MrObsessive

WOW! Haven't seen one of those in YEARS! And yes, those were sold here! I knew a family that had a four door one back in the early '80's, but unfortunately was totaled in an accident. VERY NICE JOB! Hmmm...............looks like I'll be spending some more money with AirTrax down the road------I already have their nice Volvo P1800 which NO ONE else offers!

I echo what Ron said Steve! You're doing a excellent job in building up these old Johans and making nice little treasures out of 'em. I really like the inside fender detail you're adding......it's one of my pet peeves too, and it's something I'd like do if/when I ever get around to building one of mine. ............And that number is somewhat numerous as I have some oldies but goodies that I have to get around to building/restoring..............someday! I can just barely hear that '66 hardtop I have calling my name.................

Looks good from what I see! And yes, this kit can be a real bear to get together! I built one of these back in the early '90's and was having a fit getting it together! If I knew then what I know now I'd approach it a bit differently build wise. At least you got your wheels to go on well! One of the issues I had with mine was that I wanted to use the Borrani's that come in the kit. The wheels and tires stuck out so far from the body, that I had to really knock down the wheel hubs to get them to tuck inside the fenders per the 1:1. They do look really sharp when done------you just have to do a lot of cursing to get it to that point!

Can't wait to see your progress Jerry-----------that blue one you posted is a beautiful car!

Yup! There are a few on eBay and yes, all of them are in the three figures. It's one of the reasons I jumped on this one I'm building lickety-split-----windshield pillar damage notwithstanding. I didn't want to touch the unbuilt kits I have just yet, and this presented the perfect opportunity to give this one a good home, fix the damage and get 'er built. Well, the chassis buildup is all done save for the wheels. I'll wait till the interior's done and just before I'm ready to paint the body, I'll get the wheels all painted and fixed up. Once again, I don't want any surprises as things get closer to getting done. So far, this WIP has been pretty much trouble free. There are 41 steps in the instruction booklet, and I'm already up to step 20-21. That's kind of a record for me as I seldom work that quickly. I'll do some touch-up work that I can see needs done and then the engine bay stuff is next, and then it's on to the interior.

Here's the vid where you can see the astounding amount of cars!

I have this kit (the gold car box art), and in a lot of respects to my eyes it looks better than Revell's new tool '58-'59 kits. The only thing throwing things off is that side cove shape. IMO the front end of MPC's '60 looks better, especially the grille area. If I ever build this, I'd probably someway combine the two............use MPC's body, and kitbash it with Revell's new tool '58 running gear with the other bits and pieces. Revell's old '60 kit (or is it '59?..........I'm confused!), while not a bad kit with the multi-piece body appears to have too flat front fenders looking at the body from a side view. I've seen these built-up and they're quite nice though when built well. Now THAT is a GREAT looking model!!

I'm gonna go with most others have said and say go for the Buick! Since you're just getting back into the hobby (Welcome back!), you want as least hassle as possible and those 1/24 old Monograms are just the ticket in easing back into things. The '68 Road Runner while not a completely terrible kit, I would not recommend it for beginners or returnees back into the hobby. There's much wrong with the model as I have this one on my to-do pile, and in fact, I've made MANY corrections to the body, I've just never posted them here. As Ace has said, there's a lot of fit issues with this one as well, as many years ago I tried to build the '69 GTX convertible and had difficulties with that one in the '90's. Just the same, I don't think you'll be sorry with the GSX--------it looks good, goes together well, and it's just the thing to get back into the swing of things. BTW, I'd forget the vinyl roof for the time being.............focus on getting as clean a build as possible, and save that detail for some other time.

True, some contests can be very lenient while others are quite strict. Nevertheless, I'm not really building this for any particular contest per se, just something for me to clear out the cobwebs while I gear up for my next MAJOR build.

I always thought of going beyond box stock was adding parts that didn't exist, not taking something away. For example, there's door sill trim that's missing and I thought about adding it. Someone mentioned to me at the NNL East that doing that wouldn't be considered box stock as that trim piece is not included in the kit. Removing material to make something fit better I don't think goes against the rules, but then what about folks who add flocking? Wouldn't that be considered something along the lines as a paint job? Same goes for BMF......... Box stock is somewhat foreign to me as I seldom if ever build this way, but I want to get away from overcomplicateditis for a spell-------at least for this one particular WIP!

Thanks for the tip Ken! I'm going to keep this one as strictly to box stock as I can. Just in case I ever enter it into a contest in the box stock category, there won't be any drama regarding those outsourced rotors as you mentioned. Also, the wheels have quite a busy design, to the point that cutting out the inside portion of those inner wheels, the rotors still aren't seen all that much from the outside. This is one build I'd like to employ the K.I.S.S. method to a T! Ron, if you can PM me later on I'd like to get some pics of the inside of the trunk if possible. The trunk hinges aren't exactly correct per the 1:1, but once again since this is box stock, I can't really change 'em. I'd like to see what colors were used as far as materials though..........barring that I'll just wing it per the instructions. BTW, check your PM's as there's something else I wanted to mention to you................

Why thanks!

To my eyes, the shape is too rounded, and doesn't have the right "swoop". Kinda hard to express in words, but it never seemed quite right to me either. Not so sure it's fixable with a file-----me thinks it needs a bit more than that.........

Chris, I'd think any of those would do as Johan IIRC, never tooled up the correct AMC engine for those kits. It more represents the V8 that would be for the '59. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it's one of the reasons I've never built a proper AMX. A good engine's never been done for those either in 1/25, but I guess the motor out of the recent Gremlin kit would be about as good as it gets.

I've got one of the last reissues, and this kit is another one of those "dream builds" of mine. Got to ride in one of these quite frequently as a kid as the man my Mom started dating sometime after she and Dad broke up had one of these, but I think his was a '58. I'd want to turn mine into a four door hardtop as that looks better to me than the stodgy sedan. Although, by the looks of everything else that was being churned out for '59, the Rambler was quite stodgy anyway, save for Studebaker (Lark)! Since the roof on the wagon seemed to always look like an afterthought to me (note the "dip-down" in the roof), whacking that off should leave the roofline pretty much intact. For a trunk, I've got a '57 Chevy junker that could be put to good use for that. Now what to do about that incorrect dash which is more for a '61??

Some of you have seen these before.............. '55 Jag D-Type '57 Corvette Fuelie '58 Chevy Impala '67 Mustang when it was still under construction

Yup! I believe that car was supposed to be a '61. Jürgen, that is one beautiful Ferrari! It's one of my all-time favorite ones, and I believe also that this is one of Ferrari's best designs ever. FANTASTIC job on the wheels! I have the Testor's reissue, as well as the V-12 engine kit from Norm-------the wheels and tires are the biggest letdowns in the kit though. I don't think I'll go as fancy as you in lacing my own however! I'll probably just settle for a set of PE ones, and call it a day. And yes, your model looks great with the windows up...........I'm just a windows roll-up kinda guy though!

Sighhhhh.............You guys are gonna make me spend some more money! Not my most favorite Cutlass out there but this kit is so nice, it's hard to pass up! Nice work so far Chad!

Steve, that is absolutely, terrifically BEAUTIFUL!! Spanish Red is my favorite color for a '66 300, and the finish on yours is outta sight! In regards to the pics.........I originally saw your photos on my iPhone at work, and they did look squished but now I'm seeing 'em on my laptop, and they look just fine------dare I say perfect! Maybe it's the resolution some devices are defaulted to display certain things?? I don't know but needless to say, I'm saving your pics! I have two of these-------one de-built one with some roof damage.......some kind of solvent got on it from the previous guy who had it, and I've had it for many years. The other one is a very clean built-up I got off the 'Bay sometime last year, and paid a pretty penny for it! The de-built one with the roof damage I may build that one and turn it into a convertible, using the leftover top as a basis for an uptop. I LOVE the shape of the uptops on those! Once again, gorgeous job and I see you're teasing me with a WIP of a '65 Plymouth! You're tempting me to one day do something with the Johans I got as I have a '66 Fury hardtop that calls my name from time to time.

I have an original Bronco (when AMT was still with Lesney), but the body is slightly warped. Yes, I'd sure like to see that one come back! I wouldn't be surprised if it pops back up again on its own in a year or two since that Model King reissue was fairly recent.

The rearmost one is a AMT '63 Avanti, the convertible is the Revell (?) Jag XKE, the foremost one is the Aurora GT-40 (back end never looked right to me), and the VW looks to be the old IMC version that could be built either stock or as that gasser. Hope this helps, and someone correct me if I'm wrong here.........

This was a while back, but I seen one of them go in the $100 range. More than likely due to the Cougar and the trailer that came in that set. I just won't pay that much for that type of kit when it can be reissued for much less than half that. As I mentioned, eBay prices can get crazy as usually a bidding war takes place, and the 'Bay LOVES that as it's more money for them.

One of the more important things when I'm building something is the car's stance, or how it sits when it's all put together. There are some really nice models out there I've seen on the box art, but what kills it for me is that either they sit too high, or the wheels don't sit even. It's one of the reasons I don't like to paint at all on the body till near the very end. I want to make sure the chassis will go in with as little hassle as possible, as I'll do many test runs to get an idea of how it'll go in before painting. That way by the time the paint is rubbed out and polished, I have pretty down pat how the body will mate to the chassis with as little fuss as can be. This 1:1 shot of the 850i gives me a very good idea of how the car should sit. I've run into trouble doing some dry fitting of the wheels, and I want to address those now before I go any further. First, I did get the chassis fully painted and got most of the rear suspension done save for the passenger side rear disc brake. My better sense told me to go ahead and test fit the wheels on with tires to see how the tire to fender relationship should look. On the chassis, my feeble attempt to paint those fine lines with "chrome" paint (looks like sending unit lines) fell flat, so I simply painted that area black and called it a day. OK, here's the driver's side rear disc brake glued on............yes, the disc brake itself was multiple pieces coming in two halves with an inner hub with those nubs. Here's the wheel and tire dry fitted on those nubs, and the tire simply sticks out too much IMO.......more so than the 1:1 pic showed. Sooooo.........I'm going to take my "Moebius" approach and cut away the inner part of the wheel. This will allow the outer wheel to sit in further, and also allow the disc brake to be seen through the wheel spokes. My tool of choice when needing to cut away something like this. A sharpened steel rod inside a pin vise. Simply go round, and round, and round........... Inner part of the wheel cut away............. I cut away the nubs on the hub........ Now test fitting everything together. You can see the disc through the spokes now. The fella that had this kit before stripped the wheels of the too shiny chrome. That saves me some work as I'll use later down the road Alclad to give the wheels the aluminum finish. Pardon the dust............. That's much better! The tires are tucked in more under the body per the 1:1, and just flat out looks better! The tires look like they're uni-directional so I'll have to pay attention to how the tread is positioned as I mount them. I'll scuff up the tread as well to get rid of the center "ridge" that's on 'em. Now I get to do this THREE MORE TIMES! At least the kit gives you a spare to put in the trunk that opens.........nice touch Revell!

Thanks James! So that's what happened! Yup, everytime I see these turn up on the 'Bay, I can count on the price to be either outta sight already on a BIN, or the price goes way up from whomever wants it getting into a bidding war. I lucked out as I bought it not long after it turned up as I have eBay as an app on my phone, and it let me know that this one was up for sale on a cheap BIN. I'll probably never touch the unopened one I have.........they do have nice packaging as Tamiya packaged it with their box art. The other one I got from Gerry, that was missing the original wheels and that one someday I may make into a convertible................uptop and all. The latest on the one I'm doing------seems as though I'm running into an issue with the wheels. I assembled the driver's side disc brake (yes, each disc has separate pieces! ) and I did a dry fit of the wheels with the tire in place. It seems as though the wheel is sticking out a bit too far in relation to how the 1:1 looks as I have plenty 'o pics of the car. So I'll have to put on my thinking cap to figure out how to get the wheels to tuck in a bit further. Looks like I might have to employ my "Moebius" approach and cut away the inner wheel, and then cut off the nubs on the hub so that the outer wheel will scoot in further. I'll of course take pics of how all of this takes place.............I hope this one won't be as drama filled as that '59 Impala! This is supposed to be "box stock" dontcha know! Stay tuned...........

Another kit I missed out on and now prices are REALLY outta sight, is the Model King reissue of the Ford Bronco with the trailered Cougar. I'd like one now but I'm not going to pay the crazy eBay prices I see them go for! Just goes to show that if you see a Model King edition of something new (Moebius trucks are a good example), better grab 'em quick as they are limited runs and once they're gone, they're gone! I sure hope Round 2 reissues this one in the near future............just the Bronco alone would be sufficient.