Chuck Most

None that I can think of.

No, it's not a factory body style, but I've seen a couple 1:1's done up in such a way. Not saying "Chevrolet should have done this" but who knows? Maybe it would have sold a few thousand. Anyway... 1990 vintage Jimmy Flintstone body, vintage Spectrum photoetch grille and lock cylinders, and a brand-spankin' new Grumpy's Toy Nova (chosen for it's bench seat and plain steel wheels) came together to make this happen, along with some "rattle-can touch-ups" to the pink paint and hand-painted commercial lettering. Okay... I did use dry transfers for the "Floral & Garden"... no way is my hand steady enough to hand-paint lettering THAT small. Still doesn't have an engine, though I did cut a Trumpeter six cylinder down to a four with plans to install it in this. I might still go that route, or use a regular Trumpeter six, or I might do something totally insane and just drop in the kit's 327. It'll work as a shelf filler between now and then at any rate.

Caprice is now in Under Glass as well.

I started this a couple of years ago and wrapped it up just a few minutes ago. Looking at the pics I see I'll need to to a few touch ups here and there... don't you just love digital cameras? The decals are from E&K, the push bar is a modified kit piece, and the gumball is a modified unit from Policecarmodels.com. It looks to be pretty close in size to a Unity Spitfire, but the lens is tapered and not cylindrical. The search continues. The door seals might be too new for a '91 (but I've seen a '93 with this style door seal), but I've chosen not to let that bother me. Paint is DupliColor Pontiac Engine blue- for many years the Motor Carrier vehicles were the only MSP vehicles to deviate from the traditional royal blue.

Saw a commercial today that pleased me. Well, I don't know if it pleased me, but it did amuse me. In it, a certain guy who played Steve Jobs in a movie was pitching Android phones. Those of you who like looking for deeper meaning and hidden messages can have all kinds of fun with that.

It is called a hood light, though it's also informally called a shark fin or hailer. It is basically a relic from another time. Years ago, the MSP would perform what was called a "side stop". That is, rather than pulling up behind the car you wanted to pull over and hitting the siren, you would pull alongside and hit the siren. At night, the trooper could engage the hood light. Now it is more of a decoration than a practical device, though some troopers still use it when arriving at a compliant's home at night, as a way of letting the compliant know they're on the scene without drawing as much attention as blazing strobes.

'93 and later models had full rear wheel openings. Roof pillars remained body color.

Just for future reference- if you see me doing it in the future, don't be afraid to point it out. Not saying I'll change it unless I know it's something that'll bother me, but rest assured it will be noted and I won't take offense. And thanks for the bit of info, Tom! I'll admit to not paying more than cursory attention to such thins until just recently. The '57 is more of a shelf filler anyway- I'm trying to get the Caprice a bit closer to correct looking. I may already be behind the curve on that though, because after going through the pics I have of Motor Carrier Caprices I think the door seal type might be a little too old for a '91. I'll tell you what we really need- a good Unity Spitfire in 1:25. There are quite a few coffee-drum shaped gumballs similar in scale, but nothing close. Seems like anything that looks close is either just a tad too big or just a tad too small.

Just wrapped up the '57, and the Caprice has been inching very slowly along. The side trim and door handle foiling/painting were completed after this photo was taken. I also touched up some of the "gasket" around the side windows.

For one thing, I couldn't bring myself to stick such a contraption on the roof.... Next time I'm aiming closer to the mark though.

Basic build of the Revell kit. I actually started this a few years ago with the 2-in-1 kit, before the Model King police car variant came out. The gumball came from a JoHan '59 Rambler. I did rob the spotlight from a Ranch Wagon earlier tonight, made a hailer, and wrapped it up. It's not 100% accurate, but it'll do for me. Paint is Ford engine blue, which is not even close to MSP royal blue. I was going for more of a "faded old Polaroid" look than an accurate shade... if that makes any sense. I believe the decals were Fred Cady, but I can't verify that. The sheet came with two sets of gold (yellow) door seals, and one set of gold (as in, actual gold) seals. I used the gold seals on this.

Patina and rust have been going on since Great Uncle George's Curved Dash Olds was about five years old and beginning to show it's age. Deal with it.

J is done- check out Under Glass if you are so inclined.

Aoshima kit with Hoppin Hydros wheels. And a little dust. After looking at the pics I noticed the broken taillight lens- I had to bend it a bit to get it to fit better, I guess it must have bent itself back. I'm just going to park it on the shelf with the rear bumper facing the wall and not worry about it.

Yes indeed, IIRC this Opel/Vauxhall was dubbed the U-Body, and as far as I know, there was no such designation here Stateside. But as far as making one look like a US version, that's where the "not minding a little conversion work" part comes into play.

Just going to point out the fact that this same basic car was sold in the States as the Chevrolet Monza, Pontiac Sunbird, and Oldsmobile Starfire, for those of you who like '70's compacts and don't mind a little conversion work.

I like the idea, but I think a chopped Tudor sedan roof might work a little better than the coupe roof. It would give more of a "fastback" kind of look.

Something we were discussing at work today... sometime within the last ten or fifteen years, "styling cues" became "design vocabulary". Why? This is what happens when you put the art majors in the marketing department instead of in the styling department.

The model appears to be based on an Italeri European truck. There is some debate, but the 1:1 Dipmobile appeared to be based on a WW2-era six-ton Military truck, likely a White 666. It has also been I'd as a GMC CCKW, though the cab appears closer to what the six-ton rigs used. Either way it is difficult to tell as so much of the truck is obscured. There are no 1:24 WW2 military trucks of these types in kit form, likely why the builder of this model went with a much later-model kit as the base of the model.

Any variation of "vape".

A Roman walks into a bar, holds up two fingers and says "five beers, please".

W-O-W...

Well, then... the Esci Transit is coming back. And Italeri is the company making it happen. I hereby take back 95% of all the less-than-favorable things I've ever said about Italeri.

Is it just me, or does the dump truck in the first pic look a tad Kenworth-y? (Not bashing it, just wondering out loud. )