Chuck Most

Very cool, but I am a bit disappointed about one thing. When I read "Brats" I was thinking along the lines of "bratwurst". But I guess this will do.

I'm going to at least try to turn one into a somewhat street-stock car. The 240 is an indestructible brick and now the ultimate hipster car, I'm really surprised it took this long to get one as a 1:24 kit, even if it is race-only.

Dateline 1966- Carroll Shelby takes Baja.

This is the new Moebius kit, built as a modern-style street machine. I lowered it, used Aoshima Lauda Sport wheels and Pirelli tires, and powered it with the 5.0 from a Revell '14 Mustang GT. I modified the inner fenders to make room for it- let's just say that it has the TCI front suspension on it. It likely needs some bracing- I'll figure that out later. The Mustang also barfed up it's electric fan, overflow tank, and battery, as well as the modified front suspension. Paint is Testors flaming orange. Needs a couple of foil and paint touchups here and there now that I look at the pics but overall I'm fairly pleased with how it came out.

Actually the stance is pure accident- I just left the "tail-down" stance to give the impression of rear leaves that had been overtaxed one time too many.

'54 Hudson Hornet Club Coupe converted into a four-wheel-drive pickup and powered with a Ford small block. The idea was an abandoned old aftermarket conversion or forgotten factory prototype given a new lease on life.

First gen Fit? I'll recommend simulating RTV sealer along the roof seams to keep leaks at bay. Also, driver needs a vape box and the LP sleeve from The Beat's "Wha'ppen?" needs to be somewhere in the car. Speaking of hipsters... why is there no kit of a stock Volvo 240?

Also- some of the Polar Lights snap kits come with metal axles that are splined on the ends.

Scenes Unlimited sells an axle shaft set that comes with a pair of splined shafts.

Glad I could help, though I have to admit I know nothing about this kit, but the fender unit and suspension looked awfully familiar to me. Guess it's clear why now.

Another Heller Ferguson bites the dust- this one has a homemade loader and blade, truck tires up front, and a 12-volt conversion. It's kind of a composite of all the crusty old beater tractors I used to see on farms as a kid... and still do today, come to think of it.

Well, the big push these days seems to be to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US- who needs intelligence when all you're going to do for five decades is punch a time clock and press the "start" button on some conveyor system? Being a little "educationally disadvantaged" wouldn't be so bad in that case- you wouldn't have any real inkling of how far you're being bent over the barrel. Yes, that statement was mostly just me cracking open the pressure relief valve on the part of my brain where all my bitter sarcasm comes from, but that being said, thoughts like that and seeing research like this (and wondering if there's any connection) do keep me up at night. Sheesh- thinking can be a real downer. I can almost understand why nobody would want to do it. On the plus side? Maybe this means in 50 years I'll look like some kind of guru because I'll be the only one at the plant who can read and understand the MSDS sheets, or possibly explain the nuances of what that "No Cell Phone Use" sign up front means. I'll regale the break room with stories of how we used to have to write stuff down by hand, perhaps using the archaic alphabet called "cursive". Someone will ask "What is cursive" and I'll take a deep breath and... okay, I think that bitter sarcasm relief valve has a slow leak. Here's what I believe. There are always going to be people who are, shall we say, "less than exceptional". I'm not talking about people with learning disabilities, or any other types of conditions that would make learning to a higher level possible. Even then, I know mentally challenged people who are almost genius at times. I know a guy who can't even read or write his own name, but he can do long division in his head. We called him The Human Calculator. I'm not talking about that. That's not the person's fault- that's a disability. I'm talking about a lack of drive from an otherwise completely capable person. An awful lot of people just don't see what I'd consider to be fundamental knowledge to be important. I went to school with a guy who was going to be a farmer, just like the last five generations of his family. The way he saw it, why did he need to learn math? Or reading? Cows don't care if you know how to read, crops don't care that 2+2=4. Turns out, his lack of drive translated pretty well into his (ultimately abortive) farming career. So now, he's practically about as employable as a second-grader. And he blames everyone but himself for his failures... but that's a rant for some other time. And if they aren't interested in mastering the basics of, well... the basics? They're pretty much going to be screwed in anything above that. Little wonder that nobody gets my Renaissance jokes... which you'd find hilarious if only you hadn't skipped history class to do donuts in the parking lot with Steve Zdunowski in his beat-up '81 Delta 88 that always reeked of burned oil and stale reefer. Is the number that high? I have no idea. Every study (scientific or not) most likely has some kind of agenda attached to it. And, those of us with reading comprehension and critical thinking skills often wonder "what ELSE could be inferred from these results"? (Tin foil hat relief valve talking there.) But it's always seemed to me that there are an awful lot of "low-drive" individuals out there in the wild. No scientific backing there- just my own observations and plain old gut feeling. Lack of drive, or motivation if you prefer. I believe that is the real problem. I'm not sure if it's an American thing or a Human thing, but it seems like many people just want to squeak by on the absolute minimum amount of effort. Hell, I'm guilty of that from time to time myself. I think if we could figure out the cause of that, we'd be pretty well set. We don't need to encourage everyone to be exceptional, but I think we need to make a more focused effort to get people to see what they're really capable of, rather than just doing the bare-bones level of effort. But, that would require drive and ambition. Ugh...

Nope. the 3.7 is a completely different design than the previous Ford V6 engines. The design is only about 10 years old, and as far as I know, there hasn't been a full detail kit of any vehicle to use it.

Sweet! A little work really brought it to life.

I make sure they don't roll. Think of it as a display shelf parking brake. Exception to that may be with an older kit where I might need to position the wheels a bit to get them all to sit flat. Old MPC kits are a great example- seems like the mounting holes for the wheels are always just a touch off-center. But, once all four tires touch the bench- out comes the glue.

Glad I nabbed three.

Thanks guys! I'd like to point out a coupe of things. The instructions have you install the dash, then the steering column. I found it easier to install the column, then dash, then fit the two together (don't use a fast-acting adhesive for this!). Also, there's a tab on top of the grille insert which I removed, so that it would fit into the assembled hood crown/sides more easily. I managed not to break any of the brake actuation rods or pedals, even though they're THIN and held to the sprue by some considerably thick runners. I glued the steering solid for strength. I think on the next one I'll deviate from the assembly sequence by installing the completed front axle at once, rather than adding the beam at one point and the spindles later, as shown in the instructions.

Had a blast building mine. And yes, I did take a few liberties.

I got this kit Thursday- and wrapped it up today. I have to say for a kit with so many delicate, fiddly parts, the actual assembly process is downright pleasant. Haven't had this much fun on a (mostly) box stock build in quite a while. I did take a few liberties. I wired the igniton- kudos to Heller for having enough "meat" on the distributor leads to drill into them for wires! I also used the padded seat for the optional FF-30 building version just because I could, and I left off some of the three-point components, because at this point I'm still not sure what I want to put on the back of it yet. Of course, I weathered mine, but that shouldn't be a shocker, right?

Well, is it still a 320 with a Ford 5.0? Would it be a 500i now? Know what? I don't really care. It's the Revell 320i Rally kit, with the engine and transmission from an AMT '94 Mustang GT. It has been lowered , and the wheels and tires came from a Revell Datsun 510. Note the hood gap- it actually will fit better than in the pics (though there's still a prominent gap toward the front), but as I was taking the pictures I left it the way you see it, because I thought it added to the shabby, rundown look.

Appears it's still available- http://www.paragrafix.biz/product_detail.asp?PPartNum=pgx192

I'll always remember her for the few seconds she was in the beginning of The Naked Gun 1-1/2.

Personally I'd not go larger than 20. The Tamiya acrylic jars are 23ml, and I can typically paint two bodies (and matching related components) with one jar. 15 may work, but I'd like that extra little measure of security the 20ml bottle would have.

The headlight bezels bear an uncanny resemblance to '40 Willys units- particularly the ones in the early 2000's Revell kits. Perhaps those would work, and if so, they'd not be hard to adapt at all. But if you do figure out a way to conjure some up yourself (and I'm certain you can) then by all means- let us see!

Then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to turn in your avatar photo.