Longbox55

Don't forget the 4x4. Jeep, and Pickup one that's in there, too.

Slick.

Agreed. He also needs to correct the beck of the body where the rear fenders end. The 1:1 rolls around the corners much like te upper body does, rather than the "fins" that are on the castings. Other than that, they are exellent bodies. I'm working on a 'Burb and a Panel from him myself. I plan on correcting the 'Burb, and customizing the Panel with Cameo taillights.

I've never used this myself, but I do know of some modellers that swear by Nitrostan putty. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if they still made it.

Yes, that's the stuff. It's worked well for me. I also use 3M Acryl Green from time to time, but don't really care for the waiting time for it to set up.

I've been using Bondo Glazing Putty in the tube, not the red stuff that takes forever to set up. It mixes the same as regular Bondo, but had a much finer consistancy. It also sticks well to plastic and I've had little to no problems with ghosting. I get it at from Auto Zone, but sometimes WalMart has it.

I wouldn't mind seeing some Ag based platic kits, like these

Depends on my mood. It can be anything from Surf/Hot Rod stuff from the '50s/60s, Mullet Rock, ZZ Top, or here lately, Vintage County (WIXY Classic 99.1)

1/2 ton, 3/4 tons have 8 lug wheels on Dodge.

Here's a site you can check out for ideas.

Got a few questions on just what style you're looking for. IS it gong to be an original '50s era stye truck, either new or well worn? or are you gong for a restored truck that a company has put their company name on as advertising? Both could effect what would look correct on it. Another thing to consider, I notice that your line art essentialy depicts a Cameo. While a cool truck, it's a very unlikely candidate for a work truck or box truck, namely due to the cost compared to a standard truck. Generally speaking, though, most companies, especially a pricatly owend company, would most likely stick with a factroy available color and 2 tones for the cab to keep cost down. Juniper Green was the base color for the '55 Chevy truck, with cardinal Red being a very popular option color. @ tones were either just the roof panlel done in Bombay Ivory, or on DeLux trim cabs, the area around the widows would be done in the Bombay Ivory. Businesse willing to spend the extra money could have ordered the truck in a non-stock color at extra cost, so that would be an option there. If you want to go with aan era correct afteramrket 2 tone, i would look at the how the body lines flow, using the natural character lines for the color breaks. On a side note, if you do conver it to a standard trim truck, the only parts that would get India Ivory (different color from Bombay Ivory) would be the grille, headlamp trim, hubcaps, mirror(s), and the bumper(s). The hood emblem, V8 emblems (if used) and the fender badges would still be chrome. I see the error of painting all the trim white quite often.

The Dana 60 might be a bit big for a TTB conversion. The 1:1s used variations of the 44 and a Ford specific 50. Both are smaller than the 60.

It's not a Dodge, it's a Plymouth.

Here's my pix. I can see a Bonneville or LSR vehicle, not so much Indy or circle track car. Too long and the front end is far too narrow and front tires far too small to maintain stability in the turns at speed.

Having seen it in person (I still need to upload the pix off my camera), I may be overqualified to give an answer!

Judging on how wide that crack is, there's a good chance the front frame horns are spread as well. That would also explain te fender/hood misalignment. I would definetly yank the engine, then hunt for a replacement crossmember at the salvage yard. I beleive there's only 8 rivets holding that crossmember in (been a while since I've been under a Bronco) those can be cut out, then replaced with grade 8 bolts. Replacing it would be best, if possible, as that crossmember is also the mounting point for the center pivots for the TTB. While you have it apart, change the center bushings in the axle as well, as they are a known wear/handling issue with that suspension.

While it is true that the Opel Blitz is technically a GM product, it was enginered independently from its US built cousins. check out the Galleries on Stovebolt.com to see many exellent examples of what the US spec wheels should look like.

About the only thing I can answer for sure is how many coats of clear went on one. 0. They didn't use a clearcoat back then.

The GMC wheels, while very nice, are incorrect. The bolt pattern is wrong. The should either be 5 or 10 lug, depending on what size truck is being replicated.

Gamer shops and comic book shops that carry role playing games will usually have them for painting the miniatures used for the games. Hobby shops that carry RPGs will have them, too, usually near the area where they stock the miniatures. I get mine from the local computer/gaming shop. Most of the colors have unusual names, like Orc Purple or Snot Green, but there is a good selection of odd colors that lend themselves nicely to automotive modelling. The are water cleanup, and dry either semi-gloss or dead flat, depending on color.

Trucks used a similar color underneath as well, although the color on the trucks is more of a brown shade.

I didn't mention what I use for abrasives. Depending on what effect I'm after, I'll use anything ranging from various grits of sandpaper to flat files. I like to tape down the sandpaper to a board for sanding treads. The file (full size file, not a hobby file) comes in handy for truing up slicks, or doing a heavily worn tire.

I fabricated an arbor to go in a 3/8" drill to do mine. made it out of a peice of 3/8" aluminum rod from the local Lowes store, along with a couple of flanged 3/8-24 nuts, 9/16" hex. The hex fits nicely inside most 1:25/1:24 tires, and the flanges hold the tire in place. I also picked up some nylon spacers to allow for different tire widths, but so far have not had to use them.

If you really want to help out the details on that kit, the entire chassis from the old Monogram Chevy Stepside will fit under it very nicely.

Ok, that's just weird looking. But then again, it might look different in person. I'll find out this Saturday, as I'm going to the Chicago Auto Show this weekend. If anyone want to see them, I will be taking lots of pix and maybe even a few vids.