Fabrux

I figured I would try something different for a bit. I had this trailer in a combo pack with a Datsun pickup that's supposed to haul dirtbikes, but the bikes didn't come with the kit. So, I figured I'd haul out some hobby wood and go to town. Apologies for the fuzzy picture; my camera isn't the greatest and neither is my lighting...!

Idk why but the 61-66 F-series is my new favourite classic truck. Just love those lines! The big auction website: its eBay. No idea why some folk are hush hush about it... Anyways. There are resin conversion kits available to convert the Revell 50 F-1 to a 52. And the AMT 53 F-100s are a dime a dozen.

Looks like Dark Horse, I like it!

Actually, the cab changed in 65, when they switched to the new Twin-I-Beam suspension. The biggest differences are the floor, steering column orientation, and the dash. And here's the yearly grilles, '61-'66.

Something to keep in mind is the AMT 92-96 F-150 kit is 1:25 scale and the Monogram 87-91 F-250 kit is 1:24 scale; the bed won't line up with the cab. To make a 92-96 dually bed to match the AMT cab, the best way would be to get a long bed and a flareside kit and graft the flareside bedsides to the long bed. As long as you're very careful with the cuts, it should turn out good!

@62rebel: I wasn't expecting mint built up kits. I bought the lot for other kits in it, not this one. This was a bonus. @Steve: I plan to use the 69-70 grille on a 72 cab. I'll probably end up getting the AMT GMC stepside so I can build a Sierra Grande. This particular cab will get smoothed out and built as a Chevy, probably with the stepside bed. My uncle has a 68 C10 body on a 78 Blazer frame that I've been wanting to replicate for many years.

My bad. I should've known better as I believe the chassis pan is all the same for the 60-63 kits (and maybe even the Chev ones too).

I recently purchased a lot of built-up pickup kits. There were 23 kits in all, in various stages of completeness and broken-ness. From the auction pictures I could tell that in the lot was a GM Action Line pickup (67-72) which is one of my favourite trucks. When the parcel arrived in the mail, I went through it all and noticed that the truck in question seemed like it was a 67-68 Chevrolet due to the way the grille area had extra plastic in it; it looked nothing like the MPC 72 pickup I had, or the AMT 71 GMC Jimmy that was also in the lot. Then I noticed the faint GMC engraving on the front fenders. I thought this was odd as I knew for sure the Jimmy's grille wasn't going to fit on there. I disassembled the truck to prepare for paint stripping. Unfortunately the truck didn't have a hood, tailgate or rear bumper. I was going to have to source those from somewhere (Modelhaus probably). Upon stripping the paint, I noticed that the bed sides have 'Sierra Grande' engraved on them; jackpot! Then I got all the paint off the cab.... Needless to say, those GMC fender emblems are toast. What am I going to do with this basket case? Well, I figure the bed is in great shape, so I'll pick up a newer-issue GMC stepside kit and go from there. As for this cab... the MPC 68 Chevy kits go for so much these days that its probably worth it to smooth this out and build it as a Chevy cab... thoughts?

57-60 and 61-66 cabs are completely different. If you're looking to build a 63 then you'll need a 61-63 kit as a starter. Yes, they're expensive (I just bought one for $51) but they're amazing kits for body detail if you can get an unmolested example. The problem, however, is that the AMT kits are for a longbed unibody. You can cut the bed off, but if you're looking for period accuracy you'll need to do something about the back window (unibody had its own, special window not seen on regular cabs). I'm not too fussy on the accuracy on mine so I'm not worrying about the window...

There isn't much room in the engine bay of these Courier's, that's for sure. For the 302-swapped version I'm building, I had to use an electric fan and put it outside the engine bay as a pusher. I did have to cut up the kit's radiator support to fit a bigger radiator, though.

The only kitted 1960 Ford truck was the F-100, and in short box form only. The kit was only made in 59-60, also, therefore they are hard to find and expensive 52 years later. Ford started equipping F-series trucks with factory four wheel drive in 1959; before then it was sub-contracted out. In order to build an accurate depiction of a 1960 F-250 with four wheel drive, you'll need a 1960 F-100 cab and two beds. Slice and dice the beds to create the 8-foot version if desired, otherwise leave it as is for a 6-foot version (8-foot would be more likely at the time). For a frame you'll need to ditch the kit's one-piece plate and get a frame from a Revell 1956 F-100. Stretch as necessary. You'll need a straight axle for the front as well as leaf springs; the axle in the 1973-1979 F-350 kits or 1979 Bronco kits would work beautifully or you can get another 56 F-100 rear axle and modify it for front axle duty (make sure it has a driver's side pumpkin). Just about any transfer case would do, but if you're using the 73-79 F-350 or Bronco for the front axle the transfer case from that kit would be best. In 1960 available engines were 223ci 6-cylinder (available in resin) or a 272ci or 292ci Y-block (from the 56 F-100 kit). Also, in 1960 a four wheel drive pickup would be a workhorse; manual transmission would be the norm. I hope this helps!

So in order to enter you have to buy the kit after 1 February? That sucks as any of the kits in the list I like I already own...

My first vehicle was a 1988 Ford Ranger, then I had a 1995 Ford Escort GT, then a 1990 Mazda MX-6 (that I still have), none of which exist in scale form! My more recent vehicles I can build, however: 1997 Ford Expedition, 1996 Ford F-150, 2000 Ford F-150. I currently only have the '00 F-150 and the '90 MX-6 (and another '89 MX-6); the rest have been sold (or scrapped in the case of the Escort).

In the past 10 years I've moved about 8 times. My fiancee and I plan on staying in our current home for a while (if it works out) so up until now I've needed my old model boxes to put my built models in to move them. I have a shed right now and all the empty boxes are stored in there. If we do end up staying here long-term I might look into doing something with the empties. For now, though, they still serve a purpose!

Is that grille PE? Looks beautiful.

Well, wherever it came from its going to be modified to fit into a CJ-7. I've been wanting to build a base model Jeep out of that kit and now I have an engine!

This clears up some concerns I was having with the One Coat. I used to spray the clear within hours of spraying the colour and ending up with a semi-gloss sheen. Now I know better!

Okay! I've had time to sort through my haul and figure out what I have. Monogram Chevy LUV Stepsider (missing wheels) 2 Revell Datsun 620 "Desert Rat" pickups (complete) 2 AMT 53 Ford F-100's (1 missing wheels, 1 missing glass) 3 Revell 56 Ford F-100's (in various stages of broken-ness) 2 Monogram 80 Ford F-150s (missing 1 grille) 3 AMT 34 Ford pickups (should be able to make 1 truck between the 3)1 2 Monogram 78 Chev K10s (complete) MPC 73 C10 (complete) MPC 73 K10 (complete) MPC 75 K10 (complete) MPC 78 K10 (complete) MPC 67 C10 (missing stock grille, tailgate; comes with 69-70 grille) AMT 70-72 GMC Jimmy (complete) 2 Revell 71-76 Ford Courier (1 missing wheels, 1 missing hood) 1I know these are the original AMT releases and not the later Lindberg releases due to a chrome license plate on one of them embossed with "AMT 1962" Miscellaneous leftover parts include a set of wheels that don't quite go with anything, odds n sods, a 426 Hemi, 283 SBC and what appears to be an AMC 6-cylinder. Any ideas what it is for sure or what it came from?

Was/is the grille/bumper glued in place? That sort of crack usually develops due to trying to pry off a grille (in my experience). The eBay picture appears to show an intact fender, but its hard to tell definitively. It could be that the seller tried removing the grille and it started to crack so he left it alone. The piece that broke off is a very strange one to come off due to shipping, but that's not saying its impossible. Judging from the evidence presented, I would have to say that the damage was caused during shipping and therefore a result of poor packaging.

^According to the websites you can only get the TC in Touring and Limited...

I'm usually hesitant to post about eBay wins, but I'm so pleased with this one I just have to. My apologies if anyone on here was bidding on this, but I just picked it up today... There's a bag full of parts to go with it. Don't have time to sort through it all yet, but I hope all the pieces are there!

Wow, that's harsh. On the bright side, its not a complete loss!

I confess: I have a bit of an obsession with those Blazer Chalets/Jimmy Casa Grandes. Here's an EB camper: Gallery link here And here's some other campers on the Blazer Chalet website.

Looks good! Might've been easier to start with a Lindberg monster truck, though...

I do believe that a 1:1 version of this would have a one-piece driveshaft.