Chuck Most

I like to paint the insides and ends of the crossmembers, and the insides of the frame rails, first. I may skip this step if the crossmembers are mostly flat, but if they have an I-beam shape or lots of undercuts, I'll paint them before installation into the frame. Then I'll scrape away any paint where I need to apply glue, assemble the frame, and paint the rest. That's the best way to guarantee you'll "hit" everything and end up with no bare spots- or fewer bare spots. Going with a primer which is close to the intended color helps too, just in case. Using an airbrush helps put paint into those hard to reach spots, but isn't mandatory. Finding a paint that covers well without overloading the parts is also a big plus. If I just need a basic black frame, I like to use Krylon Rust Tough flat black straight from a rattle can- it covers very well and dries quickly.

Here's how it looks with decals.

Full blow-by-blow... http://chuckmost.wix.com/madhouse-miniatures#!Moebius-71-Ford-F100-Ranger-XLT/ccly/555500860cf248741732db65 I probably missed a few things, but whaddya want for nothin'?

Yeah- fit pretty well, just to be clear. It is possible to mount it a little less-than-level if you're not careful, but just keep an eye on it and you'll be fine. I'd suggest adding it after the cab and bed are mounted to the chassis to guarantee the cab and bed trim is lined up.

The last 18 years didn't suck as much as Tueday's shift, though...

EVERYTHING on this kit fits great- other than the separate side spears, but even those fit pretty well without any real positive means of location.

I love it when that happens! I just got a couple of original issue AMT White Western Stars for about five bucks more than the list price of a reissue- I don't even want to think what they'd have gone for prior to the reissue.

Nice! Isn't it a CTS, though? The DTS was the big, front-drive model that replaced the Deville.

I went into work this morning at a quarter to seven, but the clock on the wall at the front of the shop said 6:05 AM. Then it flashed the time... January 1, 1997. I left at 3PM on May15, 2015. I'm thinking my next paycheck will have quite a bit of overtime, seeing as how I worked just a little over 18 years straight in one day.

The five spokes are from the kit, I used AMT tires, though... which, by the way, fit the Moebius wheels pretty well.

It's basically a reissue of the old Uptown Automotive kit. I've never built it, but none of Jeff's stuff has ever disappointed me.

Well, "Velvet Ride" sounds way better than "Sandpaper Ride" or "Gas Station Toilet Paper Ride".

The cynic in me says "by weird you mean something that isn't a muscle car or '50's car, right?" On a serious note, though, I'd have to say the weirdest kit I have in my stash is one o' these things...

Maybe it's just a generation gap, but I'm always shocked at how many people don't know that "Old Town" by The Corrs is actually a cover of a solo song by the late, great Phil Lynott (lead singer of Thin Lizzy). Unlike most covers, though, The Corrs version is actually pretty good, worth checking out if you haven't heard it. Another one that's got to be a generation thing... a lot of die hard Johnny Cash fans don't seem to be aware of the fact that "Hurt" was originally done by Nine Inch Nails.

This began as a '93 Splash- when I got the kit, the bed was long gone, but all the rest was there. Years ago, a neighbor had a first gen Ranger which had '70's F-Series wheel covers. It was originally blue or green (I can't remember which) but the cab was repainted in white, and a service body was added- the service body being a slightly different shade of white than the cab color. So, I guess this is kind of a tribute to that memory, though the truck is about seven years too new to be an exact replica of that particular Ranger. The wheel covers came from the Phantom van, and the service body was made from .030" styrene sheet and a few odds and ends. It was basically a "practice run" for another service body, which will end up on a Meng pickup. Possibly. Besides the wheel covers and bed, the only other modification to the kit was to stretch the chassis to the long bed wheelbase. As for this, I may end up adding some markings and light weathering, once I decide which particular trade this truck will ply.

Thanks guys. Here's a side-by-side comparison of this and the Lindberg kit. http://chuckmost.wix.com/madhouse-miniatures#!Crown-Vic-Smackdown-Lindberg-Vs-Revell/ccly/553500460cf23d0164389507

YEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure if that choice of words was intentional or not, but either way... nice.

This was just a quick "let's see how this thing will look with a little detailing and a little bit of parts swapping" buildup of the Revell Build and Play kit. The village of Ashley doesn't actually have a police force, but it's a model, so what the heck. Decals are from an old Chimneyville sheet. I might redo the lettering in a larger font. And hopefully just a little bit straighter next time. Who knows? The biggest issue with the kit is the grossly oversized wheels- this kit uses the same tires as the '15 Mustang. I decided to try a spare set of wheels and tires from a Lindberg kit. They fit onto the Revell axles, but I had to trim the end of each axle to narrow the track. I made up some inner fender "panels" from .020" styrene. Adding these wheels and tires (or ones similar in height) immediately correct the out-of-box too-tall "donk on a budget" stance the kit has. That's why I had to go with the Lindberg units, though I might pull these off later and use some open steel wheels. Believe it or not, the Revell kit does have a couple of small advantages over the Lindberg kit. Small, but existent. Unlike the Lindberg kit, the front axle is actually centered in the wheel opening, and the glass unit fits a lot better. I trimmed off the mounting pins from the rear of the taillight lenses, and foiled the backside. The window trim looks more faintly engraved than the Lindberg kit's, though the Revell's trim is somehow easier to foil- it's like it has a more defined edge. The trunk lock is better in the Revell kit, and the Revell kit also has the cut lines over the grille panel and the "finger bump" for the fuel filler door (which I managed to sand off while removing the printed police graphics), which the Lindberg kit does not have. (Though to be fair, I'm told that Crown Vics with the optional remote fuel door release did not have the bump, but I haven't verified that.) On the other hand, the Revell's front cornering lights don't look quite as realistic as they do on the Lindberg kit. Unless you have a spare Lindberg decal sheet and/or a way of printing up decals, you'll have to do without the Ford emblems or Crown Victoria badging. Other than being more simplified than the Revell kit, the only big problems were the oversized wheels and tires, and the lack of side view mirrors. The bodies are similar in size, so I'd be all-but-completely-certain to say that any aftermarket decal sheet for the Lindberg kit would work on the Revell body. Yes, they're both 1:25 scale, but we all know there are almost always a few discrepancies here and there. I'm sure Revell will sell a bunch of these, but if you already have 20 or 30 of the Lindberg kits in your stash, I can't say I'd blame you for wanting to pass on this one. That being said, it's quite a bit better than how I expected it to be. I might buy a couple more... buy I "only" have about ten of the Lindberg kits stashed away. Blah, blah, blah... here are the pics.

The biggest problem was that Mack was way too far ahead of the game. If they'd waited another decade or so for T-tops to become popular, they may have had a bit more success with ejector seats. As it stands, the ill-fated ejector seat (and the problems of severe cranial bruising reported by its users) is but a dim sidebar in the annals of trucking history.

^Those are the FLC kit,not the FLD...

I hate it... ... because it isn't something I built. VERY nicely done. The majority of the Lindberg snap kits from the '90s were pretty good- basically equal to the AMT/Ertl Snap Fast Plus kits.

That's a Lincoln.

Uh, there won't be a URL if they aren't online...

Ejector seats, you say?