Chuck Most

I've wanted to do a couple of heavier-duty classic Effies for a while. Finally the planets seemed to have aligned just right so an F-250 variant is a go. If this one turns out well enough, I'll proceed on to the F-350 version I have planned. The first thing about the F-250 compared to the F-100 the AMT kit represents is that it rode an 8" longer wheelbase. The 8' Express bed was standard... at this time, Ford did not offer a long bed half ton. The 8' Express bed differed quite a bit from the 6.5' Pickup bed. Not only was it longer (duh), it was also five inches wider, a couple of inches deeper, and had small wheel tubs inside. After stretching the chassis a scale 16" (8 ahead of the rear axle's forward spring mounts and 8 behind the rear spring mounts), I mocked up the cab and began fiddling with the bed. Rather than mess around with stretching and widening the kit bed, I opted to start from scratch with .030" plastic stock, and a few 2mm square strip. Here is the inner wheel well on the driver's side. I doubt the shape is 100% correct, but I got it about as close as I possibly could without getting myself too frustrated... that would be defeating the purpose of doing something as a hobby (which should relieve frustration) after all. Two tailgates were Frankenstein'd into one, along with more plastic strip thrown into the mix, so I'd have a taller, wider gate for the taller, wider bed. Plastruct C-sections and some scrap basswood make up the floor. I've also added the fender bolts, and at the time this picture was taken, was a few minutes away from adding the four horizontal stamped ribs to the front bulkhead. The wood planks aren't a precise fit- I wasn't too worried about that, as I plan to grunge up the inside of the bed. I added a floor shifter and parking brake lever, both taken from a Lindberg '34 Ford pickup. I still have to add the distributor and wires, but the heater hoses are already in place. In this pic you can almost make out the grille guard. The grille guard is patterned after the optional factory unit, though again, I doubt it's a 100% unflinchingly accurate scale portrayal of the real deal. Well, I know it isn't... the horizontal bars are about four times thicker than they should be. But it'll do for what I want. I also added a wire screen... not part of the factory guard, but I wanted to do add it so... I did. So... maybe it's an aftermarket or hand-made guard that just sort of looks like the factory one. I should have the Scenes Unlimited 8-bolt wheels in shortly, and I've got a decent looking set of old tires to use on them- painting those and installing them to the truck will likely be tomorrow's task. That, or adding a few dings and rust holes. I guess we'll see where the day takes me.

IIRC it uses a Bonneville chassis- which is 4" longer than a Catalina (upon which the 2+2 was based). The discrepancy will probably bother you more if you're familiar with the 1:1 car.

Looking good! I've built this one as well- I cobbled together a full chassis for it so I could use an AMC V8. Looks like your hood fit way better than mine did- I had to trim about 1/16" off the rear edge so it wouldn't have an "overbite" going.

Nice! Very, very, VERY early SuperCab prototype.

Unlike the old Ertl kit, they actually got the grille and forward edge of the hood right this time.

Don't think I've never considered the idea of building such an animal. I've messed around with the thought of doing a Cuban-style road beater, just haven't pulled the trigger on the deal yet. I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one who's entertained the thought.

Uh... we're working under the assumption that money is no object. If money is no object, maintenance and insurance shouldn't be a problem.

I don't have the measurements (I can dig out a few kits later and measure them), but here are the frames. There are three different frame rails. On top is the tractor, in the center is the stake bed, and on the bottom is the city delivery van. This version includes the tractor and stake bed frame rails. No version includes all three sets of rails. There are no differences in the cab or drivetrain- other than what's on the back and the length of the frame rails (as well as a longer driveshaft and carrier bearing on the delivery version), they're all the same kit.

Right now it just exists because I wanted to try the raised roof on the van, but I do plan on actually building it at some point. I'm just not sure if I'll do it as a period ambulance or a former ambulance now being used as a work vehicle.

Take the sprues out of the bags and stack them back in- try to leave enough room in a corner of the box for the cab to sit upside-down. Box should close again just fine.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Autocar....

Just got this in the mail today (after just a little over a week after sending payment, WITH a holiday weekend in there), and I'm quite happy with it. This is a three-piece transkit for the AMT Chevy vans, to convert one into a high-top ambulance. The kit comes with the top (of course), a separate air vent, and a very sturdy looking diamond plate step bumper. All the parts were cleanly cast and free of blemishes- they look for all the world like plain white kit plastic. Very minimal cleanup was needed around the lowermost edges. You will need to cut off the Chevy's roof just above the drip rail to accommodate the new top, but that isn't a big deal. I cut above the windshield and over the doors first, because this is the weakest area of the body. The kit sells for $25 plus postage. http://www.modelsbydave.com/

I think this is the nicest example of a stock second-gen Bronco I've seen in a long time, possibly ever.

I'd be a crime to haul hay bales in that baby.

Absolutely beautiful! If it were a longbed, and had some simulated Bondo in the front fenders, it would be the scale doppelganger of a truck a friend of my dad's used to own.

I've been using this amazing thing called gravity to keep the hoods on my models. Seems to work pretty well.

They may have been slow sellers when new, but I can't help but think that they'd be decent sellers today.

'71 is getting close... it's a set of mirrors and some bed clutter away from being finished.

Exhaust is figured out on the '69- solder for the pipes, with glasspack mufflers and tips from Arrowhead. I'd planned to run them straight out the back, but I settled on having them dump behind each rear tire after taking the pic. A couple light blasts of satin clear should be all it takes. Go with flat if you're after a more aged, oxidized look.

I don't know what car it is, but it's the one Farva talked about in Super Troopers. It cost ten million dollars and was capable of flight.

I've always wanted an old pick-em-up with a ladder rack, so...

I'll start from the bottom... Porsche engine? No idea. The 4.6 would most certainly need hoodside cutouts. The Deuce grille is wider, but not by much- you'd still need to do something with the hood sides. The Ford V8-60 will fit under a stock Model A hood no problem, and IIRC, a regular Flathead would too. I want to say a Buick Nailhead would fit under the hood as well- but don't quote me on that, and you'd need to keep an eye on the placement of your belt-driven accessories. Do you mind recessing the firewall? If the answer is no, that opens up a few more possibilities. At the risk of stating the obvious, the further back the engine sits, the fewer problems you'll have fitting it between the narrower taper of the hood. As you probably know, foot room is already at a premium in a Model A to begin with, but that hasn't stopped the street rodders from doing just that. You could also extend the hood, but the fact that you want hood sides leads me to assume you want to go with a more factory-looking appearance as far as the body goes, which would rule that out unless you were really subtle about it.

I work in a factory, and just a few days ago a few coworkers and I were discussing the idea of how improbable a "machine takeover" would be, if the average machine in the world is anything like a machine in our shop. If working around computerized machines and robots has taught me one thing, it is that we should not be fearful of a machine uprising. One wrong line of code, one glitch in the system can spell the difference between a menacing T800 Terminator stalking Sara Connor and a hilarious T800 Terminator standing in the middle of the street with a pair of sweatpants over its head screaming "Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........COOKIES!!!!"

No, human error began quite some time ago. Skynet is just a James Cameron fantasy.