1972coronet

I had one of the Yodel 1977-1978 Fury kits at one time . Its Strong Points : - Clear tail lamps (easier to properly paint) - Nicer spot lights - Better wheels and hub caps (since introduced by Round2 in the latest release of the 1977-1978 Monaco) - Better tyres - Decals for different cities Its Weak Points : -Bodies are too 'square' - Interiors are lacking - Chassis plate is just that They're not terrible , IMO . Lots of the squareness of the body is subdued when the car is completely assembled . They're quite expensive IF you can find them .

That's exactly what I noticed : the Olds' arched quarters' sculpting is what gave the illusion of a longer-overhang . Wheelbase is the same on all of the A-body hardtops , coupes , and convertibles (at least the 1968-1972 model years) , so that was spot-on to begin with . I couldn't think of how to frame my opinion , so I didn't chime in . Thankfully @ChrisBcritter presented a visualisation of my thoughts . I really like what you've done thus far , honestly . Keep up the great work !

Hone-O-Drive was located about a mile from where I grew up ; I remember their facility on Washington Blvd x Broadway . I don't remember when they relocated or went out-of-business...

I finally got a decent photo of the 'curled toes' which Tæo exhibits on a regular basis . He is the first domestic cat I've ever seen which curls its toes ! His hands are of "unusual" structure as well ; his thumb is closer to his fingers than a regular cat's . He lays almost perfectly-flat ( I call him 'Soldier' when he does that , as that pose reminds me of a soldier's 'ground-position' when firing a rifle --- somebody please correct my nomenclature , out of respect and for accuracy ) . Without further ado :

Perhaps more frightening is how the front wheels --spindle-mount , nonetheless-- are clocked ! There goes the front suspension , oil pan , etc. , etc. That Bird Of Paradise 1971 Thunder-Lincoln does appear as though it's trying to hide . Maybe it's on a bad trip and it got The Fear ?

That would be GREAT ! For the life of me , I can't remember which engine powered it (perhaps a then-new 327 ? A compact car in B/FX would "have to" be a small-displacement V8 , no ?) .

I worked for the dealership --back in the 90's-- which sponsored that car !

Looks quite nice ! Great work on that bad boy ! The nose-up stance gives the appearance that the car's launching from a stop .

Last time he was around the board was Friday @ 13:30 . He probably thinks that we're bustin' his chops with all of our replies .

Very cool ! Good luck with the final product... I'd be interested in one or more of those Hone-O-Drive units !

I agree completely . I've learnt some techniques from him which have worked very well . I don't know why anyone would complain about Chris' techniques nor the outcome of his works ! He's having fun , which is the most important component of the hobby .

Fantastic VS29H3B ! Motivation to work on my MPC '73 Duster !

"Bounce the rock and catch the ball // Bound to fall..."

Ah ! I see them now --- they don't appear to be too bad , at least in the photos (which always bring-out flaws... I know that my builds look bad in photos !) . Still better than a factory paint job from the Van Nuys or Norwood plants ! Ha ! Still a beauty !

I've always wondered what the complaints were with that kit . Thanks for clarifying , as I always believed it to be the subject matter ( I dig Edsels , by the way... I've just never taken the plunge and bought one of the kits ) . Is its F-E ( or is it an M-E-L ? ) engine decent ?

You've done a GREAT job with that Sabre Tooth Tigre kit ! The way that you blended the front fascia and rear bumper into the body is so clean ! Honestly , I can't see the bubbles in the clear-coat that you're mentioning --- all that I see is a gorgeous shade of metallic blue and miles-deep clear ! It looks GREAT ! Keep on keepin' on !

I understand your frustrations with those old AMT kits... Like others have stated , many of the classic AMT kits' tooling date-back 45-60 years (give or take) . Even in the 70's when I started building ( my first glue kit was in 1976 ; I was 6 years old ) , AMT's kits were challenging for the reasons you've outlined (e.g. , no positive-mounting spots mainly --- crummy two-piece tyres of unknown composition were / are junk , too ) . I've always enjoyed the following AMT kits , esp. as a child : 1.) 1934 Ford Pickup 2.) 1953 F-100 3. ) Ford F-Series Pickups of the 70's 4.) Chevy Vans of the 70's 5.) Various AMC offerings ( Gremlin , Pacer , and Matador Coupe ) 6.) COE Tractors (those were pricy back then ; I rarely afforded them) I stuck with MPC (mainly their Annuals) and Monogram ( easy to assemble ; low parts count ) . Revell's kits were weak sauce in the 70's and 80's , bordering on impossible to assemble (the aforementioned Tri-Five Chevy's were atrocious by c.1976... but , the box art always sucked me back-in ! Same with their 1956 F-100 ) . I'd advise to *avoid* some of the MPC reissues , too , if you want to avoid frustration . I built the 1975 Dart Sport kit which was reissued in c.2013 , and had to put it --nearly-complete-- back into its box . Why ? The front wheels' mounting "slabs" are off-centre from side-to-side ! I recently purchased the 1976 Dart Sport reissue , loaded for bear . I now know that I have to correct the front wheels' mounts ---or 'bash' it with the AMT 1971 Duster 340 . But , I'm reserving that project for the 1973 Duster (MPC annual) . The quickest way to determine how old an AMT or MPC kit is (other than its reproduction box art) , is to look for the decal that Round2 puts on those boxes ; the round decal typically reads Retro Deluxe (though I've also seen that decal on the 90's era AMT kits --- 1968 El Camino , 1970 Monte Carlo , 1971 Duster , 1960 Ford Starliner , 1958 Edsel , and others whose names I'm forgetting at this moment ) . Don't give up on the hobby , man ! ( but please stop supporting Amazon... ) .

WOW ! Such a fantastic example --- your attention to the details ( including the seats' recessed areas ! ) is the tops ! Keep on keepin' on !

I understand your skepticism ; however , looking at how quickly the long-sought-after 1972 Vega Grumpy's Toy Pro Stock was sold-out before it was even released... I don't think that Round2 would invest in --of all things-- a Nova Wagon if they didn't think that there was any sales potential . Same goes for the 1978 Dodge D-100 Pickup --- that's a hot seller , too . And the 1967 Impala Sports Sedan ( Supernatural , et al. ) . I certainly agree with your assessment regarding (to paraphrase) The opinions of members of a model car forum doesn't equate to high sales potential . I never knew that the 1958 Edsel kit was such an epic raspberry sales-wise --- I honestly wonder why ? No , I'm not being facetious , either . BTW... I can't wait to see what kinds of magick you work on this upcoming '63 Wagon !

It seems as though the modern world is becoming a little more Burroughs and Kafka than "merely" Orwellian .

ABS has no place on light duty trucks . I periodically had to drive an F-250 with a stake bed --- the ABS hindered braking on uneven pavement (typically , warped / broken asphalt ~100' before an intersection) , as the pedal would go 'numb' and pulsate like crazy . Lord knows how many red lights I had to cruise-through because the ABS simply didn't work ! I asked the Drivability Mechanic if I could pop-out the ABS fuse or otherwise defeat the unsafe ABS , all to no avail .

I , too , prefer the 1976 & earlier design ( the square headlamps don't 'fit' with the rest of the car's design flow , IMO ) . The reason for the popularity of those MPC 1976 (and prior) Firebird-T/A annual kits is because they're the only ones available . From what I can remember , those 1970-1977 annuals still had crisp details ; however , the ad nauseam issues from 1977-onward were fraught with distorted details and misfitting parts . I believe that the later issues were worse-for-the-wear due to the popularity of Smokey & The Bandit , and MPC's capitalising on the movie's popularity ( can't fault them for that ) . The earliest one I had was the 1976 annual (when I was 6 years old , when the kit was new) . My older next door neighbour helped me build it , as it was one of my first glue kits .

This is the first that I'm seeing of those (terrible , quasi-dimensional) Monogram box art "designs"... they're even worse than the c.1990 kits' artwork (perhaps even a modification thereof ?). Horrible box art notwithstanding , I'd take that 1/12 scale 1969 Camaro again ! Oh , and for the fact that they were at least made in the USA still...

A great point , indeed . It's the practise of 'forced-acquiescence' that most have a problem with when it comes to the dumbing-down of society . Backup Cameras are almost necessary in some vehicles ( e.g. , poor visibility through the backlight ; no rearward-visibility with vans or box trucks , etc. ) , but are otherwise another "no-need-to-pay-attention-to-your-surroundings" device . The "safety" device which troubles me most is 'automatic braking' . While the manufacturers tout the automatic braking as "Oh , no ! I almost ran-into that unaccompanied child who's riding a tricycle past my driveway !" , the component that's 'missing' from their ads is "There's a crazy hobo brandishing a rusty cutlass , and he's in the middle of the street , high as a kite , and is verbally-threatening me !" . At that point , whose life is more valuable ? Your vehicle won't move as long as the creep-o is standing in the street ! And , yes , I'm speaking from experience --- ever driven around Los Angeles' World Famous Skid Row ? Yeah --- those crazies became hood ornaments if they didn't get out of the way .

Spectacular Goat ! The lighting really sets it off nicely ; perfect addition to a black primer with black interior . Thankfully your bro's GTO was a '66 , otherwise you'd have to work with that hunk o' junk AMT '65 , or the equally-abhorrent MPC '67 ! Haha !