Chuck Most

This is the stuff I come to this site for... beautiful builds of cars that are NOT another bunch of red '69 Camaros! Maybe when I find a decent "bullet nose" Stude body or a trans-kit, and figure out how to post pics on the goshdang forum thread, I'll show it off here! Sheesh, who among us would NOT want a bullet-nose in kit form? Meantime, guess I'll just go back to the beginning and check out THESE Studes again... where's my drool napkin, now?

Sweet build! Makes me want to dig out one of the six or seven untouched Revell choppers in my stash! Just, not TODAY...

Is there some special trick to posting builds in "under glass"? Why can't you just load it off a disc or a camera, like you can on the photo-sharing sites?

Uh... WHOA!!!! Wish I had that kind of patience... not to mention, I don't know, skill!

Guys... What about the 1980's T-Bird Turbo Coupes? They were pretty big cars (for the time), but with a 2.3 Turbo and a five speed stick, they were quicker than most V-8 cars of the time. Not only that- they came loaded- power everything, adjustable suspension, upgraded sound system... the works. It's not really a muscle car per se, I feel the lack of a V-8 rules it out for that title, but I'm not sure it would realy fit with what we've come to know as a tuner, either. I'd just call it a 'high performance personal luxury coupe", kind of like Ford did. I'm actually suprised that we have the FWD Charger as a 1:25 kit, but do you know what FWD performance car I would LOVE to have in kit form? The four door Omni GLH. I love the idea of a high-powered car that resembles a roller skate with windows, and that's exactly what the GLH was!

My... some of us sure are fussy! "I wouldn't waste my money on that kit because the body is .040" too long!"- or whatever. Yeah, consitency does seem to be a bit lacking as far as scale fidelity goes, still... does the finished product LOOK like a '57 Chevy? Even with the junky old MPC flip nose the answer is yes! I stopped caring about such things years ago... I found that if I spent less time worrying if the grille opening was the "correct" shape, or if the track was three scale inches too wide, I would have MORE time to, I don't know- enjoy BUILDING the thing! Now, I only worry about the stuff that is grossly, painfully, obvious-even-to-a-non-modeler wrong or misproportioned. THAT kind of stuff still bugs the ###### out of me! My main problem with the Black Widow is this... yeah, it's a "rare" body style, but it's still a common-as-dirt '57 Chevy. Frankly, the world needs another 1:24/1:25 '57 Chevy about as badly as Seattle needs more rain.

Check your local Walgreen's store (or is it Walgreene's, or Wallgreene's... anyway, it's the drug store chain, and some are open 24/7) for W.O.R.- that's where I got my copy. My local grocery chain used to carry it but, of course, when Tim Boyd publishes a story in it, they magically shuffle the mag selection! K Mart won't carry it, nor will Mall-Wart, and NONE of the parts stores in my area had it- incidentally, Walgreen's was the LAST place I looked! (Typical.) As far as the content, Tim, dead-on again! As a 1:1 and small-scale rod guy, I've built many of these kits, and the story shed light on some kits I'll probably only dream of buying, much less building, such as the MPC '33 Chev panel, the King T/Wild Dream kits, and the AMT '28 Model A Tudor! I can think of only one kit that was not really covered... the MPC/AMT Beverly Hillbillies 1920-ish Olds "Economy Truck"! Yeah, most modelers would not consider this kit as the basis to a rod, but all four of the "Hillbillies" Olds kits I've purchased have become rods of some sort... except the one that became a beat up wrecker. Hey, Tim... you used one of these kits yourself to build a Judson-blown, '60's style "bucket" rod a few years back! And I can still live with the Revell '32 Fords being the "Best Ever". I love these kits, but I'm really beginning to wonder if they're just a tad overrated. Won't stop me from buying one or ten of those upcoming three-window variants, though! Guys- this article is more than worth checking out! As LDO said, it is wise to call ahead, regardless of where you're checking out, to see if they actually HAVE the thing before you drive the old F-250 seventy miles to go and get it!

Nope... Actually, I'm was waiting for some crappy, slow-cure resin to set up. Close, but no cigar, sir!

Dude- there's nothing modern at all about the "Panther" platform... the Crown Vic/ Gr. Marquis/ Town Car were "retro" before that was cool! Still, yeah, it sucks that Ford is finally killing of the last troika of 'true' American full size cars... but it's been coming, David. What kind of Ford will I have to drive when I'm a 55 year old Florida transplant, now that I won't be able to buy a new RWD, body on frame, V8 FoMercLinc? Another chapter in American automotive history is closed... Anyway- the '08 Galaxie may be feasible, after all, those Monte Carlo buyers are gonna need SOMETHING to drive when GM keels over dead !!!!

Here's something about nothing, but I'm curious: Would you rather build a lousy and expensive kit of a car you love, or a nicely-done, cheap kit of a car you hate? Would paying $50 for that poorly-done '51 Nash and the subsequent struggle to wrestle it together be more enjoyable than a quick, easy, detailed build of yet another red '69 Camaro from a $10 "bargain bin"? And, just so we all know where I stand, yes, I'd rather have the crappy kit of the car I like than a beautiful kit of a car I don't like!

You may also want to try your local Car Quest- the local CQ in my area (Halls Auto Parts) is LEGENDARY for paint and body supplies. Dupli-Color is but one of the colors he carries. If you can bring in a paint code, or at least a name/application, he can usually set you up.

Jah- I live in a toilet called Ithaca, about 20 miles southeast of the middle of the "mitten". It's only claims to fame are being the hometown of E.J. Potter, and the world's first cow race. Jeez, no wonder ol' E.J. fled to Florida...

Too late to chime in on this one? I've wanted a '78-'88 RWD Cutlass in styrene as long as I've been building models (1988 or so). I can live with a promo style chassis/engine... the chassis from the reissued MPC Monte or the Trumpeter '78 Monte, combined with a parts box stand in for the Olds 307 (externally similar to the engine in the '69 442 kits aside from smog equipment, ect.) would should net a pretty nice Cutty! Or, I'd be just as happy with a promo- style buildup. I never look under them when I finish them, anyway!

Ya- one of the reasons I did not post pictures is because my build looks just like the box art truck- except in a red oxide and black primer spray job and with the chrome wheels painted. And, yeah, the rescribed door lines. I'll gladly post a photo if you want to see it, but I figured the space would be better utilized by seeing what cool ways YOU guys can think of as uses for this kit... besides, you know, like a doorstop or something.

I had never seen this kit before, so when my LHS got four of them, I bought one (and later, a second). First off- don't expect it to be nearly as detailed or accurate as Lindberg's OTHER '34 Pickup. The RPU is almost grossly oversimplified, but is loaded with potential. The castings are pretty nice- there really isn't all that much flash for a kit tool this old. The door lines are upraised on the cab- I cut new door lines into the body of mine... this alone really helps the model look better, despite the molded in seat. The wheels are chromed- that's the good news. The bad news is there are four very prominent ejector pin marks in the outer circumfrence of the rim, smoothing them will destroy the chrome unless you choose to run the optional Moon discs. The engine is a vastly oversimplified early Hemi, and there are two frames provided- one with the fenders molded onto it, and one without. The "fenderless" frame also features an optional dropped front axle. The kit goes together easily and quickly- just keep an eye on what flash, molding marks, and cast-in part numbers there are and you'll be find. Using fast-dry primers as a finish, I had the first one done in one afternoon, built box stock. And that second kit? Well, now that I know the lay of the land of this kit, THAT one will certainly not be a box-stocker...