Chuck Most

I'd gladly pay eighty bucks for a body you painted, if nothing else for bragging rights! "Here's my '40 Willys and, uh, oh yeah... MARCOS CRUZ painted it!" Now, being able to afford the eighty bucks... that is a whole other matter entirely!

Yeah... I'd say this is the right place! Welcome aboard Kevin!

Russ Schwenkler... Isn't he one of the guys who used to run S&S specialties in Owosso, MI? There was another guy, Mike Siegeman (pretty sure I butchered the guy's last name there), who kept it going in Michigan as Detail Resources. Haven't heard of either company in years, though I have used the products! I love the work of Clay Kemp, but, man... I will NEVER build to that level. To me, just getting everything that... I don't know.. PERFECT, would sap all the fun out of it. Looking at one of Clay's builds, it's hard to imagine it's a model. Maybe Clay is NOT a modeler... maybe he's an inventor, who's using his top-secret shrink ray on real race cars, then passing off the shrunken racers as 'models'! Weigh one of his models to see if the weight scales out to test this theory! I would think endlessly fussing over the details that Clay seems to add so naturally, as well as the endless research... 'God, I have to read all of this and study these pictures! This is like being in class!' My hat is off to ANYONE with that kind of fortitude! I like Bluesman Mark's statement of hitting a plateau and staying there... I can totally relate to that!

Ken is absolutely correct- I went and checked out my kit, and the windsheild is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too flat, even to the eye of this Ford man! I think I can overlook it, but I have to wonder how difficult it would be to add a little curve to the area, or even graft in the windsheild from a Revell '67 Chevelle. I've been doing a few 'top swaps' on some of my models lately, maybe this would be a natural step for this build. You can't to a '66 or '67 Cutty, but still, I see lowrider-style SATURNS all the flippin' time!? Yeah, that's one reason I got out of lowriders- if it ain't an Imp, it ain't gonna be appreciated! Never mind that the Model King/AMT '70 Buick Wildcat comes with some really sweet lowrider graphics- just add Hoppin' Hydros wheels and you're set! Which would you rather see- yet another Impala or Fleetwood, or something off the chain like a Wildcat, 442, or heck... even a '78 Dodge truck?

Hmmmmm.... could you be a bit more specific?

Whoa... how is it that these two designs actually WORK?

Uh... Abe? I think you meant 'crapsmanship' not 'craftsmanship'! I've got a Fotki page (still haven't updated to full membership yet), just go to the Fotki homepage and type in ChuckMost under member's search. Yeah- don't know why I did it all one word like that, but I did! Thinkin' I may just have to schlap together a military-style rat rod one of these days! Or maybe do something crazy... like build a Scout II kit BOX STOCK!

Yeah- I'm thinking the same thing- I've got a set of these from the old IMC/Testors '48 Ford kit that need a home! Truth be told- I'm surprised that I don't see more of these (as well as the AMT '66 version) done up as lowriders.

Probably just because looking more like a Lincoln than an Olds isn't a bad thing! Seriously, Steve, I haven't noticed that- I'll have to check it out after I've built this one. I'm not a huge fan of the '67 schnozz, I prefer the '66 and '68 versions and kind of see the '67 as an akward middle child, so I can't promise to be 100% unbiased in my opinion! Harry... there is NO SUCH THING as a non-postworthy paint job. This ain't the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance here! Barring that, If anybody else has built this one, feel free to post some pics of it here. Here's an idea... maybe I should turn mine into a Vista Cruiser...? Okay, maybe not.

I agree Harry- where's the '32 Dodge or Plymouth... or even DeSoto, to go with the one '32 Chevy and the gaggle of '32 Ford kits out there? A '49-'57 Olds or Buick wouldn't exactly kill anyone, either. A Tucker would be sweet, or what about a Checker Marathon? Sheesh... even something like a Hudson Hornet, early Nash Rambler, or Bullet-nose Stude would seem like a 'no brainer' that would appeal to any hardcore modeler! Personally, I could easily live with a few more versions of the '32 kit (perhaps next time with a side-steer setup, rear buggy spring, stock-style firewall, and an I beam axle in place of the round tube unit, though I'm sure we'll never get those items, well, from Revell at least). I'm still holding out hope for a Deuce pickup kit! I wouldn't even mind a Fordor highboy variant. There. I said it! I'd much rather see Revell end it's love affair with the '57 Chevy (HOW MANY of those kit tools do they own now?) The 150 Black Widow? Come on! 'd have rather seen a late model pickup kit, or even a reissue of, say, the old Jeep Honcho kit, than this thing. And I'm scared to think how many times Revell will be reaching into the '69 Nova goody bag over the next few years.

Isn't it cool to have Lindberg kits back? Since I can't see any of you, I'll just assume that you are nodding your head vigorously enough to shake your special headgear loose. Good! I'll get my two gripes out of the way first: 1. The box art features the 1:1 car, not the model. I hate that- it just seems that the model manufacturer has no pride in their product, and can be a bit misleading (like the Lindberg '48 Lincoln kit). Then again, that knife cuts both ways... remember the AMT '69 Daytona that oh so OBVIOUSLY had the chassis from the Road Runner/Super Bee and a bunch of stuff under the hood that was not included in the actual kit? But anyway, the last issue of this kit also featured a photo of the 1:1. I'd rather see the model on the box! 2. Lindberg still, for whatever reason, does NOT bag it's chrome sprues! Nothing kills the buzz more effectively than cracking open the box and finding chrome that's all scratched up, though happily this was not the case this time, and at least Lindberg DOES bag the clear parts. Okay, now... what do you get? Well, what you get is actually a pretty nicely done rendition of the '67 442. The chrome trim and door handles are separate, along with the rear window trim. The 14" Magnum 500 wheels are pretty good, as are the Firestone Super Sports, which bear an uncanny resemblance to AMT's versions of same. The engine is nice- down to the twin-snorkel air cleaner housing for the 4-bbl. carb. Unlike Lindbergs '72 Challenger, which proudly proclaimed "Exquisite interior detail" when the interior was so NOT exquisite (or even detailed, honestly ) this one is, equally on par with AMT's '66 442 kit. Chassis detail is also far into the realm of what I'd call 'decent enough'. Decals include several underhood markings, and the fadaway-motif graphics for the 442 badges. And the price is right... less than fifteen bucks at my LHS, in a world where the typical Revell kit changes hands for north of twenty, I certainly can't complain there! I'm not really big into muscle cars, but I do like this kit. I'm thinking it would make a fine replica stocker with little work. I'm more into AWB funny cars, so I'm thinking this will be my kits fate. Or, wait... what about a mild custom? The separate trim and door handles would make a shave job substantially easy... ...maybe I should pick up a couple more of these, huh?

Nice review, Randy! I particularly like the bow-tie wing nut on the new air cleaner lid. And ANY kit with separate whitewall inserts is a must have in my book! I haven't built one of these since they first came out, but I picked up this version today! I don't remember having any real issues putting the first one toghether... must mean it went together well! Guys... back me up or bash me down on this one, but the grille on this truck just doesn't look right to me. It seems a bit to...ah... chunky. Maybe it's too tall, too narrow, or both? The Revell Jeep J10 Honcho (when's THAT one gonna get reissued, huh?) had the same effect. I can't profess to be an expert on this style of Chevy truck, but something about that grille just bothers me!

Alls I gots ta say is- YES!

Nice... Yes! In the 1950's Studebaker-Packard had a hand in MB's US distribution, so maybe this one really isn't all that farfetch... ... wow! Almost made it without laughing! Maybe it IS farfetched, but man is it cool! 'Nuther fun fact... this Mercedes has a slant six... just like your grandma's Duster!

The time they ran those little RC cars up the window behind the newscasters was pretty sweet too! And Jeremy will be the first to tell you he is, indeed, quite fat!

Ah... yeah! I think I'll just agree with George on this one, Harry, since he lives a LOT closer to me than he does to you!

I'm with Bill- I almost exclusively use bead wire and superglue for my plug wires. I have used the aftermarket stuff, and I have no problems with it, except that it's quite pricey for what it is. You can buy a roll of bead wire or bare stem wire (the stuff florists use to tie floral arrangements together) for less than a buck, and have enough wire to do fifty or sixty models. It's also great for fuel line, brake line, etc. Just drill out a hole just slightly larger than the actual wire, and like Bill says, dab the end of the wire in super glue. I've never used a pre-wired distributor, though I've often thought of it- drilling out a kit distributor cap is a pain!

I could EASILY live with any one of these on my shelf- especially the Aero Ace- though I'd also like the '55 version with it's one-year only grille/side trim setup! A few more of my own: Jeep FC cabover '56-'57 Hudson (possibly the ugliest car ever built... and I love it!) And since we mentioned '70's cars: '73-'77 El Camino Chrysler Cordoba Excalibur Phaeton (there is a 1/16 scale version of one, no bi-scale though!) '75 International pickup or Travelall '78 Lincoln Continental Coupe '76-'78 AMC Ambassador

I've never had an Exploder or a Mountaineer (wouldn't mind a 4x4 '01-'04 Explorer Sport, though) but I did have an '84 'Chero that had more breakdowns than Tom Cruise. I'm in no hurry to own another Jeep, unless it's an old J-truck or a CJ. I learned the hard way what JEEP stands for... Just Empty Every Pocket!!!!

You know... that back end DOES look quite a bit like the butt of an early '80's Seville. Looks like the love child of one of those and a Detomaso Mangusta!

Whoa. So that's what heaven looks like... or, if not heaven, at least a place I'd like to spend a few months visiting!

You mean- "What is it... BESIDES the second or third ugliest car I've ever seen?" Looks like a male enhancement product on wheels! Like an Italian sportscar, only not as nice to look at!

The editor of Jp magazine (John Cappa) is building a rat rod based on an old Flatfender, and Hot Rod's David Frieburger says he's kicked the idea around. I've got a '77 CJ-7 rat rod model that's been on the back burner for a while now. So, I guess this idea isn't totally unprecedented! The one on Ebay... uh, I'm not so sure. The proportions all look just plain wrong to me, though I must applaud the builder for at least having his heart in the right place!

The 'Cuda and Merc are my faves. Let us see the end results, for sure!

Wow. Incredible! Just a tad surprised it isn't a fire apparatus...