Fat Brian

I've been working on the frame and getting the engine together. I've got the shocks on and added a steering stabilizer. I took the engine from a mid 2000s NASCAR kit and am building it to look like a small block crate motor. It's been a while since I plumbed an engine and it felt nice to flex those muscles again.

I've been working on the frame and getting the engine together. I've got the shocks on and added a steering stabilizer. I took the engine from a mid 2000s NASCAR kit and am building it to look like a small block crate motor. It's been a while since I plumbed an engine and it felt nice to flex those muscles again.

Thanks, yours too.

I'm very intimidated by it since I'm going to have to do a custom interior too. I'm just going to take it once piece at a time and see what happens. Thanks for the compliment, I'm still hoping I didn't completely wreck my build.

Wheel set #2 is here, these are 20" big and little Rotoforms from Factory 81. Now I can get back on this project again. I also found a Viper chassis from a kit my father in law couldn't get finished so I'm going to make an entire custom frame setup.

If you have a Deserter or Fall Guy truck you can use that bed to get the measurements.

Thank you, 1/25 is fine.

Does anyone make Predator carbs in resin? I've got plenty in the three in a row configuration from the USA-1 kit but they're not as correct as I'd like.

Excellent, I'm glad to hear it.

Coming from you that's high praise. There's still plenty of time for me to screw it up, I haven't even started painting it yet.

This just started at the right time for me when my bench was clear. I just finished the L9000 and custom Caddy so all I had going on was the CBR Mustang but I'm still waiting on a second set of bigger wheels for that. I was kind of stalled when this was posted so I was able to jump right in.

Thank you, I think I might shorten the stacks in the final assembly. They're just tacked on so I could snap some pics and get a feel for the look of it.

I'm a bit late with the update but I think it was worth the wait. The part I robbed from this kit was the bed so I had to replace it with something. I built the flat bed from Evergreen and some diamond plate. Once I had the bed I needed to populate it with something. I added the roll bar, a storage box on the driver's side, a jerrycan rack, a bed mounted fuel tank, a tool box, a spare tire mount, and a welding machine with a post for the leads. I cut the front fenders for more tire clearance and used the rims from the Deserter truck.

Okay, this my first major update for this build and I wanted to explain a bit about my design philosophy. First, a weekend warrior is someone who is usually ballin' on a budget so I didn't want to use a collectible vehicle or something with hard to find parts as a base. This should ideally be something you can bash around without feeling bad about a few dents and dings. You can't get much more ubiquitous than a square body GM truck. It also meant that the truck would likely be a Jack of a trades type instead of a dedicated rock crawler or mud buggy. Something you can have fun in in lots of different types of locations but might not be the best for each situation. Second, the vehicle should already have decent components for inexpensive modification. This ruled out similar era Ford products due to the TTB front end. GM's solid axle front is a much better platform for modification. I had intended to run the standard five lug wheels to indicate the stock Dana 44 and 12 bolt but I couldn't find five lug rims that fit the tires good enough. With all the weight I've added to the rear it probably does need upgraded axles now. Third, since the truck needed to be a daily driver recoverability and survivability are important. Getting back to go to work Monday is a big part of this things job. I put a storage bin on the driver's side for tools and recovery items and the jerrycans will hold different fluids that might get lost on the trail. I took off the stock fuel tanks and replaced them with a bed mounted tank under the roll bar. The welding machine on the passenger side will let you fix any busted pieces and let you get back on the trail.

I would post it in the tips and tricks section.

Hopefully they will keep some of the US team on. Revell was already profitable, it just had the rest of the Hobbico boat anchor around its neck. Blitz got to cherrypick money making bits from a big pile of debt and got it at as severe discount so maybe they won't feel huge pressure to make a ton of changes right away.

Wow, a guitar slingin', slide playin', blues babydoll.

The plow truck is four wheel drive, it's just not lifted. Part of the purpose of this build was to save this specific kit from the parts bin after Mike and I both robbed it for parts. I did end up getting the camo version for the partially corrected tires and gun rack but I would have built the suspension this way anyway because the kit lacks a lot of detail. I might be ready to post a major update tonight.

The AMT 62 Catalina could be shortened to get you close if you want a classic but updated chassis. Otherwise, chuck a new Camaro under there and go totally modern, there is only 1 inch difference in the wheelbases.

Yep, they "borrowed" a picture of a real car off the interwebs and used it for the box art. There are more details in the main thread about the car.

I'm not saying it's bad, just that you have to step up your surface prep game. Especially since it's hard to strip it's good to know going in that it's different. I would have saved myself some hassle if i would have known going in that i needed to do better to use it.

You can order these or pick the up at a local beauty supply store like Sally' s. It's a 3 way nail polishing file, you'll want to keep one clean for just polishing windshields so it diesnt get other schmoo on it. Their other files work great as well, l go there a couple times a year and get $25 or so worth if files.

The one thing I've noticed about Tamiya rattle can paint is that it is less forgiving of surface imperfections like sanding marks. Things Testors paint will hide show right through Tamiya paint.

Well, you made me look and honestly the rear springs are actually flat on the real car. It may not be visually interesting but it appears protottpically correct.