Fat Brian

By the system posted above the 56 and the Big Game truck should be a 3 if the rating was based solely on parts count. Since they're both a 4 there has to be more to it. The Monogram Pulldozer Blazer was an American scale 2 and the new reissue will be a 4 as well.

Having not actually built the 56 myself my guess would be the 56 might be considered more difficult because it lacks the positive mounting points and overall fit of a newer kit. The Big Game pickup is also a level 4 ex-Monogram kit with low parts count that has some vagueness in how the body mounts to the frame.

The jewelry section of the craft store will have tons of things that can be repurposed for modeling. Various gauges of aluminum wire can be had in bare or red, blue, and gold anodized for all manner of things. Also, you can order wrapped wires for plug wires and such. Brass rod is also helpful for hinges. Tiny hexagon beads can be bolt heads. I also like to have a well stocked bag of Evergreen and Plastruct plastic stock. Square, round, rectangle, tubes, angle, C channel, hexagonal rod, sheet stock, it all has a use and it's easier to figure out how to scratch build something when you have pieces to work with. Here's what you can do with a pile of Evergreen and a handful of watch parts.

This is a kit I really wish I gotten when it was a out a few years ago. The glass doesn't look ruined like from regular red tube glue.

This is pretty tempting, I have the Tamiya 60s Mini but this would be cool for a modern version.

It has a custom dash that looks like would make it very easy to move the steering wheel over.

That glue is supposed to be water based so I would run it under warm water and used a toothpick or something equally soft to try to pick it off. For applying the glue in the future try a paint brush. I sit my glass in place and then dab glue around the edges with a paint brush.

They're different parts. The 150 kit has a coil sping front end, the 250 kit will have leaf springs. The axles are also very different.

The worst part about the original 69 grille that the 68 still has is the way oversize headlight surrounds.

If you don't want it to tilt I imagine you could use Evergreen strips to make vertical posts from the frame to the bottom of the interior. The rear of the cab should have rests where it sits on the frame.

I have a Hasegawa box like that for their then new 250 Testa Rossa. I interesting idea but I think the plastic to paper glue joint proved to be a weak point.

While the majority here do know what to expect from a kit there has been an influx of new builders in the past two years. They've only bought a handful of kits and don't understand that there can be 50 years of difference in technology between two kits from the same manufacturer on the same shelf at the same price point. The AMT tin box Daytona has been a huge disappointment to many newer builders who see the fancy packaging and don't know that tooling has been through the wringer.

The Supra has different tires that are wider in the rear. The Mitsubishi GTO has something close to what you posted.

Yeah, once I saw this one I had to build it. I'm going to play up the 80s looks a bit with the red interior and raising the rear a bit. I'm also going to add a long cb antenna to the it.

This is the car that inspired this look, once I saw it I changed my whole build. I was going to build a typical Restomod style car but decided to build it as a Day 2 style early 80s ride.

I like the Tropical Shine brand from Sally beauty supply. The grit seems to stick better to these and they come in a few grits and at least two widths. I'm sure you can find them on Amazon, along with some sanding twigs for tight spots.

I use wide sanding sticks to block sand the body. There always seem to be ridges on either side of the door and trunk lines and sink marks where there are attachment points on the inside of the body.

Yep, you could also use Evergreen to add a flange to wheel back for that side.

The way things are right now? Who knows. It seems to be six months to a year between when they first show something and when it's actually on shelves.

They reworked the tires a bit when they released the camo truck a few years ago. They removed the lettering but the wheels still don't fit right if you want to mount all four facing the correct direction. The tires are thick on the inside wall and thin on the outside wall that used to have the molded in letters. When you try to push the rim inside the tires on the passenger side with the tire pointing the correct direction the thick inside wall is on the outside and the rim has a flange that makes the rim face sit too deep below the face of the tire. Also, the wheel back doesn't fit will well in the hole that used to be the front side of the tire. Basically, even though they removed the lettering that necessitated mounting the passenger side tires backwards the construction of the tires and wheels themselves still fit best with the passenger side tires backwards. That's why I used the AMT wheels, I could face the tires the correct direction and not worry about the rims not fitting well on one side. Here's both sides of the new version of the tires with the wheel parts. The tire on the left is has the inside facing up and the tire on the right has the outside facing up. Here is the tire with the rim installed correctly. Here's what happens to the passenger side when you try to face the tire treads in the correct direction. The thick inside of the tire won't left the rim sit correctly so you still have to mount the tires backwards to use the kit wheels.

The Revell 99 Silverado custom kit had a jet ski.

The box art picture for the next reissue shows them on the kit.

I'm still working on the 7, I think the worst thing I've got left are the photoetch seat belts. Otherwise it's just detail painting and final assembly.

I managed to get the black on the lower body without couple ruining it, now to let it dry for a few days and do the window trim. I also got the interior done, I added a cb to the passenger side.

That is such a cool build and so much done to such a rough kit.