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This is the third temptation, this week for me. Now there is a 3D printed side by side, and the Hasegawa kit, who wants something different to do? + =

Always had a soft spot for these Studebaker pickups, when I saw this new 3D printed 1953 body by Andy Lesiak , I *had to* get it. Evaluated what to use for a donor kit, decided on the MPC "Deserter" '84 Jimmy, because I'm not a fan of the Square Body era, especially the stacked quad rectangle headlights (I own a '68 Chevy C-10 so I'm extremely biased 😝). The Studebaker bed is designed for a Pro Street build, that is going to get revamped. Was thinking of using the floor of the GMC bed, but this nixed that idea. Right off the bat, encountered bad engineering, the rear perches for the front suspension, no left/right, so slight modification required. Glued parts that are halves together, for now not cleaning up, goal is to do a mockup. Found the engine has left/right valve covers, but the instructions don't indicate such. Puttied some sink marks already. Rookie builders might get ticked off about how the wheels might not turn when assembled. The ejection pin marks needed to be scraped down. The part numbers on the tree are screwed up, there is a front/rear axle retainer with different lengths, the same number was on a front and rear part. 😆 The other thing about the wheels, they are about 1/16" wider than the tire beads. Can't just sand down the rim, need to evaluate what to do, this can't stand! Used the hotwire to cut off the door panels, modify the gas tank, and cut up the firewall part. Temporarily glued the drivetrain together with globs of Titebond glue. The instructions are useless for showing how the front leaf springs mount to the front perches, there is no positive connection, so the first mockup will determine what to do next. In fact, there is about 3/16" of play front-back to fix the front axle, I guess in this case with the different body that's a plus! I know the body will be painted a patina turquoise, with different color rear fenders, and will add some dents. The interior will have to be scratch-built, have a VW Bus bench seat which should suffice, dash will take more work, and door panels are simple enough. No emblems, street rods usually have that stuff shaved, but that hood ornament is cool, have to make that! Taillights are simple. Was planning to use the GMC mirrors, brush guard, winch.

Hey All, Was wondering if there was a 4x4 conversion for AMT's 1992-1996 Ford F-150 XLT truck kit?? The truck I need to replicate is a factory '94 F-150 XL 4x4 (I have a '93 F-350 4x4 w/3" lift to do as well, but that's another story). It doesn't need to be 100% accurate, as few people will be turning it over to have a look see. It's mostly to get the right ride height, and the look of the bits that hang down that you can see from the side. I looked through the rest of my kits that I thought might provide the donor parts, but couldn't seem to find what I needed. I need more than one set as well, as I will need to build at least 6 trucks -- As the truck stands now (rusted out bits), the mods she will make sooner than later (at least bigger tires and fender flares to cover the rusted out bits), and then her dream truck (w/ at least bigger flares/tires and NO rusted out bits) - all times 2 (one for her, one for me). Is there a resin conversion set out there, or a list of donor kits that would work?? Thanks guys.

Given the peculiar nature of the vehicle presented here, I thought it encumbent upon me to offer some explanation of how such a conveyance might come to exist. For that pupose I offer you... The Tale of Seamus McKinney's Truck Seamus McKinney lives on a modest fourty acre spread, north west of Eldora, Colorado. Sylas McKinney, Seamus' Granda', bought the land with the procedes from his partnership in the fourth of July Silver Mine (now a state park). Seamus' Father, Sean McKinney, ran off with a Lithuanian footwear model when Seamus was just a lad (just to be clear, the model was Lithuanian. The footwear was made in a dirt floored shack in Taipai under a French lable). Mother McKinney moved to Boulder several years ago to open a hand made candle boutique, Leaving Seamus the property, two goats, Roxanne the mule, and seven llamas. Now, about the truck. Three winters past, a flatlander was criusing the back roads in his four wheel drive F-150 when he spotted Puck and Ariadne frolicking in the snowy valley below (I may have forgotten to mention that the llamas were all named after mythological characters). He pulled off the road and got out to capture this peculiar sight with his trusty Nikon. Unfortunately, what he believed to be solid ground beneath his wheels was in fact a snow valence; a sort of shelf formed by wind currents sweeping snow up along a vertical ridge. This, of course, quickly succumbed to the weight of the vehicle leaving our intrepid photographer slack-jawed and shivering. The following spring, the insurance adjuster contacted Seamus, on whose property the truck had come to rest, to arrange for its' removal. Allways one to capitalize on a situation, Seamus offered his services (and those of his Fordson tracktor) to extricate the the unfortunate vehicle from the ravine in which it now rested, wheels-up, for the modest sum of $100. The adjuster (being also a capitalist) readily accepted the offer. As one might expect, the truck was immediately written off as a total loss. However, Seamus had noticed that the frame and running gear still seemed to be serviceable. Seeing this, a plan began to take shape. And so, after a brief negotiation, Seamus returned the "extraction fee" and took posession of the remains. Having righted the wreck, Seamus drug it behind the chicken coop where rested Sylas' '37 Ford pickup. The '37 was in relatively good shape aside from a blown engine and the predictable results of languishing under a tarp for thirty years. The grill had been replaced with sections of irigation pipe after an encounter with a near sighted big horn sheep. And so the work began to meld the two trucks into one. No longer would Seamus have to drive the Fordson into town to pick up a sack of McGruders Llama-Vite. Scratch built winch and hood hinges. Chasis, engine and running gear are from lindberg F150. More to come (as soon as I re attatch the license plate and exhaust tips that I knocked off durring the photo session)