Chuck Most

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!

I'm thinking I'll spray the insides of the panels first (including the door jambs), then try taping the whole wicked mess together once that first inside coat cures. Unless I decide to use different colors on my Samba Bus build (I'm thinking of a Damncrankian- 'Built from spares' kind of vibe), it may still prove to be a bigger than necessary challenge!

Wish my back yard was full of old International trucks! The last Travelalls look like they'd be easy to scratchbuild, maybe with a few kit parts tossed in to ease the work. Then again, I've been wrong in the past. I thought adding the detailed chassis from the AMT '66 Riviera to the older, '69 kit would be a piece of cake. It so isn't! That one's been unfinished in the box for two years now.

I once saw a '78 Monte Carlo with a '78 Olds Cutlass nose for sale in the local auto trader. It looked, well, like a Monte with a Cutlass nose slapped on. I never checked on it, but I can only imagine this guy's reasons were the same as the owner of the Olds Camino you saw. Man, I wish you'd had your camera with you at the time, too- and I'm sure many other guys would agree!

That may explain why K Mart only sells the citrus-fresh non toxic junk!

No, and thank God! One less reason to set foot in THAT dump! As has been pointed out, K Mart still carries them, but your selection is quite limited. My local KM only stocks Revell plastic kits and Maisto die cast kits. The prices are okay, but they really aren't much less than the prices at Hulings or Dean's. Check your local 'dime' and 'variety' stores. Most of those places also carry kits, though the amount of selection and prices can vary quite wildly!

Hey, Jairus! Didn't you do a '78-'87 El Camino/Grand Am a few years back for a Hot Rod Mag sketchpad? There was a Volare/Aspen, a Mercury Zephyr, and a 'could have been' based on then-staffer Jeff Koch's old Caprice (or was it an Impala?). Have you ever done a similar El Co morph, only with an Olds nose instead of a Poniac?

I bought my Samba Bus kit (Revell AG labeling) at Hulings Hobby House in Alma for just under $25. And Ed was complaining about how he thought that was pricey... and here guys are saying it was selling for ten bucks or so north of that? I don't think the price is too out of line with what you're getting. Heck, I'd rather spend $25 (or even $35-$40) on a detailed kit like this than a curbside, and some curbside kits are knocking on those prices as it is!

Cool and unusual! Me likes.

I'll tell you who it ISN'T... IT ISN'T JERRY CANTRELL!!!! And Jerry Cantrell is the guitarist of the recently rejuvenated Seattle grunge/metal band Alice In Chains!

A shame the world will end in 2012, and we'll never get to see the real deal!

I love 'em all, Terry, but I must say the Jo-Han Coupe DeVille lowrider is a favorite! I've got one of those gathering dust on my shelf somewhere!