Rick Papp’s 2023 Corvair Concept Car is based on the AMT/Ertl Jaguar XJ220 with a ’68 Corvair front grille and taillight panel molded in. Other mods were done to the mirrors and side vents. Power comes from a 3D-printed V6 Chevy engine on this sophisticated custom.
The 1964 Cheetah has always been one of Jim Drew’s favorites. This replica, based on a Historic Racing Miniatures kit, has plenty of custom parts, like the headers and 3D-printed Rochester fuel-injection intake. The deeply-detailed racer is finished in Rosso Red by Gravity Colors.
Mike Garrett did an AMT ’62 Thunderbird out of the box but really spiffed it up with chrome foil, door panel-line wash, and Tamiya Italian Red paint. Mike says, “When I do a kit that I have never done before, I like to first build one box stock to ‘learn’ the kit.”
This AMT ’49 Ford convertible custom by Arthur Radziszewski looks so well-integrated, yet the mix of parts is surprising, starting with a roof from a Tamiya 1994 Celica. He threw in a resin Ross Gibson Ford Cammer 427 SOHC motor, Hoppin Hydros Monster 20s wheels, and Revlon 125 Blushing nail polish for the exterior finish.
One of the DMCC theme nights for 2023 was “Anything but a V8.” Bob Huard’s radical COE truck fits with a slightly over-scale 3D-printed V12. The ’41 Ford cab is a Jimmy Flintstone resin piece. Everything else is from the spares box or scratchbuilt.
The Race of Gentlemen inspired Chris Meacham to build Revell’s ’29 Ford as a beach racer. Chris is proficient with 3D-printed parts, and there are too many of them in this build to list, but we have to point out the unique Smith Jiggler heads and the Frenzel supercharger. Layers of gray, black, red oxide, and rub-and-buff metallizer went into the convincingly weathered look.
Currently available as an AMT reissue, Chester Marzec used a 1993 Lindberg ’34 Ford pickup with the stake-bed option and Sinclair decals to build this striking gas-station truck. Chester enhanced the build by using real wood for the stake bed sides and bumper, and he converted the rear to dually wheels.
The January theme was “1960s Drag Cars and Tow Vehicles.” Though not a drag car, Rod Webster did bring a cool tow rig in this Monogram High Roller Bronco towing another Bronco. The trailered SUV has aftermarket snow tracks and an iridescent purple-green finish over Tamiya Silver Leaf Metallic.
Alan Eskovitz trophied at the January drag-car theme night with this cool dragster. The body is from the Monogram Tom Daniels T’rantula mounted on the realistic AMT Don Garlits Wynn’s Jammer chassis and engine. It’s cool to make the show rods more realistic by adding technical detail like ignition wires, fuel lines, and photo-etched metal spoked wheels.
The basis for this ’66 Mustang altered wheelbase drag car is a resin body from MCW. Chris Waronek added a Ford SOHC engine from a JoHan Boss Ford and many scratchbuilt, “sheet-metal” parts. The finish is Krylon Red.
George Garner is a professional pin-striper and sign painter and did the lettering on the full-size, restored Arnie Beswick Comet. This 1/25 scale replica from Moebius Models was built box stock, and George says the kit decals accurately match the artwork on the full-sized car.
Cory Baas took first place in the January “ ’60s Drag Cars and Tow Vehicles” contest. This entry of an AMT ’53 Studebaker and a ’64 Dodge A100 van just nailed it with realistic finishes and convincing detail. Cory was inspired by his love for ’60s gassers and his ownership experience with real Studebakers. All three pieces of this combo were completed in 65 hours.
A great what-if model done by Jerry Stewart: Chrysler Corporation puts the Turbine Car into mass production, and Richard Petty builds it into a NASCAR stocker. Jerry sanded off the vinyl top and reconfigured the wheel arches to represent a classic stock car. A dash and roll cage from his spares box fill the spartan race interior. Nice alternate reality, Jerry!
A good model can teach you something about the subject. See those black stripes around one spoke opening on each wheel? Those let the Formula Drift judges know if a wheel is turning or locked up. Jimmy Murphy used 3D-printed wide-body panels and wheels, among other aftermarket parts, on his Revell 2010 GT500 drift Mustang, done as a tribute to the late Ken Block.
Brandon Hoffman replicated his first car, a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee, from a Tamiya kit. He added the 4.0L straight six from a Tamiya Jeep Wrangler but kept the transmission. Other details include junk in the interior that a high-school kid would have and realistic dirt under the hood. Brandon logged about 250 hours over 5 months on the detailed build.
The Chevoom Funny Car was a 1966 Chevelle 300 two-door sedan with a 392 Chrysler Hemi raced by Maynard Rupp. Frank Omilion made an excellent replica of the car combining two bodies from MCW for the body and an AMT Barracuda Funny Car kit for the chassis. The decals are from Polecat, and the finish is Tamiya Yellow. Frank’s dad helped wrench on the real car when it was racing.
Brian Dowling calls this beast of a pickup “Big Blue.” The quad cab is a one-off resin casting, and Brian added the front clip from a VTS Ram truck. The roll bar and lights came from an AMT USA-1 monster truck. Many other chassis mods went into making the long wheelbase, long-bed 4x4, and it’s finished with Testors Star Spangled Blue lacquer.
We don’t see many modelers building an MPC ’79 Dodge Omni 024, but Matt Viggiano brought in his for the “Anything but a V8” theme night contest. The excellent factory-stock build is a replica of a car that Matt’s brother drove during high school.
Custom trucks at the St. Ignace Truck Show inspired Joe Morgan to build this Mack Cruiseliner. The AMT kit was modified with a lowered airbag suspension from a Peterbilt and aftermarket rear fenders. The color of the custom cabover is Testors Tropical Turquoise. Don’t even think about messing with this truck: there’s a dog in the sleeper and a shotgun on the wall.