Chuck Most

Uh... not mine!

Wha!? I never knew there was an "old" Revell Trabant! I do plan on getting one of the "new" ones, though. Don't know why it is, but I love those dull-looking, poorly-built Soviet poo-boxes.

Wow... just awesome. I particularly like the fadeaway fender job.

Dom Delouise, David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson... and now BILLY MAYS!!!!! All within the span of DAYS!!!! Don't know about you guys... but I'm sure glad I am NOT a famous celebrity right about now! Is Being Dead the "in" celebrity thing these days, or something? All I can say is my Celebrity Death Pool has been torn asunder of late!!!!

I've used this stuff over all types of paint, and I love it. It comes out nice and glossy, and with some polishing- whoa. These one-coat laquers changed my mind about Testors paint- they've become my favorite product to use. Sure glad they expanded the color selection a while back!

Sometimes doing a wash on them with thinned silver or pearl white helps- you want to water it down somewhat to it collects more around the outside edges. I've tried painting them entirely flat and/or semigloss silver and have never been too thrilled with the results. For molded in taillamps (like on the Revell Jeep J-10) your best bet is transparent Stop Light Red over BMF, same as for a one-piece, chromed taillight.

I'll tell you one thing- I think the old Thriller LP is gonna be spinning on my turntable tonight at the workbench. Love him or hate him- thriller was the Shizzle. (I don't know what that means, either, but i like saying it. I cannot help being a lame-o white dude.) This album dropped the same year I did ('82- same as Knight Rider, Airplane 2: The Sequel, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Dark Crystal, the "reissued" Mustang GT 5.0, and the new Camaro/Firebird/TA- an all new Scout would have debuted that year, as well, had it not been for International Harvester's financial woes in the late '70's), so I do take some offense to it being called "classic"!!!!

Who in his right mind WOULDN'T?! I probably should have eluded to this right off the bat, but my statement above is just DRIPPING with sarcasm!

Actually, THIS BUILD was one of the ones that proved to me you could make a silk purse from this sow's ear! I've heard much of the Trumpeter kit (which has the better looking two headlamp front end), one of those things is that you have to hack the bejeebus out of the firewall to get the chassis to fit in. I cannot confirm this, as I've never cracked the Trumpeter kit open (yet) much less built it.

You had me going, Hellonwheels! I see "Pacific Northwest" and I think "Sasquatch"! Or, as we call hairy ape-men here in Michigan- "Residents of the village of Elsie" (Elsie claims to be the world's dairy capitol. And it understandably smells bad.) I've just got to ask- why do ya need a club? You've already got US! Oh, maybe that's why...

First things first- I bought this kit just for the Honda chopper and corresponding trailer. I could have cared less about the Monte itself. Be that as it may, there's more than enough to this kit to build a decent late '70's Monte Carlo. Much of the chassis detail is molded into the plate, and it suffers from the molded-in chrome headlamp syndrome that, sadly, was with us well into the '80's. The engine is easily the best part of the kit- it's quite similar in parts breakdown to the MPC El Camino annuals (and the later AMT '86 ElCo SS). In fact- I'd have to say the engine and the chopper by themselves are well worth the price of admission for this kit. (I paid just under $14 at my LHS for mine, by the way.) The Bad: Having built one from an earlier AMT buyer's choice reissue, I know the chopper can be a fiddly little pain in the arse to get to go together... although mine actually did survive the floor-shock test! It's best to test fit the choppers headers to the engine, then glue the two pipes on each side into a single unit. This will save you much frustration when trying to put on the four separate pipes later! The optional luggage rack would have been more useful if left in it's original, molten styrene state. The interior is a bucket, naturally, but the dash and steering wheel are nicely engraved, and there is minimal-but pretty much accurate, inner door panel detail. I'm also not in love with the '70's Monte Carlo. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, but this thing is butt-ugly! And the kit really doesn't even do it justice... the kit isn't the best representation of this ugly machine! So what we have is an ugly kit of an ugly car... whew! Thank goodness this kit does have potential to come out looking less like and ugly model and more like the ugly 1:1 car! That being said- you CAN wring a nice model out of this kit. Anyone who doesn't believe me need only scan through this very forum in the "Under Glass" and "On the Workbench" threads. And I do like the fact that the roof is molded WITHOUT the T-tops in place... some cutting is required if you want the T-top version. I'm not a fan of T-tops, so this is good news for me, but if you want to build your Class Action this way- you've been forwarned. This kit would make a decent shelf model of just about any type of Monte (I think mine will end up as a typical Michigan dirt track bomber- that's how most of the Monte Carlos that did not rust out here met their ends). Beater, lowrider, weekend drag car, parts donor (I do like the look of the stock wheel covers, but what am I gonna use them on?)... even a tribute replica of Uncle Carl's old ride, T-tops and all. I can see it now... jacked up rear axle, five-slot mags with big and little Rally GT tires, a CB antenna, and a resin figure of Uncle Carl- bad hairplugs, gold chains, and huge moustache. (Shag flocked interior and trunklid mural optional.) Bonus: Besides the Chopper, you get an MPC sticker. Mine is on the toolbox where I keep my Xacto blades, sandpaper, and the like. DO NOT use it outside- it looks like a vinyl sticker, but it's really just glossy paper, so it isn't weather proof. So- let's hear what you have to say about this kit (car, chopper, and all), and- better still- how's about you SHOW us what you did with it. I'd like to see how far people have been able to take this one.

A process I have used in some of my un-godly slammed rats is to use a two (or even three) piece driveshaft (with a carrier bearing, of course!) Maybe not practical, but it does add a small degree of realism, and it does connect the axle to the tranny! Alternatively, on one of my "less-than-realistic" rat rod builds, I solved the driveshaft issue (and eliminated the driveshaft/trans hump in the floor of the channeled and chopped cab) by making the rod front wheel drive, and just hanging a solid rear "dead" axle out in back. I'm not very happy with this particular build of mine, but maybe you could even try something like that if you're really nutso.

These guys are good- a pants-poopingly huge selection, great prices, and quick service. I don't (can't?) buy as much stuff from these fine folks as I'd like to!

Well, this is a bit too broad a question to be clear and concise with an answer, but here's what I did- I just used spray cans for many years, until I got my chops honed pretty well on that. I'm just now getting the hang of using an airbrush. It's like anything else, Vince- you've just got to put in a lot of practice and get comfortable with it. I'm convinced no matter what TYPE of paint you use, be it a $1 can of off-brand spray,or a custom mixed airbrush paint, it has more to do with the TECHNIQUE you use than the actual paint itself. I've seen great paint jobs that were made using cheap-o rattle cans, and I've seen catastrophically terrible paint jobs that were made using top-shelf products. One thing you should look out for- always test out the paint on the plastic first- some laquers and most all nail polishes can rip plastic to shreds. Use a primer/sealer for these finishes and you should be okay.

"Tay hewow to my widdle fwiend!!!"

Two words... James May!!!! What, it's not THAT improbable... by day he's Captain Slow, by night he's the Stig! It's perfect!

I've done it that way, too... just don't wanna get that lighter too hot.

I like seeing rare (and supposedly collectable and valuable) kits built up... that's what they were, I don't know, MADE FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE! An unbuilt kit is just a set of building supplies... you don't see guys collecting cinder blocks, insulation, and 4 x 8's, do ya? No- well, they 'collect' it until they have enough to build a garage or a shed or whatever, but they don't gather it all just for the sake of collecting it! To me, that's about the same thing as buying a kit and NOT building it! If this is, in fact, your final build- what a way to go out! I dig all kinds of hearses, I dig your builds, and you pulled out another masterpiece. But I'd be willing to put money on the fact we'll be hearing from you again, Evilone... that is IF I had any money to put down on it! (I keep trading my money for model kits... pretty sweet deal, huh?)

You keep asking for OUR input, Fletch... but it seems like YOU have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done on your own!

Does it need a flathead! Yes! Or, wait... a T-bird spec Y-block would be nice. No, no, or a Nailhead, or a... ah, forget it! Long as it's not another ratty Chevy 350 I'll be pleased!

Forty degrees... and no wind! Can ya say "Heat Wave"?

I love this big old Olds boats. Not sure if they're so beautiful they're ugly or so ugly they're beautiful, but I love 'em! Better let us see that lowrider when she's done...

I've got a few songs that inspired some builds. WARNING: some are a bit odd. I built a Model A rat roadster that I originally thought of while listening to "The Mob Rules" by Sabbath. Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" (the best bad song ever) has inspired at least two beater builds. I built a Jeep Honcho who's soundtrack during the build was nothing but AC-DC vinyl LPs (I think that led to it's backyard hillbilly beater pickup vibe.) And I was listening to a lot of Type O Negative when I built my Galaxie/Jimmy Flintstone '46 Chevy Hearse. I was also listening to TON when I got the idea to buy a Vampire Van kit- which I haven't gotten to yet. And I've usually got Slayer on when I'm doing an AWB funny car- not sure how that equates, but it seems to help!

Whoever has them- I'll gladly take 'em off your hands! I've always wanted to have my own model company... maybe I could make a case for a "little three" bailout to secure the funds!

I was thinking this would be pink or something- whoa! It's so sick and twisted and wrong that it is just so RIGHT!!!