Longbox55

But that's not a Panel Truck, its a Sedan Delivery, very different vehicles.

Does anyone actually make a conversion body to build a '54 Panel?

Hey Ron, you pics are FAR better than mine.

I'll tell you what, it doesn't matter to me what year Beetle it is, I'm still going to get one! Just from what I saw of the parts, it will rival the Tamiya '66 Beetle for quality.

That's essentially what we were told, that it is going to be a simultaneous release.

Yes. According to what we were told, it's an all new tool through Revell of Germany. It's hard to see in the pic, but it does have both a LHD and a RHD dash.

Funny you should mention that one, as I just posted a partial pic of the trees under the Sizzler dragster thread . Here's a shot of the trees (or at least the parts that are different from the last issue) taken at the HMCA show. Note that it does include an uptop. Not shown is the tree with the 2x4 bbl intake and Batwing air filter.

This isn't the greatest pic (I'm a terrible photographer), but here's a shot of the kit trees taken at the HMCA show last Saturday. BTW, this is off topic, but the kit to the right is the '57 Chevy Convertible; Note the optional uptop for it. It also has the 2x4 bbl intake and Batwing airfilter setup.

Yes, the decal sheet on the yellow one is the same artwork. IRRC, the stripe colors are either black/gray or dark gray/light gray, and I think the Hot Rod logo in it is red, but don't hold me to that, as I've only seen the complete decal sheet once for that kit.

MAD has them. http://www.madmodeling.com/store/ccp0-prodshow/knfilter.html

Depends on the compound used. Some are made just for that, and are paintable.

Well, if you're going for the quintessential Surf vehicle, the old Revell '31 Model A Woodie is very hard to beat, though it can be a little fiddly to put together. Same goes for their '29 Model A pickup, which it shares much of the tooling with.

You won't be disappointed. I picked up one ('64 shortbed with the utility box) at the HMCA show last weekend, well worth it.

I agree with using 2 part, much faster and doesn't shrink. I personally use the Bondo Professional Glazing Putty, stock 801. It comes in a 3 oz tube w/hardener, so there's not so much of it that might go to waste by aging as compared to the larger cans that the other 2 part putties come in. Very convenient and cost effective for model use.

I'll partially agree with you about subject matter, as it would be false to assume that all younger modelers and car enthusiasts are only interested in late model or Foose/Pro Touring type vehicles. There's as many young folks interested in Old School Hot rods and Muscle Cars as there are that are into late models and Pro Touring types. I count myself, at age 41, in the group that has a preference for the Old School cars.

Got it for $70, which I didn't think was too bad considering what I've seen them go for on Ebay. I spotted it pretty much first thing after we checked out the Revell display, and actually held off until late in the day to get it. Was surprised that no one snagged it before I got it. The Billy Carter truck came from the same vendor.

The decals are actually green/white, as is the plastic the kit is molded in (metallic green to be precise). Even the Hot Rod magazine decal on the sheet is green. Other wise, the kit is identical to the black version, which was the first one. IIRC, the yellow version was the last one that came out. The kit itself has its roots in the old Big Red/Billy Carter/Ice Patrol kits, and also shares many parts with the Midnight Cowboy/Sneaky Pete kits. It share no parts with the snap kits. BTW, the Ford in that double set is a straight reissue of the Hot Rod/Demons version of the Revell opening doors F100, only difference is the decals.

That's not totally accurate. The later 2wd TIB still used forged axle halves, the main difference being that the newer design used balljoints for both the upper and lower (no kingpins on top) with an offset bushing in the upper for camber and caster adjustment. The radius rods are also different, earlier models were rear steer, later are front steer. The TTB axles were fabricated, and had a center section that bolted to the left hand swing arm.

So, what you're saying is that Squadron White putty can defy the laws of physics?

I can help out on this. The torsion bar suspension was '60-'62 2wd, with 2 different designs. The light version was used on 1/2 through 1 1/2 tons. There was also a heavy version used on 2 ton and larger, which has a different design, the main difference being the torsion bar is attached to the upper control arm, rather than the lower. In '63, GM went to a coil spring front suspension on light models (1/2 -1 1/2 ton), heavy trucks went back to I beam. This basic design was used through '87 ('91 on Blazer, Suburban, and some 1 ton models). Of note, the 1 1/2 ton models went back to I beam in '73, though I have seen the IFS on later 1 1/2 ton based motor homes. While there as great interchangeability with the '63-'87 suspension, there were changes in it over the years. The main changes occurred in '71, with the addition of disk brakes. The balljoints, tie rods, and spindles are different. A later change was the adoption of rubber control arm bushings. The '71 and later suspension is also about 2" wider that the older suspension. The '88 and up is a completely different ballgame, no parts interchange. Out back, the same basic coil spring trailing arm suspension was used '60-'72 on Chevrolet 2wd 1/2 and 3/4 ton, with '60-'66 being virtually identical. The main difference between the early and late versions is the way the panhard rod mounts to the axle. The early version mounts to the axle, the late mounts to the trailing arm. 1 ton Chevrolet used leaf springs for those years, as did most GMC models. Leaf spring rear suspension was also an option on Chevrolets, almost always with a Spicer 60 or 70 rear axle.

In 1980 (first year for square headlamps on a GM truck), only the Silverado and the Sierra Classic had the square headlamps. All others had the older style round headlamps. In '81, all models went square headlamps.

The top of this one is Dorado Dreams, and the bottom is Caribbean Surf. The base was the Kustom Kolor Basecoat Black, which is a gloss black. I don't have a pic of it, but I did do a test of Aquarius Shift on a surfboard from a Surfite kit over black, it has a very striking dark blue/dark green color shift.

Motor City Resin has a very nice '63 Ford shortbed. http://motorcityresincasters.com/63F100.htm

Here's some more pix of the MCRC Olds.

Yes, it is. I'm going to post a few more pix of it down in the Resin section.