Jim Gibbons

That is just plain sweet!

I've been following this for a bit, and had to comment. This is looking great, and excellent color choice. I'm impressed at your scratchbuilding of the interior, too. I have an older green/white Franklin Mint '55 Pontiac, and recently got a 1/18 SunStar convertible in black and yellow for an unbeievably good price. I also have a 1/43 '55 Safari from the old Ertl "Road Champs" 1955 set from years ago. I have a thing for '55 Ponchos, too! Looking forward to seeing this Under Glass.

Love it! Man, I HAVE to get one of these kits; I love the old obscure imports.

Love it! However, I think you're just "fission" for comments!

Welcome back to the hobby! There has been a lot of changes in 25 years. Since I don't have an airbrush, and use spray cans, the newer paints are great. If I'm not using automotive sprays, the Tamiya line of paints are great, although a bit expensive. However, the finish you'll get with careful application is hard to beat. The newly tooled models that have come out in those same 25 years will also knock your socks off; just take a look at some of the workbench photos people post. Have fun, and welcome to a great forum!

Can't say I've built 10 '57 Fords from AMT, but if I include a couple of Revell '57 Rancheros, and a 1/32 Revell '57 snap kit from way back when, I'm there. I do have another '57 AMT in the stash which I'm debating colors on. The '56 Ford is another which I've built more of than I can remember.

Very cool; I hope your mom has a great day! My mom was actually a pretty good model builder; she was better than my dad. She probably had more influence on me as a modeler. A few months ago, I bought a Glencoe kit set from Squadron. It's of a Chinese Junk and a Viking ship. I think they are old Ideal molds. The reason I got them was that she had built the same models back in the '50s, and were given to me by my grandmother. They were quite nicely painted and assembled! (Before she was married, she was a teacher, and also taught crafts in summer programs.) I plan to complete them soon, as close to the way she built hers. Unfortunately, since I'm disabled, I won't be able to see her for Mother's Day, but should be able to before the month is out. She's in a nursing home now. I will finish the kits as a gift and reminder of how much I love her and the talents she passed on to me. Happy Mother's Day to all moms!

Wow, your talents show. Superb work! You should post some of your aircraft models in the "Other Models" forum here. Welcome to a great forum.

Love it!

Love it! I definitely have to get a copy of your book. I mostly build "shiny and new," but I think it might be fun to do something different. I've built some armor, so have a little experience in weathering, but need to learn more. I've already built a '58 Plymouth close to "Christine," and have another unbuilt. I should build it in the condition Arnie first sees it in the movie. Hmmmmm.

Very cool...a book I'll have to add to my library! Will AK Interactive be the only place to order it?

Hello back to EYEGORE, and give him a treat in my name!

Oh, yeah; the Talbot-Lago would be great. I remember driving back with my friend after going to the Canadian Grand Prix in '93 or so, and being passed by one of the "Talbo" 9/10 replicas on the NYS Thruway. Artwork in motion.

I'm having a lot of fun with Dr. Cranky's threads. I'm not looking for sympathy, but I have a very painful bone disease that keeps me away from the workbench more often than not. The videos are fun, and his sense of humor smacks of my own twisted little world. These days, anything that can bring a smile to my face, or have me laughing is worth its weight in gold. Rock on, good Dr.; I'm following the prescription!

Looking really good. I had a 1:1 '60 Sunliner identical to my avatar, so needless to say, I really like the '60 Fords.

One that comes to mind is the Jaguar XJ-12 that was a Revell snap kit marketed as the "Saint" car (I think it's 80's vintage, but has Euro headlights and would work for a '90s theme.) I think Hasegawa makes one, too. Although it isn't upper end, Fujimi had a curbside Audi 90 that I have in the stash to build for a friend. Unfortunately, neither are "luxo-barge" sedans like you're looking for.

I agree with many of the cars mentioned above, but even though they've already been listed, I would love to see the '61-'64 SAAB 96 in 1/24. Heaven would be Tamiya doing this kit in both stock and rallye options. A 95 wagon would be welcome, too. While I'm at it, a Sonnet I and a Volvo P544 would be great. How about a Lotus Cortina, especially Jim Clark's rallye version?

That would make a great conversion. Maybe we should have a forum "Movie Car" build; I'm planning to build the Mercedes Benz 540K from the Sound of Music. As an aside, several years ago at Lime Rock, I was drooling over a similar Drophead in that great green Aston Martin had. I turned to my left, and none other than Vic Edelbrock was standing next to me doing the same thing.

Aston Martin didn't build many Dropheads, so they're pretty rare. Two other famous dropheads in movies; Tippi Hedren drives a DB3 in "The Birds," and Michael Caine has a beautiful silver DB4 in the original "Italian Job" that is "destroyed." It was actually a Lancia modified to look like the DB4 for the destruction. http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_3989-Aston-Martin-DB4-1962.html

From "The Right Stuff;" feeling a bit like Alan Shepard myself, lol! Eric Sevareid: [broadcasting] There's another hold from NASA, another delay. Alan Shepard sits there, patiently waiting. What can be going through a man's mind at this moment? [cut to Shepard in his space capsule] Alan Shepard: Gordo?... Gordo, I have to urinate

"Oh boy, this is great!"

I first noticed this same thing when Monogram released the Mercedes Benz 300SLR #722 in the early '90s. It was a Revell AG kit originally, with the parts molded in Poland. I guess after the end of the USSR and its "Warsaw Pact" nations, labor rates were favorable to do this. I don't have the kit handy to see where the box and instructions were printed, but this has been going on for a while.

If I were doing it, I'd use your last rendering which is the factory prototypical roofline for the '59 wagons. Jon's picture of the wood grained '60 gives a good idea of how it might look. I know there is a resin '59 Chevy Brookwood 2dr wagon body (a really nice one is posted in the recent "Longroof" thread.) That's my 2 cents worth. I feel that if GM had built one, it would have had that roofline and detailing as the other makes. Some Nomad style trim strips on the tailgate (maybe horizontal for a Caddy?,) combined with Cadillac themes, would look great.

I KNEW that this was the right place for information. Christian, that's very cool that you saw the car in person. I had done some research on prewar Austrian license plates and knew some of the area letter codes, but I appreciate the additional info. Skip, thanks for the link. Yes, I plan to paint the wheel weights! Only the Germans would do that kind of over-engineering. The model you posted, I had also found the link. He did a clean build, but as you said, neglected some important detailing. I guess I'll scratchbuilt the bumpers to reflect the movie car. I will also include the flagpole. My original intent was to finish it in a two tone similar to the CMC 540K diecasts. However, on Sunday, I watched "Sound of Music" again, and this time paid attention to the cars. When I saw the movie 540K was RHD, as is the kit, that started me thinking. Now all I need is a resin Von Trapp family!

That's where I got the movie pics of the 540K. I was watching the movie on Easter Sunday, and there's one scene that gives a decent view of the seats. My first impression was that they were deep brown/maroon, but that could also be the film print's color profile. What the heck; I'll build it as close as I can.