Lindberg 1934 Pickup Part Six

Moving right along, I assembled the headlights and horn and got them onto the front fenders.  Then I assembled the spare tire and mount.  It is actually starting to look like at least a pickup, if not a wrecker.  Bumper got attached.  Going by the instruction sheet, up to about step 11 out of 14 or so.  Actually getting close to the point of having this one up off the ground.

So, while I was getting this together, I remembered that I did not cut the rear fenders off the stake bed I had built already.  Took a slight break from the wrecker so I could correct that error.

Lindberg 1934 Pickup Part Five

Put together the cab.  This is one of only two issues I have with this kit.  I really do not like the way the windshield is designed.  The other is the way the wheels fit inside the tires.

 Once I got the windshield installed, I dropped it over the interior and then put the radiator and the hood on.  Glued the hood like I said, since I don't want the engine exposed.  Mostly I do not want the engine exposed because I did not strip the chrome off some of the parts and paint them, but since that was the plan from the beginning...

Lindberg 1934 Pickup Part Four

Built the interior.  Painted the bench seats with Vallejo Leather Brown, splotched it a bit so it didn't look totally new.  The brake and shift lever were both chrome, so I stripped them with bleach and painted them.  

Got the interior and the fenders mounted to the chassis.  Might start looking like a truck any time now.  Sorry the image is blurry, I really didn't realize until it was too late and the build had progressed past the point of me being able to take more photos at this step.  Lesson for the future.

Lindberg 1934 Pickup Part Three

Finished the engine.  Put together the undercarriage and drive train.  Nothing major, just a few parts.  Not terribly thrilled with the way the exhaust fits in, but it could be worse.

2016 Hot Wheels

I went by Walmart and Target and found a few more 2016's.  So far, 2016 looks like a pretty good year (and it isn't really even here yet).  Target has snowflakes on their cards, nothing makes the Walmart cards stand out.  That being said, in a different post I have the Walmart Christmas cars.

The Fairlane is a 1966 and the Ford GT is the kind of racing car I really like.  Reminds me of the old Can-Am racers.  I am not sure I really like the Cruise Bruiser, but it is the first New for 2016 I have found so I had to pick it up.

The Firebird is cool, I actually drove one for a few years.  Not a red one, mine was a Bandit special.  Next is a '69 Superbee, '68 Shelby and a Jaguar.  I found the green 2015 Jaguar at the same time as this red one.  The Challenger has a neat paint job and the '65 Mustang is a...1965 Mustang (what else needs to be said?)  Last is the Cool One with Super Mario paint job.  I also got a Back to the Future Time Machine in Hover Mode, but it did not make it to the picture.

2015 Christmas Hot Wheels

Found the Christmas Hot Wheels at Walmart today.  Set of 6 this time around, all winners.  There were plenty of most of them, seemed to be short on #5, the Volkswagen Brasilia.  Love these special Holiday issues.  They actually dumped these in one of those big cardboard bins instead of hanging them on the rack.  Made it a little more difficult to put together a set.

If I had to pick a favorite out of this batch, it would be the Ford Gangster Grin.

Lindberg 1934 Ford Pickup Part One

I am not, in general, a fan of Lindberg car kits.  That being said, I am a fan of this truck kit, and it is probably because the kit was originally made in 1963 by AMT.  A lot of people make disparaging comments regarding AMT, but they are one of my favorite car kit companies.  I built one of these already, still have a bit of work to do on it, but I am still rather happy with it.  The work I have left is, for some reason, I did not notice I needed to cut the rear fenders off before I installed in the stake bed.  Oops.  Well, I can take the bed off, then do the cutting, then touch it up and put the bed back on.  My favorite part of my first build?  The Sinclair decals.  I remember the big green dinosaur on signs from when I was a kid and the nostalgia factor is strong with this one.

I will post at least one shot with the rear fenders removed after I finish that job.  Now, for my second kit.  Here's the box.  It is a 3-in-1 kit, which means it has all the parts necessary to build one of the versions shown on the box.  With all the parts included, you can build a version that isn't on the box, but that is another tale.  I have build the stake bed so, this time, I am going to build the wrecker version.  

Look at all that chrome!  I am going to put the chrome wheels on a '32 ford hot rod I happen to have.  I think they will look great!

Here's the white plastic parts included in the kit.  They have been washed in a mild detergent and allowed to dry.  I have to clean up a bit of flash (these molds are probably 40 or more years old), but I honestly expect worse flash than this on a Lindberg kit.

Here is a shot of the uncut decal sheet.  I am going to use the Red Crown Gasoline decals on the wrecker.  Look at all those tires!  Slicks, wide treads and skinny tires all included in the box.

Here is a shot of the instruction sheet   I am looking forward to starting this kit.  Unfortunately, it has been too cold or rainy to start the priming, but I have removed most of the flash and gotten it ready to be primed as soon as the weather clears a bit.

Lindberg 1934 Ford Pickup Part Two

I got a chance to do some work on the pickup.  Overall it is gloss black, but the bed will be wood.  Haven't made up my mind yet if I am leaving the metal strips black or painting them steel.  Probably steel.

While the body is drying and being considered for another coat, I am working on the engine.  Here's the block and the tranny.  I put another coat of steel on the transmission after this photo was taken because it had a bit too much of a pink tinge to it.

Moving right along, put the heads, intake manifold and carburetor on the block.  I know for an original 1934 engine and not a hot rod I should strip the parts and paint them.  Since none of it will be seen I just left them chrome.

Finished up with the fan, belts, pulleys, and hoses.  I am not going to wire this one at all, since it will be completely hidden under the hood assembly and will never see the light of day.  In general, as far as my cars go, I am not a big fan of putting work into them just for the sake of me knowing it is there.  If it is not going to be seen then I don't think it really needs to on mine.  Personal choice.

Lindberg 1937 Cord Part One

I am really working hard on building this car.  Really, I am.  This is a good example of why I can be less than thrilled with some of the Lindberg car kits.  This one has a 17 piece body.  It is a 17 piece body which does not all fit together as well as they need to.  It has been real interesting to put parts of it together.  Here is a shot of the box.
Everything pictured on the box is not actually part of the kit.  There is no roof, no side windows.  No fog lights.  The tires are not the type with the cut out that allows you to insert plastic white walls.  I am probably going to leave the wheels chrome rather than try to paint part of the wheel red.  Although I might attempt the paint.  No windshield wipers.  No chrome pieces to cover the bottom front of the rear fenders.  Waiting on some Bare Metal Foil to come in the mail right now.  Put some of that on the fenders and the outside door handles.  No rear view mirrors included in the kit, either.  Photo of the kit on the box makes me wonder if there is another version of the kit floating around that has all the parts this one seems to be missing.

This is part of the body and most of the interior.  I have a bit of touch up to do on the frame and on the interior of the door as can be seen in the photos.  The minor details included in the kit can be painted up a bit, and I really don't love this kit enough to buy or scratch build interior details.

Below is a prime example of the work required for this kit.  The fat fenders are literally molded in halves and they do not fit together as well as they really should.  Prime, putty, sand, paint, putty, sand, paint, putty, sand...and it is about time for another coat of paint.  If the fenders are not really perfectly smooth by this point, I am tempted to just slap them on and press on.  We will see.  The headlights on this car rotated up out of the fenders but the only evidence of that on this kit is the bit of an outline on the fronts of the fenders.

Yeah, you are seeing correctly, except for the radiator and fan, the entire engine is chrome.  It is totally hidden so I am probably not going to strip it and try to paint it I don't think.  Have to do the silver tips on the ridges on the engine cover.  Silver is already painted on the front of the hood.

The instrument panel is chrome, but only part of it is supposed to stay chrome.  If you look at the shot below the roughed in instrument panel, you will see the decal sheet with the gauge decals.

With all the stuff this kit needs added in order to look good, I am probably going to continue working on the '34 Ford Pickup/Wrecker before I finish this one.

Hawk Frantic Cats 1964

What would a performance be without a fine girl and a beatnik to dance to the music.  After all, there was a reason the entire generation knew exactly what you were talking about when you said "I give it an 87, it has a great beat and you can dance to it."  This is the time period when you learned all the latest dance moves from American Bandstand and you just couldn't wait for the next dance.  These guys are probably the young college crowd rather than high school, and they might be dancing at a local club rather than in the Gym, but either way, this is the perfect set to top off the Frantics.  

The original box:

Hopefully my built up will be here someday:

Hawk Frantic Banana 1964

This is the only disappointment in the series of four kits.  Don't get me wrong, the kit is great and I played with the accessories included and printed the heck out of some upgrades until I was way too happy and spent way too much time on this kit for the simple build it was intended to be.  The disappointing part of the kit was the scale.  All the other kits in the series have two figures and are the same scale.  This kit has one figure and they made it twice as large.  Kinda keeps you from posing the band all together and that really hurts at least this figure, if not the whole set.

Original box:

My built up:

Hawk Steel Plunkers 1964

The guitar bands of the sixties would have been nowhere without a lead guitar and a bass player.  Or in this case a banjo.  I went a little over the top on these guys which seems to be what I do when I get started with the Frantics kits.  They just wanna grow up to be Juke Box Heroes.

Original box:

My built up:

Hawk Totally Fab 1964

The fab and mod sixties strike again!  Totally Fab is the lead singer of the local band.  Playing their hearts out waiting on their big break.  Screamin' at the top of their lungs and strumming hard enough to blow their amps, if it's too loud you're too old!  Totally Fab is dishing out the sound and Sally, his number one fan, is hanging on for dear life.

I haven't finished this one, so no built up yet.

Original box:

Hawk Riding Tandem 1964

Riding Tandem is generally recognized as a particular surfing subgenre involving opposite-sex partners with the man hoisting the woman into a series of lifts and poses.  Who better to help us out with the demonstration than Beach Bunny and Hot Dogger?  What is not to love about this kit?

Original box:

My built up:

Beach Bunny Catchin' Rays 1964

A beach bunny was a young woman who spent her free time at the beach.  Catchin' rays means getting a suntan.  This is a great kit, and I have seen a lot of customized versions over the years including an X-Rated one in an old issue of Kit Builders and Glue Sniffers magazine.  Love this kit!

Original box:

My built up:

Hawk Hot Dogger Hangin' Ten 1963

Hanging ten is when the surfer positions the surfboard in

 such a way that the back of it is covered by the wave and 

the wave rider is free to walk to the front of the board and 

hang all ten toes over the front of the board.  If that is not the 

very definition of a show off, a show boater, a Hot Dogger if 

you will, I do not know what is.  This can only be 

accomplished by the very best surfers.  Or at least the ones 

with really big heads compared to their bodies :)

Original box:

My built up: