MrObsessive

Tom, the '74 'Vette was a $20 rescue from eBay. I had most other year 'Vette's except that one so I felt sorry for it and snatched it as it had a BIN. I did run a thread on the board originally........if you go here, you'll see the resto pics of the work I had to do to whip it back into shape. ?

Jean-Philippe, that is absolutely beautiful! I love how you rescue these rare models! Particularly Johans are worth saving as we won't see the likes of them again.

Craig, the VW convertible I built....the top material was already hand sown and fabricated from the company that made it. It looks to be some sort of heavy nylon as it is a bit stretchable.

Here's another and better shot of the engine bay...............

John, the Gullwing Mercedes is probably my all time favorite Mercedes ever made! Next up would probably be the "Pagoda" roof 230-280SL's. Yes, more bookcase building is on order for next year for sure. With parts coming in for the 1/8 Agora '61 Jaguar Convertible and hopefully getting the Ford GT40 done, I'm going to quickly run out of space. Eaglemoss has had some quality control issues with some of the parts they sent out. This site here was a big help in getting this thing done, and he points out some of the issues he's had in getting his finished. The rear fender eyebrows might have had that issue, and the seller forgot to mention they would be among the missing. Interesting enough, all of the instructions came in French! ? Thank goodness I had that site I mentioned to fall back on as some things to me weren't translatable to English. BTW, because I bought the kit and I had the chassis already done, sometime down the road I do have the parts to make a separate rolling chassis with engine to display next to it. ?

The following you guys have seen here just recently. First up is the Agora 1/8 Shelby Cobra that's probably my favorite of builds this year. This is one of the few instances where I saw a kit (partwork notwithstanding), and I IMMEDIATELY went to the site to order it. I give MANY THANKS to @Brudda for pointing this kit out. I had no idea this beast existed until he mentioned it, and I'm glad it's in my collection now. Here are some new pics I took just this morning. A little better IMO than the ones I took where the lighting to my eyes left a bit to be desired. Take note how big this thing is compare to the 1/25 '74 Corvette I built several years ago! This is where it'll sit in its case 99.9% of the time. Next to the '67 Shelby and kept covered from dust and cat hair. Last but not least, is literally the last finished build I'll get done this year, and one I just posted very recently. I took some new pics on a different background, and I'd like to give a HUGE THANKS to @mrmoto who was very nice enough to make and send me the decals for the wheelcovers. He also made the burtex type mat that goes in the trunk, but I've yet to put that in. Thanks Manuel! That's it fellas! Back on the table is the Shelby Green Hornet which I'll be updating here in the not too distant future. What else is new for '22? Well, after the Shelby, I'd like to build a "Sand Crab" dune buggy based on the old Lil' Van kit from Monogram, but with my own take on how it could be done as a "street legal" car. After that, I hope to have the 3D printed and cast in resin 1976 Olds Cutlass Supreme from Robert Burns which I'm going to turn into a full detailed model. No opening doors and such, but full engine and chassis detail. Stay tuned!

With the 1/8 scale DeAgostini Ford GT40 build stalled due to lateness of parts, I thought I'd try and work on the Eaglemoss 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing that I had sitting around and had parts to build for a bit. It had been a while also since I was getting parts from them (another story) but I thought I'd try and get the rest of the chassis together. A few months had gone by and then I realized it had been nearly SIX MONTHS since I received anything from them, and that was some rinky-dink little part that really I could have set aside. It came to mind that if I can run across the ENTIRE kit on the 'Bay, I'm going to break the bank and buy it and cancel the sub to Eaglemoss. Meanwhile, I was now getting parts to build the Agora 1/8 Cobra, and I'll get to that a bit later. Anyway, one day surfing eBay, I happen to see.....you guessed it......a COMPLETE kit of the Mercedes SL on there from a seller in France. I looked over the pics, sent him the money as it did have a BIN, and I got the kit in about 10 days. I then cancelled the sub from Eaglemoss, and I'll tell you that I'll probably NEVER buy anything from them again, as they had lame excuses as to WHY things were held up (COVID was one). I pretty much picked up where I left off with the sub from Eaglemoss, and here are the results. No beauty shots here.......the model is now downstairs and I really didn't want to drag it back upstairs where the lighting is better to take pics on the one shelf. The pics here are just as it was done a few months ago. One BIG issue I did run into with this build was with the rear fender "eyebrows". They were missing in the kit and when I checked the auction, they were missing there as well. Well.......I ended up scratchbuilding those and tried to match the paint as best I could. Eaglemoss wouldn't sell any replacements, and I couldn't get upset with the seller as they were not in the pics originally. I suspect they were bad as far as painting, and he never got the replacements for them. I ended up using the full size photo as a "template" and went from there in building them. Not a job for the faint of heart! But wait.............there's more!

I have to say that this is the only year I can ever think of where most of my builds were ALL 1/8 scale. As you'll see in the following pics, it was a busy year for me, even though I didn't necessarily do any build threads here except for a couple. Around the beginning of the year, I came across a kit somewhat by accident that I wanted terrifically! A 1976 VW Convertible by LeGrand that was pretty much like DeAgostini's version, but without the working lights and horn, as well as to my eyes, a more desirable color. Here are some build pics as well as the finished car. They give you a top boot to put on, but the fit of the top when it's up reinforces why I'm not always crazy about folding tops on models....even in larger scales. The fit is never taut and neat enough to my eyes, and I could tighten things up a bit, but this will be sitting it its case with the top mostly down/folded. Next up was a working 1/4 scale VW engine that I came across on eBay that was made by "Franzi". Very interesting model this was, and it's the the first time I can remember that I built something like this. Here are a few pics followed by a video. Yes, in a case for safekeeping from the nosy eyes of cats and their hair! Here's the vid............. Stay tuned.........there will be more! ?

Monty, as I mentioned in another post, a Colonnade car is in my future to build in the not too distant future. It won't be the MC, but a '76/'77 Olds Cutlass Supreme in resin. I ordered it from Robert Burns (Too Many Projects on FB), and hopefully it'll be here come late January or February. Yes, I'll be cutting open the hood and giving it full engine detail with like chassis and all. It's on my "must build" list as I'm planning on going to the GSL in '23, and I want this car along with a couple others to take along.

I've come to dislike snow ESPECIALLY if I have to go out in it. We got a little bit today........I'd sooner NOT have it snow the entire winter if I were King. I shot a little video right outside my back window as it was falling. Looks nice, UNTIL you get enough of it you have to shovel! ?

This is one of the nicest ones I've seen yet! SUPER clean job on what's now an underrated car (for the moment). You did the vinyl top correctly with the chrome trim.......here's a '76 Olds Cutlass Supreme with essentially the same roofline and looks to me the rear window trim is not chromed. It's too bad Revell hasn't done more of these Colonnade cars. I do know of a certain 3D printer that will be coming out with more Colonnade models in the coming year. I have on the way his 3D printed (then cast in resin) version of the '76 Cutlass like seen here. Yes, when this was new, I was a junior in High School and the roads were littered with them! Now you never see them at all except for the occasional car show. I can almost bet in the coming years, ALL of the '73-'77 Colonnade cars will become quite collectible as they were pretty much the last of their type. The G-Bodies followed and while they weren't bad, the downsizing of that type from the A-Bodies IMO made them not as wanted or desirable.

Thanks Tim for this thorough presentation! I have to give MAJOR props to Moebius for changing the body to be that much more correct. Yes, it's a pain, but this will go a long way in cementing a relationship with us builders that they ARE willing to make changes when needed. They did a similar thing with their '61 Pontiac Ventura when we pointed out how the test shot was missing the trademark "kickup" at the base of the bubbletop's C pillar. Dave took note of this, got back to Moebius and sure enough, the final kit version did have that change. Terrific! While this Gasser is not my sort of building, the built-up example looks VERY good, and the ambitious among us have now a very good kit for turning this into a nice Plain Jane grocery getter.

From 1995 to 2004, I lived above what used to be a Fiat (formerly Studebaker) dealership and garage. Back in the mid to late '90's when the garage was still functional, there was one of these that would occasionally be in the garage to be worked on. It was a coupe like shown here, but I REALLY liked the Spider version so much better. To my eyes, the convertible was so much sexier looking with nicer bodywork. I don't know who owned the car, but it must have been someone local for it to show up to be worked on like it was. I'd love to have a kit of either the coupe or the Spider. They were technically interesting cars and you certainly don't see these turn up often at any shows.

Yeeeup! Just jumped in and pre-ordered one too! For those of you interested, if you go here you can pre-order one on that page. I suspect from the looks of things, Moebius will be VERY busy pumping these out. ?

EXCELLENT EDSEL! You don't see many of these any longer on the show tables. VERY clean and neat! I do think the engine in yours looks better than what came in the original kit. To my eyes, it seems as though AMT modeled that engine a bit "small". Looks Terrific!

Thanks much Tim for the very good review! I would've liked to have the kit with WW tires, but that's not a deal breaker. Those should be easy to find in the aftermarket. It'll be interesting to compare this to Trumpeter's '63 to see how it compares shape wise........from what I can see so far, it all looks good. ?

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All I'll say is that I'm reaaaal familiar with this car. I won't say how until this quiz is over, but I was able to get up close and personal with this one a number of times years ago.

Steve, I'm really enjoying how this is coming together! I have the '68 Convertible version of this, and when the time comes to restore it, I'll be referring to your techniques and such to get 'er together. Your A Pillar trim is particularly a good idea especially in a convertible. Looks so much more finished and tidy with those in place. ?

I got to meet Albert at the 2008 Toledo show, and he was just as surprised to meet me as I was him! We had quite the conversation............a VERY nice guy he was! Here's a pic that was taken.............that's Ted "Chopper" Lear on the left. He's another one we lost very recently.

WOW JC! Great work! BTW, thanks for the shout-out! I did use the rear diff from a parted out Revell Bronco to make that IRS. That's one of the better detailed ones that's out there. Now that I'm done with the '55 Fairlane, I'll be back working on the Green Hornet with an update in the not too distant future. I'm redoing some bodywork on it that to my eyes wasn't quite right.

Despite the other foibles with the body, this makes it look sooooo much better! This car was on my to-do list at one point, but since I got one of Harry P's Danbury Mint '58 Fury's (his daughter was selling it on eBay), my '58 Plymouth urge has been satisfied for the moment. You showed a very clever way of fixing that side trim! I was going to take a completely different approach which would have involved pretty much re-engineering the car from nose to tail. This is much more feasible for someone that doesn't want to go through a lot of trouble. Keep up the great work! ?

Tom, those look REALLY great! I take it you got your bodies from Robert Burns? He does excellent 3D prints and I also have the '76 Olds 98 and just recently got the '70 Plymouth. On his FB page, he listed a bunch of bodies he's offering to his followers for a limited time. I broke down and got his '77 Olds Cutlass Supreme (a '76 is pictured though), '76 Olds Delta 88, and the '73 Buick Riviera. I should be getting them in the next month or two. I can come up with interiors for them as needed and in fact, the Cutlass I definitely want to be a GSL entry when that show rolls around for the last time in '23. Quick question: What did you use as a base for your Olds 98 interior? To my eyes, that looks exceptionally nice! I loved the "loose pillow" look Olds offered back then for that car. ?

Manuel, this is BEYOND gorgeous! You're the only one I've seen take this kit and make a brilliant gem out of it! Many years ago, I got this kit from Ray, but what stopped me was the Packard engine that was needed among other things. With your suggestions, I've since bought a Cadillac parts pack engine which can now give me the basic "bones" to get it correct. Thanks for finishing this one up..........Studebaker Hawks are among my favorite of vintage '50's/'60's cars out there, and it's too bad that there aren't more kits of these available.

Thanks everyone for the nice words! It's good to finish something "normal" after a number of the big scale stuff I've done this year (I've built others I haven't posted here yet), and now I get to really zero in on the Shelby Green Hornet that's been languishing for a couple years now. Down the road, I'm going to attempt the same type of "rescue" with a '58 Studebaker Golden Hawk I built many years ago, but got wrecked by one of my cats about 20 years ago. I got a junker Danbury Mint diecast of a '57 Hawk (never thought that looked correct) and I'd like to use some of its interior and some other bits and pieces and make mine a '57. I have a few pics of it shown here........a number of body changes on it I'll need to do to make it a bit more accurate while I'm at it.