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Jimmy worked at a Ford dealership. Every two years Jimmy bought a new Galaxie. You would think he might be a sales rep or some bigwig in the company to buy a new one every other year. No, that was not the case. Jimmy was the shop gofer. Jimmy, go pickup parts. Jimmy, go drive this customer home. He did all the odd jobs around the place. In 1966 Jimmy bought his last Galaxie. A Burnt Amber 2-door hardtop with a 390. I worked on Jimmy’s car many times with my father. Anything from brakes to tune-ups. And every time we worked on the car we were rewarded with a spaghetti and meatball dinner prepared by his wife Annie. Homemade meatballs and gravy (don’t call it sauce) and Vermicelli pasta (Ronzoni). It was a tradition up until the 80’s. And always a Saturday night and always started with a shot of Black Berry Brandy. I still use the recipe today, the pasta, not the brandy. Jimmy loved that car and Jimmy loved Annie. They went everywhere in that car with their dog Feefee in the back seat. They celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with that car. There was one thing funny about Jimmy however. When he first met Annie, he was too embarrassed to tell her his real name. It wasn’t Jimmy, it was Joe. But for the rest of their time together she always called him Jimmy. So, this is really the story of Joe’s 1967 Galaxie. This is a project I first started planning for back in the 90’s when I found a rather sad AMT Galaxie Promo at the Hershey AACA fall meet. I paid $3.00 for it and purchased a number of other sad promos from the same dealer on the White field. When I recently got the idea to start on this model, I went through my stash to find it. I found I have four 67 Galaxies; guess I had the idea of building this more then once. Well, they won’t go to waste so let’s get started. This is what we are starting with. Pretty sad, huh. I think I have my work cut out for me.?

AMT's 1988/90 Olds Cutlass - Assembled & painted the internals about a month ago, then went back to the UK for a visit for a couple of weeks. First couple of sessions at the bench and I've started on the 'colouring in'. Tamiya TS-26 Glossy white straight from the rattle-can and my own mix of Tamiya acrylics for the blue. Will leave it for around 48hrs to cure before masking and adding the red. Please feel free to ask any questions or make any suggestions. Cheers from NZ.

I started building this 30 some years ago when you could still get a johan kit at your local hobby shop. That’s when we still had a few of them around the days before the internet. I started with a AMT/ERTL reissue of the 70 Camaro. I took out the body and cut it apart to lengthen the wheel base to fit the funny car chassis. In this time era resin bodies were in their infancy and many were of poor quality. The slixx decal company was just getting rolling , and testors was starting to put some great colors in rattle cans . Boy do I miss their old selection of colors and the convenience of strolling into your local hobby shop, and pick out your colors. During this time frame of the mid 80’s to early 90’s the only readily available funny car chassis in 1/25 scale from revell and johan . There was also the mpc corvette funny cars however they were a little to modern for this build. So I went with the chassis from the Johan ram rod challenger kit. At the time I had planned to make this the Jungle Jim camaro as I had the Fred Cady decals for it then for some reason after I finished the body mod’s it went in a box, and that’s where it stayed as I took a twenty year hiatus from model building. About a month ago I came across it and decided to finish it. This time using slixx Malcolm Durham decals some of which were a little intimidating and hard to put on. I painted it with a old can of testors pearl blue enamel. I already had the chassis done from years ago. It’s box stock johan with one exception which was using the heads and valve covers from the mpc flip nose 53 ford pick up kit. Until next time thanks for looking. Mike

I decided to build the AMT 1960 Chevy Apache 100 pick up truck. I have this truck in the stash for quite some time, and I knew I definitely wanted to do a engine swap. I was not sure what engine I was going to put in it at the time. I wanted to lower the truck so I added Iceman Collections suspension parts. See the pictures below for my progress on this work in progress. Feel free to let me know what you think. The the build of the kit is on my YouTube channel, KBCC garage This is the kit we started with. It’s been in my collection for a few years now I believe. Iceman collections LSX power plant. It’s pretty good. I really dig it. Miscellaneous suspension and brake parts from iceman collections Mocking up the LSX in the frame. Drilling a hole in the center for the shifter to go through. Marking up the rear suspension. The center section is from Iceman collections, the trailing arms are the kit parts and the wheels and tires are MCV Products. Here is the underside with all of the iceman collections parts mocked up. Here you see MCV Products weld Venturas. I really dig these wheels.. first markup on the wheels painted several parts together with a little paint . I really really dig these wheels. They look nice in a two-tone color. The centers are Tamiya gunmetal and the lips are model, master metalizer aluminum. DupliColor saddle tan over black primer. I also use a mix of tans and brown for the seat cushion. All decals were designed by my wife at DawnSmithArt. Finally, we have color. I went with a two tone. The main body is metallic light blue by DupliColor. Believe it or not I have had this scan of light blue paint since 1999 and I have painted at least five models with this same can. I really like how the recessed white paint went into the tailgate. This is all acrylic paint for the Chevrolet emblem. Using acrylic mixes of browns and light, browns and tans I created woodgrain in the bed. Molotow chrome on the areas between the wood. Probably needs a little cleanup, but I will get to it. No worries. ? Here we see the exhaust headers I have painted them in model master aluminum metalizer I tried to replicate a little bit of the heat soak into the headers. Turned out OK ?? Iceman collections LSX all painted up, but there are more details needed. The two tone dashboard with white gauge face. The dash is painted the body color to match the body. Stopping point for the moment. Adding the coil wires. More to come as I work on this. I’m having as much fun as I can. Thanks for following.

This was a pretty simple build. I just used the amt 1968 road runner kit and added the wheels from the super stock 62 belair kit the slicks are standard amt parts. The hood scoop was pirated from the revell hemi dart . The clear lacquer yellowed the testors silver enamel a little the decals came by way of Chris Walsh . Until next time thanks for looking, Mike

This is the amt kit with parts box wheels testors white enamel , and smp decals . Until next time thanks for looking, Mike

I had this AMT 1970 Chevy Impala kit stashed away a couple years at least. I was 100% sure I was going to do it as a lowrider, but I was not sure of the direction I wanted to go. I was holding out until I could get ahold of some more appropriately sized spokes. The Pegasus gold D’s are just a little too BIG for a lowrider (in my opinion.) Most of my cars have a static stance…meaning I haven’t built one that actually raises and lowers since the early 2000’s. So, with this one I locked it in low down…as if the driver let all the cylinders compress after they parked it. Anyway, I wanted to do a nice street cruising old school with murals. After I saw a YouTube video with a red metallic 69 Impala lowrider, I knew the color I wanted, and what direction I wanted to go. All of my builds have a name… or a theme. I built a lowrider dedicated to my niece in 2022, so I decided to do this one dedicated to rest of my family. My wife came up with the name, “Family Blood” because of the color and it includes my blood…my family in the side murals. My wife, an AMAZING artist, designed ALL of the roof and hood patterns and the murals on the rear quarter panels. The build features Showcase Hobbies fender skirts, Iceman Collections wire wheels, and DawnSmithArt designed decals over Tamiya Metallic red and Aluminum paint (clear coated with DupliColor 1k clear) Thanks for checking this out! Keep sharing your amazing work too fellow builders! ???

AMT 2021 Dodge Charger, this could very well be the best AMT kit I’ve ever built! Paint is Model Master sublime green and Testors wet look clear, wet sanded and polished with Tamiya compounds, interior is painted with Tamiya semi gloss black also used embossing powder for carpet and I also used a variety of model master metalizer paints for the metal colors. Thanks for taking a look.8

I just got this one finished it’s the AMT 1966 Chevelle . The kit wheels were swapped out for some steel wheels out of the parts box I believe they are Johann . I used the headers from the old pro nova kit and the slicks are AMT. The paint job is testors white enamel. As for the decals I have no clue who made them or how old they are, but what I didn’t find out until I put them on is that the clear that they used to seal them must’ve yellowed. I’m not real happy with how they came out. Unless I can get new ones made it’s what I’m stuck with. It’s still a pretty cool replica of a seldom seen stocker . Until next time thanks for looking. Mike

This one’s a combination of parts from The AMT double dragster and a body from the MPC bantam blast. The big slicks are from the AMT parts pack. The double dragster frame was modified to fit the bantam body shell. The long block is also double dragster with the blower pieces coming from my parts box. It’s painted with testors metallic red topped with slixx decals. This issue of DRAG RACING MAGAZINE has great reference photos with a good article about this car it also is a great reference for the GOLDEN COMMANDOS awb 65 Plymouth. Until next time thanks for looking . Mike

This is constructed from a mix of parts starting with the AMT T body parts pack. The frame is a combination of the double dragster fiat for the back half with front half of the single engine dragster frame. The front axle and spring are left overs from the Atlantis fiat. The roll bar hoop is made of 0.80 styrene rod. The 392 hemi is from the MPC bantam blast kit the headers are actually the hemi injector tubes from a couple of double dragster kits. The rear wheels are some left overs from the AMT 40 Willy’s kit with AMT pie crust slicks. The front wheels are from the MPC Winged Express warped with some spare AMT hollow Firestone supremes . The red paint on the bucket is Testors red enamel with wet look clear. The Tuanna cover is painted with a Krylon red to get a slight contrast. The decals are available from Chris Walsh . I did add the NHRA , and the welded strokers crankshaft decals from a random Slixx sheet. The reference photo is from an early 70’s issue of DRAG RACING USA. Until next time thanks for looking. Mike

I thought I would share my 2024, 24 Annual Model Build entry with you. The build took place this weekend on Saturday the 27th at noon until Sunday the 28th at noon. This was the 18th year for this event. I have done all 18 years as I am one of the founding members of this event. It wasn't an event 18 years ago, it was 5 friends getting together to build a new, untouched model in 24 hours and watching the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and various car movies. We had such a blast that we decided to do it again the next year, and as they say, the rest is history. This model is the Model King issue of what I believe is an MPC kit. My box says AMT, but Scale Mates says MPC was the original version of this kit. All I did this model prior to the 24 hour build was wash the parts. I was able to finish in about 22 hours. Color is Tamiya Maroon straight from the can. The pictures of the finished model were taken immediately after it was finished. I may tweak a few things and I may add a few sponsorship decals. I may just leave it as it is and put it in a display case. Thanks for looking. Let me know what you think and let me know if you have any questions about the Annual 24 Hour Build.

I finished this one a little over a week ago, but I was waiting for my new light box to arrive. Then I picked up a wicked head cold, so it had to wait another week to be revealed. This is the AMT 1971 Superbug Gasser, from the Coca-Cola Unity Collection. I picked this kit up for $5, thinking it would be cool to have a Beetle in the stash. I didn't realize it was the short-body version, so upon opening the box and seeing the body, my first thought was "this will never get built". But as luck would have it, last summer was spent learning to paint. For a fiver, I figured it would be a practice body, and that would be the end of it. As I was really just using it for practice, it got painted and stripped something like 3-4 times before getting it right. But the final paint job turned out to be one of my better attempts. This inspired me to continue on and finish the little bug. Speaking of paint, the color is Testors Extreme Lacquer Star Spangled Blue, straight from the can, followed up with clear lacquer (I forget the brand). The idea for the build was to create a tribute to one of my favorite old red-line Hot Wheels cars. Most of the kit was built straight from the box, but a few modifications were made for various reasons. The hydraulic steering damper was reworked, because the original part feels like it's not even from the same kit. Doesn't even come close to fitting properly. Battery cables were added just for fun and because I'd never done it before. Also, the exhaust was completely reworked. The kit supplies two exhaust options, neither one of which did much for me. Finally, if built straight out of the box, the engine cover won't close. Instructions even tell you to glue it open. I couldn't live with that, so the engine was moved inward and modified. For those that are interested in the build, the WIP can be found here: Without further ado, here's my take on the AMT '71 Superbug Gasser. As always, questions, comment, and constructive criticism are always welcome. Thanks for looking!

Round2 has brought back the 57 Thunderbird after a 17 year absence. In true Round 2 fashion, this isn't just a straight re-issue. Many parts from previous incarnations as far back as 1962 have found their way back into the box. These include parts from the 1962 3 in 1 kit, and the Here Comes The Judge Drag version. These photos are just an appetizer. Click the link at the bottom of the post to see what's in the box. Let's take a look. BTW, My build features a resin porthole hardtop by Drag City Casting, and Kelsey Hayes Wire Wheels courtesy of Round 2. Click here to see what's in the box, with a detailed description of what's new! https://public.fotki.com/DWDarby/model_cars/kit-reviews/amt-round2-57-thund/?view=roll

Here’s my build of the recent release of AMT’s ‘65 El Camino Camper! I liked the custom fluted glass-looking grill/headlight cover so I decided to go custom with this one. In my mind, the camper manufacturer built this custom show truck to promote their new El Camino Campers! It’s painted Tamiya Light Green with Tamiya Pearl White for the bumpers and interior. The cab carpet is Tamiya Dark Green, and the white paint on the camper shell is Tamiya white primer. The decals came from the recent release AMT ‘65 Bonneville, and the wheels are from the parts box (I believe from the MPC “Bad Company” Dodge Van). I drilled new axle holes in the chassis to lower the stance. This is a very basic promo style kit but it has some cool custom parts, and 10 pad printed tires. I had a lot of fun with this build!

I always loved the body style of the 57 T-Birds and wanted to build an early street machine version of one. I built this using the AMT 57 Thunderbird kit. Paint is Tamiyas Yellow Pearl over Tamiyas white primer then coated with Testors Wet Coat. Mags and tires are parts box finds. New axles were made using weld wire to bring the wheels out to a correct position. The sneaker pipes are from AMT's 49 Ford. Taillights are from AMT's 56 Ford as are the traction bars. Windshield frame and headlight brows are from a vintage issue of the 57. Overall it was a fun build however, the windshield did not want to cooperate no matter what glass or frame I used.

This was made from a altered states resin stock height 1933 Willy’s body with a amt donor kit. The hemi is sourced from a amt parts pack. It’s painted in tamyia bright red with slixx decals . The square hole halibrand front wheels are resin pieces I brought off eBay. Until next time thanks for looking ?. Mike

I used the amt kit for most of everything, the wheels came from revell’s thunderbolt, the slicks are amt the headers are custom made to fit the chassis. I have lost count of how many times I glued my fingers to the body attaching all the side trim and trim for the vinyl top. I painted it tamyia dark blue which almost looks black which I believe was the original color of the car . The decals are old Billy gooche. This was a complicated build getting the body’s trim right and sanded around. Until next time thanks for looking ?, Mike

Here’s my AMT 1971 Coca-Cola Shorty Beetle! I have several Coke kits in the stash that will likely not get Coke livery, so I figured I should do at least one with Coke graphics. It was fun picking out which decals to use from this kit’s huge selection of wild “Unity Collection” decals. I love how you can make the body removable so you can see the dune buggy chassis. The red is Krylon’s Apple Red. The kit includes a stock-ish VW dashboard, but the instructions don’t mention where it goes (I think you’re supposed to glue it into the body, but I don’t know how you’d align the steering shaft properly). I cut it down and glued it to the tubular dash structure to give the interior more detail. I could not get those fragile individual exhaust tubes to align properly so I gave up and left them off. The Coke crate comes from the Dodge D-50 Coke kit. The body is painted Testors Extreme Lacquer “Bronze” with the inserts done in Tamiya TS75 “Champagne Gold”. Part fit up is not great. The fragile roll bars are a nightmare to align, the chassis/front suspension ended up warped and the engine cover won’t close. I cut the generator belt/pulleys off and shaved their mounts down to pull it closer to the engine. Both hoods are glued shut. Overall this was a fun kit to build despite its foibles, with lots of customization opportunities. I picked up another one cheap from Ollies that will get a whole different look (eventually).

Here’s my build of the recent Craftsman Plus release of the ‘63 Nova wagon. I picked this kit up cheap from Ollie’s and figured it would be a quick build to practice bare metal foil on. My last and only other car I’ve foiled was a ‘57 Chevy… and while this Nova turned out well, I still don’t enjoy foiling. ? If you’re trying foiling out for the first time, this is a great kit for it because the trim details are super crisp and it’s easy to cut the foil cleanly. The body is painted Tamiya TS45 Pearl White over grey primer and the interior is Rustoleum Apple Red. The pearl white looks more silvery/dove grey in person over that grey primer than a pearl white but I think it looks good with the red interior.The roof on that ‘57 is the same TS45 pearl white, but over white primer.

Now that Revell has made the MPC/AMT ‘71-‘73 Mustang kits obsolete… here’s my AMT 007 Mustang Mach 1! I left most of the kit’s inaccuracies intact, and built it as-is out of box. I did fill in the hood vent though. Body and interior are painted Rustoleum Gloss Apple Red over Tamiya pink primer with Krylon semigloss Black for the lower body. Cleared with Pledge floor gloss. I mistakenly glued the firewall to the interior tub and didn’t notice until final assembly. It should be glued into the body shell, further forward. I had to trim the firewall sides down to get the glued chassis and tub into the body. I managed to make the grossly inaccurate engine bay even worse! Exterior shots: Companion shots:007 Mach 1 with Supernatural Impala‘71 Fastback with ‘66 Coupe’71 Fastback with ‘94 Convertible Thanks for looking!

Hello all. I went for a stroll around a hobby shop and found the AMT White-Freightliner kit. Being a transformers fan I knew immediately I wanted to make it an Optimus Prime look-a-like. The kit isn't any exact Prime alt mode so I hope to be blending aspects from all. I know other people have already done this based on my research and it was great to get inspiration! Right next to it just so happened to be a 1/25 scale trailer too! This solidified the idea. I hope to use polystyrene sheets to fill in the ridges along the side in the shape of his iconic stripe, in theory to make it smooth all the way along just like the original toy.

This is another one of my amt Z-11 kit bash projects. This one is finished with testors white enamel topped with smp decals. Thanks for checking it out, mike

Here’s my Econoline Conversion Van, finally finished after about 6 months. I really wanted to build a 1980s style high roof conversion van, so I had to find a “Matilda” release of AMT’s Ford van. From what I understand, the Matilda release is the only one with this roof. At the time, the cheapest one on eBay was this complete, yet water damaged kit that also REEKED of cigarette smoke. I checked today and there are two nice kits available for less than I paid 6 months ago, so snap one up if you want a high top! AMT’s Ford van depicts a ‘75-‘78 model, so I used the custom square headlight grill in the kit to give it more of a mid-80’s vibe. The Matilda release doesn’t include the rear spare tire mount so I swiped this one from my recent “Cruising Van” release. The front and middle row seats are the custom option from ‘90s releases of the AMT 1940 Ford coupe and sedan delivery. They are similar to C4 Corvette seats and look right at home in a luxury conversion van. I only had two ‘90s ‘40 Ford kits, so the 3rd row seats are the custom option from the MPC ‘82 Cavalier. Close enough! The interior brown and tan are Krylon. For the wood trim, I first used Tamiya flat “Light Brown” and then brushed with Tamiya clear orange. The picnic table is scratch built from scrap styrene. The Matilda release includes the trapezoid rearmost side windows but only two of them. The middle side windows are leftover camper shell windows from the recent AMT Courier Mini Van. The high top “windows” are molded closed with no glass available so I just used black Sharpie to look like limo tint. The main body is painted Tamiya TS75 “Champagne Gold”, and the roof and ground effects are painted Testors Extreme Lacquer “Bronze”. The body stripes are leftover decals from the Courier Mini Van kit. Overall this kit builds up pretty nice for its age, but even in the older Matilda release there’s a ton of flash to deal with. I’m very pleased with how this one turned out! If Round 2 is listening: please bring back the high roof option! I know it would be a smash hit. Maybe leave off the kangaroo dome window though…

Hello I'm going to build this kit to mark the 60th anniversary of the model. I will take pictures and share my experiences as I build. I made an unboxing video where you can see the parts. Based on the 3in1 option, I'm not sure how I'm going to put it together. If you have already made this kit, please tell me what I need to pay attention to. Thank you.