David G.

Hello Everybody! I've been putting out updates almost as fast as I'm building. My updates are catching up with my build cycle which means that I have to do some more building this weekend. That's a good problem to have. The rear bumper is done! I fabricated a license plate bracket and attached it along with a license plate decal from the parts box. North Carolina 1964, that seems appropriate. While installing the bullet tail light lenses I noticed that the chrome trim collar was cast as a part of the lenses. So I went to the trouble of painting each one with a good coat of Molotow as I installed it. Yeah, it's the little things. It looks like the Molotow needs a little touchup. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any comments you may have. David G.

Nicely done! I love the stand you made too. David G.

I followed your WIP on this one. It fought you every step of the way and you fought back until you won. Well done Bob! The end result looks fabulous and is well worth the effort you put into it. David G.

Museum quality! David G.

That looks much better! David G.

It seems that the last issue I received was #221. It looks like #222 missed me. Is there any way I can still still get a copy of issue #222? Thanks, David G.

Nice looking build, excellent color! David G.

Great idea using the sprue tabs as tail light lenses! David G.

Wow Mike! First of all, welcome back. It's great to see this one back on the bench. I love all the little features you're adding. That's one of my favorite aspects of this hobby. Finding little out of scale items that work as added-detail features. As I think I may have already noted, you're doing way more for this kit than the designers ever intended and all of it looks fantastic. As it should for a fantasy custom. David G.

Dang, I thought that was the real thing! Excellent work so far and (obviously) a very good photo! ? David G.

Thank you Chaz! Thank you Trevor. The snow tires I bought from a vendor at the Desert Scale Classic in Phoenix, most likely in 2012. I don't remember the name of the vendor. But GLMFAA1 has suggested in their comment below that they may have come from an MPC Jeep kit. Thank you Steve. Yes those details do have a way of popping up. Speaking of which, I do have plans for a pillar mounted spot light. Thanks for the tip though, I always appreciate pointers and suggestions. Thanks for your input Greg. I do have plans for a spotlight on the A-pillar but I hadn't considered one on the rear for the loading area. I'll have to do a little research to see what they may have looked like. I'm surprised that I haven't seen (or didn't notice) rear spotlights on the photos I found online. I'm sure I can find something suitable in the ol' parts box. Also, thanks for the tip on the origin of the snow tires. I'm sure @Bainford will appreciate the information. Thanks, David G.

Hello Everybody! It's time to make with the next update. Here's another of those thousand and one details, the siren/PA unit. I found this one in the parts box. Of course, cleaning up the flash and attachment points prior to assembly damaged the chrome coating. That will need to be fixed. Once the chrome coating is stripped and the remainder of the casting artifacts are cleaned up I can see that the little nubbin on the bottom will not be sufficient to mount the siren to the ambulance in the way that I want to. I cut off the little nub and drilled a 1/16" hole in the bottom to accommodate a piece of 1/16" styrene rod. This should provide a much more positive attachment point. Ah yes, much better! Just a quick spray with some Rustoleum Chrome paint has it looking pretty good. As always, thanks for following along and please feel free to comment if you feel the urge to share. David G.

Hello Everybody! It's time to make with the next update. Here's another of those thousand and one details, the siren/PA unit. I found this one in the parts box. Of course, cleaning up the flash and attachment points prior to assembly damaged the chrome coating. That will need to be fixed. Once the chrome coating is stripped and the remainder of the casting artifacts are cleaned up I can see that the little nubbin on the bottom will not be sufficient to mount the siren to the ambulance in the way that I want to. I cut off the little nub and drilled a 1/16" hole in the bottom to accommodate a piece of 1/16" styrene rod. This should provide a much more positive attachment point. Ah yes, much better! Just a quick spray with some Rustoleum Chrome paint has it looking pretty good. As always, thanks for following along and please feel free to comment if you feel the urge to share. David G.

Sorry to learn of your Covid infection Jim, I hope you can recover quickly. The nice thing about a kit like this is that anything you do to it will likely be an improvement! I always find your builds entertaining and educational, l can't wait to see what you do with this one. David G.

Sorry to learn of your Covid infection Jim, I hope you can recover quickly. The nice thing about a kit like this is that anything you do to it will likely be an improvement! I always find your builds entertaining and educational, l can't wait to see what you do with this one. David G.

Great work on this one so far Jeremy! That grille is going to look great. I can't wait to see how the vinyl top works out. David G.

Nice work so far on the engine David. I think connecting all those wires would drive me buggy. I believe I'd rather foil the chrome trim on a '59 Chrysler Imperial! David G.

Removing and replacing the chrome trim seem to be the perfect way of addressing the fit issued between the hood and body. Great call Jim! David G.

It's nice seeing this one back on the bench! David G.

Nicely done! I'll have a look for it in the "Under Glass" section. David G.

I admire your patience and attention to detail Roger, not to mention your building skills. For me, the research and planning can be as much fun as the build itself. David G.

Wow, it's like putting together a 3D puzzle in which you have to make all the pieces yourself! ? It definitely has that stretched Funny Car profile. Impressive work! David G.

Hello Everybody! Thank you all for your informative responses, I now have much of the information that I need. I placed my order this morning, thanks for the link @yh70! Having the free shipping really helps as I need to keep an eye on my expenses! @Bills72sj I remember watching you build your wonderful diorama. Seeing what you did with the steel plate in the base and using magnets as you did struck me as pure genius and is part of the inspiration to start using magnets in my builds where it's suitable. @StevenGuthmiller Following you builds and seeing your use of magnets for the hood hinges is mostly what I was referring to when I mentioned using magnets for hoods and trunks. There has to be a way of using magnets to do for trunk lids something similar to what you do with hoods. I have a couple of builds that I would have liked to be able to display with the trunk opened or closed. Without the use of a stick as a prop. To me, using a prop just kind of breaks the whole image. Thank you all for taking the time to respond, I now have 300 mini magnets on the way to me. Which at my rate of building should be more than a life-time supply. I may have more questions once they get here but until then, thanks. David G.

Thank you Rich. Thanks Carl. I think they look better than the ones in the kit. David G.

Hello Everybody! As promised, here's another update on the Surf Shark ambulance conversion. These are the lollypop lights I plan to mount on the rear part of the roof. I've stripped the chrome coating and cleaned them up. They are being mounted in styrene tubing to allow them to be placed in the holes that were already in the roof. Rather than try to blend the tubing with the roof I'll probably chrome the tubing too and allow it to serve as a base for the lamps. The lollypop lights have had some Rustoleum Chrome paint applied and I've added a set of red lenses from the parts box. Of course, this calls for a test fit. I think I like it. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any opinions, evaluations or other comments you may have. David G.