Animal Morsilli built his ’24/’25 Ford “Tall T” coupe from an AMT 1/25 scale kit. He went to work, adding engine wires and plumbing, brake rods, a magneto, horn, dome lights, a rearview mirror with clock, and a windshield wiper. He painted with Testors colors.
An AMT/Ertl 1/25 scale Moonscope became the Moon Bug thanks to Ira Dahm. For his fifth version of the Moonscope, Ira shortened the original kit’s body, made the headlights, fog lights, and taillights from plastic gemstones, and rounded out other details with parts from various car kits
To build a T.R.O.G. (The Race of Gentlemen) 1926 Model T Ford sedan, Alan Gronick popped open a Revell 1/25 scale kit, brought over an engine from an AMT offering, scratchbuilt a new rear end, modified the chassis, painted a rusty patina, and made the seat blanket by hand.
Too hot to handle! With flames and lace, Thomas Lindsey did his Revell 1/24 scale ’49 Mercury justice. An Iceman engine and Cadillac taillights bring more heat, while a scratchbuilt trunk and air ride smooth rolling on Z’man wheels. Lastly, Thomas ran lines for all the goodies, including brakes and fuel.
Fred and Wilma, like you’ve never seen them before! Lance Barger 3D-printed the Flintstones couple and their car in 1/8 scale. He used acrylic paints to finish the model of the Stone Age hot-rodders and made the car’s dinosaur-hide canopy from a scrap of fabric.
Tom and Riley Purcell took a Revell 1/25 scale Henry J gasser, bringing the fantasy with a 3D-printed dragon and simulated flames. Naming the car Kaiser “Draggin,” they made the door decals and painted the model with HOK Snow White Pearl and Kandy Green fades.
Jesse Villalobos’ 1/25 scale 1976 Chevy Caprice lowrider dazzles with its custom interior and delicious candy exterior. An AMT kit got him on his way, and he finished with automotive colors.
Inspired by the final ride of a competitor in the 2022 Frank the Tank demolition derby, Zach Drummond and Will Hughes built this 1/25 scale 1971 Chrysler Town and Country basher. They 3D-printed the body, stretched a loaner frame to fit, detailed the engine with photo-etched parts, and completely plumbed and wired the entire station wagon.
Roger Karker’s amazing 1/16 scale ’23 T Altered dragster has a Revell chassis, a 3D-printed engine, and a photo-etched metal seat. He airbrushed the body with Testors Purple Metal Flake and hand-made the plumbing and wiring.
Beautiful green flop pearl offset with white turns out Sean Langer’s JoHan 1959 Dodge two-door. The chassis and interior came from a 1958 Belvedere donor kit.
Frank Schaeffer hand-painted a Jordan Products Highway Miniatures HO-scale 1922 Model T runabout. Usually associated with model railroading, Frank shows that you can bring model cars of any scale to an NNL show!
This is one stylish bike! Russ Brovald cruised in with his Meng 1/9 scale BMW R nineT, built as an Option 719 bike. As such, it has a special paint job and is full of custom touches that a base-model nineT would not have.
Revell 1/25 scale 1949 Mercs remain popular among custom car modelers, and Bruce Tanaka is no exception. He upgraded his lead sled for hustle with a Ford Shelby GT500 engine, transmission, and suspension and opted for aftermarket wheels and tires. Bruce chose Sherwin Williams colors and applied two coats of black, two coats of color, and two coats of clear over acid-etch primer.
Digging the French art deco design, Keith Brumbley challenged himself to build a Heller 1/25 scale 1949 Delahaye 135. Box stock except for the aftermarket wheels, Bruce airbrushed Splash paints for the two-tone pearl light blue and green.
Mike North designed and 3D-printed his belly-tank racer and used engine files from ScaleSpeedGarage.com. He airbrushed the tank Scale Finishes Aluminum and painted everything else with Tamiya colors. What a wonderful example of an unusual car subject 3D-printed in 1/25 scale!
This all-resin 1/25 scale replica of the Hammons-Williamson Hairy Canary 1966 Plymouth Valiant Funny Car comes from Rich Ruggiero. He primed with Dupli-Color lacquer, painted with Testors enamels from the bottle, and topped everything with two-part clear urethane.
Can-Am played a big role in racing for two decades, and the cars were a unique breed. H. Trent built this 1/24 scale Ferrari 612 Can-Am from a Fein Design body, Fujimi tub, wheels and tires, and Harold Bradford engine. He painted it Tamiya Italian Red lacquer over primer.
It’s hard to ignore the Tamiya Brilliant Orange lacquer on John Roberts’ AMT 1/25 scale 1973 McLaren M16 Gulf Racing Indy car driven by Peter Revson. John painted over white primer and finished with Mr. Super Clear gloss spray.
A tricked-out and lowered Kenworth Aerodyne Cabover that comes with a matching El Camino? Sign us up! Adrian Gudino modified an AMT 1/25 scale kit for his vision, coating it in House of Kolor Silver, Silver Flake, Kandy Blue, and Kandy Magenta.
Timothy Martinez used the body, chrome parts, and windows from a Revell kit to model his 1/24 scale 1969 small-tire drag radial. He scratchbuilt the chassis, parked an aftermarket engine out front, and scratched the headers and interior. High gloss black and cobalt blue lacquer give this bruiser its signature look.
An aftermarket carbon-fiber decal set finishes the entire interior of Matt Reynolds’ Tamiya 1/24 scale Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3. He airbrushed Splash Paints Orange over gray Tamiya primer and sealed it with Alclad II Klear Kote Flat.
House of Kolor paints became the icing on Luis Xavier Cano’s sweet 1/25 scale 1961 Chevy Impala lowrider. He cut open the trunk of this Lindberg kit, smoothed the undercarriage, and decorated it to match the top. Tasty!
Holy gasser, Batman! Jeff Norene customized a Hot Wheels 1/18 scale die-cast classic Batmobile into a gasser for the Caped Crusader. He overhauled the chassis, wheel wells, interior, and firewall. Bringing in automotive spray guns, he painted PPG Jet Black, laid down an HOK clear coat, and pinstriped by hand.
A Griffin body and aftermarket wheels helped Brad Diemer build his 1/25 scale 1950s-era International RDC-405 COE. He sourced many of the parts for this blue behemoth from AMT kits or scratchbuilt them himself. “[It replicates] a short-wheelbase tractor from the days when some states had tight limits on overall truck length,” Brad says.
Izabella Mattox lowered the suspension, flocked the interior, and added exhaust tips to an MPC 1/25 scale “The Joker” getaway car. The crazy colors are HOK Passion Purple and Lime Time Green under Deltron 3000 clear. She sprayed the purple first, masked, and followed with the green for her version of the car driven by the Joker’s goon squad.
The Moebius Models 1/25 scale Tumbler from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movie trilogy has proven a steadfast favorite among modelers. Keith Thorson painted it with flat black lacquer straight from the spray can and brush-painted details. The tires received pastels to mimic dust.
Scott Colmer opened the doors and flattened the hood of his Renewal 1/25 scale Pierce Arrow. Then he fully detailed the engine and interior and scratchbuilt the grille. The steely complexion is a custom mix of Tamiya Silver and Gunmetal Grey; the brightwork was detailed with Molotow Liquid Chrome.