62rebel

OUCH. 210 tops.

certainly fits the bill as a pickup imho. i have a couple of these built and they compare in size to a Ranger pickup.

nick, i've been keeping track of your progress and IMHO you're doing fine so far. that kit is somewhat notorious for fit issues, but you seem to have them whupped. keep on. thumbs up!

packing stuff up. spent a couple of weeks bingeing on finishing up half-builts so i could box them up... got them all in the linen closet while i find a more appropriate sized big box to handle regular AMT size kit boxes. the first time i packed my collection to move, half of them ended up junkers due to ham handed movers... i always do my own moves now.

i put the center section of the MPC '67 in between the front and rear clips off the MonkeeMobile... used the '67 tub and the biggest tires i could rationalize for a "street" car... albeit one that scales out around 21 feet long! i can't take credit for the idea, though, i saw one over on Show Rods.

went in, nobody there, friday night 11:15pm est... couldn't leave a message? need 2 or more members in it to function? forgive me for my computer illiteracy, but is that how it has to work?

well, it was a parts box salvage; i used the Avanti engine and frame elsewhere, and used the seats for a chopped and channelled '28 A tudor. the GT500 frame happened to fit pretty well, with some trimming. i wish i'd used some more practical tires on this.

there's not much to look at underneath either one; the Handler has a very simplified and inaccurate chassis and the AMT is typical mid-70's. i'm not much on wiring, etc... i CAN do it, but i'm more interested in the overall outward visual aspect. i do love some detailed engines; don't get me wrong.

the photo i based the coupe on looked authentic enough; it wouldn't have been too hard to fabricate "wood" appliques. in my opinion, it would have been a good seller on the club coupe and convertible bodies. i imagine the package being available as a definite premium level car, and not the base model.

so was my 1:1.... lol! it was a replica!

i had a love/hate relationship with the "Famous Fords" series.... they sure did look good on the box. my skill level at 14 was somewhat.... cro-magnon? shoot, i hadn't been PAINTING them for long at 14.

my last topic for the night: my replica 1978 Mustang II Rallye and a Revell Monro Handler; the Handler was salvaged from a flea market buy, and the Rallye represents a LOT of time and effort to simulate the 1:1 car i had at the time.

this is my take on a convertible Studebaker Avanti, using a body i was going to throw away... the rear deck is made up of pieces of the original roof sliced diced and julienne fried. the interior tub and the chassis is from an AMT GT500 kit. i thinned the front fender edges and extended the front edge of the hood panel, to simulate hidden headlights. the rear is smoothed off and a full width taillight takes the place of the four piece original.

this is a rebuild of a R/M '50 F1, that i HAD built on a F150 frame... the longer i looked at it, the more i hated it, and it didn't help that i'd used superglue and fogged all the glass. i chucked the shortened f150 frame and used one of my many AMT 1949 chassis... (i've separated MANY chassis from the floor plates of '49's building customs). this truck was channelled over the running boards, the hood was sectioned, and the front and rear roll pans were added. the grille opening was widened to lighten the frogmouth effect of the original truck.

this is the end product of a failed CMG DODGE 330... i had built it as a police car, but it got damaged...... the headrest/fairings are made from the seatbacks from an undetermined MPC annual.... the paint is an experiment of mine... flip/flop done by spraying a wet coat of metallic, quickly followed by a separate color... tricky to avoid runs, but try it, it works. in person, the colors shift when moving the model.

here's two older builds; a Predicta and a Club De Mer done MY way.... i'm very fond of the custom grille/bumper from the AMT 1956 Ford.

here's the 1949 Sportsman i built quite a while back, and the companion 1950 i recently did. they're based on a photo i found in an article in Collectible Automobile, showing a coupe with woodie sides, that echoed the 1946-48 Sportsman convertibles.

i had one that i couldn't get quite clear with sanding and polish, so i put a coat of acrylic clear on the spot and it looks fairly decent from 5 feet or so...

did you say you used a water transfer tattoo? tell me ... more....

i picked up that kit on clearance from Hobby Town along with some others a couple years back; it can be built as a stocker also, which was my version, in British Racing Green Metallic. if my pic file were working i'd post it.. your build is outstanding. i WISH more kits were like this one.

good start! and for masking odd shapes, use a piece of aluminum foil. you can wrap it pretty snugly around exposed parts. use silly putty to mask the cockpit off. can't wait to see it in the showcase.

yes, can you post pics of the chassis please? i had a '65 longbed in 1990's.... hmmmm...

the best thing i found in this kit were the optional wire wheels; if you're careful and patient, you can sand the backs down until the rear edges of the spokes are open... spend a little time with a new #11 blade and clean the openings out, then hit the backside with silver sharpie. they look convincing enough. have never been able to build the actual KIT without it looking toylike. whoever the wiseguy was that designed the axle/wheel interface just wasn't a BUILDER.

i had heard (probably incorrectly) that the Aoshima kit had height adjusters to set the height correctly... but IIRC the difference in the two is about two inches. careful file and razor saw work on the front coils and rear leaves might do ya just fine. the B is one of my favorite 1:1 cars, i had a rubber bumpered one i changed over to chrome a while back. never did the height adjustment.

talk about a touchstone topic! wow... yeah i need to get past the VA for some better eye care. anyways; been using the last three days of my vacation to dash through some "nearly dones" and finish 'em up. need to clear off my "picture table" so i can take some pics and get 'em posted. i've had some that i bought for other projects, robbed engines out of, etc, and half heartedly started on... i HATE leaving a kit unbuilt at ANY level, even if it's just painting some parts or assembling chassis parts. i've used up my Aoshima whitewall tires... they look good on '50's builds. here's an odd discovery; in my Revell/Germany '59 Skyliner (a thousand cuss words to build it) the TIRES have split! just like Tamiya tires do! they were out of scale IMHO anyway, so i cobbled up some sunray wheel caps from the parts box and used some Supremes, which will need white acrylic foe WWW's. while i was in Florida last week house/job hunting, i snagged a Pyro 1930 Bentley Speed Six kit for $5! already built it..... couldn't resist gluing up 44 year old plastic.