Chuck Most

I still have yet to build this kit, even though I have one in my stash. Thanks for the inspiration! I really need to build a few buggy kits already!

I'm kind of surprised I even get the channel- I've just got the DirecTV basic package. I'm glad I do get it though! Best part is- I missed Top Gear and James May's Toy Stories that night... BUT... after they play an episode of Star Trek TNG (last night's was 'Deja Q', the one where Q looses all his powers, pretty good episode from 1990 even if I can't believe it's been that long already), they re-run Top Gear and Toy Stories. I usually watch the later airings since I can't even consider falling asleep until 3 AM or so!

Why would I hate you- it's a fact! I don't think they were called "LTD Crown Victorias" until 1983 or therabouts- before that they were 'just' LTD. The LTD prefix went away with the all new '92 model. The weird one with no grille.

Not sure how many of you caught it- or even how many of you actually can get BBC America, but on last night's episode of James May's Toy Stories (starring none other than Top Gear's Captain Slow), he and a team of schoolkids built a 1:1 scale model of a British WWII Spitfire plane! A company who makes 1:1 'dummy' display replicas for military bases recreated an old Airfix kit in full-size, sprues and all, and the kids assembled it in a hangar. Other than its size, it was broken down and arranged just the way an Airfix kit would be. It even needed a little 'careful trimming' during assembly. This was easily one of the coolest things on TV I have ever watched... when they were carefully pulling the plane out of the hangar for its big unveiling, I was on the edge of my seat! Turns out they're still pretty fragile in 1:1. I won't say if it ended in disater or not, but it was very, very cool!

Two things- One- I didn't realize Airfix was still making car kits. Two- Looks like this will be fun!

Yep- I messed up on the "II". At least I didn't call it an "LTD Crown Victoria"! (That sounds like another interesting conversation... using the same name on several different car lines, often at once. Olds was the worst offender, with their endless array of Cutlass-Somethingorothers.) A few years back I saw one which had the drivetrain from a Mustang GT- 5-speed and all- swapped into it. Looked like Granny's old car, but the guy who built it said it scared off quite a few of the other 5.0's in his area.

Exactly! I rarely if ever scratchbuild 100% of a component- I'll usually throw a few "found objects" in there if they'll work. Even if you are just using strips of Plastruct or Evergreen, that's no different from using a kit part along with it! (A "TRUE" scratchbuilder would have made his OWN plastic! )

Best New Challenger I've seen yet.

Another masterpiece, John!

Tom- you are correct. The vehicles did stay in production... just not as what they were the previous season (or several seasons ago when they were last offered). And some cars did live on in other markets with new "identities"- we've all heard of old car tooling (US and foreign manufacturers alike) being sold off to third world and 'Red' nations. (If anybody can shine some light on any of these particular examples, feel free to chime in! ) Mark- I was refering to the more obscure '80's version of the LTD II (the one replaced by the Taurus). The only reason I even remember them is because my great aunt had one! Yes- Mark, you're right about the LTD II. I was refering to the '80's version, (replaced by the Taurus) which nobody but me seems to remember! (My great aunt had one- otherwise I'd have probably never been aware of it. Can't believe I forgot this... In '57, International introduced the "A" series. For '59, they added an optional V8 and a new nose and renamed it the "B" series, and for '63 another new nose and dash came with a new designation... "C" series, even though all three essentially the same truck (even though there were some mechanical updates and improvements through the years). I can't imagine Ford slapping a new grille on the F-150 and calling it a G-150! (Sorry... E-150 was taken! )

Totally NOT what I was expecting, but I love it! I'm not even going to attempt such a thing, but I'm glad you did!

A lot of times, a kit will be reissued with new and revised parts, in some cases, even as an entirely different subject. It happens in 1:1, too! Often the 'tooling' for a 1:1 vehicle gets revised into something else, even if it's been gone a few years! Sometimes, a 'mid life' design is restyled, and the company decides to slap a new name on the existing (but revised) car while they are at it. Here are a few "1:1 Modified Reissues" I can think of- can anybody think of any others. (Note, we're only counting times when a vehicle was 'rehashed' into something else and was passed off as an all new design... not when a new vehicle was released on an existing platform- Falcon spawned the Mustang, etc.) Nash (later just Rambler) Rambler- Discontinued, then brought back with open wheel arches and a different nose in the late '50's. Jeepster- Discontinued in the early '50's then reintroduced with a new front clip in the late '60's. Crofton Bug- Take the out of production Crosley Farm-O-Road, change the grille and hood latches, and bingo! You have an 'all new' product! Just about every late '70's-'80's AMC- The Gremiln and Hornet never died... they were reincarnated as the Concord! 1985 Ford LTD II- A slightly restyled Granada, (which itself was a spin off of the Maverick). '05-'08 GM "U-Vans", '04- Up Ford Freestar/Mercury Monterey- Take the Chevy Venture, Pontiac Montana, and Oldsmobile Silhouette, slap on some butt ugly pug nose front ends, give them a trendy name like "Crossover Sport Van", and rename them the Chevy Uplander, Pontiac Montana SV6, and Buick Terraza! Unless you're Ford... then rehash the Windstar, rename it Freestar, and give Mercury a version to sell while you're at it. Boom! Way to achieve sales chart mediorcrity! '04-up Buick Ranier- When rebadged Oldsmobile Bravadas are made, Buick will build them. '08-up Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable- So the Five Hundred and Montego aren't selling as well as you'd hoped? NO worry! Just restyle the front, rear, and interior, do a little mechanical spruce-up, and re-christen them the Taurus and Sable... you know, the names of the designs they were originally meant to replace! (Ex-Studebaker Avanti) Avanti II- This would kind of be like a Lindberg '34 Ford pickup kit in 1:1... somebody else did all the design and engineering work, but it wasn't the most recent company to manufacture it! Caterham 7- How good an idea was the Lotus 7? Must've been pretty good... Caterham still makes them nearly five decades after Lotus gave up on them!

I'm a big fan of rebuilding 'glue bombs' and started kits as well- I've gotten a few rare old annual kits and long OOP pieces for a fraction of their 'book value', in some cases, even for less than the cost of a current Lindberg or AMT reissue! I know for a fact that's about the only way I'll ever end up with some of my holy grail kits... without bankrupting myself!

I can also reccomend Don at Modelhaus. Short of going with an all new body, Don's roof sections are the way to go!

I like where this one's going!

I'd say raid a buddy's spares box. I'm pretty sure somebody makes a decal set- but there have GOT to be many, many unused AMT General Lee decal sheets that could be yours simply for the asking!

Forgot Cars & Parts... great source for reference on weathered vehicles!

Well, I've yet another Farmall shell, and I'm still planning having a mold made for casting, but... if you just want to make your own, keep your eyes peeled for a future issue of MCM!

Incredible work- I've never had good luck with that Retractable kit- maybe I should try this!

Yep- the '70 Super Bee Pro Street ($7.00 Wal-Mart edition... the one thing I miss about shopping there ). I think the blower, carbs, and air cleaners (it USED to have two! ) came from a Charger 500 or Daytona by AMT. What you can't see are the nasty, huge chips in the passenger's fender and the layer of dust in the cab. I'm thinking version 2.0 is just around the corner, but I'll use a second kit and display the 'new' one with this one.

Modeling!? You madman!!!!

I always find it funny when I see military guys in green uniforms... in the desert, and tan uniforms... in the jungle. What's the point of camo if you aren't going to utilize it? Anyway, I love this truck! I've yet to enter into the military modeling fray. They're one of my favorite modeling subjects to look at, though, and this one is very cool!

Scratchbashed!!!!

Like it! An F-150 in it's natural surroundings.

I was never aware that this kit was retooled in that manner- I've seen a Jolly Roger built up, but always assumed it was a scratchbuilt job! It is kind of nice AMT restored the original parts. Now, I just might have to look for that Jolly Rodger, just for fun! Yeah- it is funny how there was a huge collector market for the Hillbillies Olds, yet when it was reissued, it was a monumental flop. (Didn't stop me from buying fifteen of the things, though. )