Chuck Most

It does grab you, doesn't it?

Well, it might be workable. Just might need a little more TLC than I thought. Still, once you get a pickup, a Travelall doesn't seem like such a stretch. Yours looks quite a bit better than my false starts with scratchbuilding one! Or, an idea I've had for years- take a Travelall, cut out the rear door area, weld it back together, and bingo- A phanom 'Travelall Sport', something IH could've used to compete against the K5 and Ramharger!

Right on the second part. As for the first... maybe it's just hidden!

A Mustang... a bad winter driver? The hell you say!

No seeing what those retailers DON'T have listed for sale on line (which is often better than 90% of the stuff they do have listed.) No running into an old friend en route to the shop. No meeting a fellow modeler who gives you screaming deals on some really cool old kits he's had stashed for years and just now realizes he's not going to build. No driving past the house of that hot 20-ish year old who washes her '08/'09 Bullitt Mustang in her two-piece swimsuit (well, in the summer anyway). No chance of the person you're buying from being a creepy old pervert who thinks you're a 12 year old girl. No chance of your crappy (but fully insured) car being stolen so you can use the money as a down payment on a new Focus (or a 4 or 5 year old Mustang). No chance of being kidnapped by aliens and probed on the way, but I guess that could just as easily happen staying at home. And how will you ever know how well those snow tires and winter wiper blades you just bought for the car work unless you give them an extensive test by driving 80 miles to a NSLHS (not-so-local-hobby-shop)? See how much you're missing out on, Harry!? To me, it's not just about buying the model- it's about the other mini-adventures it can lead to!

Dave Natale built one from an AMT Ford Louisville kit (I think), and it was in an issue of SAE about 20 years ago. That's the only garbage truck model I've ever seen, in a magazine or in person. I think he had to scratchbuild the body.

No, no, no... wait. I think whatever you have is it's contagious, because I'm seeing an ever-so-slight 'Veyron-ness' in the grille opening and basic shape of the nose. And I'm not even squinting!

In THIS country, not to many. In the ex-Communist countries... THAT'S another story! Glad to see you got some wheels that would work- to me, the weakest parts on the old Honcho J-10 kit were those toylike turbine wheels, that only looked remotely like the real thing after you'd had a few beers! I saw this transkit in Resin Talk, and it really peaked my interest- I'll have to keep an eye on this thread!

I'm with Art all the way here- Most of my Wal-Mart kits ended up as parts donors... why part out the one I got for $12 at the LHS when I can cannibalize the one I got at Mall-Wart for $8? I'm also not big on getting kits on line, and tend to seek out my 'local sources' first (and two of these 'local sources' are 40 miles away, one way.) I wouldn't call myself old school in that regard- I'll be the first person to admit to you that I'm quite a luddite for only being 27 years old! I just have some 'hit/miss' trust issues with technology. Besides, which is more exciting- walking into (insert your favorite kit dealer here)'s shop and seeing what he's got in stock this time, or scrolling and clicking for hours on end?

How hard are you squinting?

Fleetstar! That's it! I knew the roof crown was taller than on the pickups (the Loadstars were also), and I knew I'd need to rehash the cowl area, but still, I think it would be easier to use this cab on a pickup than to scratchbuild or modify a kit part, even given the resin cab's flaws. And, once you've gotten to THAT point, building a Travelall wouldn't be such an impossible dream, since you'd pretty much have a front half for the body right there! Sheesh- never knew the original was 3/8" thick... my, hasn't resin casting come a long way?!

That was the whole idea!

That is cool- it almost kinda/sorta looks like an airport tug! Nice to see such a rare car done as a model!

I thought of doing that as well, but I know I'd start having mono trouble once I had, say, more than ten folders featuring a Revell '32 Ford Five Window. (I have none now, just saying!) That's kind of why I didn't break it down THAT far- once you get to say, the Hot Rod folder, you can just scroll down in numerical/alphabetical order until you see the image of the model you want to see. Then again, maybe I need a separate folder, JUST for '32 Fords? Huh... the mind reels...

I like the smoothed-off cab with the spine running down the back. I mean, I like the WHOLE truck, but that's my favorite individual characteristic of it. First time I've seen a cab modified like that!

Years ago, there was a resin medium duty IH truck... can't remember what model... but it had the '69-'75 style truck cab. I've long thought of locating two of them- one to build as is, and the other to donate it's cab to an IH Pickup buildup. I believe the guy who cast it is named Dave Natale, and he's still doing resin castings, but the cab I'm thinking of is no longer in production. You are very right Dave... there's absolutely nothing else that comes close to the Travelall in kit form! Believe me, I've looked...

There's most certainly a detectable difference between the two scales, but for the most part, only the most anal of 'scale fidelity' freaks will notice it. I'm guilty of mixing 'bi-scale' parts on my models, but I always try to keep the 1/24 stuff with the 1/24 stuff and the 1/25 stuff with the 1/25 stuff. Sometimes you'll be the only one who even notices, but it still might bug you every time you look at it, just because you know, so my advice would simply be to proceed with caution!

He exploded. It was the strangest thing...

I love '60's drag cars, and it's nice to see the lesser-known Petty Empire rides. Especially when they're built to this level!

We, the non-shiny paint guys, will take a convert any way we can, Steven!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Pink Panzer- It's a chopped and narrowed Revell Hippie Beetle body with a scratchbuilt floor, all perched atop the chassis from the Lindberg/Palmer '34 Ford Roadster pickup kit- the one with two frames. I used the one NOT molded to the fenders! The front axle is from my spares box, and hooks up to a 'bulldogged' buggy spring. The headlights are '32 Chevy and are attached directly to the axle. Since the body kind of looked like an old dirt modified to me after I'd chopped it and whacked off the fenders, I decided to run race car tires- the fronts came from the AMT '66 Galaxie, and the rears came from an AMT '69 Dodge Daytona. The wheels also came from the Daytona. The engine is a (barely visible) '69 Corvair Pancake six from the moldie AMT oldie. It's built out of the box as the hopped-up version. As an extra custom touch, I also left the fan shroud clear. A simple, reliable powerplant for escaping the advancing Allied troops, while still looking cool doing it. The push bumper came from a box of spares, and the 'overcompensation' tailpipes are lengths of K&S aluminum tubing. Assorted parts-box junk does the rest. The paint is that new Testors One Coat Pink, with a dull coat sprayed over it. The Iron Cross decals came from various kit sources.

Realistic rust effect... AND it's tasty! How could you possibly go wrong!? How, I ask you? How?

Same here, but I'll be severely limited when I/if I head over there tomorrow! I'll still spend as much as I can over there!

The battery is behind the seat because that big honkin' Caddy mill eats up most of the room in the engine bay. Instead of just running a smaller battery, I just slapped the kit battery in back! Why? Laziness, mostly! Oh, and it never has a hood- I wanted to let the Caddy shine! Closest I've been to Flint is Flushing (home of Dean's Hobby Stop). Or is Grand Blanc closer- I've been there a couple of times. If I wanted the Detroit/Flint experience, though, I'd just drive to Saginaw. Way less distance to cover, and I know the ways out a lot better!

I have to wonder if the 'ol Flatmotor is up to FAA standards!