Longbox55

You have to watch out with some of those kits, especially those that are reissues of the older 3 in 1 kits. Most of those will only show the stock version on the box, and the kit was decontented to only have the stock parts. Good examples, the '55 Nomad and the old tool '57 Chevy. Both had all of the custom parts removed for that release. I have also seen the decontented versions in regular hobby shop issue boxes, too.

I forgot to mention the AMT part pack Pontiac. IIRC, the Revell parts pack Cadillac also has a Hydramatic, but it is a bit undersize. The Monogram '41 Willys Pickup is a reissue of the Revell kit, and uses the same frame/drivetrain found under the Henry J and Anglia kits. The engine is a somewhat crude SOHC Ford with a non descript 4 speed manual. It is not a Hydramatic or Hydro-Stick.

I saw about that yesterday. I haven't seen any clear report as to what actually happened to cause the accident.

I though that's what I saw. I keep a roll of it handy in my garage, great stuff. I might just give what you did a try if I ever get around to building a paint booth.

OK, a little off the topic, but is that Pig Mat lining your paint booth??

Jordan has the right idea. The frame will have to lengthened a bit, but otherwise, the bed works just fine with the cab and frame from the pickup kit. With some modification, the wheels can be adapted as well.

Very nice. Perhaps some day I might actually get mine looking that good.

That's my thoughts on the 4x4s as well.

Richard, I think Tim is trying to stay with Tamiya acrylic, but I do agree with your suggestion. Alternatively, if you can find it, Testors Kiln Red and Boyd Alumacoupe Yellow at a roughly 60/40 mix will come very close, perhaps with a little gold pearl added. Going with Tamiya, now that I've seen the color that you're after, mixing the Clear Orange with Gold Metallic or a Gold pearl powder might be a better way to go, as there looks to be more of a gold tone to the color.

Yes, the B&M Hydro-Stick was the hot setup. It was a modified version of the 4 speed Hydromatic (not to be confused with the later 3 speed Hydramatic) commonly found in Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac cars, as well as '54-'59 Chevrolet and '53-'59 GMC trucks. A few other companies used them as well, like Lincoln. As far as kit sources, the original tool Stone, Woods, Cook Swindler A, Anglia Sedan, Thames Panel, Roth Beatnik Bandit, AMT Willys Coupe/Pickup, AMT '59 El Camino, and the new tool Revell Willys gasser kits (SWC and Big John, not the street machine version) all have the Hydra-Stick or Hydromatic. The versions found in the older Revell kits is separate from the engine, and does include a separate linkage for shifter/kickdown, and are all used with an Olds engine. The AMT Willys also has an Olds. The El Camino has a blown Cadillac. The new tool Revell kits both have a very nice 392 Hemi.

A few other ways to do it would be to mix the metallic silver and the clear orange, or if you have source for it, Pearl Ex silver or macro pearl powders mixed in the orange to get the color you're after. Either way should work.

Every one of those engines I've ever seen were black. Or if you really want to make it accurate to the 1:1, give it a nice coating of oily black!

For a little further comparison, here's the '60-'62 2wd chassis. http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/GM-Trucks-and-Vans/1960_Trucks_and_Vans/1960-Chevrolet-Pickups-Brochure/1960-Chevrolet-Pickups-05-06-07

Here's a few shots of the '67-'72 frame, 2 and 4 wheel drive. http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/GM-Trucks-and-Vans/1967_Trucks_and_Vans/1967-Chevrolet-Pickups-Brochure/1967-Chevrolet-Pickups-12 http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/GM-Trucks-and-Vans/1967_Trucks_and_Vans/1967-Chevrolet-Pickups-Brochure/1967-Chevrolet-Pickups-10 For comparison, here's shots of the '63-'66 frames. http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/GM-Trucks-and-Vans/1965_Trucks_And_Vans/1965-Chevrolet-Pickup-Brochure/1965-Chevrolet-Pickup-06 http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/GM-Trucks-and-Vans/1965_Trucks_And_Vans/1965-Chevrolet-4WD-Trucks-Brochure/1965-Chevrolet-4WD-04-05 http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/GM-Trucks-and-Vans/1963-Trucks-and-Vans/1963-Chevrolet-Pickups-Brochure/1963-GMC-Pickups-15 (this one is a GMC, but the drivetrain/suspension is the same except for the engine)

That's what he was meaning, that it was based on the earlier annual kit. Comparing them, you can see the similarities, though they did correct the front suspension on the '67-'72 kits, unlike the '63-'66 that still had the incorrect torsion bar front end from the '60-'62 kits. On the subject of the new tool AMT '60, it would not really make a good donor, as it has the '60-'62 specific front suspension, as well as having the '55-'62 rear axle. A better donor would be the Revell '64/'65 kits, which would also be correct for a donor to make an accurate '63 from the AMT annual. For a '67-'72 4x4, raiding the MPC/AMT '73-'87 body truck would yield a more accurate suspension and drivetrain than using the '72 Blazer kit, and the frame can be modified without too much issue to make a '67-'72 style. The transfer case is really the only part that might have to scratchbuilt, as the NP203 in the kit was not used until '73.

http://www.scalemodelingbychris.com/

I do that, too.

The earlier engine you're thinking of was referred to in the GMC literature as the "Buick Type" engine, and was only used in a 1/2 ton capacity Sedan Delivery that was originally sold as a Buick. Most other GMC light trucks used either a Pontiac or Oldsmobile flathead inline 6. The OHV GMC 6 came out in '39, and does share some engineering with the Buick. It only has 4 mains, same as the Chevy, but has a wider bore spacing. GMC didn't get the 7 bearing inline 6 cylinder until the mid '60s (Chevy truck got that one in '63).

Superclean will not hurt the clear plastic at all. I have a couple of old builtups that are in the same condition as the one you're dealing with, I just dropped them in and stripped the body like normal.

Tom, as a counterpoint, the one I have is virtually flash free, and the ejector pin marks are minimal. Sounds like there's a bad batch of them out where the mold wasn't lined up right.

Not Tom, but I find the AMT Model Ts to be a pretty straightforward kit to build, if you're doing it out of the box. Now, there are exceptions, the Panel Van and the C cab on the Fruit Wagon are a little fiddly, you do need to take time to get them square. It seems that Miles is wanting to build it in a manner that out of the box, it can't be built that way without alterations. That in and of itself really isn't a fault of the kit, it just requires a different pan of attack (this is merely an observation, not intended as a slam at Miles). I can definitely see the frustration of having to deal with a kit with heavy flash and other molding problems, which is a fault in the kit itself, though. It can be a crapshoot with older reissues like that. I've had them where one kit will be fine, no flash, the next one I get of the same issue will be flash central. I've also come across kits where an early issue (original Kiss van) has excessive flash, but the reissue of the same kit (Dirty Donny Vantasy) is more or less flash free. Both kits are from the same tool. BTW, the AMT '29 Model A Woody/Pickup kit was originally an MPC tool, if memory serves me correctly. I have a couple of those myself (an '80s issue and the last reissue, both as AMT), it is a good kit. I will confess to preferring the old tool Revell, though.

The GMC engine is longer than the Chevrolet, 3 inches IIRC, there's very little that really interchanges between them, other than the distributor and the bellhousing. For modeling purposes, though, the Monogram '53 235 is probably going to the closest to use as a start. The oil pan will need altering, and the filter mounts to the right side of the block near the front of the engine. The rocker cover is also different.

There was also a truck variant, similar to the Dodge A100 and Econoline pickup.

Yup. '61 to '65. They phased it out mid '65, partly due to low sales, and partly due to the fact that GM had released a conventional style van from both Chevrolet and GMC that was partially based on the Chevy 2/Nova.

I'll add a few. http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Studebaker/1961-Studebaker/1961-Studebaker-Champ-Trucks-Specs/1961-Studebaker-Champ-Trucks-Specs-01 http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/var/albums/NA/GM%20Trucks%20and%20Vans/1956_Trucks_and_Vans/1956%20Trucks%20and%20Vans.jpg?m=1305429478 (easy retool) http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/var/albums/NA/IHC/1959-IHC/1959%20IHC.jpg?m=1307318823