Maindrian Pace

I've met him. Real cool guy. Good for him. -MJS

Greg, I think you have paid your dues with the first Fox body, this one should be smooth sailing. (I hope I didn't jinx it.) An important part of the project, the rear spoiler, was contributed by a man who reads the forum but doesn't post. We'll call him The Mysterious Mr. X. He contacted me through a member here who is also a member of our local PHX area club, the Moonlight Modelers. He pointed out, and correctly, that the spoiler from the MPC SVO Mustang was an ideal starting point for the '87-'93 LX spoiler, and graciously sent one my way. Should be a breeze. Thanks Mr. X! The bodywork is nearly complete, it just needs a little more work to define the subtle character line beneath the 1/4 windows. It's visible when the light is held a certain way. Next: Interior insert and window buck. -MJS

Hey, the golden age of modeling is gone, right?

Thanks Ken, and yes, this is the master for a resin body. It will include the rear spoiler, third brake light lens, rear interior insert, hood, glass, and front bumper. The R/M Cobra has many proportioning problems and a primitive chassis and interior by modern kit standards, so the new Revell LX is a much better starting point for a completely accurate LX hatch. And this one will be perfect before it goes off to the silicone bath. -MJS

Temporarily shelved for a couple of other (promised) projects. That whole "keeping your word" thing.

One thing not often mentioned about the early '80s Monogram muscle car kits, and Monogram kits of the era in general, is how good and easy the decals were to work with. They came off of the paper nicely, had good glue, were easy to position, and never ripped as you handled them. They were nicely elastic - the SS stripes always laid down perfectly over the cowl hood bulge on the '70 Chevelle, same for the stripes on the '65 Shelby. I have never encountered such friendly decals in the years since - which is just nuts. -MJS

Rough bodywork done: First primer on, I always like this step because it is nice to see it in one color. Which shows all the little areas that still need to be addressed. I also need to add the trunk lock recess and lock bezel. -MJS

Whole 'nother Granada.

Very nice job, Greg. They regularly interspersed stock footage of 10 or another earlier squad responding in the first few seasons. I always thought it was funny seeing the '72 turn into a '70 and back.

Ride along in a Tesla P85D. A Leaf it ain't.

Nice! We need to see more pictures of Squad 10 and maybe a description of how it was built. -MJS

Just because you can...

Guy who owns it is a NYC divorce lawyer. He does well.

Back in the early '80s in the PHX area, there was a '61 Falcon 2dr with a mod top using NOS Chrysler vinyl, a turbo 200 six, and a 4spd. Naturally, it had a barefoot gas pedal and a beer tap shifter handle. It was a cool car. -MJS

Holy cow, it looks just like her! Love the bracelets. -MJS

I liked what Hot Rod said about that car recently: "It's extremely impractical, but at least it's radioactive."

More minutia: As an improvement over the coupe version, I added upper and lower rails to the 1/4 window frames to serve as positive glass stops, making it easier to fit the 1/4 windows. Next step is tiny amounts of filler followed by primer; then the wing and interior extension. -MJS

"Maybe if I stay in it, it'll hook up and catapult past the golf cart."

I think it's safe to say that nobody in the world has ever done such a fine job on that kit. большое уважение. -MJS

I know what you mean! But after I lost nearly 30 lbs, that union hall seemed a whole bunch bigger...

How does that work?

In the right setting, it could look pretty cool. Like a high shelf in an old hot rod/hobby garage, surrounded by other cool antique stuff, dusty, oily, and all looking like it had been there forever.

This is coming along well. I'd like to point out that a convertible has a different windshield frame than a coupe or fastback. It's covered completely with stainless trim, and doesn't have rain gutter or closed car trim detail. Some minor filling and sanding will sort it all out. -MJS

The trouble with a four eye nose is not the nose itself, which is easy, but all the other things. A hood, taillights, 1/4 window louvers, complete interior, dash, steering wheel, seats, and the list goes on. The side trim would all need to be changed, and the '85-'86 GT had recessed GT lettering in the 1/4 trim ahead of the rear wheels - that detail would likely have to be 3D printed. You could use the MPC '83-'84 Mustang kits for some of the parts, but they're not detailed to modern standards and those kits are not exactly plentiful or cheap, so nobody would want to do that. So, if all of the parts, including a revised body, were mastered and offered in a resin kit, it would be at least 2-1/2 times the cost of the current conversion kit. As for a Saleen body kit, that's got possibilities, as Saleens of the era were dressed up LX's so no major changes to the body would be necessary. Sketching in the 1/4 window trim detail: -MJS

Great scratch building, beautiful color - no one would guess that started as the NASCAR body. I'd suggest black for the top and interior. -MJS