Chuck Most

That Haulaway Trailer is one I'd love to see reissued. I know it's kind of a flight-of-fancy design, but I've got a very specific idea in mind for it...

Finally? Didn't you just start on this a few weeks ago? That came out great!

I recently bought the Revell of Germany boxing of the '05 Impala. Basically the additional 20 bucks or so you'll pay (besides covering the cost of importing the kit twice) is a much better set of decal graphics- waterslide, as opposed to the US SnapTite's crummy peel-and-stick. You also get markings for a Canton, Ohio cruiser, a Chevrolet Police Vehicles press car, and the generic "City Police Department" scheme from the US boxing. In addition to the gauges and laptop, you also get door and window switch graphics for the front door panels, hub cap centers, scripts and emblems, and even small blackout pieces for the door handles on the Canton car, which worked a lot better than I thought they would. There might be more I'm forgetting, but those are the highlights. The decals are printed in Italy- between that and how well they laid down and how well they are printed, I'd almost be willing to bet they're done by Cartograf. This was the RoG kit- as far as content goes (besides decals) it differs from the US boxing only in that the grille, lenses, and headlight reflectors don't come already installed to the body, and the interior is molded in gray rather than blue. Both kits come with the light bar already assembled. I used the Canton graphics on the RoG kit, and filled in the mounting holes for the light bar- I will add a Vector (and some spotlights) later, at which point I'll take a few more pictures of it. I wanted to use the leftover Chevrolet Police Vehicles graphics, so I dug out a US kit I had. I then removed the grille and headlight reflectors so I could detail them, did a little prep work, and a few hours later had this. I basically threw both of these together at the same time, during a 12-hour stretch of a rainy, boring day. I still need to get better at painting side trim on late model cars like this, and I REALLY need to get my act together when it comes to laying down a smooth, glossy black paint job, but all in all, not a bad way to kill what would have been a very boring and unproductive day otherwise.

I like them! If messing around with the Revell Build-and-Play kits has taught me one thing, it's that even a somewhat toyish, super-simplified kit can be made to look very good, provided the basics are already right. Looks like they are on these.

Some nice stuff guys! Thanks for the responses. Not the best pic, but today was quite literally a rainy day, so I spent it doing a couple of projects. Weather permitting, I'll get some better pics tomorrow and do an Under Glass post.

The kit piece is clear red (actually molded clear and painted clear red at the factory), but the 1:1 looks like this... I've built a few of these, but never got a good result masking off the taillights. I was cleaning off a spot on the workbench, and I swept up a few discs I had left over from using a standard-size hole punch. I grabbed one and held it up to the Impala's lens piece, and noticed the disc was just about the right size. I placed a piece of masking tape on a piece of scrap .020" plastic stock, and then punched out four discs. I then peeled the masking tape off of the discs, and applied them to the taillight panel, over the spots where the actual lenses show through. I also applied foil to the Impala emblem in the middle- after the whole piece is sprayed black, I scrape the paint off the emblem with a toothpick. The Revell of German version of this kit actually includes a decal for this, but the exposed foil technique looks better. Note that I don't have the rear marker lights masked in the pic- I used small rectangular strips of BMF for that. It is important to apply the tape to the plastic first- if you try to just punch out the tape, it will tear. By putting it on the thin plastic, you get a nice, round piece with clean edges. The masking tape lifts easily from the unpainted plastic. I didn't think of it this time, but since the part is clear with red paint, I could have scraped the clear red paint away from the centers of the inboard lights to represent the backup lamps. Maybe next time. I know this is a very kit-specific tip, but maybe this technique can be applied to other kits as well. Tomorrow I'll see if I can post pics of the finished result.

Those tires aren't exactly new- they're the lowrider tires that have been around since the late '90's, just without the printed whitewall. They might be a tad wide, but don't quote me on that- I'll have to dig out the Scirocco kit I have in the stash and see for sure. If they worked as far as width, and you could live without the lack of sidewall detail, I think you'd be okay.

Right- the Hudson's on the back of it for now, I'm thinking the permanent cargo might be scrap metals or something like that.

This one's basically done- I still need to settle on what to stick on the back, at which time I'll do the sides and any signage. The wheels and crane are from an Italeri parts pack, and the Todco liftgate is from the base kit- the C600 city delivery. I used that kit because of the longer frame. The flat bed itself is from a C600 stake truck.

What's going behind it, you ask? One of these... Or possibly two, like so...

Long story short, it's a '60's kit, but a very good one. This ought to tell you more than you probably want to know... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70519&page=1

One fine Diamond... and hinged doors, too? Nice!

It still isn't done, but there's enough of it there now to give you some idea...

I want to see some of the cop cars you folks have built. Old, new, US or foreign... even a phantom or two would do. Fire Chief cars would work just fine too. CARS only- no trucks or SUVS, but if you've got a car-based station wagon that fits the theme, by all means, let's see it. I'll begin the festivities- Lindberg kit, E&K decals, Modelhaus wheels and hubcaps. (In progress) Revell kit with old Fred Cady (?) decals. Phantom '88 Buick Regal CHP, modified promo with Revell Impala wheels and tires.

Red Camaro? You guys sure you aren't thinking about Hot Rod?

Love it!

Thanks guys. I believe you're right- I was thinking it was either that one or the Mercury Cyclone- I know the sheet came with one of them.

Just plain beyond cool!

I wouldn't call this NASCAR. Heck, I'm not even sure if it qualifies as a jalopy, really. But I'll post it in this section because I'm pretty sure this is where it would end up anyway. I started with the Teague kit, but didn't end up using much of it. I removed the front end, narrowed the firewall, and made the side and inner door structure. I had originally opened the trunk, but my hinge setup didn't work the way I wanted, so I glued it back shut- there's an old Hayward resin fuel tank back there. The wheels and tires are also resin, of unknown origin- 6-bolt GM wheels cast with Firestone Darlington tires... suggesting this has had a GM 1/2 ton truck brake upgrade at some point.The paint and bodywork are intentionally rough- why make it look too good if it's just going to get bashed to hell every Saturday night? This is the 13th Hornet I've built, so I originally wanted to number it 13, but after finding some dark blue 03 decals in my spares box, I decided to go with that instead. All decals are leftover from other projects- mostly Dirt Track Race Cars reissues of AMT kits, though the STP, Bell, and Firestone decals are from a Revell Kurtis Midget.

^Yep... take a gander at the example on the right. Few things can kill the look of an otherwise nice model than those fat-lipped wheels that won't settle into the bead. That's one problem you won't have with the wheel design Moebius used on this one.

Little more work on the Hudson roundy-rounder. I still need to decide on alternator or generator, and what type of oil filter to use, but the basic chassis is done. That meant I could turn my attention to the body.

This is a pre-production sample kit of the Ford. Like the '54 Hudson, it does have the "eggshell" type texture on the body, but as with the Hudson, it is not a problem unless you don't plan to paint the model. I removed the trim, left the tailgate off, and swapped in '53 F-100 side mirrors, snow tires from a Pacer, and a hitch from the Revell '65 Chevy. I also made my own rear bumper, and reconfigured the spare tire and carrier for a front-mounted "cowcatcher" setup. I also misaligned the cab and bed in an attempt to replicate a failing driver's side cab mount. Rust abounds, but I didn't add any holes to this one. Paint is Tamiya deck tan, which does look like faded, dulled Ford Mojave Tan. This one's a warm-up- I have something similar looking in mind, but a bit more detailed and rustier.

The smaller-sized AMT Goodyears from the parts pack fit the kit wheels just fine, though personally I'm not digging the look of the RWL tires with the stock wheel covers. That being said, if those fit, other AMT and MPC tires should fit, provided they aren't too wide (like the larger AMT Goodyears). If they're solid you can just file off the "paddles" from the wheels. On the flip side, the printed narrow whites, while lacking lettering, still look good, and could be used as a replacement on an AMT '60's compact or mid-size car.