David G.

No matter what out get out of this mess, I'm sure it will be cool Bob. Stay warm! David G.

Dang, that's one serious Frankenstein job! ? I can't wait to watch you pull it all together. David G.

Nice outcome with the wheel arches. That UV setting epoxy seems very interesting, I'm going to have to look into that. David G.

It's good to know that you're doing better. Nice progress on the build. David G.

This definitely looks like a fun and challenging project. You have my attention. David G.

Hello Everybody! After getting through the disappointing experience of the gurney, it's time to move on to something that will actually help to give me a more positive feeling of progress. I've used Silly Putty to mask off the grille assembly so I can paint the headlight surrounds in the same color as the rest of the body, as was the case on these 1959 model year Cadillacs. This feature is often overlooked during the building of these particular kits. The grille assembly masked and painted with the DupliColor Cardinal Red that the rest of the body will be painted in. After the masking is removed, I'm wondering if it was worth the effort. I should be able to get it cleaned up well enough, but maybe brush painting would have been a little more efficient. Before masking and painting the red, I also gave the assembly a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear. This helps the red paint to adhere to the "chrome" trim better and adds a good base coat for the next step. I applied some blackwash to the grille recesses to give it some depth and visual interest. After I've completed the detail painting, I will spray the entire assembly with some Tamiya Clear coat to bring out a little more shine in the chrome bits. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post a comment or two. David G.

A beautiful build of a beautiful car! David G.

Thanks for understanding D.W. When I started back into building models years ago, I was interested in pushing to see what the limits of my skills and talents were. In my first few years I built a number of highly detailed and modified models. In doing so I was able to expand and hone my skills and also learn their limits. Doing this gave me a good knowledge base to draw from when it comes to deciding when to quit pushing and start pulling. Thanks Carl. Yes it would. I think not having all that Ghostbusters equipment in the back would help. AMT's newly reconfigured '59 ambulance should take care of that problem. And they'll supply the gurney too! David G.

A fabulous looking roadster! David G.

A truly spectacular build! It looks perfect from every angle. David G.

Nicely Done! David G.

Thanks for the suggestion D.W. but that's way more work than I'm willing to do on this build. I have another project I'm working on that's based on this kit and I can tell you that cutting into the interior on one of these is a lot of work. Thanks Greg. I actually just ended up knocking the wheels off and that gave me enough clearance. I even thought of adding a collapsing scissor frame and some smaller wheels in the space under the bed. Then I realized that once everything is put together no one would be able to see it, so I didn't bother. Thank you both for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights. David G.

A gorgeous build inside and out. A nice addition to the set as well. David G.

That's a fabulous set for the year! David G.

Hello Everybody! Here's the next update on the ambulance conversion. The gurney doesn't fit into the ambulance quite the way I want it to. For one thing, it's too tall. The wheels are the first point of adjustment. I've started cutting them down and will likely just end up removing them entirely. The fit is a little better now but it's still too tall. Now it's time to see if I can adjust the tilt angle of the head section. This will involve some cutting and repositioning of the already assembled head section. I've entirely removed the wheels and got the head section to lay down a little more. That's as much as I can do without a complete restructuring. That's it for this phase and I'm glad to be done with it. As always, thanks for taking time to look and please feel free to share your thoughts. David G.

A beautiful tribute build, thanks for posting it. David G.

Nicely Done! David G.

Absolutely amazing work on this notoriously troublesome kit! David G.

Thank you Noel. David G.

Good progress on this one Roger. David G.

Thank you Joe. Indeed, it certainly was a challenge but given the subject, I think it was certainly deserving of the effort. It's such a simple kit that without all the repair work on the body I probably could have built it over a weekend instead of the 46 hours it ended up taking me. Thanks again, David G.

Thank you Joe! Thanks for your replies D.W. I'm glad the information is helpful. As I'm sure you know by now it looks like AMT will be granting your wish for a good gurney when the ambulance version of this kit releases later this year. As always, I do appreciate your interest and your comments. Thanks, David G.

Wow, thanks for taking the time to do that Greg! I love the diorama set-up and the figures too. It looks like the JoHan cot is the best of the three with the MPS Ford van cot as a close second. I think the one I got from Three Inches Under is a modified recast of the Ford Van cot, which with some minor modifications does fit into the back of the Surf Shark. Of course all of that is moot since AMT is retooling the interior of the Surf Shark into that of an actual ambulance and adding all the appropriate equipment... Including a cot! ? I can hardly wait to get my hands on one (or two) of those. Thanks again Greg, David G.

Hey, progress is progress Joe! I spent two hours of yesterday's three hour build session detail painting a set of hubcaps. And I still have more work to do on them! David G.

Excellent looking set of builds for the year! I really like the stake truck but the Lindberg dirt track racers are awesome too. David G.