Chuck Most

Why would a Jeep kit come with a 427 Sock motor? Or was it just in the box when you found it?

Doesn't happen to be a Catera, by any chance...? They're Ford products but a Mercury or Lincoln is not a Ford. That's why they have entirely different names! There are Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers, and Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealers, but nobody confuses, say, a Pontiac G6 with a GMC C4500! Terry- is there a link to your pictures anywhere? I've scanned Fotki and Photobucket endlessly and have found zilch!

Reason #77,894 I never sell anything...

Sheez, Harry, I could've told you that fifteen years ago! Still, I must say it- seven of the ten voices in my head would rather look at a stray Aztek than, say, a parking lot full of silver and tan Tauruses.... Or would 'Tauri' be the plural for Taurus? Anywho- there's my take!

Ha! 'Upscale Malibu'!!!! That's like saying you live in a 'nice slum' or referring to yourself as an 'upwardly mobile drifter'! Still like the '10 Tucker, though!

Best engines? I've got a few favorites. Warning- my biases may show a bit! Chevy 350- no. 383- no. 454- no. 502- none in scale that I know of, though a 454 could be a stand in. 572- see '502' Corvette’s Family- not a family I belong to There is a nice 265 in the '55 Cameo, and a nice parts pack 283 from AMT. They're about the only SBCs I use. Ford Flathead- AMT '49 Merc, AMT '34 Ford, Lindberg '53 Fords, Revell '40 Ford Coupes (stock or rod), Revell '32 Ford Tudor. 289- New tool AMT '67 Mustangs 302- Revell '32 Fords and Mercury Cougar XR-7 331- Uh... if you mean three FIFTY one, the AMT F-150s have a nice 351, though it's pretty much indistinguishable from the 260/289/302 (in 1/25 scale, anyhow). 347- Never heard of a 347... a stroker, perhaps? 427- For the standard FE version, I'd go with the Revell '64 T-Bolt/Fairlane. The Revell Parts pack version is also great. For the Cammer, I'd go with either the one in the AMT '33 Willys Coupe or Panel, or the ones in the '66 Galaxie, '68 Shelby GT500, or '69 Galaxie. Ford Inline Six- Anything ever kitted, from the AMT and Johan 170's (or the resin repops thereof), or Ken Kitchen's Flathead I-6. Dodge 426 Hemi- Anything EXCEPT the old AMT stuff, or the Lindberg '72 Challenger. 340 V8- AMT '71 Duster 426 V8- '64 Plymouth by Lindberg, or the wild Ross Gibson 'Sonoramic' Version Slant Six- Lindberg '64 Plymouth (best scale slant sixer EVER)! Pontiac 400- Revell '68 Firebird... since the Pontiac mill didn't change much over the years, the Revell '66 GTO or the AMT '62 Catalina or Parts Pack 421 could stand in for a 400. Cadillac- Revell '49 Merc, Revell Parts Pack Buick- AMT '66 Riviera 425 Nailhead V8 Oddballs AMT '53/'64 Studebaker V8 AMT '41 Plymouth Flathead I-6

I know where you're coming from Codie! I'm a man possessed until I see a project through to completion! Love the truck- nicely built, and a very unusual subject!

Not a huge fan of Porsches myself, but your model is killer! A very nice outcome for a kit that, judging from what you said, isn't the greatest!

Glad to see it didn't get crushed! Nicely done, my man! What the world needs more of right now is more Lincoln models, especially ones this sick! And Harold's right- it is a '65. Wouldn't mind a '66 or '67 Connie in kit form, though!

Tim- About all I did was spray the seat with the overall color I wanted (Rustoleum Nutmeg Satin, in this case), and then gave it a wash of thinned flat black acrylic paint to grunge it up a bit, as well as to bring out the really nice stitch detail in the '41 Ford seat. It's one of the easiest detailing tricks out there- try it out and see for yourself!

All I got this time around were a couple of AMT repops- '33 Willys Coupe White-Freightliner Dual Drive Cabover I also picked up a couple bottles of Tenax and a few cans of Testors One Coat. Still need to get some sandpaper and Loctite super glue, but that can wait- I've got all the major bases covered! Next up, hopefully I'll be getting a Transtar and a '49 Ford kit... if/when the money situation gets better!

I guess that's just where you and I differ... I can actually stand the Aztek, but I think the Rendezvous is uglier than a Nazi medical experiment. My guess is it sold so well because the typical Buick customer's eyesight is in such horrid shape they couldn't see how disgusting it was!

I think either orange stripe treatment would work for the back, I haven't really decided which one is my favorite yet- I like the amber in the taillamps. Don't the European market Mustangs feature a similar lens? I saw this build on your Fotki page early on, and thought it was a killer idea. Why pick which one of the new ponycars you want when you can have all three? And Bob? The Aztek may have been 'provocative', but what about it's corporate sister, the Rendezvous? That one was (I think) even more, ah, provocative...

Doing the paint and foil before anything else does seem a bit 'bass ackwards' to me, but everyone does this a bit differently. I've done the paint first, only to have it come back and bite me later, so I usually postpone it as long as I can, at least until I can check how it fits to my chassis, etc. On the other hand, I hate paint and bodywork, so maybe getting it all out of the way right off the bat has merit. I'm glad some guys can get it out of the way early on, but I think I'll personally stick with saving the paint and body work until near the end.

Craig- I second that! Let's not even get into the separate, deformed roofs... I can't believe I haven't blurted this one out yet, but I'd have to say the worst kit I've ever had the displeasure of building has to be the AMT (ex-MPC) '53 Ford Flip Nose pickup! Every part fights you to fit (and still doesn't fit well after all that effort), the flip front end never operates smoothly, and it' s never been 'updated', which can be good or bad, and is most certainly bad in the case of this piece of crapola! Molded in headlamp lenses, Carter-era wire wheels, and tooling that's seen better days make this one a 'must-flee' proposition, unless you are a glutton for punishment! The fact it has a Chevy engine doesn't help its case much, either...

Some of my all-time faves include: AMT '53 FORD F-100- Very nice parts breakdown and a nice scale representation of the second gen Effie. The De Soto Hemi and custom bits are just icinig! AMT '49 FORD Coupe- Pretty much for the same reasons as the '53. This kit has some of the best steel wheels I've seen in scale. Lindberg '34 Ford Pickup- What can I say? Possibly the best light-commercial truck kit ever produced. So many possible building styles for this one... just like the 1/1 truck! Revell '64 Ford Thunderbolt/Fairlane- The T-Bolt was nice, the recently added quasi-stock Fairlane parts made this kit even better! I've been waiting 20 years for those stock hubcaps in 1/25 scale! Too bad they didn't throw in a bench seat and a 289 (or even a 170 six-cylinder) while they were at it! AMT/Revell Deuces- They're apples and oranges, but I like any 1/25 Deuce. The AMT kits are a simple way to do a trad rod, and the Revells are the best jumping off point for a modern rod. Galaxie Limited '46-'48 Chevys- They're the 'wrong' make, but the kit is just incredible! That kit has the best Stovebolt six in scale form ever, though I'd still prefer a Flathead! AMT '29 Model A Roadster- Again, a nicely done kit with lots of possibilities. AMT '25 Ford Model T- (see above), the 430 Lincoln V8 is a definite plus as well! And a few others that emotion and nostalgia prevent me from remembering all at once...

Or just lay on the sofa all day (literally), and watch Mythbusters... which is what I did!

Just remembered another baddie- The old Revell Jeep J10 Honcho The body is clunky, the taillamps are molded into the bed endcaps, the grille looks wrong (either too narrow or too tall- or both?), and all the glass is tinted.. even the headlamp lenses! The wheels look like something off a Matchbox car! Still, like the Scout kit, I do like it!

Even though a '72 Cutlass would look so right with the formal roof. Tough looking, yet classy at the same time.

First off- Bill... you sure made that piece of junk shine! But, yeah, I'd like to see any mere mortal pull off a build like that! Dave- I don't consider engine and drivetrain detail to be 100% necessary. All of the Japanese kits I've built except two had engine detail, and the two that did not were Hasegawa's '67 VW pickup, where a detailed engine is kind of a moot point, and a Gunze Sangyo '56 Oval Window Beetle. Yes, the lack of an engine in the '56 bummed me out a bit, but I felt that the rest of the kit more than made up for it. I've never built any Japanese kits with what I'd call poor interior detail, but I know some of the old ex-motorized Fujimi kits are a bit wonky. ( The Trans Am even has- get this- a trench cut into the floor to clear the steering wheel, because the tub is so shallow!) Oddly- I don't consider the old 'Craftsman' style kits ('64 Comet, '59 Imperial, '64 Galaxie, etc.) to be lousy kits, despite their complete and total lack of engines, or even halfway decent chassis and interior detail. Maybe, for me, it has more to do with subject matter? Maybe just loving the 1:1 allows me to see past the flaws in a kit.

The '60 Bonnevilles by Trumpeter rank a close second- Lego-block engine detail, not one but TWO choices of incorrect radial whitewalls, poor quality plastic, fussy parts fit, and whoever's job it was to lay out the chrome sprue must have been smoking crack! I've never cracked into the '78 Monte (just not my kind of car), but I've heard it was quite a bit worse than the Bonnies. But the Trumpeter Bonnie isn't the worst kit I ever built- not by a long shot.... AMT '69 Mustang- as has been pointed out, it's underscale, the parts don't fit, and it really doesn't look all that great once it's all toggether. This one was more useful in it's original, molten styrene form. It did have some decent plated steel wheels, though. AMT '69/70/72 Chevelles- Another one you guys seem to hate passionately. What's with those two tabs on the bottom of the interior tub... they seem to serve no other purpose than to prevent the chassis from fitting up into the body! Lindberg '48 Lincoln Continental- Substandard detail in every assembly, a fussy multipiece body, and a rather toylike finished appearance. I often wondered why they even bothered. (The Monogram '41, however? One of the finest kits ever produced, in my opinion.) AMT '73 Mercury Cougar- Evidently, the rear of the body is just supposed to magically float in midair, thus ensuring a level body. Crude and ill-fitting parts don't help matters much, though I will say the Astro Supreme wheels included in the kit are among my all-time favorite kit parts. Revell '76 Chevy C-10 Street Machine- This one has potential, but the tooling is getting a bit rough. Still, I could do without the caveman-like engine and underhood detail. IMC/Testors/Union '48 Ford Coupe/Convertible- Detail and comprehensive parts breakdown are good... but there is a line you can cross. This kit not only crosses that line, but does the Mexican hat dance all over it! Look for the Revell '48 instead. Ertl/AMT-Ertl International Scout II- Just plain lackluster detailwise, and not very accurate. It's one of the worst kits ever, but I still love it! It can build into a very nice Scout II replica with a little skill and a whole lot of love! Any Resin kit produced before 1995 or so- Yes, I know there were good quality resin kits before then, but the quality we are used to today was nowhere near what it is now, even considering the fact that most any resin kit will not be as 'easy' to put together as a styrene kit. Any 'Reissued To Death' kit- I've said it once- I've said it a thousand times: If you don't want to spend the money to clean up the tooling- DON'T BOTHER WITH A REISSUE. AMT's '50 Ford Convertible and '72 Nova pop immediately into my head, for some reason. I must say, though, that the 'worst' kits are often the most fun to build!

Thanks guys! Now I've got to get one of Ken Kitchen's resin Flathead Ford I-6 engines! I can think of a vast number of applications for such an animal!

Now I know where those wheel covers in my spares stash came from! Thanks, Terry!

Something is dangling... glad to know it's just a participle! But I missed the panel lines on the cowl! I went with the body-color engine and chrome accessories as kind of a custom touch, like something I might do if I were to rebuild a 1:1 Scout II.

Now I feel stupid for trying to scratch up my own window surrounds for the Starliner! $25 will save me a lot of hassle!