62rebel

a video and a weekend off, spent with the wife.

obviously, the factory bench was a split backrest, and the custom seat would assumedly be based on that frame. why the mold cutters didn't put the seam down the backrest is a mystery. the only bench seats i've seen that folded in one piece were in pickup trucks. even my falcon has split folding backrests.

i splurged out and bought a new reissue '62 cat, with the piecrust slicks and the diamond tuck interior; i intend to build the kit as a stock '62, so i'm not using the custom interior; however, on examining the front seat for the custom version ( and the BACK of the stock front seat as well), i find that there is no "split" in the backrest. the diamond tuck pattern extends fully across the seat, without a break, and there is no indication that the backrest would fold forward as necessary to let rear seat passengers enter/exit the vehicle. maybe a minor point and probably easy to fix, but kind of glaring IMHO. i like the parts and will definitely use them elsewhere.

in no way can i take credit for that word; "imagineering"; i think the first time i heard it was in reference to the work done by the folks working at Disney, creating the fantastic things viewed thousands of times a day in the parks and in their films. once upon a time, i greatly wished to work in the film industry building models; but alack and alas, more than 90% of the work done these days is accomplished the same way i'm writing this. same as the field of mechanical drawing (Drafting) which i spent years learning how to do with a pencil, t-square and straightedge. anyways; i could see that vehicle in action, clear as day. very nice build. when i re-work vehicles like these, i try not to leave too much of the original item in... i did one LONG ago, using the hull of a Patton Tank and two security cases from eight-track tapes (remember eight tracks?) to create a superstructure. i used the cupola from the original turret, atop a clear medicine bottle which it miraculously fit perfectly, and made a "command tank/apc" out of it. now that R-M has reissued the Patton, i might build another.

i have three or four of these, a couple of them built as replicas of the 1:1 i had in Virginia. i can see no fault in your foil work; the car looks outstanding. i built one as a Jack Sears tribute car; white with red interior; to get the interior texture to look like 40 year old weathered vinyl, i first sprayed a coat of Testors flat light blue over the interior, then a second coat. before the second coat flashed over well; i sprayed a coat of Krylon Engine enamel over it, Buick Red. the red caused the flat undercoat to wrinkle slightly, not outragelously, but enough to make the interior look "used". i believe this would work with other colors as well, but i only used it once. again; beautiful model.

armor modelers are sticklers for accuracy and tend to not appreciate depictions that have no "provenance" to back them up. i'm thinking that the kit as a starting point has accuracy issues that they don't like, as well. me; i don't care. i've hacked up plenty of tanks to build imaginary sci-fi hardware over the years. i have a couple of ww2 airplanes in the closet that might get some imagineering instead of accurizing....

mr destiny; jim belushi's character builds models of cars he loves and when his "destiny" changes, he actually owns the real cars, but laments that he can't "pick them up and look at them" like his models.... it's a shame that we get stereotyped as Ted Kazinski wannabes because of a misunderstood hobby. in a lighter vein; isn't Jamie on Mythbusters a master model builder for special effects? so THERE. lol.

maybe; but i think the Duke's Charger still holds the record, if not KITT. the Coffin is a pretty cool kit, though, and remarkable for being very easy to build (a definite plus for younger kids trying out models) along with pretty decent detail for the period. i was always more interested in doing my own custom work, though, and didn't get into "ready made" show cars for a long time. i haven't seen a Coffin for a while, and will snap one up if i do.

the best thing about losing Comcast has been not being assaulted by this kind of rampant stupidity given a massively failing economy. i get enough of that at work, selling parts for 190k dollar POS's......

i had a wild hare and built a "space pickup" out of a deora... never liked how it turned out, so i re-did it as a littler red wagon. it's buried in packed boxes and i don't have pics... you're going to lift this one some i take it.... i was thinking about setting one down on a tank chassis.... now that Monogram has re-released the Patton m48, i just might DO that.

now, you see, this is where your back story falls flat. no redneck builder EVER sketches out a plan. even if the do, they never EVER stick to it!

i've literally lost count of how many of these i've built... never had a problem with the tub fitting properly. perhaps, you're not putting the front corners into the firewall correctly? AMT did design the tub to more or less snap into the body shell, as a matter of fact, i seldom glue the TUB into the shell on these, but rely on mechanical interference to hold it in. check the front edge of the tub, it should be flush with the bottom of the firewall.

plastids! i didn't realize SAE were a circus' worth of clowns until i ALMOST fell for that one. why, so serious? roaches do love decal sheets. the main thing about going through MY stash is finding the multiple iterations of the SAME build going on... modeler's ADD, prime example.

don't forget the late seventies two-piece hard plastic tires; AMT had SEVERAL different designs for their various kits and while i hated them with a passion THEN, i think they're more durable and less likely to melt plastic than the pvc tires... the trick to getting them to look right was sanding down the mating edges and rubbing them down to reduce the shine.

nice job; my favorite kit! that's a '51 Chevy grille, cut down, not a Dodge.

der de der on me. it's the "Villa Riviera", not "La..." d'oh.

that was one neat tip/trick to share. thanks !

impressive! nice color choice; i have a couple of Rivs done "semi" custom.. IMHO one of the best examples of the AMT annual line, even with metal axles and a hole through the block. i'd like to see a writeup on how to actually duplicate the "La Riviera" landau top and extended hood/grille properly! (best looking set of wire wheels from AMT in this kit BTW)

very clean build and correct stance! can you do a review of this kit for us, as i haven't seen one so far?

cool build, i usually don't do "modern" vehicles but i got one of these for christmas a few years back... and i always ALWAYS do my best building the ones my wife gets me for christmas.... i learned MY lesson a LOOONNG time ago... "is that the one i got you?" (like she doesn't KNOW)

that is not a "fail", just an "oops".... considering the rest of your work, i forgive you! impressive to say the least.

bill, i love to see your name on a new thread, because i know i'm going to see some craftsmanship. the only problem is that i'm so impatient to see moooorrrrreeee....

Sherman; set the wayback machine.. Sure, Mr Peabody! to what time? Oh, yesterday will be fine.

the suspension in 1/24 is pretty fragile too! Heller's plastic is not the strongest in the world, either... i still have one of these in a box somewhere, on it's third or fourth rebuild... can't bring myself to chuck out a beautiful car.

how do you guarantee people read a thread? title it "DUCKS"... cool of you to share the story!