RAWR! This orange 1/25 scale 1963 Pontiac Tempest got the Pro Street treatment from Vern Heizer. With twin turbos up front and wild pearl paint under two-part clear, it kicked up a storm at the show.
Dave Huddle wanted to build something different, and we’d say he achieved his goal with this MPC 1/25 scale ’78 Pinto wagon. The body sits atop a Chevy Beretta chassis and is powered by a Pro Street T-bird engine. For a little more oomph, Dave wired the engine and provided a chute cord in the back.
More than 200 hours went into John Brolin’s 1/24 “Spirit of America” Porsche 956. He opened the vents on the Tamiya kit, scratchbuilt various engine details, and each star in the livery was a separate decal, individually placed. John says two things inspired this build: “Red, white, and blue, and I love doing decals.”
Mark Wheeler wanted something more than a stock ’70 Plymouth GTX from his Monogram 1/24 scale kit. He widened the wheel tubs for larger rear tires and tucked Pegasus wheels and brake rotors underneath. He painted with Testors Graphite Dust and clear gloss lacquer but went for a matte black hood. Bare-Metal Foil completes the chrome trim.
A resident of Kentucky, James Darby made the trip up to Ohio with his Revell 1/25 scale 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle. Painted FolkArt Rose Pink acrylic, he achieved a unique and smooth finish inspired by his daughter.
With parts from AMT and Modelhaus, Kenny Knose elevated his 1964 Ford pickup with a 1978 4x4 chassis and lift kit. He set it rolling on tires and wheels from a die-cast model and painted it with Krylon colors from the spray cans.
Allen McDonald calls this creation “Little Wagen.” Built just for fun, he started with a kid’s toy bought at a yard sale, painted it candy apple red with black fenders, made it right-hand drive, and put spinner hubcaps on it. The seat and floor are covered in finished leather—swank!
The 1/16 scale “Problem Child” 1968 Mustang Pro Mod dragster took master modeler Clay Kemp one year to build. He scratchbuilt the chassis, put a Flashpoint resin body over the top, and wrapped resin slicks around machined-aluminum wheels. Stunning!
Check out the wet paint job on this ’41 Willy pickup! Tom Kren lowered and cut down the interior of a Revell kit to fit inside a Jimmy Flintstone body for his special truck. He 3D-printed the wheels, detailed the grille with a photo-etched metal part, and painted it with MCW Navy Blue Green.
Tony Dean went against type with this model, building a Monogram 1/24 scale Foose F-100 pickup box stock. Hitched to the back is a trailer for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle made from brass with a bed made of real wood.
Steve Hurt scratchbuilt his 1950 Cline Rail Recovery truck from styrene and brass and used a single photo in a railroad book for a reference. The hood and all the doors function, and he plumbed and wired the engine and PTO for the winch. He painted with Vallejo White and weathered with artist oils and chipping fluid.
Two Revell kits combine to make this Ford Bronco and Kurtis midget racer with a trailer. Larry Ritz modified the Bronco with a half-cab from Olson Brothers, resin wheels and tires for the midget car, and added spark-plug wires. Larry built the model in honor of Bob “Smithy” Smith, founder of the auto repair shop he retired from.
Jason Foster’s Tamiya 1/24 scale Nissan R390 GT1 was built nearly 20 years ago. “It was one of my first Tamiya kits,” he says. Built box stock, he painted the red and black scheme, and used the box decals to complete the livery.
Tamiya Grey and Splash Paints Gloss Clear cloak Jon Halt’s Tamiya 1/24 scale Mustang GT4. Built box stock, the only aftermarket added to it was Scale Motorsports carbon-fiber decals. A coworker gave Jon the kit and he thought the box top looked so good that he wanted to replicate it.
Three months of work went into Rick Doering’s ’74 Opel GT Pro Street. Starting with a 1/25 scale AMT kit, Rick stretched and flared the rear wheel wells, shaved the emblems and handles off the body, made custom bumpers, and set it atop a Pro Street Corvette chassis. He scratchbuilt the exhaust, installed a pre-wired distributor, used photo-etched clamps on the engine hoses, and detailed with machined pulleys.
What if Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby gave up solving mysteries and headed to the beach? They’d probably drive something like Scott Stoner’s custom Polar Lights 1/24 scale Mystery Machine. He painted with House of Kolor lacquers and built the rack and surfboards to complete the look.
“This was the car that went airborne at Le Mans, so I had to build it!” Ron Francis says of his Mercedes CLK GTR. Starting with a Tamiya 1/24 scale kit, Ron filled it with photo-etched metal details, opened the front clip and door, wired and plumbed the engine, detailed the interior, and topped it all off with Zero paints.
This big Entex 1/8 scale Formula One McLaren M23 from Steven Bright wears Tamiya paint. Working on the project sporadically for two years, he wired and plumbed the engine, provided metal suspension links, upped the brake details, and put rain tires on all four corners.
Mark Harmon of Westerville, Ohio, didn’t mess around with his Tamiya 1/24 scale Ferrari FXX-K: He went all in with a Tamiya Detail-Up set with photo-etched metal details and carbon-fiber decals and painted it with Tamiya Italian Red. “I like the car!” Mark says.