Chuck Most

She's cool with me putting a straggling kitten back on the pile. 🤣 She's honestly more relaxed than normal the last couple days. She was with the kittens a solid 24 hours in one sitting, before she headed outside to "take care of some business".

There are actually five! Four black and gray ones plus the oddball orange and white one. 🤣 I now have a cat bed set up in there, along with food and water for mom.

Can't see the third one but it looks like the gray one. They're so loud for something so small. 🤣

Patty had her kittens about 8am this morning. I'd post a pic but she had them in a 4" gap behind a cabinet so I can't really see them right now, but I can definitely hear them. Mom and the babies seem to be doing A-OK.

Just plain old Testors Electric Pink.

It was mid August of 1985, and Frank and Rose Kearney walked into Brandall Dodge in Sickles, Michigan. They had their end of a bargain to hold up. When their oldest son Scott turned 16, he was given a junker '68 Ford F250. He was told if he managed to keep it on the road, didn't blow it up or wreck it, he'd be getting a new car after graduation. Scott, who'd landed a job with Wheels Magazine and had subsequently basically rebuilt the truck from this in 1983... ...To this in 1985... ...had obviously held up his end. And so it was that Scott became the proud owner of a brand new 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z. Originally red, it wasn't long before Scott decided to really make it his own. Wheels Magazine hadn't done a "customize a brand new car" thing in quite a while, and so it was that Scott set to work on the Daytona. As it turned out, he never submitted an article about anything he did to the car, but he still had fun. Scott didn't document anything he did to the car for the magazine, the only time the Daytona was ever printed in Wheels was for an article on dynos for front wheel drive applications, before he'd started modifying it. It also appeared on the cover of the March 1987 issue as part of the "Modern Muscle Machinery" issue (along with a Mustang GT and a GNX), though the car itself wasn't featured. Scott added custom wheels, low profile tires, and a custom louvered hood. He also lowered the car and shaved the side markers and door handles. More than satisfied with the car's factory performance, Scott was happy to more or less leave the rest of the car alone. The metallic pink color was actually his girlfriend Kelli's idea. His younger sister Hannah had similar feelings. Originally the car was left in the factory red, but a hail storm when the car was barely a year old led to a complete repaint. Scott used the Daytona as his main mode of transportation. He used it on his honeymoon with Kelli in 1990 (during which they drove it to the Daytona 500, four days after tying the knot. He used it right up until April of 1993, when it was totaled in a collision at an intersection. It was replaced with a Stealth R/T which remained stock during Scott's ownership. The model is the MPC 1986 Daytona kit, and aside from the tires (from an RC2 reissue of the Monkees Mobile) and the custom hood from an '88 with the '86 front edge grafted on, it's out of the box. Needs a little touch up with the blackout paint here and there. I did use the '88 dash and manual shifter, but I didn't change the '86 transaxle. Honestly I can't tell the difference and I'd imagine 95% of the people who see the kit parts won't either. 🤣

Maybe you saw the truck in it's previous form. If not, here it is... Now for part 2... On the last day of his sophomore year of school, 16 year old Scott Kearney landed a job with Wheels Magazine. No, not the well known Australian publication. This was an independent, regional rag published in Saginaw Michigan beginning in 1954. It was basically a do it yourself type magazine, and also went into coverage of new vehicles and auto related events. Scott, with his mullet and jean vest covered in NWOBHM band logos, was originally hired to be the errand boy around the office and property. But Wheels Magazine publisher/editor-in-chief Bill Lopez happened to be friends with Scott's English teacher, Mark Sullivan. Mark told Bill that Scott was actually an extremely talented writer. So it wasn't long before Scott was promoted to a contributor. Naturally, his F250 became the guinea pig for his technical articles. The December 1983 issue saw the F250 as the subject of "Budget Bodywork for Beginners", which saw the truck get some dents and rust addressed, and a rust free southwestern 8' Styleside bed to replace the service box. Scott outlined a few beginner's mistakes he made, as well as how he fixed or worked around those mistakes. His off-kilter sense of humor also shone through in his writing. The article went over well, guaranteeing the return of Scott and his (now primer gray) pickup. March of 1984 brought "Tunes For Tightwads", in which the truck got a new, budget oriented sound system. "The Lowered Above" ran in April, and this saw the installation of a lowering kit, along with swapping out the 3/4 ton running gear for 1/2 ton components. Obviously, the suspension was also rebuilt during this time, and that was chronicled in the May issue article "Whole Lotta Shakin' (No Longer) Going On". The June 1984 issue was the special "Six Education", focusing on six cylinder power. Splashed across the cover were a brand new Buick Grand National and a modified 1978 Regal Turbo. This issue contained "Not The 302 You Expected", where the '68's 240 was rebuilt with a .020" overbore and a 300 rotating assembly, netting 302 cubic inches. The engine was rebuilt to 300 specs, tested, and then fitted with a Clifford intake and tested again. Scott wrote: "The sixty additional cubic inches immediately made their presence known, not just in terms of power but sound. It just plain sounds more aggressive, even at idle. You can check the table to the right for the hard data, but from a pure "seat of the pants" point of view, the difference is night and day." He concluded with: "Although this 302 will probably never beat a 302 V8 in a drag race, you can't tow a tandem car hauler with a Mustang, and it makes driving the pickup a much more energetic experience on the whole." What wasn't visible in the black and white photos was the engine's new hue, definitely not the original Ford blue. A sign of things to come. After that, the August 1984 issue brought "On The Floor... NOW". This saw the 3 on the tree swapped out in favor of a four speed. And the September issue saw "Interior Motives", where Scott went through the interior upgrades, including the use of 1972 XLT Ranger door panels, a new bench seat, and detailing with paint and upholstery. The last big show for the truck came in the January 1985 issue. "Budget Bodywork for Beginners: Custom Edition" followed the same idea as the bodywork article, only geared more towards adding your own custom touches. Under the guidance of Ike Johnson of Harvest Moon Customs, the '68 got the most up to date street machine look for '85... Bright pastel monochrome with a few tasteful geometric shapes and squiggles for good measure. Scott got some minor flak for keeping the elephant ear mirrors, but since he intended to use the truck for actual truck stuff, he chose to retain them. By the time Scott graduated, he looked a little different than he had at the beginning of his career at Wheels Magazine. For one, his mullet had grown into a wild blonde Ride The Lightning era James Hetfield mane. And his jean vest sometimes stayed home in favor of a black leather jacket. But his truck had undergone an even more drastic transformation. And remember that wager Scott had with his dad? Not only had Scott kept the '68 running, he (with the help of his cohorts at Wheels and a couple of sponsors) had more or less completely rebuilt it into a new truck. That meant Scott was getting a new car for graduation. He ended up with a brand new 1985 Dodge Daytona, courtesy of his parents Frank and Rose. But... Maybe we'll get to that some other time. For the time being, just know that it's the beginning of the summer of 1985 and Scott's newly reborn '68 is looking at years of service to come, and a few more alterations over the years. The model is the '67 F100 that originally donated the service box for the original version of Scott's truck. It was fitted with the engine from the '69 Custom Cab and the Basset wheels came from a '66 Styleside. I robbed a carburetor and air cleaner from an AMT '67 Chevelle Pro Street. Paint is Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Seaside Gloss, and the geometric graphics are from a Revell Skip's Fiesta VW Beetle Cabriolet. The model itself was a project for The Straight Six Community Build in the Community Build section. And due to the magical time travel abilities available to us all as model builders, here we can see the before and after side by side at the same time.

Under Glass post to follow shortly.

I want to like that kit. Today in my lunch break I was watching the HPI Guy video on it and I thought I was warming up to it. But when I think about that kit right now I just kinda feel like I have COVID. 🤣

I mean, good God... That box top alone is doing the kit no favors. 🤣 The fact that the kit just looks "off" from pretty much any angle is one thing but it's readily apparent here. I know they're trying to highlight the dually fenders but... No. Just, no. I'm happy for everyone who is glad to see this kit back, and I'm going to love seeing what they do with theirs. Just not for me, I suppose.

I feel like I'd be better off using the Monogram bullnose. Those kits certainly have their flaws, but still. I think this might be the first time box art has made me recoil in disgust. 🤣

Well, Patty, who showed up back in December, is now a mom to be...

Local shop just got the '80 Ford Six Wheeler. I picked up the box, looked at it for a bit, said "eeeewww" and put it back. So there's my full review of that kit. 🤣

Nice to see one of these built. I keep wanting to get a couple but the thought of getting a windshield to work always gives me pause.

Lovely little tanker. Where do you find all these unusual Model T kits?

Never thought I'd use the decals from the Revell Skip's Fiesta VW Beetle Cabriolet, but 'ere we be...

Sure is. This is a week old and it's still sticky. Nowhere near as bad as Rust-Oleum of yore but still taking it's sweet time.

That's Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Seaside Gloss. I like the color but I'm not the biggest fan of the paint itself. Next time Tamiya has what looks like a similar color I want to try.

You might look at this careworn old Ford and just see an old junker. But for a 16 year old Michigan kid, it ultimately became the beginning of an automotive career that has so far spanned four decades. Two months before the end of the 1982-83 school season, Scott Kearney celebrated his 16th birthday. That day his father, Frank, handed him the keys to his would-be high school ride, a 1968 Ford F250. Originally a pickup but later fitted with a service body, it absolutely wasn't the raddest ride on the block, or anywhere else, but Scott certainly wasn't going to complain about the price. As Frank put it ... "I got the truck for free and I'm passing the savings along to you." But there was a string attached, if Scott was game. The stipulation was... If Scott could keep the truck on the road and not bang it up (any worse than it already was), there'd be a brand new car waiting for him come graduation time in 1985. Granted, Scott figured he could wreck the F250 next week and just get his own vehicle anyway, but he decided to accept the challenge. Little did Frank realize that Scott would go pretty far above and beyond just "keeping it on the road". But, that's for next time. This is essentially the '68 Ford F250, fitted with the service box from the '67 and the 240/3 speed manual combo from the '66 Flareside, obviously all Moebius kits. For paint I just used Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Satin Vintage Teal, distressed with powders and acrylics.

Beginning of a '68 F250 service truck. Engine and transmission stolen from the '66 Flareside.

Happy's Camping Grounds has been the primary source of both income and headaches in the Ward family since 1958. Sometimes not everyone is happy at Happy's, and it's the job of third generation owner Dave Ward to see to it that they don't stay unhappy. The bright yellow El Camino was purchased new by Dave's grandfather Irv, though it was white back then. It was originally Irv's own car, but it became the campground business vehicle in 1974, when Irv took delivery of a 1975 GMC Sprint. At some point it got a set of Cragar SS wheels and a boxy topper. Though the trusty old straight six still fires up and runs great, the old two speed Slip And Slide automatic transmission is really beginning to live up to it's nickname. Dave is debating restoring it, but questions if it's still structurally sound enough. Although it looks decent with it's backyard respray, that bright yellow is covering quite a bit of Bondo and chicken wire. And sometimes the doors won't open or close if the car is parked on less-than-level ground. But it's more than solid enough for work around the grounds, even if Dave finds himself using his 2017 F150 most of the time, leaving the El Camino parked by the sign at the end of the driveway. The model is a mashup of the AMT '64 Malibu and '65 El Camino, with the engine and transmission from the '63 Nova wagon. Paint is just some yellow hardware store stuff I had laying around. The wheels came from the El Camino kit, and I used AMT parts pack tires and a Best Model Car Parts 1964 Michigan plate. The model was built for The Straight Six Community Build Rides Again in the community builds section of the forum.

ElCo will be under glass pretty soon...

Love the paint and graphics on this one!