Chuck Most

Nothing more restorative than model building, I say! Is there a more fun and/or productive way to help with dexterity and hand-eye coordination? Why, I think not!

No dice in kit form- there MAY be one in resin, but I've never seen it. Best bet is to stretch a 4.6 from an F-150 or '96-up Mustang kit, either with added material or using a second block and heads, and filling in the blanks with a little scratchbashing.

I was going to build this one... but I think you pretty much eclipsed ANYTHING I could do with it. Very nicely done.

Very nice stuff guys- some of my faves from other people's benches are here, too!

No idea what kind of car it used to be, or how long it's been 'sleeping' but I do like it!

That's burnishing some foil over the emblem, just as if you were applying bare metal foil, but using the pattern you pressed into the foil to move the emblem.

There is a LOT less room in the newer Blazer engine bay than the old S-10- the turbo's gonna be a tight fit!

Like anybody needs incentive to buy from Kenny!

I'll second all those- the fullsize GM wagon one is especially enticing. I'll also see your GMC van and raise you a first-gen Ford Econoline. I'd love a '39 Huppmobile, but know I'll never see one in kit form. (My dad has one. ) Oh, and ANY non-Chevy GM product is a good idea, in my book. Why build a '57 Bel Air when you could build a '57 Bonnie, Super 88, or Century?

Jeez... be patient, Cranky! Mine's on the way, just not sure when.

GMC never did a second-gen Syclone or Typhoon, but I always wondered what one might have looked like. I conidered using a 4-door Blazer, but as far as I know, the 4-door is a snap kit, and I really wanted to add the turbo to the Vortech engine in the AMT '95 kit, so I just went that route. The basic kit is the '95 Chevy Blazer, with the hood, grille, and front bumper from a '94 Sonoma, as well as the turbo, wheels, tires, and a few other bits from the Revell Syclone. Since the '95s had an airbag, I used the Blazer wheel (didn't have a '95 Sonoma kit or airbag wheel when I started) but filled in the bowtie and used a GMC hubcap decal from the Syclone. So far, here's the progress- I lowered the front by flipping the spindles upside down, and bending the CV axles. The back still needs to come down a bit more, but I'll worry about that once the build progresses a bit more. The Syclone wheels slipped right on to the AMT axle stubs. The Syclone's turbo-specific exhaust downtubes will need to be reworked a bit to fit around the Vortec's harmonic balancer/crank pulley. I'll figure out how to plumb the turbo to the Vortech intake when I get there! You'll also need to relocate the oil filter to clear the front driveshaft, just as they did on the 1:1 Syclone and Typhoon. And of course, all the "Chevrolet" and "Blazer" scripts were smited from the body, along with the rub strips and fender lip moldings. There are also two rectangular depressions in each rear quarter which aren't on the 1:1 truck and seem to serve no other purpose than to annoy me. Those will be filled in. The interior is mostly out of box, aside from the aformentioned steering wheel modification. I'm keeping it simple and low key- basic black with a few red accents. I also used the gauge cluster decal from the Sonoma. Next up will be packaging the turbo under the hood, probably a bit of bodywork, and of course final assembly. I see this as a quick, simple build... I hope I'm not wrong this time.

First, a bit of history- First off, Jerry bought a restaraunt and decided he needed a mobile business card. He figured an mobile pig roaster would be just the ticket, so surveying his backyard for raw materials, he dug up enough cast-off junk to build this... Sadly, Jerry spent a bit too much time giving away free food at events and not nearly enough time charging people money for it at the restaraunt, so he closed up shop. Since he fished a lot, he thought why not sell fresh fish and bait right there at the dock? Needing a vehicle, he once again dipped into his backyard junkpile and produced a refrigerated Lincoln... BUT... after a summer of that, Jerry thought sitting out in the sun all day drinking beer wasn't much good for his health, and besides, winter was coming. So- he decided to get into the lumber/firewood business. A few junk vehicles and some of Jerry's Macgyver-like skills, and boom, he had himself a portable saw mill... As it turned out, Jerry was a little TOO good at being a lumberjack. After nearly de-foresting all of Gratiot County, Jerry was tied up in the infamous "Lumbergate" scandal. He decided to do the noble thing and step down, but knew he'd not only need a new occupation, but to win back the respect of his neighbors. A new pest was invading the gardens and fields of Jerry's hometown, and nothing could stop it. No pesticide worked, and remedies which DID kill the pests also killed the plants. After some experimentation in his kitchen, Jerry found a mixture of regular pesticide, salt water, and the liquid wrung from his own dirty gym socks would kill the bugs without hurting the plants. Now, he needed a vehicle to deploy his miracle concoction. I think you can guess what happened next... The truck itself was a hodge-podge of Ford F-150 and 250, which Jerry purchased from the local junkyard. The tank is Jerry's old septic tank. (Rid-X is no match for the remnants of Jerry's Taco-Bell-heavy diet!) Jerry made his own boom for spraying fields, and the spray gun is an old power washer part, cloaked in a fake plastic rifle simply because, well, Jerry has a flair for the dramatic. An old lawnmower engine powers the boom nozzles, spray gun, and pressurizes the roof-mounted marker foam barrel. And, of course, the whole thing is soaked in Jerry-caliber rust, dust, and crust. Rumor has it Jerry has no idea what paint looks like...

That, and it just doesn't look right without some reworking. You'd be better off starting with a Revell kit and opening the doors (if that's your thing)= the Revell body's proportions are WAY better!

Model A + Gasser = Very cool!

Here's how NOT to do it... try grinding out the indent with a variable speed Dremel. Maybe you could do it with the right bit and speed, but I sure can't, and I speak from experience on that one! My hand just isn't steady enough.

Still waiting for the Moebius Hudson Hornet and International Lonestar- the only one on my 'to build' list that's actually out is the Revell V8 Midget, which I hope to get to soon enough.

There was a 1:32 done by Monogram, but I think it was a 4-door sedan (police car).

Beautiful build! Kudos on the chrome A-pillars- most guys get that detail wrong.

I'd have added a turbo V8 while I was at it!

Sweet! A shame Ertl destoyed this one to make the old-man Chevy C-10 Cheyanne longbed.

Liking what I see so far!

My '98 Mercury Tracer just cleared 315k... it'll be pretty dangerous before too long, I guess!

They're pretty rare today- the tooling was modified into the Vending Machine (I think). That kit has been reissued, but the Wild Dream it sure isn't.