larman

Look's good, I like the idea of the Lincoln motor. The smooth hood is cool too!

Vintage Fords are just about right as they are, sometimes a slight adjustment in stance, maybe a little smoothing out or tasteful performance upgrades are nice. It is very clear that you understand this well, it is evident in all your builds. Once again you nailed it, luckily you decided to "rescue" this from it's original build plan of resto rod with rubberband tires.....

Great work, I love to look at posts like this, so much clever thought and artistic execution! This is what modeling is all about!

I like the idea of what they are doing. As far as the Hippie Hemi goes, I agree about it being more or less useless, but hopefully the "Kats at AMT" offer other items in this series in the future, that are more appealing. Let's face the fact that MOST of the automotive modeling subjects out there are not aimed at the youth market because it doesn't really exist. I am a middle school teacher, and I assure you, very few kids have any interest in building models of any kind and most don't really care about cars unless they have an adult in their life that is in to them. For that matter, there are a significant number of high school age kids I know who have no interest in driving or getting their license. What they do love and follow: Super hero movies, Star Wars and other sci-fi stuff, some sports, texting and surfing on their phones and most notably,video games. They also watch youtube videos for HOURS of other people playing video games......You would be hard pressed to find any who would be interested in building models of even the subjects that they do like, because it would take too much time and effort. I don't believe subject matter is the problem in getting youth interested, rather it is the fact that there are too many things that interest them more and will always win. Most would also shy away from a modeling project because there would not be an instant reward and there is also a good chance of failure. I am not trying to be a "Negative Nelly", just giving my honest observations on the subject. Technology has changed everything in our lives, so why would it not change what people do in their leisure time? People who had horse and buggies hated the early cars, early model builders felt that "plastic kits" were for cheaters, technology is always changing, some change with it, while others try to fight it. There will be enough kits to keep us all busy until we are gone, but will the hobby be around in 25 to 50 years, my guess is no. I guess the question is, does it really matter?

Went to the one on Airport Road in Allentown, Pa. Had some Lindbergs and Revells left over from last time: Revell '94 Mustang, '32 Ford Finkwagon, Porsche Boxster, Lindberg S/S Dodges, Bugatti, Mercedes SSK roadster. This is what they had new: AMT '25 T Fruit Wagon, '53 Corvette, '63 Corvette, Carl Casper Cosmic Dragster thing, Jawbreaker Dragster, weird VW dune buggy thing......The one on Tilghman St had some Lindberg and Revell left over stuff from last time. New stuff : '53 Corvette,Jawbreaker dragster, Carl Casper Cosmic thing, Weird VW dune buggy thing and even weirder Pirahna show car. I got a '25 T, a '63 Corvette and a Jawbreaker..... I will go back in a day or two to see if they add anything ......

Even though it's been said a bunch of times here, this is fantastic work! Brilliant engineering and scratch building followed by "dead on" paint and weathering. Easily one of my favorite builds I have seen on this site! -Larry

Very nice! Nice engine!

You are absolutely right that there is some leeway in scale with motor internals, weight, etc. I think the point of most of the comments above is it is noticeable if the model is a C/G car with a naturally aspirated small block Chevy and has an A/GS designation on it.

Love all your vintage Ford models, and your photography is top notch too!

This is a fantastic build! Top notch work on a great subject.....

Unbuilt models are just parts until you do something with them. Original box art and old stuff is cool, but IMHO, if it's too "valuable" to build sell it while you can and buy more models that you will build!

I have seen plenty of drag models that are clearly classed wrong. For me, I try to follow the NHRA/AHRA rule books for specific years on my builds. I guess it is in the same vain as do you want correct plug wire order? Do you want authentic colors? Equipment? Everyone builds for different reasons, so I guess it wouldn't bother a lot of people. However, I tend to recognize it when it is wrong and I think there are quite a number of drag builders who woud also.

That is great work! you have the stance and overall look dead on! -Larry

Top notch work! You nailed the look perfectly!

Incredible work! This is easily the best built up I have ever seen of this "less than detailed" kit! Clearly a lot of extra work was done to get it to this level.

Both are beautiful! Terrific work!

Boy, That is NICE! Love those carbs! Great job! There is nothing like the sight and sound of a true max wedge car on the drag strip!

The biggest thing for me about 1/18 diecast, or any scale for that matter, is the problem with "metal fatigue". AKA the tin worm. I have had a LOT of 1/18 diecast from low line store bought Maisto models to expensive items from Carousel, AutoArt, Precision Miniatures, GMP, etc. Regardless of brand, you can have a model that will literally fall apart, or at the very least, get a paint "rash". This is particularly prevalent with the Ertl 'American Muscle" models. It does not discriminate by cost however and I have seen GMP and other high end models with similar problems. So, I have had a good number, about 5 to 10% of my entire collection of cars (collection in the hundreds) that have various degree of damage through no fault of my own. They were always stored indoors in a dry environment. There is also no guarantee that the others won't have a problem over time. In contrast, I have plastic kits that are from the late 50's and early 60's that are 100% fine, with the only issue being decal sheets that yellow over time. I did not buy any of my models to turn around and sell them for profit, but in recent years I have decided to sell a good number of items due to space limitations and changes in lifestyle.( Married now, with many more family commitments, etc) It is much harder to sell diecast for what you pay for them compared to plastic models. Most of the older plastic kits I have sold I made a little profit on, I am lucky to get my money back on diecast. When you put them on ebay, most people factor shipping into what they want to pay. I still can't offer free shipping like a high volume dealer, so it is hard to get a decent price unless it is a super rare item or in demand at the moment. I always find it laughable when the guys who collect 1/18 brag about the fact that they are "real metal" and have "weight to them". BIG DEAL! They may also fall apart, or have the hood curl up or have paint crack or rash up......Frankly, I would not have gotten involved with the diecast had I known about these issues. These days, I am strictly back to plastic in 1/24 and 25th scale with an occasional big scale project. Honestly, I am kind of glad to hear 1/18 is dying out, I feel like a lot of people are not aware of the possible issues these models can have over time.

Great model ! I was following the in progress posts on this one! I'm not gonna lie, because of your post and the Mongoose version you posted I was inspired to buy one of the Accurate Miniature kits on Ebay. There was/is a guy selling them for $7 plus shipping, minus decals and photoetch parts. Perfect for this kind of build! Thanks for the inspiration, and once again, you did a great job! -Larry

I was watching "in progress" on this model......absolutely stunning! Certainly one of the finest builds I have ever seen on this site and that is saying something because there are a good number of phenomenal builders here!!! Superior design and execution!!

Very nice!!! Street Roadster class cars seem to be overlooked by a lot of modellers. You nailed the look perfectly! Love the graphics and the wheel tire combo! -Larry

The '76 was a different body style, shared components with the Chrysler Cordoba. The '74 was the last year of the previous style, which went from '71-74. Infact, if you wanted to really super detail the '74 MPC kit, an AMT '71 kit would be a great donor.

I had a real '74 Charger and it came from the factory with the "road wheels" (magnum 500 style wheel). So those would be fine. You could also get Rally wheels and there was a wire wheel type hub cap. Of course, any type of mag wheel could work too, just depends on the look or era you are shooting for. I think the issue you have had Cragar SST style wheels on it. Motors would be 318, 360, 400 or 440. The kit motor is supposed to be the 440, but it has earlier style exhaust and air cleaner (stock parts). It is a nice kit, typical of the era. With a little research and parts scrounging, it can be built nicely. -Larry

This was more of a restoration project, here's what it looked like when I started. Finished model: B/MP drag car circa 1965.

Love this! Great work!