MrObsessive

IIRC, AMC called that paint job a "shadow treatment" which was for 1970 only. I think it looks nicer than the stock stripes, and yours is lookin' good!

Dan, I certainly feel for you over the loss of your dog. This time of the year is kinda tough for me as it was the day after Thanksgiving in 2009 I had to have my KitKat put down. The tough thing was he wasn't quite 10 years old. He suffered from kidney failure and when it got to the point that he stopped eating and started "hiding", I knew it was time to let him go. Here's a pic of him sitting in one of his favorite chairs in better days.......... Like your dogs, my other cat Captain and KitKat were best buds, They were not from the same litter--------I got KitKat about a month after I got Captain when Captain was maybe only 3 months old. I've had Captain when he was just seven weeks old------he was so tiny when I got him that he fit in the palm of my hand. Now he's nearly 13 years old, and his age is catching up with him. I don't look forward to the time when I'll have go through the same again. Here they both are "cuddling up" on the couch. I do have yet another cat............a big fat Manx (I originally thought she was a Japanese Bobtail, but she's definitely a Manx), that I showed you in another post. She's five years old now, and Captain has never quited warmed up to her. I got her when she was five months old, and I think the big age difference (seven years) is the reason they've never been close. People who aren't cat or dog people don't quite understand why some of us get so sentimental over animals. Until they truly become a part of your life for the the better part of many (sometimes 20) years, you can't get a true sense of how well attached you can become.

?????? It's been mentioned (and shown) right above your comment just a trifle.

Ron, I LOVE that color! That would be a rare sight on a 1:1 today, but that color looks right at home. Are the turbo parts available on any of the reissued parts packs? I have a '66 builder that may one day be on my work table, and I'd like to have a turbo motor in it.

Very well done! Too bad that Revell didn't see fit to bring us an up-to-date 289 Cobra in 1/25th like they did the Corvette. I have both of these unbuilt as well and for their size, there's quite a lot of detail!

Well, not quite. '59 Chevy sedan rooflines are quite different from their hardtop brethren. Sedan roofs are taller, thus the windshield itself is taller. Rear pillars are shaped differently as well, so it's not just a matter of adding door posts and such. Tom Coolidge once sold sedan (two and four door) roof sections (sorry I don't have a link or email), and one could kitbash this with Monogram's '59 Impala------------but there's some work involved in making this look seamless. I happen to have both roof sections (four door and two door), but don't want to part with 'em as this is one of my someday projects. I can't think of anyone at the moment that makes a (accurate) '59 sedan---------maybe someone else can help out on this? BTW, as far as I know, Monogram's '59 is readily available..........I've seen them on eBay and other sites, so they're out there. Hope this helps! Edit: Ok, I did some digging and I happen to have his Fotki page bookmarked. If you click here, you can see some of the models he produced which featured that sedan roofline. Compare this to the hardtop version of that same car, and you'll see the difference. Perhaps you can contact him through Fotki if you're interested?

Luc, I fully understand what you're saying-------it's why I spend so much time practically re-engineering most of what I build from bumper to bumper.

In agreement with a comment made earlier by Jon Cole.............GLASS! If there's one item that's driven me crazy for years is the way out of scale and woefully distorted kit glass. It's one of the things that stopped my '59 Chevy build in its tracks, and there are a couple kits I refuse to build due to the glass being so bad. AMT's '57 Chrysler 300C come to mind--------------the rear backlite on that is so distorted that you see "lines" on the curved surfaces when it's viewed from certain angles. Almost like my too thick eyeglass lenses! I recently bought Micro-Mark's vacuformer, and every once and a while I'll play around with it to see what it'll do. It takes some practice, but I was able to get a not-so-bad looking new windshield molded for that '59, but I want it to be better. I know this might not be a fair comparison, but Tamiya molds near flawless glass in each of their kits. Crystal clear, very little to no distortion, but as they say "you get what you pay for" and we all know how expensive Tamiya's kits can be. Just the same, I wish the kit makers would spend a little more time in polishing up their molds so that we can get glass that's not so toy-like.

Mike those look fantastic! Too bad he didn't do these for mid '60's Ford products, as it would have saved me a ton of work on detailing the carburetor on my Mustang. Thanks for the link!

IMO, the '60 MPC kit has the better shape of the two. Yeah, the side cove area is a little wonky as Dave pointed out, but to me the shape of the front fenders and grille area among other things just flat out look better. I have that kit that Don pointed out above, and what's interesting about it--------they reproduced the original instruction sheet appearance as what came in the original kit.

Aaahhh! That IS very, very nice! Now I know what to do with the '65 Barracuda build-up I have that's been languishing for years! One question--------were the chassis's on the '65 Barracuda and '68-'69 Darts essentially the same? That would put some very nice detail in that area if I ever decide to restore mine.

Casey's correct about the seats. My 1:1 '69 had headrests, but the '68 Javelin my Mom once owned had low-back seats with no headrests. Bummer about the steering wheel..........you could always say that AMC had some leftover steering wheels from the '69's, and call yours a very early build 1970.

Scott this color looks to be "Electric or Bayshore Blue" offered for '70. Also, those stripes on the decal sheet don't look to be stock at all for any year AMX (I once owned a '69). Looks to be something more for a custom build. Yeah, it would be nice if someone did those C stripes. A good alternative would be to do the "shadow" treatment that came on the '70's.

Welcome Manny! You've come to the right place.............lots of interesting stuff here!

Fellas, I haven't forgotten about this one--------life's gotten in the way with 10-12 hour days at work among other things, which literally leaves me little to no time to work on it save for Sundays. Chassis is about done, and then I'll move on to the interior. When time (and I have enough pics) allows, I'll post pics. However, because I've not given an update for awhile, doesn't mean the WIP is not happening. Just very slowly at this point.

Good catch on the spare tire bulge Niko! I've seen a lot of models overlook that difference in the '60 from the '59. It's more work but worth it for the detail you're putting in. That detail you're adding on the chassis are "stiffeners" or "stampings". Engineers designed this in to reduce flex in the chassis floor-------something that was needed in that '60............a LOT of real estate there!

Just click here for John's Fotki page for The Modelhaus. And yes, I agree! John does a lot of us a big favor by posting what Don and Carol sell. I see some real gems on there, but the bank account won't allow it right now!

Absolutely Beautiful! One of my favorite Mercedes!

I'm of the camp of "If you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all". I'll admit that there are some posts that I've not commented on because the pics are so bad. Blurry, dark, etc......I have enough trouble with eyesight as it is without trying to make out what's in the pic. Nevertheless, I'm also not the confrontational type, and don't always have the mind to either say something on the board, or PM the person. If there are certain details in a build that someone may be overlooking in a WIP for example (one situation comes to mind), I have PM'd that individual. Not everyone handles criticism well, so better to do it that way, than to air it in public. As Harry said however--------if you post something on a public forum, be prepared to take the slings and arrows!

Does not the Chrysler have a longer wheelbase? That alone would make it a tough fit for the Dodge.

To echo what Tom said, I follow Paul's (Robbbbbb57 on eBay) work as well, and I've seen his builds go for $1000+ there! Mostly the station wagons he does gets that kind of money, and from what I've heard, he has a dedicated group of collectors that regularly buy his items. I wouldn't be surprised to see this one crack the $1000 barrier before it's all said and done.

Well Steve. for someone with "big fumbly fingers", your mirror looks great! I've yet to try that on any of my "missing mirror" kits. It looks in scale to me, and certainly adds that extra touch!

I was in high school when these were intro'd in the fall of '76, and I can remember being somewhat disappointed by the new "shrunken down" look. Over the years I've come to really like these, and now they're pretty collectable IF you can find one that's not been rusted to death. Very, very nice and clean job on a not so often seen model! Nice to see one that's bone stock and not done up as a lowrider!

I've been waiting patiently for a glue kit of one of these for some time now.............. I once owned a 1:1 '65, and while I have the resin kit, a well detailed glue kit would be most welcome!

I'm with you John! I have one of the old X-EL reissues (along with the '59 Plymouth), and a reissue with proper chassis and interior details would be a super-duper winner! The Turbine Car I've already built, and I have a couple more "builders" to restore if I get the desire. But that '59 Dodge-------I want another one badly as that's the only car that would be readily available, and has the CORRECT '57-'59 Dodge/Plymouth 2 dr hardtop roofline. For there's a certain '58 Plymouth that could stand some correcting..............