oldcarfan

I got some potential parts for my Cannonballer today. Assuming it will fit, I'm thinking this twin turbo Boss 302 engine will do the trick and I'm hoping this Cobra IRS can be modified into a 2nd generation Expedition IRS.

The market has moved away from the subjects we know and love. It feels like the only kids who build muscle cars are the ones who watch Vin Diesel abuse them on the screen. If they build, they're more likely to build something Japanese. My oldest son will go to the hobby store with me sometimes and he heads straight to the Gundam, or Transformers area. My youngest does have some interest in vehicles, but it's more for 90s Ford or Chevy trucks which to him are 'classics'. Right now, he drools over mid 90s F-250 4x4s from the OLD days before he was born. I've been a collector more than a builder over the last 15 years, a byproduct of raising two boys. With time now, I'm unpacking all those kits and have found a lot of trucks that I don't remember buying. Among them are the Tamiya Jeep Grand Cherokees, a Montero/Pajero, two Land Cruisers, several ESCI G-Wagens one of their fire Jeeps, and a Land Rover, and several more. I don't say this to brag about my luck, but to say that the companies could tool up some modern accessories, wheels, tires, bumpers, winches, and roof racks with cargo and rerelease these kits to a market that wants to build such subjects. For that matter, they could offer similar parts to fit some of the car kits, as people are jacking them up and using them off-road now, too. Revell could reissue their excellent F-350 Duallie with a lift kit, some shiny chrome wheels and tires, a bull bar and updated graphics. Maybe they could even tool up a 7.3 diesel! AMT has now redone their OBS Chevy trucks and they could do the same sort of thing with them. Granted these accessories are available from the aftermarket, but if they were all part of a kit sold on the hobby store shelf it might tempt a lot of new buyers to give them a try. Plus it would get a bunch of us old-timers to buy new stuff!

I have a couple of the originals, and this one looks a lot better. Can't wait for them to be widely available.

Figures they'd reissue this, as I bought three of them at a model show last year. LOL

LOve these cars and the way you built them. Maybe Fujimi will rerelease them some day!

Oh well, maybe February.

I'm curious about that Jimmy Flintstone version. Is it a decent build? Does the kit represent a particular 550? I've been thinking of getting one and removing the hump on the back to make it more like the Jimmy Dean one.

This thread was a while back, but in the current day of 3D printed engines, we have a raft of options. HOwever, if you are buying a kit to part out the engine, then one of the first answers is probably the best. '5.0 in the Revell 32 Fords as a "crate motor". Also the SBC with Tremec in the Rat Roaster'. Both of those engines represents what you would have bought from a crate motor supplier 10-20 years ago. As for today, Texas3D and Iceman Collections among others provide some really nice options. I just ordered a twin turbo Boss 5.0 to go with my Cannonball entry.

I haven't built the Tamiya GT, but the Cobra builds up pretty easily. The only issue I ran into with mine was the frame had a little bit of a twist in it. Some hot water resolved it. It's a generic Cobra and doesn't represent a particular car, so you can build it any way you want. I put a late model 5.0 and modern tires on mine to make it a fiberglass kit car.

I generally use a piece of styrene cut to whatever size or shape fits the situation. I do make sure the surface is roughed up so the Bondo will have something to cling to. That applies to both the two part and the spot putty. The first time I use some, I worked it until the surface looked amazing, and after painting, I set aside. One flex and the putty popped right off the part. Ugh!

I was thinking of using a PowerStroke diesel, for this but they are sold out, so instead, I just ordered a twin turbo Boss 302 from Texas 3D. Here's hoping it fits without too much modding. It's probably for the best anyway as a diesel would be pretty heavy.

Thanks, I looked it up and he's sold out already. I emailed and asked when they'll be back. In the meantime, has anyone tried to convert the kit's 460 gas engine into a 7.3 diesel?

Looking for something different to enter, I chose this Revell 1997 Ford Expedition. As it's a Snaptite, it will need some serious work and I got started on it today. As next week will be out due for really cold temps here in central Texas, I opened up the hood and made plans for what needs to be done. After committing to the Run, I ordered some of the things I need. In particular, I ordered a Revell 1997 F-150 Extended Cab kit to provide an engine bay, frame and other assorted things. The kit came in this morning and as I getting ready to open it, I came across the cab and frame from a Lindberg F-150. I don't remember ever building it, but I must have because it was broken up in the bottom of a scrap box. The engine bay got hacked for the Expedition, and the hood replaced the opened up Expedition's hood perfectly. I planned to shorten the Revell donor's frame, but the Lindberg frame fits the Expedition without modification. While waiting for the primer to warm up, I did some mods on the Expedition bumper to see what I can do. I cut it horizontally and and added cutouts for KC lights. Not sure I'll use it, I like the look. After things warm up, I'll get back on the project. As for the title, I always like to have a theme for my projects, and I'm thinking doing the Expedition in a dark color for night running. I'm looking at either a Voodoo Coyote engine or maybe a twin turbo version.

I came across these by accident the other day and grabbed a handful. These are Formica samples from Lowes and I picked them up on impulse. So far today, I've used one as a cutting board and can see some other uses as well. Depending on the color you use, they could even make a nice wood bed for a pickup, or maybe siding for a diorama. The guy at Lowes just laughed when I asked if I could take some. I grabbed 10 in assorted colors and he gave me 10 more just because. They are approximately 3x5 inches and about 1/16th thick.

We are looking at our first really cold weather of the year here in central Texas. It's supposed to hit something like 9 degrees Sunday night. I'm starting to regret putting off buying a heater for my work area out in the shop. I wasn't planning to start on my Cannonball build quite yet as I'm waiting on some things from suppliers. However, knowing that next week will be too cold, I got started today. My selection for the Run is Revell's 1997 Expedition. As the kit is a SnapTite, I started off by opening the hood. That was as far as I planned to go today, but I came across a junk Lindberg 1997 F150 cab and frame so I thought those might work. As it turns out, the Lindberg engine bay fits very well and the frame fits, too. After that, I gave it a shot of sandable primer and will look at working on it again after the temp get back into the 50s.

I've had that problem too. I ended up putting a foam ring around it. Now I switched to the Tamiya and it seems a lot more stable.

I've dropped them in nearly boiling water for a little while. A few minutes in that usually softens them up enough to get them on the wheels.

Regular... Heh

I'm looking at starting my Monogram F-350 and wanted to fit it with a late model Powerstroke. Does anyone do one in 1/24th scale with the transmission? I've found a Cummins and might go with that as an alternative.

I ordered some parts for my Cannonball contender, in fact I just received some wheels from Jay's Resin Wheels. The parts from him are great, with no cleanup needed. I know some parts will need to be deburred, but do they also need to be wiped down before painting? Does the 3D print generally have anything on it that will cause a reaction with paint like traditional resin casting mold release does?

It sure would be nice to see Revell re-release all these old tools. I recently started looking for the unbuilt ones I had in storage to use for my Cannonball project and they seem to have disappeared. I had this long-bed kit, the extra-cab one, and the Lindberg version and can't find them. I did find the Harley version with the trailer and motorcycle, but I'm squeamish about cutting it up.

I remember seeing one of these back in the old days. With that 302 and a little power adders, they had a power to weight ratio about the same as a 289 Cobra.

Maybe it was in a magazine, or on another site, or maybe I'm just getting senile, but it seems like there used to be an article with the measurements to convert the 70s AMT F-150, the Monogram 1988 F-250, and the 70 Chevy truck beds to shortbed size. It had the amount to cut out and a diagram showing the best places to cut. Does anyone remember seeing something like this? I tried searching here, but had no luck.

This kit was part of a second generation of exotic kits that Monogram released. I don't think it was part of the original line as those were curbsides. This is a really nice kit to build. I think I have one in the stash somewhere.

Sadly, there's nothing to tempt me this time around. I'd like to have one of the TouchTone Terror, but I've still got four of the older Red Wagon version. As for the Mustang, I built it a long time ago and that was enough. If they reach deep into the old MPC stash and bring out some Vegas, Monzas, and early versions of the Pinto, I'll be all over that.