Monty

Looks like you chose a great color. Would you mind telling us what it is (ex: Tamiya #TS-35, Testors #1237 etc)

If it matters, this kit doesn't come with a master cylinder/brake booster, even though it shares 95% of its tooling with MPC's C3 coupes, all of which have that setup. I know you're an experienced builder, but do some mocking up on the hood pins & inner fender retaining slots etc to make sure the hood doesn't end up higher (not fully closing) at the cowl end. I like your color choices and will be watching for any updates.

If you mean implementing the IMSA flares etc, you'd be far better off starting with the AMT Ecklers Corvette kit, as it has the same flares and front nose with indented headlights as the 1:1 car depicted above. As for that...um...hood scoop, you'll have to make that yourself. Even if you did all the filing necessary to make those flares fit on that MPC body, do you intend to try and glue new body panels to a painted surface?

See the post above from Casey? Forward Resin products are his castings. He offers a number of great wheels, including some in bigger scales. His prices are very reasonable and he's great to deal with.

1) One pack has 8 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires, 4 of the F60-15s & 4 of the L60-15s. Does anyone have side-by-side pics of these two tires so I can see the size difference? 2) I've heard AMT also offers a parts pack tire set featuring redline tires. Does the box state the size of the tire, and does anyone have close-up pics of it (on a kit or by itself)?

I'm looking for copies of the AMT wheels because, IMNSHO, the crowned center area makes them look more accurate than the MPC versions.

It depends on the situation, but when I'm detail painting small items, I find it can be helpful to put a dab of paint on some wax paper, then dip the tip of the brush in thinner before dipping it in the paint. Enamels flow pretty well, but this is kinda like reducing them for airbrush use - the paint is a little thinner, but still covers, which is what you want in most cases. Again, this is meant for small items; anything larger than an armrest gets airbrushed. For that, I reduce my enamels with cheap lacquer thinner. It seems to dry quicker, harder and with less orange peel. HTH

I've used enamels, acrylics and lacquers for bodies, and having seen what can be done with nail polish, I plan to try them someday as well. More often than not, my choice of paint for car bodies comes down to finding the closest match to the specific hue I have in mind. For interiors, engines and chassis, I mostly use enamels, specifically Testors and Humbrol, but I've learned that the Vallejo acrylics are very good too. For projects with exposed bare metal (transmissions, etc) Testors Metalizer line of mild lacquers will cover just about all the bases. Humbrol also offers some metal-replicating enamels that can be polished out. If you're just starting out, you could probably get by with just enamels (bottles and sprays) found at your local hobby store, especially once you learn to mix paints to achieve a certain color. Once you step up to a beginner's airbrush, you'll be amazed at what can be accomplished with these paints.

Given that this movie/fantasy build combines a Cadillac body and interior with a semi chassis and power train, why not name it using terms from both worlds? May I suggest ... Fleetwood Mack?

Ah, a subject near and dear to my heart - C3 Corvettes, including the smogger "malaise mobiles". In some respects, MPC put a little more effort into these 'Vettes than the majority of their other kits. The chassis is fairly detailed and features posable steering and separate half shafts for the independent rear suspension. With some detail painting (fiberglass section under the seating area, fuel and brake lines, separate IRS components etc) it can really look good. OTOH, despite sharing 99% of its components with the coupe kits, MPC left the master cylinder/brake booster completely off the sprues. IIRC, it's not mentioned in the instructions either. If you're a stickler for detail, the dash is garbage, as MPC neglected to add the vents or speakers to the top surface. (The AMT '75 snapper 'Vette has a far better unit.) I'd also mock up the inner fenders and hood to see if you need to make any modifications. If this step is not taken, the hoods often end up tweaked higher at one or both corners at the cowl end. Lastly, the big block can be a decent engine with proper research and painting, but you'll need to put in some time on the tranny, especially the trans fluid pan, as it doesn't line up well and will need some serious file work. This is an '80 coupe I had for 20 years. Let's just say that crate motors eliminate malaise.

We seem to have strayed from what I was actually asking regarding the original AMT '57 Chevy. That's the kit I have, and I want to make it more realistic via a chassis swap. My main question was whether Revell's '57 Black Widow chassis would be an easy drop-in fix, or if I'd need to do a lot of modifications. The AMT kit is a Bel Air, so I'll retain that interior.

The newer AMT kit always looked a little saftig (chunky), as the Germans say, kinda like the new Challengers vs the original '70. I haven't done any measurements though. And I only want the Revell kit for its chassis (and maybe its engine). As I mentioned above, I planned on using the original AMT Bel Air interior, even if I have to cut out the sides and mount them to the top of the Revell chassis.

I like many aspects of AMT's original '57 Chevy, but I'd like to make my next one more a little more realistic. To that end, one of the first things that came to mind was finding a chassis that didn't have molded-in exhaust or a metal axle through the front suspension. Has anyone here tried using Revell's Black Widow chassis with the AMT body and interior parts? If so, any extensive modifications I'd have to make? If you've done this conversion, I'd love to see pics and/or a link to your WIP stuff. Bonus question: Did we ever resolve the issue of which 1/25 AMT '57 Chevy had the more accurate body, the original or the 1990s issue? Show your work.

I haven't heard of anyone who has tried the paint and didn't like it, but I'd still be very interested in seeing pictures of any models painted with them.

This build is remarkable for so many things, including the stance, paint and overall detailing, not to mention your use of appropriate Johan and Revell parts to achieve these results. Nicely done. If I could make one small suggestion, I'd recommend that you cut the side stripes where they cross the door lines. I'm guessing it could still be done easily with a decal solution and a sharp #11 blade. Just a thought.

I've asked the kit historians on a number of boards, and they all say it's the same model, including decals, in both of those boxes. The box art with the red car is shown with a custom racing front end cover, while I built mine using the kit's '70 Mach One grille etc.

It wasn't a custom Mustang or Ford styling exercise replica. It was a stock wheelbase '70 Mustang funny car with a Logghe chassis and a blown big block (427?) Ford engine. To the best of my knowledge it wasn't meant to depict any of the 1:1 funny cars of the time a la most of Revell's f/c kits, but it seemed to be a decent kit to build and display.

This has been a holy grail of mine since I built one as a kid in the '70s. Even with the advent of Ebay, I haven't been able to find one at a price I can justify paying. Most of the time this kit goes for well over $140.00, which means I won't be getting one unless I win the lottery or something.

Nice work, Al! What paint did you use on this one?

I've got the AMT '65 and '69 Rivieras in the on-deck circle, but I detest the promo-like chassis they come with, so I'm curious what else could be used while still maintaining some semblance of accuracy. Options I'm considering: 1) Has anyone tried using the chassis from the '90s-issue '66 Riviera under either one of these? 2) One of our members, David G, built an incredibly nicely detailed X-style chassis for his '60 Impala. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/114936-revell-1960-chevy-july-16-update/?do=findComment&comment=1665365 I don't know jack about these X-style chassis; could this be a reasonable replacement for the AMT junk? Any pics and descriptions of chassis transplants for these Rivieras would be appreciated.

I'm curious about the tires. Did you use sidewall decals?

I'll see that and raise you one

Anybody got pics of their AMT '68 Shelby Mustang(s) that they'd like to post to show what all can be done with this kit despite its limitations? With the talent on this board, none of the "issues" listed should be difficult to overcome.

Like Mark, I thought they could've done better with the chassis. If memory serves, it doesn't have true poseable steering, although it wouldn't have taken a whole lot more effort on their part to get there. Depending on your abilities, you could modify their setup by finding a way to attach a tie rod etc. If not, the stubs and mounting points can be glued to simulate steered wheels. Seems like anything other than a skinny stock tire will protrude out past the wheel wells (front and back), and while that might've been a good "street look" back in the day, it doesn't look as realistic in 1/25 scale. Also, I'm not convinced the "stock" wheels in this kit are correct for a '68 Shelby Mustang. AMT's '66 Mustang coupe has a set of wheels that have the appearance of '68 Shelby Mustang wheels, but they lack the scale depth that the 1:1 units had, and are a mediocre substitute at best. There used to be an aftermarket wheel and tire combo you could buy that looked right, but the supply seems to have dried up. Lastly, at the risk of crossing over into nitpicking territory, the headlights need to be replaced with something better. AMT's engraving looks like a rush job and, if installed without modifying the pin/hole setup, the "lenses" will be skewed. Here's an example of the headlight issue (not my build)