It only took Ben Gifford 30 hours to complete this Italeri 1/24 scale Iveco Turbostar III truck. He built it completely out of the box and painted it with Tamiya Pearl White straight from the spray can.
Ken Gifford “just likes the tow-truck look,” so he built one from an AMT 1/25 scale Sunoco 1934 Ford pickup tow truck kit. He finished it in two weekends and painted with Tamiya Racing Green.
Larry Schoonover married the front half of an AMT ’70 Corvette to the back half of an AMT Stingaree for a truly unique Funny Car. He narrowed the front end and extended and lowered the side panels to match the rear. After priming and sanding, he laid down a Dupli-Color Silver Metallic base coat, followed by Rust-Oleum Satin Red, and then added a final layer of Dupli-Color Red Metalcast before a clear coat.
Six months at the workbench rewarded Roger Ferrie with a seriously derelict AMT 1/25 scale 1977 Ford E-150 van with Coca-Cola markings. He flattened a tire, cracked the windshield, and adjusted the stance for a vehicle left unattended in the elements. Roger’s weathering didn’t stop with the van but spread to the Coke machine, too!
This 1/25 scale replica of George Reese’s “Long and Lean” 1964 Corvette dragster from Frank LuQue incorporates parts from three Corvette kits, all of them highly modified, and with no aftermarket details.
The Nomad continues to rank in legendary status among long-roof enthusiasts. Rich Speiden built an AMT 1956 Chevy Bel Air Nomad wagon, spruced up the engine with aftermarket carbs, and painted a cool, classic, two-tone scheme.
Ed Doering’s 1/25 scale 1959 NASCAR T-bird convertible originated as a Monogram kit. He scratchbuilt the roll bars and race exhaust; the wheels and tires are resin. Under the hood is a wired, period-correct Lincoln engine. Ed employed Yesterday’s Decals to mark his Thunderbird for “Red” Farmer’s first Daytona 500 race.
Shadow Mendiola spent eight months building motorcycles as a tribute to Indian Larry. Spoons and paperclips make up the bodies of these unique bikes, and they wear Shadow’s trademark kandy paint jobs.
It’s not often that you see “Ecto-1” modeled using paper, but that’s exactly what John Clancy did. Well known for his paper models, John printed the kit from Claudio Diaz and spent two weeks completing the Ghostbusters’ iconic ride.
“I love fox-body Mustangs in green,” Deven Lehst says about his AMT 1/25 scale replica. The 1988 ‘Stang body houses a supercharged 2010 Mustang GT500 engine. Deven painted with lacquers and water-based acrylics, all just for the fun of putting together a model in under a week.
“Pure Insanity” took Rick Shepard two months to complete. Based on the Revell 1/25 scale 1972 Vega Funny Car kit, Rick modified the chassis and tin work to bring the body down to a realistic height and more-accurate stance. He ran fuel lines, plug wires, and decorated with decals from Slixx.
If you’re wondering what you’re looking at, don’t worry: We were right there with you! One day, Shannon Petitt was bored and started cutting into AMT and Revell kits. After six months, this was the result: a ’57 Corvette with a Henry J roof on aftermarket wheels. Very cool!
Kyle Wolfe’s ’63 Chevy II lowrider wagon took him two weeks to build. He switched out the motor, wheels, and tires from the 1/25 scale AMT kit and scratchbuilt the speaker box in the back. His spares box provided the lowrider parts. He airbrushed the body with craft paints and ran fingernail tape for the pinstripes.
Many modelers will use cars they used to own as inspiration for scale replicas. That’s the case for Will Kirchmayer, who built a model of the 1965 Chevy Impala SS that he owned in high school. He upgraded the interior with photo-etched metal parts, fender emblems, grille, and taillight trim from Model Car Garage. He painted with Krylon spray paint and lightly weathered the underside.
Rick Allen’s 1/25 scale 1955 Chevy gasser took him two months, and then a rebuild to get it just right. He used automotive paint to complete the look.
Larry Breeze loves local oval-track racing of any kind. It’s no surprise that he built a Revell 1/25 scale ASA Camaro and finished it for driver Dick Trickle with aftermarket decals.