Chuck Most

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!

Whoa, easy there Mr. Batma... ah, Batson! That SO wasn't an attack on you! Just the people who think the Trupeter GT40 is 'toylike'. Maybe the Monte Carlo is more 'turdlike'.... Thanks for the info, and welcome to the forum!

Well, this post may be a bit self-serving, but feel free to check out how I'm doing so far- just click on the link in my signature! As always, any helpful criticism is gladly welcomed!

Having the solvent itself warm helps as well. I had some in the garage and set a few bodies in it to soak, and the cold Super Clean takes FOREVER to work it's magic. Back at room temp- no problem!

It's got inside handles, you just reach over the door and pop 'em open! The only cranks are for the wing-vents- since there's no roll-up door glass anymore!

Unless it's a late '70's Jag, in which case it's a series of muted fart sounds, then wind rushing as you coast to the shoulder! That's because big cam V8s usually are barely running on half their cylinders and about to sputter out at any second.

I'm with Bernard- but I'd like to add the Impala wagon as well!

Haven't yet. Will now!

Good to know, George! And I totally know who Todd Rundgren is now- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_rundgren He kinda looks like Al Pitrelli (ex-Megadeth guitarist)!

The Trumpeter GT40... toylike!? Yeah, it's got it's hiccups, but I can't really see how you could call the thing toylike! If THIS kit is toylike, what about their '78 Monte Carlo kit? 'Dog chew-toy like?'

Todd Rundgren... guitarist from Kansas? No, that was Kerry Livgren... to Google! We are related in spirit... that, and by the fact we'll both be shoveling snow for the next nine flippin' months! At least I won't need to deal with Detroit's legendary, MonsterQuest-caliber feral dog packs! Stray cats are the worst thing going on in my neck o' the woods!

Other outlet type stores carry them from time to time as well. I picked up two AMT '94 GMC Sonoma kits for seven bucks a pop at my local Merchandise Outlet (actual name of the store). They've since closed. I've even seen them at antique shops, but as you may guess, selection isn't great, and the prices are ridiculous, even by antique store standards. (An AMT Freuhauf trailer, in a crushed, water damaged box that's missing three tires and the decals are shot for $40 bucks? Are these people mainlining acid, or something?!) Though once I did pick up an AMT/Ertl Brickyard C1500 pace truck promo at an antique shop for the princely sum of ten bucks! (The 1/18 Sun Star Checker cab next to it, however, was GROSSLY overpriced at $45... I've never paid more than $15 for any of the 1/18 Sun Star models I've gotten.)

Yeah- that's exactly what I'm talking about! You've got a pretty cool name, yourself, Chuck!

DIRECTIONS; 1. Take one forlorn old Chevy sedan delivery, and an old Cadillac 354. 2. Wheel it into your shop. 3. Call your buddies over. 4. Crack open some beers. 5. Break out the reciprocating saw. 6. See what happens... That's about the only scenario I can think of to explain such an animal!

It's ironic- now that the mass-market retailers have abandoned the model car market, and it's become an even more specialized and fragmented hobby than it was even ten years ago, quite a few 1:1 car mags are bringing back the model content! If the HRD article had been written eight years ago, those aloof 1:1 guys would've been quite familiar with your book by now! (Of course, HRD didn't exist eight years ago, but I guess I've made my point!) Hot Rod Deluxe almost always has at least a paragraph or two devoted to model cars, Rebel Rods covers them every so often, and every Amusin' Cruisin' issue so far has had a small multi-page spread on scale model rods. Steve Magnante also gave new kits and books on model cars frequent plugs when he was still a staffer at Hot Rod, and he devotes a few minutes to them on his AWB Funny-Car How-to DVD. It almost looks like the 1:1 books are picking up the slack, and promoting the hobby once again. About the only thing that could be better would be to see 'Modeler's Corner' come back to Street Rodder! That, or better still, MCM going monthly!