62rebel

that rig reminds me of the load elevators on our ship... "mankiller 1 and 2".... i haaaaateeed working near those things. HO scale rail sizes are a picking point for model railroaders that will start knock-down drag-out fights.... and THEN there's scale spikes.... i got out of railroad modeling when it got to running schedules and routes instead of just BUILDING stuff. i love Ken's work.... i've been seeing it for years and always go over every picture looking for stuff to marvel at.

well; there's your problem right there! the floor is clearly visible in EVERY picture. not only that, but your display case is EMPTY. you've got to get your priorities sorted out.... are you a Modeler or are you not? (which i type with paint-stained fingers whilst i take a break from screwing something up)

for a good explanation of that, watch "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" and look out for the big black Plymouth Fury on shackles..... or was it a Dodge..... it was CRAZY, that i know.

the major problem with doing a community build would be what to base it on! i doubt many of us can pony up for a bus kit... i know i can't right now! it wouldn't really "work" based on anything else.... not enough passenger capacity unless it's a bus. maybe... since i gave the survivors access to a scrapyard..... maybe all they need to do is cobble together say, the engine from THEIR bus, onto a straight semi truck frame, but have to scrounge the rest of the running gear together AND fabricate some structure to ride in so they can ALL make it out.... and.... part of the scrapyard contains mothballed aircraft.... and a pack of very very hungry wolves.

ejection pin marks are pretty prominent on this era kit; they had lots of them and some flash when they were new. i've never been a great fan of the wheel retainer design on these, but it did make it easier to alter ride height either by flipping the spindle or cutting it apart and moving the pin. if i recall, these were among the first AMT kits to have separate interior sides, which made detail painting so much easier... dangnabbit. another kit i have to re-buy now.

don't be too sure about rodders hating on japanese engines... some of the four cylinders look amazingly like Offy engines, and go like stink.... which is the whole idea, right? the HAMB guys would get crosseyed but that's their problem.

that's a cool picture! man, i think ALL the "muscle cars" from my hometown had that same "look"; the only thing missing is a set of sidepipes! i've gotten to where i won't build a '60's car "showroom stock" unless it's a specific car... the rest get the speed shop treatment! i have tried to build several replicas of cars myself or my Dad has had, along with some notable ones other relatives had... BTW that Revell Firebird is a sweet kit to build. one of their best efforts IMHO.

i've almost completed my '55 Chevy gasser, but for a while there, i was stumped trying to fabricate a straight axle front end for it. i KNEW i had at least ONE frame from an MPC '53 Ford flipnose, but for the life of me, couldn't put my hands on it. so, fortune smiled on me when i got my first '79 F350 kit about a month ago and used the 4x4 springs from it, sliced diced and pureed into what passes for gasser springs, then i scrounged a Model A front axle from some Monogram kit parts and made that fit... and tonight, needing something to fiddle with while paint dries and glass cement sets, i dragged out my failed LRDG kitbash box and decided to recycle my Italeri Blitz truck into a postwar work truck.... beneath and between the mixed parts was... one of my Flipnose frames. well; i checked it against my Revell '55 frame and it matches wheelbase length almost exactly... the engine mounts would need to move back as well as the trans crossmember, but NEXT time i want to build a '55 gasser... i won't be able to find this frame then either.

i'd say positive, myself... modern day movie remakes almost defy logic.... if it was a good movie THEN, why rehash it with "fresh faces" and over-the-top special effects (re: the day the earth stood still) JUST to have a new film? and, on the other hand, if it was a BAD movie THEN... why bother trying to make good on garbage? which begs the question: why are we off topic? i proposed a scenario based on the premise of a classic film but skewed towards our interest.... we got as lost as my poor victims!

ummmm.... everything.

reminds me of a movie about some Texas Ranger finding the "other shooter" from the JFK assassination out in the desert....

seems like a "normal" Deuce would drift just as it is! your build is cool, though; i like it.

and NOT the lame-o remake from a coupla years ago.... ANYWAYS: here's what just tickled my funnybone.... so there's a bus loaded with various and sundry stereotypes driving across a bleak landscape... a sandstorm has been quickly blowing up behind them and overtakes them, causing the driver to lose control and wreck the bus, after driving off the road and getting somewhat lost... (bear with me here)... after the wreck, which OF COURSE has to result in a couple of fatalities (anybody who's had sex in the first minutes of the movie... nope, wrong franchise) the survivors crawl out and survey the damage. the bus is whacked. there's a bent frame, and half the tires and wheels are destroyed..... but there's good news: the engine runs, the tanks are full (more or less) of fuel, and somehow they ended up wrecked not far from an abandoned scrapyard (groan; bear with me...) most of the group want to walk out and find help; others want to wait for rescue; one man says he can build a vehicle from what is at hand if the rest will help.... (by the way, there's no cell service)... and after days of hard labor, bringing the bus back from the dead all while the driver says it can't be done, it comes out that the engineer driving the group has only ever built MODEL CARS...... yep. that's it. sue me!

i have a love/hate relationship with these kits... they have so much potential but so many stumbling blocks built in! the others like these, the '51 Chevies, are the same way. pretty good proportions and decent detail, and suspension like a monster truck. you're making great progress with this; keep going!

i wish i could have gotten in on this when i was a kid...... now; 4H was a regular part of school in our district.... but i can't remember ever seeing model building as a subject or project then.

they don't have a thread search function, apparently. i'd sign up to read more there, but i'm on too many forums already that i don't have a car for....

connection failed... what is that, then?

good info to have! still waiting for the roof color to gas out before i touch mine again.... hadn't thought about having to foil the glass, and didn't have any idea about the rear glass fitting. don't plan on any lowriders, though.... Moebius is going to recut the tool to correct the spats? wow.... hmmm. does that make our "wrong" kits worth millions of internet bucks?

i'd need one in Mr Bean livery as well.

Harry... the point i was making seemed obvious to me, but i suppose i came off a little oblique. what i meant, and still mean, is that everybody has their own style of working, and having your methods questioned as poor procedure in relation to another's methods is kind of irritating. i usually have pretty thick skin but some things do manage to get under it. the best method... is whatever you find is easiest and most productive for your own satisfaction.

the Revell New Mini is a B#$%ard to get right... which,btw, is why i gave the unfinished one i had to the local club. now; the tamiya Mini... those are little jewels of precision. i'm going to do the three from the (REAL) Italian Job one of these days... with drivers AND gold bars.

so.... now my painting and assembly methods are under scrutiny and criticism. we build in the manner that best suits the kit, the detail wanted, and the wishes of the builder themselves. i tend to clean parts of flash and such while on the sprue; i paint most of the parts that don't go into a sub-assembly on the sprue. engines, etc., paint as assemblies. this comes from my time building armor models with sometimes dozens of identical small parts... darn sight easier to touch up a few bare spots than come up with replacement parts that go missing. how many "wanted" threads are for parts that were being detailed or painted and went missing?

i need to build one to replicate my uncle Doug's coupe... six cylinder, faded dark green, bench seat, mags on the rear.... 8-track player with Cheech and Chong playing.

so, that's what it looks like with a dual blower hemi.... i have a spare clear hood for this kit if you'd like to display it with "high-vis" ability. i'm certain we'll see this one again eventually; it hasn't been OOP that long. nice build!

gawrsh... what devotion and attention to detail. (humbled...)