Chuck Most

Lay lady lay. Lay across my big brass bed...

Here's how the Farmall nose I built for the second Scratchbuilding School column in MCM 154 (right after Darrin Bastedo's killer how-to on opening vents) appears today... It's perched atop a Ford Courier chassis, and stands in front of a Ford 352. I'm not sure if it will stay here, or if I'll peel it off and use it on some other project. It was painted in Harvester Red (what else?), and given a nice coating of rust and crust. The fenders I used were the Custom parts found in AMT's '53 Effie Trophy Series kit. They are '55-'57 GM stepside fenders with '57 Corvette taillamps frenched into them. The fenders found in AMT/Ertl's '55 and '57 Chevy Stepside kits are a bit blockier, and can't work to make a 'near replica' stock Farmall nose because of this, but they are still usable as Farmall fodder. They're flatter in front than the eariler castings from the '53, and when joined together are quite a bit wider, but can still be used to pull off a pretty decent tractor grille. Like this... This example was actually started before the grille shown in the article. Because of the magic of print media, I made the grille in the article last summer, and you are seeing it now in print- this grille predates the one shown in the artilce by about half a year, and I just finished it up tonight. This one's been made to look like a modified Farmall nose - and the bottom was treated in BMF for that (you guessed it) bare-metal look. A bit of patina (provided by sanding through the green primer to the brown primer and burgundy plastic beneath, then covered in Rustall) crowns the top, and the foiled area was polished out. But, here's a new twist I've been working on. What about the OTHER set of fenders in that '53 kit? Or, for that matter, any old set of fenders you might have laying around? Here is the result of giving the stock Ford fenders the same treatment as shown in the article. At first, I thought it would make a pretty cool track nose, and I still might go that way with it. But, as I got to looking, I noticed it could also be used as the tail to a midget, or other early race car with a similar body. But what I think I'm going to try is this- rework this hunk of repurposed styrene into a Hudson Terraplane nose. Another popular 'rat' and 'hardcore' rod treatment. You know...like THIS... This is a '37 version, other years varied in detail, but they all looked cool! Take a look at those old fenders rattling around in your parts stash, and see if you can make something out of 'em!

Sorry... can't help you with much input on the background, I'm digging that big ol' Ford way too much! Wait... maybe that's your answer.

Next time you see my 5th wheeler, I'll be on its own thread. Not siphoning Rodney's Dajiban anymore!

Hey... 2525 is one of my all-time favorite songs, and I'm not even twenty-nine! That's what'll end up happening.

Didn't turn out to be the hellbender they were talking about up here in central Michigan. Yeah, it was pretty bad, but I've seen worse! Still had a few waist deep drifts, though.

Those dinky little midget tires wouldn't look too out of place on a 1:32 rod project. I submit this Minicraft '10 Studebaker project of mine as proof=

NOW my power is going on and off... FANTASTIC!

I might butcher one into an AWB funny car, just for fun. Chuck Most- a man who takes kits with decent engineering and detail and ham-fists them into unrecognizable oblivion!!!!

Can't say I'm a rabid Red Green viewer, either, but there's always a fun potential 'what if' model project in every episode!

Might use the snowfall as an excuse to finish MY Revell Jeep project (Pink Poison- molded rather poorly in white)- Earl Bassett's truck from the first two Tremors flicks! Fun fact- When the Jeep kit was announced for reissue in 2001, it was listed as "Mr. Deadwrench", but between the time it was announced and the time it was released, Dale Earnhart was killed, so they changed the name to the highly improbable "Pink Poison". I also have the "Dude" version which is from 1981, it's molded in a red-orange and has a topper cap.

Alrightie, Rod, here's mine... It's going to be a dually 5th wheel hauler eventually. After I'd been reading the Dajiban thread, I dug it out and walled off the back end, and did a little more bodywork today. It might even end up with a big, polished airfoil on the roof. Then again, I've never built a 'Red Green' Model, and I have another ambulance kit, so maybe I'll build one of these... Some simulated scale duct tape, a few 50 gallon drums from the C-600 stake kit, and bingo-bango, DIY Applesauce machine!

(Insert juvenile wisecrack here!) Actually, Eric, YOU did all the hard work on this one!

A bit off topic, but I've been told by several women who have given birth that kidney stones and an abcessed tooth are much worse than giving birth! I had a bad tooth a few years back, and the pain was all I could think of! We're talking all-encompassing, exquisite, please-god-kill-me pain here, and this was only for about a day or so! I've never had kidney stones or thrown my back out, but people who have always say they're 'not something you'd like to try'. As a guy who wines over a hangnail, I applaud people who can function with any sort of pain like that. I think if I were in Gregg's shoes, I'd have just said "Ah, screw it!" a long time ago and told the doctor to pump me full of the best opiates Blue Cross would allow.

I'm not too worried. Worst case scenario? I miss work. Oh, boo-hoo...

Just a quick, four day buildup. It's basically an MPC Roscoe's cop car body and interior tub on the chassis from a '70 Pro Street Super Bee, all hosed off in glorious "Purple-icious" paint, which is an uncanny match for Plum Crazy.

Oh, man, that is KILLER!!! A shame AMT killed the tooling for this thing when they turned it into a Nova wagon, then turned the Nova wagon into the Boss Nova drag car. This kit, and a few more of the Jo-Han '61 Olds F-85 wagons, has been on my wish list for a very long time!

Hey... did somebody say "hideously ugly" and was there mention of a Nissan Juke? How about a kit of THAT???? Or an Isuzu Vehicross? Yes, I'd buy either of those in kit form, and yes, I'm being dead serious. I'd even consider a Nissan Cube...

Evening, folks! Just wondering if anyone casts a repop of the old MPC grille from the Dodge van annuals for use on the AMT/Ertl Rescue 911 ambulance. Don't really care if it comes plated or not, I'd just like to build one with the right grille, not the hybrid mid late '70's/early '80's Mish-mash included in the AMT version.

This project is prompting me to model my old '83 Dodge van. Trouble is, where do I find scale leopard print shag upholstery?

Jeez, man! This thread made me ressurect my long-dormant Dodge van project. Thanks a lot!!!!

Hey, Marc?

Oh, oh, oh!!!! How about the MPC Dodge van reissued with the CORRECT GRILLE!!!!

I'm pretty sure I won't be overly impressed when I open the box to a Trumpeter Falcon, but then again, the first kit which ever really impressed me anyway was the Revell Edelbrock Midget... I think we're reaching a new level in the plastic hobby kit industry, kiddies? But, I doubt the Trumpeter will be anything close to that. Hey... I don't mind being proven wrong, and in this case I'd love that to happen! The best Trumpeter kit I've built was the Bonneville hardtop, and it's almost like each subassembly was designed by a different guy, and all the guys who designed those various subassemblies never spoke, communicated, or interacted with each other in any way during the process. Don't get me wrong- the kit looks great when it's completed, but some of the parts breakdown was just unnecessarily complex, and not even that convincing when done- the "Lego block" engine is a great example. I guess what Trumpeter kits mostly lack is 'consistency'- they're pretty good in one area, then fall flat on their keisters in another. I'd be happy of the Falcon and Ranchero kits were at least equal to the Bonnie, but I'd be elated if they were in the ballpark with a recent Revell tool. Again, I'll have to wait and see.

Very nicely done. The chrome trim looks very nice- especially considering it's NOT BMF!