also see your side (and the side most modelers see)- Firestone logos (for example) on a model kit basically amounts to free advertising for the 1:1 tire. Licensing and liability issues aside. Isn't that pretty much how the model car hobby began in the first place, promotional models to promote the 1:1 product? But I guess the times have changed.

Oh, yeah- the Dodge L-700 can be a fussy kit to put together. First one I ever built I stretched the frame, and used the trailer platform on the truck itself. I did manage to get the cab to tilt and the doors to open, though! The other one I did was box stock and built as a beater Certainly buildable, but the AMT C-600 is a bit more pleasant in the building process!

I'm wondering the same thing. It would seem to me using the 500 body on the Revell chassis/interiour would be the way to go. Or, couldn't you just use the front fenders/etc. from the '69 Revell kit on the Daytona body? You'd still need to scare up a '68 Coronet grille for it, but the MPC/AMT Charger 500 could easily cough that up. Or are there some slight differences in size between the bodies that would make using the MPC body on the Revell running gear impractical?

WORST R&R kit I have built was the '67 Galaxie. Wheelbase was all wrong, chassis and interior tub needed a LOT of trimming to get the chassis plate up into the body, and no underhood detail to speak off (not a big deal, as I built this one curbside). This one didn't need any reshaping or body repair (except for a self-induced issue with the rear quarter panel after the first primer coat), but be advised, some of them don't fall together as easily as others!

Nice, ah... "upper bodyware", Mike!

Oh, lord... now he's gonna say he still believes in Santa! Dave, can we at least agree it has no apostrophe?

Yep, as in "Bruce..." or "What you talkin' 'bout..." Just ask any of the descendents of John North Willys and they'll tell ya!

I've heard the agencies loved the FWD cars... right up until the bill arrived for the first front end job on one. Is it just me, or does the new Caprice resemble an overgrown Cobalt?

I agree, Ryan! Alyn's '40 is just on the edge of not being a 'rat'! Almost just a touch too 'nice'.

Most of the Michigan State Trooper Tahoes are set up that way, too. They only come on with the roof flasher, though. Never see 'em till they hit the big red gumball on the roof and by then it's too late!

I'd just like to see a few sprue shots, and comments on how well it builds, if you've built it. What the heck- post some finished pics if you have some. Thanks!

Gorgeous! Just all around gorgeous!

Jersey Shore? Uhg... watched that once. First thing I wanted to do after seeing it was run outside and kill the first living thing I laid eyes upon...

Considering the cost of tooling (tooling for a full detail kit nowadays runs, what, about $200k?) against the current cost of scrap metal prices, I doubt they'd scrap the tooling after such a limited run, especially when it appears the kits did not sell well. If they broke even or took a slight loss, I'm fairly sure we'll see a second run, if only so Jada can make something off its investment. Odds are we'll see them again, only a question of when and by what manufacturer. Then again, maybe Jada's execs looked at the numbers, thought "Well, my, my... we kind of got hosed on that deal!" and opted out of the plastic kit biz forever. Still, I'd think selling the tooling would be a better option than scrapping. Not an expert on the ins and outs of such things, but from where I sit, I'm fairly convinced the tooling is still out there, awating a date with the injection molding machine.

Don't worry Jim, Rustfather got banned from this site months ago! I do have a Ram 50 kit lying around somewhere, I might be able to squeak into this one.

How's about building a McMullen clone in 1:8th scale?

A few of my older rats... '27 T Phaeton The infamous "F-Bucket" Ze Pink Panzer The "Puddle Jumper" '40 Ford Coupe