Chuck Most

I'm just going to throw this out here, and see where it goes. Today at work, a few co-workers and I were discussing interesting cars driven by various characters in TV shows and movies. After a little back and forth about that, conversation turned to speculation... in the case of many characters, you don't see what kind of vehicle they drive, and often it isn't really made clear if they own a vehicle at all. I got to thinking that such a creative thought exercise might spark an idea or two for model building. So, think of your favorite movie, TV program, comic book, or whatever. Think of the character who usually takes the bus or bums a ride from one of the other characters, or at the very least, is never seen driving or talking about owning a personal car. What do you think they'd drive? What kind of car do you think John McClaine from the Die Hard movies owns? Or Zeus from Die Hard With a Vengeance? Or Bonnie from Knight Rider? Or Mr. Creosote? You reckon that Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park drove a plain old Camry, or something as eccentric as he was? Now's your chance to dream it up! Hey- winter is coming, you're going to need something to think about while you're shoveling snow, right? That way, not only can you show us the car you are building for your character, but also a little bit of why you chose that particular car and style for that character. Start time would be whenever the first builder jumps in with progress to report, and much like the pain and suffering, there would be no end. My idea? I'm going to build a model of what I think Fire Marshall Bill used as his daily driver....

I'd rather pay more to get a larger box shipped, than have a bunch of warped and broken parts sardine-packed into a smaller, standard sized box. I'm looking at you, Revell....

I don't buy copies of model car kits, I just buy the actual kits. Twist ending... it probably ISN'T the Moebius Hudson Hornets everyone is thinking I buy in bulk (though they're right up there), it is likely the Revell '32 Ford five-window... so many cool parts in that one that even if you rob a bunch of stuff from a kit, you still have enough left to build a complete car. I probably had close to 30 of just that one kit on hand at one point.

All I can say is I like it. A LOT! Many modelers make their CH 359 kits all shiny and showy, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it's nice to see one done up the other way for a change.

You'd have to travel back in time to 1994 to find a 1:1 that nice! Very well done.

I'm not talking about gearing. Not necessarily anyway. I'm talking about how much of a toll a 'Slip-and-slide' transmission that only shifts once might take on the engine. They may be just dandy for drag racing (in highly modified form), but I'm not sure if I'd trust one if I had the thing floored for two ten-mile blasts. I'd want something a tad more efficient.

You kind of lost me with "Small Block Chevy"... then came "Powerglide"... yech. But even then, it's shaping up perfectly. It would look absolutely mean in a slightly distressed shade of factory dark green or blue. I can't say for sure, but I'd imagine Bonneville guys started running Powerglides about five minutes after you could start finding them in abundance at salvage yards, though I'm not sure how effective a trans with only two speeds would be if you're trying to set a top speed record.

Well, he didn't succeed in making a late '40's Cadillac any uglier than it was when stock, but since that's probably impossible I'd call it a hollow victory on that front. There are exceptions to every rule, but big wheels on a big car look better than 14" steelies on a big car, but then again, there are people who honestly think that cars from the era of four-wheel drums and points ignition were the best cars ever built (even though they have one of those evil disc-brake/coil-on-plug modern cars as a daily... go figure). Yeah, he did kind of drop the ball with the grille design, but at least it doesn't look like the chrome-plated grimace of a constipated chipmunk , the way the stock grille did. But this was around the time Cadillac decided they wanted to be the Tammy Faye Baker of luxury makes and start slathering their cars in more and more garish tinsel. Again- really hard to "ugly up" a design like this, but even then the grille just doesn't seem to "work". All that being said, if I won the car in a raffle or something I'd drive it- but I don't think I'd buy it or build/have one built like it. Even if I did, a postwar Cadillac is the absolute last base I'd use anyway. If I wanted to dump money into an ugly-duckling luxury car I think I'd have to go with a '49-'51 Baby Lincoln, or pretty much anything that ever had "Imperial" somewhere in it's name.

The weird thing about the roof flaw on this kit is that you barely notice it when the kit is built to this level of quality. VERY nicely done.

Just keep in mind that the Gremlin's wheels, while depicting a stock AMC steel rally wheel, are a bit too wide (too much negative offset) to accurately represent a stock unit. You could narrow them, but even if used straight off the sprue there's no mistaking the for anything else .

That monstrosity. The Matador coupe at least had some of that "'70's budget pimp-mobile" mojo going for it. That being said, if I could find a decent yellow and wood Matador wagon at an even more decent price, I'd totally rock it.

Exceptionally nice, but... does it float?

It does say Ranger on it, but it looks more like a seventh-gen F-Series to me.

Hmmmmmmmm..... did somebody say taxi cab?

I'm a huge fan of acrylics. How huge? I've gained 30 pounds in the last month and a half. Wait... never mind that. I am a big fan of Tamiya and Polly Scale. Model Master acrylics are pretty good as well, though I've had mixed results with the Testors stuff. It did take some getting used to and a little research and plain old trial and error as far as airbrushing goes, but like anything else, once you get the hang of it it's no big deal. Clean-up is most definitely a plus compared to solvent-based paints, but beware- you will still want to wear the proper protective gear when spraying acrylics. Yes, they're "non-toxic", but you still don't need any solid paint particles clogging up your lungs!

I believe someone was, until GMC's copyright lawyers put the brakes on it.

I'm going to take a wild guess you've already stumbled across the builder's blog, but for the benefit of everyone... https://pacertruck.wordpress.com/category/pacer-pickup/

*takes a bow*

Well, I was half-joking when I posted that, seeing as how yet another "how old is everybody" type thread recently sprung up, and all of a sudden I find it remarkable that I'm not being carded to buy smokes. I didn't see anything that stood out with the video editing, though THAT is of pretty good quality. But that's possible with standard-issue video editing software. I'm dead serious- anyone could make a video of equal or superior quality to this. Point I'm trying to make is this... you ask why he can't tell it's a poorly done model. Well... think about accessories row at Autozone and all the tacky stuff there. The guy who drives a Silverado with a clip-on billet grille and fake beadlocks on the wheels. Or the kid with an erector set wing on his stock Camry. Or... the guy who thinks his Rustoleum-and-roller paint job should take best in show. Everybody knows at least one guy who thinks that everything you need to repair a dent or a rust hole can be found in a can of Bondo. You or I would look at that and say "Wow, that's the bad kind of ridiculous." But apparently it looks pretty good to the owner, otherwise they'd not have done those things. Simply put, I can't see what they're seeing through their eyes. I can only see what they're seeing through mine. You're asking the impossible. I have no idea what he's seeing. Who knows, maybe this guy is so wrapped up in the pride and the "HOLY JEEZ I MADE THIS WITH MY OWN HANDS" aspect he either doesn't see the flaws or downplays them in his mind's eye. Perhaps in his mind it's exactly the way he wanted it to be. Rather than just parroting different forms of "That sucks", let the guy know WHY it sucks. And don't him know why it sucks, but give him some pointers on how to do it better on the next one. Yes, sometimes a little tough love is needed. But it has to go further than pointing out the flaw and going on your merry way. But... if it is a joke, I'd have to say he played his hand pretty well.

If you wanted to you could make a really nice Pacer model with a little kitbashing between the two. The MPC's engine is the better of the two, while the AMT has the superior chassis. You can even swap out the hood and grille from one to the other with a little bit of work- I found out it's not a direct part-for-part swap, but it is workable.

Love it! Opened the thread expecting to see the Revell kit, so the fact that it's the old AMT hardtop was a pleasant surprise, too.

Decent production values? Now I think you're joking. For God's sake... it was made with Windows Movie Maker. They even used that "Ninja Tuna" song that comes standard on every Windows-equipped laptop, right along with Movie Maker. That's it. You could make a video and run it through Movie Maker and have the same result, even if it was your first time using it. Sorry if I'm being too technical for you old timers, but that's how it is.

Very nice looking little Bug. This is one of the few kits I think ISN'T reissued frequently enough! Yes, the Gunze kits are odd with their vinyl interior parts, but there really isn't much to fear. A little superglue to hold them in place, and some Duplicolor primer over the parts if you need to paint them- most hobby lacquers and acrylics work well on them too. But yes, that windshield gasket can be a bigger pain than it really needs to be. If you think adding the vinyl windshield trim to this is a chore, try adding all the canopy gaskets to their Messerschmidt one of these days.

Well, if the types of comments I'm reading here are the kind of "encouragement" they're getting , can't say that I really blame them. "That's bad." "That's sloppy." "I could build better than that back when I was still a fetus." Yes, all of that may be true, but let's not give them any advice or anything... let's just go all Simon Cowell from the warm glow of our computer screens and bask in our own magnificence! Yes, constructive criticism really is a fantastic thing, and is usually appreciated by the recipient. Maybe not at the time it is administered, but later on when the builder tries to improve based on input from others. But the old frat-boy hazing technique BS that many modelers seem to default to when seeing a less-than-presentable model by a novice is just that... BS.