Chuck Most

This was built from the American Satco kit in 2014. The one finished recently inspired me to dig it out and take photos. It is lifted, has a solid front axle conversion, and Mickey Thompson tires from the Revell Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. The paint is Duplicolor Grabber Green, and the mud is airbrushed Tamiya Flat Earth. I was going for a "just blasted down a wet dirt road" look. It was definitely one of the first models I weathered in this fashion, if not the actual first. The wheel arches were also radiused, but seeing as how I built this a decade ago I'm certain I'm forgetting a few things.

When Mike Slaughter turned 16 in 2017, his parents Mark and Sherry asked what vehicle he'd like. They never expected "Uncle George's Pathfinder" to be the answer. George Agosti bought the black 1992 Nissan Pathfinder SE from his boss in 2000, and used it as his "outdoor adventure" vehicle and winter transportation until 2012, when a workplace injury and the Nissan's budding transmission troubles put it to pasture. Mike had many fond childhood memories of riding in the Pathfinder to various hunting and camping trips, and felt like it deserved a second shot. Mark and Mike got it running, and after thoroughly going over the braking system, discovered the transmission was still slipping. Mike used the Pathfinder as a subject for two Auto Mechanics I semester exams... The first time when he rebuilt the transmission, and the second when he and his buddy Cory Dufrene addressed the rust and refinished the SUV in Line X and olive Drab. A father of another student donated the driving lights and brush guard, which he'd taken off his '91 Nissan pickup before he'd sold it some 20 years ago. By the time Mike graduated in 2019, he got a "hand me down" truck from his father as a gift. Said hand me down was the 2013 Raptor Mark had bought new. With that, the Pathfinder once again became the backup/beater/camping/fishing vehicle like it had been for George. A role it continues to this day. The model is the American Satco boxing of the Aoshima kit. Basically this was an LHD version with US market graphics. Satco offered a set of stock alloy wheels cast by Modelhaus, which this particular kit had. Satco offered a few different wheel and tire combos as extra cost options, and the kit was also available with a 1992 Pathfinder dealership brochure. The kit this was built from had the wheels and brochure, but not all of them did. The kit is 100% out of the box in that regard, then. Textured Krylon was used to simulate the Line X look. I scribed the door lines deeper so they wouldn't be lost under the textured coating. Then the entire body was hit with black primer, then Tamiya Olive Drab. This was a quick, lazy Sunday project that was a lot of fun. I'm not 100% pleased with it but the enjoyment to time spent ratio is hard to beat. Pretty soon Mike's Mustang will be locked away in the winter paddock, and the Pathfinder will be on full time duty.

Very nice! Strange you posted this right around the same time I dug this same kit out of my stash (Along with an Aoshima kit of the same subject).

A while back you might have seen Fat Mike's '97 P71 "courtesy car". And you might have been made aware of the source of the wheels and tires it wears. Here's the car that (temporarily anyway) loaned the rollers. Mike Slaughter bought the Grabber Orange 2014 GT from G.R. Wilson Ford/Lincoln in March of 2022. It was a one owner car and had 112,000 miles. Mike hasn't done much with it other than put on a set of Foose wheels and new tires in the summer of 2024. When he bought it, the hood vents, mirror nacelles and door frames had been painted to match the car, and it appeared to be lowered a couple inches. All Mike plans to do is drive the wheels off of it whenever the weather is nice, and keep it looking halfway presentable. It's occasionally dusty, and there might be the odd crumpled Combos pouch or empty Schweppes bottle in the rear foot well sometimes, but it definitely sees more care than Mike's other driver. But that's a story for some other time. The model is the Revell kit. After stealing the engine and a few other parts for other projects, I built it as a curbside. Wheels, tires and brakes came from the Foose '56 F100. The paint is from an ancient Model Master rattle can, Grabber Orange, obviously.

When you call Fat Mike's Towing, and you don't need a tow but rather a jump start or lockout service, you are likely to see an old pale blue Ford sedan done up like a quasi police car arrive on scene. That car is, in fact, a 1997 Ford P71 Interceptor. It was an Ashley Village Police cruiser (unit A3 to be exact) until 2002, when "Fat Mike" Agosti bought it. At that time it had 150,000 miles and Mike got it for $500. Being a good pal of the Ashley police chief has a few perks. It still had the push bar and spotlights, as well as the rear seat partition. Mike kept the partition but removed the Plexiglas, replaced the front red and blue strobes with amber lenses, and strapped on an old Federal Signal Twinsonic light bar. Yes, it's functional. So is the siren. For the last 22 years, the old Vic has served faithfully, having racked up nearly 400,000 miles over it's near three decade life. Along the way it's been repainted (again, most recently in 2015), has had an engine and transmission rebuild, has had it's rear quarter panels replaced, has been maintained religiously, going above and beyond what the Ford factory guidelines say, and has responded to hundreds, if not thousands, of situations. These situations of course include the aforementioned jumps and lockouts, but it's also been pressed into service to ferry stranded motorists. Sometimes the passengers displaced in an accident outnumber the available seats in the wrecker, and the Crown Vic is brought in so everyone has a ride if needed. In 2008, this car's replacement came up for sale. But the '97 proved so reliable that Mike opted not to replace the car with the 2003 model Ashley Unit A3. Sadly, Fat Mike wasn't around by the time the 2008 A3 was available, but by then the '97 was so intertwined with the business's image, the thought of replacing the it wasn't even considered. In the summer of 2024, the old cruiser was treated to an appearance upgrade, when it was fitted with a set of wheels from a 2014 Mustang GT. It was mainly a matter of the car needing new tires and Fat Mike's grandson, Mike Slaughter, having a nearly new set of tires on his Mustang when he did an aftermarket wheel swap. Prior to this he car had worn a set of Cragar S/S wheels in the summer (starting in 2010 or so), reverting to the factory steel wheels in winter. And the car serves another, somewhat less "practical" purpose for Fat Mike's Towing... The car is something of a mascot. The entire fleet of Fat Mike's Towing consists of blue Fords, but this particular blue Ford stands apart from the rest. Everybody in Gratiot and surrounding counties has seen the "old baby blue cop car" with the Fat Mike's logo out and about. And it's going to keep on being visible for the company for the foreseeable future. The kit is the Lindberg Ohio State Police cruiser, built out of the box with the exception of the light bar (AMT parts pack), wheels and tires (Revell '14 Mustang GT), brake rotors (parts box), and decals (Gopher Racing). I think the paint is Tamiya French Blue but don't hold me to that. I painted this a while ago and all I remember is it's sanded to expose gray primer and covered in Revell flat clear coat. I wanted the look of a car that was well cared for but certainly showing it's age.

I doubt it. This was a cab I bought ten years ago and it was probably ten or fifteen years old by then.

Other than the rocker panels needed a little bit of massaging to fit, couldn't be happier with how the kit builds up and looks. Yes, I didn't notice the thumb prints and smudges until after I'd taken the photos. That's a me problem, not a kit problem. ?

I bought the AMT kit 70 or 80 years ago for parts. Turns out fate had other plans. It has the Recaro style bucket seats, spoiler, and DOHC prototype cylinder heads from the 1970 Pro Street Super Bee, tires from the current MPC '53 F100 reissue, Gofer Racing Roadrunner graphics, and a Best Model Car Parts front plate. Paint is Colorshot Emoji.

Parts from three incomplete Monogram kits and an old resin regular cab. Paint is Duplicolor Toreador Red.

This was a stalled project that got finished in The Straight Six Community Build Rides Again. This is the street machine version of the kit, with some old Plastic Performance Products six lug wheels and AMT white line tires. The engine is a 236 from the AMT 1960 Chevrolet Street Machine. I'm not really a fan of the visor, but I'm even less of a fan of the poorly fitting windshield, so it's there to hide the worst of the gaps.

'50 is done. I'll post the finished photos later.

AMT kit built as a representation of a couple of "homemade" dually conversions I remember from years ago. The rear fenders from a Sportside were grafted to the Fleetside bed, and it was capped off with a modified topper from the AMT '63 F100. Wheels are from the AMT C3500, front tires are from a Moebius '68 F250, and rear tires are from a Moebius '72 F250 4x4. The rest of the model is basically out of the box. Paint is Krylon Tidal Blue with Testors Dullcote.

The '50 Chevrolet is starting to look like... A 1950 Chevrolet. So that's promising. ?

Spare parts arranged around a Replicas And Miniatures Co. Of Maryland cab, a Boss 429 engine, and a scratch built bed. The wrecker boom is composed of two resin 1:35 scale telegraph poles.

AMT kit lowered on Firestone whitewalls, fitted with an AMT '53 F100 tonneau cover, and powered by a Pontiac 230 OHC inline six. Paint is Krylon Dahlia with Revell flat clear. The pinstripes and scallops are from a couple different Gopher Racing decal sheets.

I think it was from the '66 Flareside but the '69 Custom and '70 Sport Custom also come with the inline six.

Found a home for the Pontiac 250 OHC I stole from an MPC drag transport truck.

This is an old Revell-Monogram kit (from the F Series 50th Anniversary set), lowered on AMT pad printed Firestones and powered by a 460 big block from a Monogram Ford F350. It has a carburetor in place of EFI and a '60s Nascar air cleaner assembly just for fun.

This came together in the Power By Ford Community Build. AMT kit with axles and a transfer case from a 1972 GMC Jimmy, MPC Desert Dog tires, and wheels from an AMT Modified Stocker. Engine is a Ford 351 Windsor I had left over from a previous project.

Forgot all about the Dana in the mockups. That's taking me back to a time in my life I don't want to relieve. ?

This is painted the same colors as the 1:1 I owned for 17 years, Royal Blue Metallic and Oxford White. The wheels are modified Moebius units in Monogram F350 tires. The F250 fender emblems came from Ray's Kits Decals. And just for fun it has a Lightning intake. Eventually I'll do an actual replica of my former '94 but for now this will work as a proof of concept.

The Fordified '55 is a done deal... ... Maybe needs a little extra under hood work.

Happens to the best of us.

Lovely build of an actual working pickup. Tamiya Camel Yellow suits it perfectly. You're making me want to try my hand at a much scabbier looking version. ?

Well... in 90's Ertl's defense it is accurate for an XLT with power windows. ? But yes, not much help when your intent is to model an XL.