Remember Your First Model Car?

The Dave "Big Deal" Deal- "Baja Humbug"

My dad put it in my crib with me and was surprised when I bashed it to bits.

It's okay, I didn't choke on any small pieces...

 

It was a a yellow with flames 46 ford. Or at least that's what it was on the box. Add and life kicked in and my dad and I still have'nt finished it after nearly 10 years.

 

for me it was either the Groovy Grader or The Tijuana Taxi....they were awesome fun !! Wish I still had 'em

 

I had one of those Graders it was actually pretty neat, it was molded in yellow I just put the decals on it and clear coated it. Didn't look too bad....at least to a 12 yr ( or so ) old...lol. But my first was the Monkey mobile, don't remember if I ever finished it but I worked on it for a long time...kinda like my full sized projects these days.

 

I like the Grader..

 

As I remember it was the "Tijuanan Taxi" by Revel.

Mine didn't look this good : http://www.showrods.com/gallery_pages/tijuana_taxi5.html

 

What happened was I bought all the models a hobby shop had left when they went out of business due to WalMartitis, and when I eventually started getting them open to check them out i discovered that the one 57 Ford kit was missing it's doors, so I scrounged a used set from a huge box of model parts I got at a farm auction, hence the gray primer on them.

The grill was sitting there for the picture, it's not glued in cock-eyed like that, but I plan to use the Meteor style grill with a set of older quad headlight adapters that the newer kits don't have any more.

I chopped the top pretty severely, and the other kit I am making into a convertible, I never have the time or ambition to work on them so there is no body work done yet, but I like chopping tops!

 

I can't remember what I was supposed to do today, but my first model car was an AMT 3-in-1 '59 Buick convertible in early '59. I wanted to get a '58 Edsel, but my dad wouldn't let me, I don't remember the reason why. The store was a supermarket at the corner of Fairgrove, and Hacienda in La Puente, California that had a pretty large selection of model cars.

I might be a little off on my facts, but as I remember it I "Dago'd" the Buick by selecting the lowest of three holes in the front for the axle, and used the highest in the rear. Also those kits came with decals that said stuff in an Old English typeface like "Screamin' Demon", and "Movin' Monster" That was some cool shit when you were a little kid in the '50s.

 

The Black Widow Put a 413 in it w/crossram

 

The best looking place to stick those name decals was at the rear of the car below the fin on the fender a little in front of the rear tailights.

 

I know the car it's based off of is OT (GASP) but I am looking for some of the old Mercury LN7 and Ford EXP kits from the 80's, any condition, any scale, prefer 1:24/1:25 if anyone has one they want to part with. I snagged a whole case of 82 Ford EXP's in 1:32 last year, all NOS, but I want the LN7 because I own 3 along side all my 1:1 classics!

Does anyone know if there was ever any 42-47 Ford truck kits produced? I've wanted to build a model of my 46 Ford glass top bus for eons, I can make all of it with sheet styrene except for the nose. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2563951/1946-ford-cab-chassis

 

1960 Pontiac, in 1960. Still building models, like to think I've got better.

 

Nice work LN7 & Rat Nasty!
LN7- I bet Deuces would have the answer to your question

 

First car model huh? That was a long time ago, probably around 1958 or 1959. I remember a Ranchero model that was motorized and a couple of Falcons that came from John's Bargain Store (might have been the original dollar store). I definitely recall pouring glue into the interior tub and enjoying the glue fumes!
First one that I spray painted was a early '60s T Bird. I painted everything the same metallic gold. Again, great fumes!

My very favorite, and a holy grail for me is the Monogram Blue Beetle. Loved that kit!
WF

 

black widow - early 60's

2nd was a model T coupe (amt???)

 

Sorry! Never seen one..

 

Dang, worth a shot though!

I'm one of those guys who wants a model of each of his real cars, but I drive a lot of "uncool" cars and trucks, so I have never seen a 52 Dodge truck, or a 37 Dodge 2 door, or a 59 Ranch wagon, or a 22 Buick touring... maybe I should have nothing but Mustangs and 57 Bel Airs!

 

Sorry, didn't read the thread title properly, doh!

 

Man, that's a BIG kit. Pricey? Gary

 

back on the right track, it was a 39 chevy coupe

 

Can't recall the "first" but sure did build a ton of Mongram models in the 70's. One of the most challenging as a kid was "Boot Hill Express". Seem to recall this model being a royal pain to build

http://www.showrods.com/gallery_pages/boot_hill1.html

 

What a cool kit! I still have mine!

 

When those (LN7's) came out in??.. The headliner on the cover of HOT ROD read: "The Hemi is back" ..... I gagged I still have that issue somewhere in a box with all my other car mags from that time period...

 

The real one is in Wyoming I think.... I could be wrong...

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mumma
Does anyone know who owns the old "BOOT HILL EXPRESS"? I saw where it sold several years ago, but I can't find out where it went.

The BOOTHILL EXPRESS - We built 3 of them. They are in various places but I believe "BO" is up for auction - without reserve - in Los Angeles, on September 2nd, 2009. When we first worked on the original hearse, we had to do a lot of restoration on the actual wood body. Ray Farhner said we might wreck it so we were told to make a fiberglass mold of everything and make duplicate pieces. Thinking we may not get all perfect pieces, Stan Nystrom and I made an extra body - besides the spare that Ray wanted - and extra duplicates of all the other pieces.

Not long after the "Original" Boothill was shown, the catcalls started, with people saying it was a fake and could never actually run. Unfortunately, the old 392 hemi did have some internal parts missing, as did the old Torqueflite, and Ray was furious at being called a faker. He said, "Make it run!" I told him it would be easier to make another one with some performance planning, instead of butchering the first one. He said, "Do it!" and that's what I did. The original had been voted the Nation's #1 showcar, in 1967 and was very popular, until word began to spread that the gearheads called it a fake and that it could never run. Before things got out of hand and killed the instant success and popularity of the thing, Ray wanted that "rumor" put to rest, once and for all. The second one, designed from day one to go down the dragstrip - fast - was "B-2" (The original was called "BO" and that was good for a bunch of laughs!). B-2 had a 426 hemi and a real Torqueflite, and a conventional "pumpkin-style" rearend. We added wheelie bars (to ALL of them) and a fitted water tank, under the seat riser, circulating water through the hemi with a Jabsco water puppy pump. I jetted the Hilborn for methanol and that is all we ever ran in it. When I ran it over 130 mph at Beeline, the skeptics were flabbergasted and became fans. That, added to the original overwhelming popularity of the concept itself, created a need for a third one - "B-3". Having made so many spare parts and pieces in the beginning, and also learning a lot along the way, B-3 was built with a 426 Hemi, 727 Torqueflite, but the old-style Ford 3-piece rear axle housing. There was no concern for rear end strength, as this one was never going to race, or lift the front wheels. It simply had to start, and run from the hauler in the parking lot, to the arena door, to go inside the show. News cameras covered that, certifying that the Boothill was, indeed, "real". It ran and drove, but was handled gently. The attention to detail, and using the right-looking parts, made it nearly indistinguishable from "BO", except to the most skilled observers. But it did run! And it looked right, too.

The thing was so popular that Farhner leased one to a West Coast show promoter, and another one to an exhibition team. The other one was proudly displayed at Ray's National Custom Auto Shows. Three "Boothill Express" showcars, at three different geological locations, all at the same time. It was that much in demand. I went back to serious fuel racing and never drove the Boothill again. I was told that nobody ever raced B-2 because nobody else was as crazy as I was. Remembering the run at Beeline, when the steering shaft snapped, I can see how that might be the case. The roll bar was next to nothing but, at that time, I would have run it without the roll bar. I actually did make a number of runs before we ever put the roll bar on it, and several more after we unbolted the bar and left it in the truck. The dedication of the new Main Street in Mesa Arizona was one such instance. But there were others. I thought I was indestructible, back then.

Well . . . . we live and learn, assuming we live!
Hal

 

Mine was a Monogram '57 Chevy Nomad... Yellow with mags and flames. My grandparents gave it to me on my birthday because I was nuts about 57 Chevys. I was probably 5 or 6, and I had it assembled that evening after birthday cake, and used all of the cool "optional" parts like the cross ram intake, the shackles, roll bar and CB. I was hooked after that and would build hundreds of models throughout my childhood. It was an awesome way to grow up and I learned so much about cars and their parts.

 

I copy/ pasted that from another forum.

 

LOL, ironically they really do have a hemispherical combustion chamber where as the new Hemis do not! (they came out in 81 as 82 models, stopped in 82 as 83 models, the Ford EXP went from 82-88.5)

Thanks, it was a good read, I was unaware for the other 2.

 

I'll have to dig that copy out and snap a pic of the cover..

 

If you have a scanner I would love a scan of it for my club!