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What ever you may feel you lacked in quantity you more than made up for it in quality. I have not seen many of these built before but this is an exceptionally well done build.

Wow, you've been away for 81 years ! I'm 73 so you make me feel like a kid again, welcome back. I haven't touched the '69 Talladega kit in years but I think some of the basics of test fitting everything before painting or permanently attaching everything would be a good idea. I'll use masking tape to hold things together to test fit chassis and interior into the body. Some builders prefer Elmer's glue and then soak in water to disassemble. I'm sure many others will post their ideas here today in an effort to help with their ideas. Try one or all and see what works best for you. Google is your friend to find pictures of original cars to get some ideas of paint treatments. The consumer version of this car was done in several different paint treatments and some were dependent on what part of the country you were in. I used to live on the west coast and the Dan Gurny model was the most seen. In the southern region they usually got the Cale Yarborough edition. The color on the rear tail light area on the Torino at that time depended on the trim level, some were body colored and some were a semi gloss Black color. Good luck with your build and please post it, I think we all would enjoy seeing it.

You mentioned the Revell '57 Ford kit and I noticed a few issues with shallow detailing around the rear window. The biggest issue I had was the front wheel wells on the two door. The area for the front tires seems very limited and putting even a 70 or 60 series tire in there is hard let alone a really wide tire. This seems to have been corrected some what on the Wagon. If you notice Revell has changed the inner wheel well on the Wagon issue. I don't think it is 100% correct but it is much better than the Wagon. The issues I have built with wider low profile tires and wheels I still have to reshape the inner wheel well to get the needed clearance. Other than that I really like that kit and accept it's short comings just to have it.

Nice clean looking builds. The January and February "toys" made me smile. May is the "center fold" and August is really interesting and practical looking. October will get you in trouble for sure. March looks like you have to much disposable income, but I like it.

Will the Tach Drive interfere with the Dash to Windshield clearance ?

They're all so perfect. I had forgotten about your '56 Victoria build and the Woody also.

Starting to look like a weight lifter on steroids.

I bought some of his GREAT parts last summer and he had on his web site at that time that he was going to step away from casting for a while. He didn't offer any explanation beyond that. I hope he is well and starts offering his casting again since I would also like to use them again.

I remember your post asking questions about the color. Nice that you're going ahead with this conversion. Your reference material for measurements is perfect. Are you going to paint it like the photo or do a tutone treatment with the bottom matching the roof ??

I also have kept my issues of Collectible Automotive and Hemmings Classic Car and Muscle Machines. They are some of the finest reference sources available.

his statement pretty much sums up my feelings only expresses to better that I'm able to. My feeling is that their should be an entirely separate section for the Year End posts. This way if someone doesn't want to get bogged down with all of the Year End photos they can just go past it. If someone wants to view every ones posts they can do that. If this were to happen maybe they could even be divided by year also so that it would be easier to find some ones build if you're looking for a reference or an idea for what ever you're doing.

I like the detailing on your Dash. I don't know how I missed your original post on 12/3 but I'll be watching what ever you put up on this build. Like so many others I'm a big Tri-5 fan.

In the Tamiya line there may be some choices to get to the color you're after. TS-11 Maroon may be on the dark side but maybe with a White primer it maybe OK. TS-33 Dull Red is a little lighter but is a dull finish. Your going to clear the paint job anyway so that shouldn't matter. New to me is their Oxide Red primer that maybe close also with a clear coat. Model Master offers Honduras Maroon #948 which is very close but it is a metallic and I don't think Ford had a metallic Maroon on their Drag Cars at that time.

I like the Model Master Liquid Cement in the black dispenser with the needle point on it. Easy to control and less is more when it comes to application.

If you're thinking of going with a Drag theme another kit to consider would be on of the Revell '64 Ford Thunder Bolt kits. The engine is supposed to represent the 427 High Riser 2-4's that Ford used in their Drag Racing program at that time.

I finally was able to get the Catalina kit this week. Something I didn't know was the wheel options. They have the plan steel wheel with the small "dog dish" hub caps, they eight lug wheels are in there and a nice set of 5 spoke mag wheels in chrome. The engine has the option of the 3-2's and 2-4's which again I wasn't aware of. Without checking any references the interior look perfect for the base Catalina. I'm one happy camper about this and can't wait to get into it.

great looking build. I like the way you detailed the engine.

Great paint job and I like the contrasting interior. Extremely clean stock looking build.

Ops. That would be me I guess.

While I agree with you on the "New" builds getting shoved down. I have seen this also and I feel sorry for someone who has put their efforts out there for all of to see and then watches as it slowly sinks too the second or third page. I know that some post builds that they may not have shown threw the year. Your idea of having a separate place to post year end picture seems like a great idea and maybe if there is a practical way to do that the moderators could see their way to get it done.

I don't for see buying the reissue only because I have several in the stash now. This is a very nice kit with only one exception in my mind. The body side moldings are just wrong. The kit's moldings go straight across the door and it should start to drop a little before it meets the cove on the rear fender. This puts the fender cove just a little to far up the body side also. I know most including my self tend to over look this but to someone who owned a '57 Two Ten Hardtop years ago it just hits me as wrong. I have to agree if you're looking for a more accurate '57 the AMT Bel Air with the open trunk would make a much better choice.

Outstanding builds. You seem to focus on competition builds and by their very nature they are more detailed then most. Your Pro Mod is a perfect example and shows your attention to detail. The paint and decal finish on the NASCAR builds are perfect. I remember watching the Fed Up build and besides being a great looking build I really liked the Flame paint job.

Beautiful looking build. The 1:1 car is one of my all time favorites and the kit was one of AMT's best efforts.

Very nice, makes you wish you had a 1:1 truck like that.

Great looking Ford. The black wall tires and base hub caps along with the black paint give it a sinister look, I like that.