Beyond The Sprues
Modelling => Group and Themed Builds => Fabulous '50s GB => Topic started by: PFJN on June 16, 2025, 10:25:05 AM
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Hi,
Since the Rules indicates that this GB started a couple days ago I decided to start mocking up my idea for a build. The kit I bought is a little rough, with some flash here and there. Most of it is fairly thin, but in one or two places its a bit thick. In addition to that some of the sprue gates are a bit thick and there are some protruding spots that I think were where the plastic was injected. Fortunately most of those are insude the model, but some could probably still use some sanding and fileing.
The kist contains parts for a stock and custom build long with a couple additional parts that don't seem to be used for either option. I'm guessing that either there was once a third option or that this kits maybe shared parts with another kit.
For my build I've decided to use a "fastback" roof piece that was provided as part of the custom build option and a broad hood scoop that doesn't appear to have been called out for either option, as shown below. In addition I'm also thinking of maybe trying to build up the tail fins a little and maybe add some sort of "side pipes" (or at least something that looks like side pipes). I am also in the process of cutting off the lips around the wheel wells so that I can fill them in smooth with the rest of the body. And I also instend to cover over the bottom of the car with a smooth cover and some landing skids.
Regards
Pat
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250615_215846.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250615_215904.jpg)
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Interesting, nice start :smiley:
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Hi,
Thanks. Here's an image where I've started trying to fill in the wheel wells and fair in the hood scope.
Pat
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250616_213248.jpg)
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Very interesting!
I tried something like this once and ended up tossing it as it did not work out. You have a great start.
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Hi,
I've tried something along these lines before as well and never completed them, but this time I'm hopeful :smiley:
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I think 50s-era cars make the best flying cars. This one is off to a good start.
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Ok, this looks to be heading in an interesting direction
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Hi,
I.ve been continueing to clean up closing off the wheel wells, but still have a couple flat spots on un way of where the back tires used to be that require a bit more work. In addition to that I've also started to try and extend the tail fins just a little.
:smiley:
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250617_224802.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250617_224734.jpg)
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Looks like a promising start-I sure don't envy you the sanding!
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Hi,
I think I'm almost done with the main body mods and have started moving along to attaching the roof and modifying the interior, as shown below.
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250618_203837.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250618_203804.jpg)
I'm thinking of maybe calling it either the "Preatorian" or the "Proconsul". In addition to maybe either "sidepipes" (or something that looks similar) I have also been thinking of mayb e trying to add some trim along that crease near the top of the door leading aft from the side vent forward, that would maybe look a bit like a Roman Spear or Javelin or something similar, as shown below. Other than that I also want to modify the grille somehow, but haven't fully figured that out yet.
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Mod.jpg)
:smiley:
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I'm thinking of maybe calling it either the "Preatorian" or the "Proconsul
Nicknamed the Prostitute, since it would have no visible means of support? Or call it the Atlatl or Amentum if you want to go with a spear theme.
You could add a chrome trim going from the base of the fins along the transition from top to sides and ending in two spear points over the front lights.
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This is looking like a “lead sled” to me! Lead sled was an old hot rodding term for a car chopped and lowered with the body welded back together and filled with lead instead of a synthetic filler. It’s a complimentary term.
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Swift work and looking like what I thought it might look like.
Doors going back into the same locations ?
Etherium is my punt at a model name.
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As a 1/1 car guy with various 50s & 60s cars must say 'is looking good' :smiley:
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Will it have some visible means of propulsion and/or flotation?
The sidepipe in the picture looks massive. When there are no wheels, should a sidepipe be sunk into the body?
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Hi,
Good questions. I haven't got everything thought out yet, but people here have some really good suggestions :smiley: .
I may need to play around with the side pipe sizes.
I'm also thinking of a three tone paint, with maybe a gloss white roof, a gloss black upper body, and a medium gray lower body.
Regards
Pat
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There is always the gloss black and flat black combo. IIRC it’s usually flat black on the hood/bonnet and gloss on the sides. There are many variations on that I’m sure.
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Massive can be good or bad. Depends ;D
Perhaps side pipes can be turned into a means of propulsion or hovering?
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Hi,
Thats kind of along the lines of what I've been thinking when I referred tio them as "side pipes" or "something similar", assuming that they may actually just be some part of the hover systm hanging off the side that look kind of like 1950s era side pipes.
Meanwhile, I started doing some painting. I started with the interior, and ended up with reddish brown ("leather") seats with a dark chrome and very dark gray (almost black) dash, as shown below. The metallic paint is called "Metallic Zinc" (I think) while the very dark gray is called "Wrought Iron", though it ended up being so close toblack that I don't notice much difference. I also painted the carpeting "dark brown", though I may end up changing it to either black or wrought iron as well.
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250619_224237.jpg)
One problem I often end up with on builds like this is that I don't always think things through all that well initially, and sometimes end up with a situation like for this build's interior where I glued some parts together before painting them, making it more difficult than it had to be to paint them later :(
For the interior I also cut way the "transmission tunnel" that was in the original kit, since I figured it probably wouldn't be needed for a hover car. Other than that I am still working on the steering wheel, and any other controls that may seem like a good idea to put into the interior. I was hoping to maybe cutaway part of the steering wheel to make it look more like a control yoke and then also add something on the floor (where the shifter was in the original kit) that could maybe be something like a "collective" from a helicopter or something similar.
For the exterior I blackened in the grille with some panel line marker stuff and am pretty much happy with the results, as shown below.
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250619_224453.jpg)
Initially I tried painting the exterior Black, White and Gray like I mantioned in a previous post, but noticed the car was begining to look a little bit like a Black and White Police car, so I decided to a dark gray and a light gray in place of the black and white. It turns out the colors that I picked (from my existing collection of paints) are flat paints, whereas I was initially intending to make the exterior glossy, but after seeing the build with flat colors I kind of like it, so I'm not fully sure if I should leave the exterior flat or not.
I still have to mask off the line between the light and dark gray aft and I am also still considering adding some additional bits to the forward grille, but things are moving along.
Regards
Pat :smiley:
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Oops, another change of plan.
After removing the tape separating the upper body from the lower body I began to think that maybe the color I was using for the roof might be too close to the color I was planing to use for the bottom of the build. And as I tried to mark off the dematkation line between the roof and the rest of the car I began to think that it also made the planned paint scheme look a little weird. As such, I dug up some paint from my collection called "Titanium White" which is kind of a very bright white and decided to use that for the roof instead.
However instead of painting the entire "fastback" all white I decided to only paint the section of the roof forward of the rear window white, with the rest of it painted the same dark gray as the top of the car body, as shown below. Because I figured that the white will probably take several coats, with drying time and maybe a bit of light sanding/polishing in between coats, I haven't taped off the demarkation between the white and dark gray yet as I want to make sure that the white looks good and ready to go before finalizing everything.
I am liking the new look though, and it made everything easier for me since I was able to paint the underside of the roof and the aft "deck" under the back of the "fastback" roof all the same color as the rest of the top of the car body. :smiley:
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250620_003215.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250620_003232.jpg)
PS. I also put the demarkation line between the upper and lower parts of the main car body to line up with the front and back bumper, and I am thinking of maybe putting the "Javelin/Spear" chrome accessory along that line instead of along the knckle in the body shape that I mentioned previously.
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Still looking great though :smiley:
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I like the color demarcation along the body.
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I like the color demarcation along the body.
Me too. And moving your "Javelin/Spear" chrome down to that demarcation line is a good choice :smiley:
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Hi,
I've been progressing on this build but have been slowed by a couple small issues with fit and alignment.
The first problem I encountered was with my alignment of the interior with the rest of the car body. In this kit the interior consists mainly of two pieces,
- a bottom "bucket" that includes the seats, flooer, lower side walls, and lower front wall,
- and a "U shaped" piece that includes the dashboard which curves around on both sides to also include the upper door parts
When I first put this together it looked good, but once I installed it I found that the two pieces were just out of alignement enough that if the back end of the interior (which is part of the lower, bucket piece) was in correct alignment with the rest of the car body, then the dashboard was just a slight bit angled to the left, which made putting the windscreen in difficult. And in additiom I had trouble getting the "doors" to fit correctlyinto the opening in the car body. As such, I ended up having to pull the interior out, and pull the two pieces apart and fir them separately into the body, rather than gluing them togethr first. This allowed me to better make sure that the dash/U-shaped piece fit in correctly, with any smal gaps btween the two pieces just appearing to be part of the "door" joint, as shown below. It also allowed me to repaint the interior a little better, where I decided to do it mostly in shades of brown instead of the brown and black that I was using previously.
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250622_160217.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250622_160302.jpg)
Next I found out that I had "mislocated" the roof piece on the car by just a very small amount, leaving a small gap between the forward roof line and the windscreen frame. In addition to it being just a bit too far aft, the roof piece was offcenter by just a small amount making the gap slightly wider on one side than the other. As such I pulled the roof off and resanded and repainted the back end of the car body, as shown in the images above. I can now correctly align it with the windsheild frame, though on one build that I have seen online of the parent model kit, that builder didn't glue his roof in place, allowing him to swap it out with the normal hardtop shape or even leave it off all together so that the car was an opentop convertible. I'm considereing doing the same as shown below.
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250622_160206.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250622_160145.jpg)
Two other issues remaining are that the "clear" windsheild piece provided in the kit is slightly bigger than the windscreen frame meaning that I may need to carefully trim the clear piece to make everything fit. And, I've currently painted over the windscreen frame when I installed it, so that I will need to either try and "rechrome" it somehow or repaint it.
:smiley:
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There is always foil. Or the various paint pens.
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Cool, I'll look into those ;)
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Hi,
I've started closing off the bottom of the car.
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250625_223925.jpg)
Next I'll have to give some thought to adding some "landing skids/pads" somewhere. I have a couple different ideas on how to proceed but I'm not fully sure yet which way to go.
One thought is to do "open" landing skids like on a Huey Helicopter. This could either be a single skid along each side, or a smaller pair forward and a smaller pair aft (kind of replacing the wheels from the original kit).
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/UH1_Huey_-_Fly_Navy_2017_%2826938005897%29.jpg)
Another thought would be something similar but fully enclosed, like they have on the bottom on some air cushion vehicles, like shown in this image of the bottom of a plastic model (from Trunmpeter) of the US Navy's LCAC hovercraft. (The small ridges along the bottom are structural stifferners while the four big shapes fore and aft near the outer edges are large closed aluminum shapes that support the craft when it is "off cushion").
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/LCAC_Bottom.jpg)
Pat
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The landing skids sound cool!
Some sprues come with a circle in the middle. If you cut the circle and file and sand it to an airfoil shape it works well as the legs.
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Hi,
That's an interesting idea :smiley:
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Helicopter skids would look too normal :P
Some side pipes might work as landing stands 8)
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Then there is this guy…….
https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeTemplatesOfficial/comments/jfk74d/helicopter_taking_off_without_landing_skids/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeTemplatesOfficial/comments/jfk74d/helicopter_taking_off_without_landing_skids/)
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Yikes :o
Here is where I currently am at. The first two images show the build from the side and bottom with some parts of the "side pipe" like attachment taped into place. The second two images show a cartoon like sketch that I did over those images showing what I have in mind for the "side pipes" when completed. And the last image shows some options I'm thinking of for the bottom of those parts.
In general I'm thinking that these items will be maybe part of the lift system for the hover car, and as such in the 1st option for the bottom of the piece I was thinking of breaking the shape up into smaller panels that might look like they are meant to "glow/radiate". For the second option instead I just have some "ridges"
Pat
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Prof2.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Btm2.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Prof1.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Btm1.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Alts.jpg)
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Interesting! Carry on!
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Yes moving along nicely :smiley:
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From my YouTube video recommendations this morning: YouTube > Found and Explained > What happened to flying cars? Air Car 2500 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_n4A0xqpl8)
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Hi,
That was interesting :smiley:
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Hi,
That was interesting :smiley:
It was worth the time taken to watch for certain. I still like the AirGeep over the hover car.
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Hi,
I agree. In the meantime I've started adding the "side pipe"/lift devices to my build, as well as started on adding the "spear" trim to the side, as shown below. I really have no ideas on how the "side pipe" things are supposed to work but I just liked the idea of adding something that look like side pipes and also thought that maybe making thm part of the lift system might be an interesting idea :smiley:
Regards
Pat
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250629_232731.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250629_232747.jpg)
PS. I eventually intedn to trim the back end of the pipes so that they don't extend so far behind the car. I just made them extra long for now because I was sure exactly where to fit everything, and wanted to have a little extra length to play with.
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Good thinking! It’s a lot easier to make something shorter than to try and make it longer again! Kind of an add on to the “measure twice, cut once” law.
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Hi,
I've been making slow but steady progress. I'm almost done with the basic building but still need to add the "Spear Tips", some grille details, and then do alot more sanding and filling, as shown below.
Over the last week or two I've been going back and forth on a couple things and have;
- mostly finished up the "side pipe" like appendages
- finalized the landing gear to be skid like appendages at the corners that are intended to be partially retracted when the craft is hovering
- revised the fastback roof to make it a little shorter and I also changed it back to all white in color
- dechromed most of the chrome parts so that I can repaint them the same color as the side "spear"
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/x20250707_204125.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/x20250707_204138.jpg)
For the Grille I'm thinking of adding a couple pieces (that look a bit like teeth) that will be in chrome. Right now I am considering three different options,
- one that looks like the car has a little bit of an "over bite" with the "teeth" extending down from the top of the grille
- one that looks like the car has a little bit of an "under bite" with the "teeth" extending up from the bottom of the grille
- one the has large "teeth" outboard extending down, with smaller "teeth" inboard extending up
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Grille.jpg)
Regards
Pat
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- one that looks like the car has a little bit of an "over bite" with the "teeth" extending down from the top of the grille
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/Grille.jpg)
Like the top left one = Dracula fangs ;) :smiley:
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I like the vampire teeth, too.
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Hi,
I think I may go with that then ;)
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Tow Mater teeth?
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4VxEPhl03ww/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLB2lvb_9t2kriN5dVKjicHySfsMnw)
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That could be a possibility :D
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Tow Mater teeth?
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4VxEPhl03ww/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLB2lvb_9t2kriN5dVKjicHySfsMnw)
That was one of the funniest Disney characters in a long time!
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I find the first two tooth options (up only and down only) somehow comical. The third one (up and down) looks more serious. Maybe it is just me.
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Try this . . .
https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/68677cc2343ab_r16muanmvs4f1-jpeg__700.jpg (https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/68677cc2343ab_r16muanmvs4f1-jpeg__700.jpg)
cheers,
Robin.
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"Cars that ate Paris" ;D
This is really coming along and getting its own identity now.. nice work :smiley:
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Try this . . .
https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/68677cc2343ab_r16muanmvs4f1-jpeg__700.jpg (https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/68677cc2343ab_r16muanmvs4f1-jpeg__700.jpg)
cheers,
Robin.
Yikes - :o - ;)
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Third option gor me, makes it a little cat like :smiley: :D
Mog
>^-.-^<
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Hi,
Sorry for not posting much lately. A couple things came up, including having my air conditioning go out :( . Other than that, I had also rethought the color for my build. My sister thought that the dark gray looked a little too much like primer so I tried a couple different options. Initially I tried a gloss metallic blue but had troubles getting an even/uniform color. I seem to have a lot of issues with trying to brush paint gloss colors. So I next tried a kind of bright medium blue color called "Look at Me Blue", as shown below. Overall it does stick out a bit.
Lately, I have been mostly lightly sanding and buffing the paint to smooth out any brush strokes and paint unevenness, though its been taking a lot of time. As such, I haven't had a lot to show lately. Soon though I'm hoping to finish off the Blue, so that I can focus on cleaning up the chrome, and then the build will be mostly finished. :smiley:
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250727_215510.jpg)
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It’s coming along well. I like the blue. Most of the colors in the 50s were pretty simple and straightforward so this looks good.
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Good call on the colours. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:
Mog
>^-.-^<
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Hi,
Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I had a few issues come up around my house and then once I got back to the build it was mostly just painting, sanding and buffing for a while.
In the end I had a bit of trouble trying to get a good smooth paint job. Most my previous kitbash builds have been either ships or planes (and one work truck) that didn't require a glossy polished surface. So messing around with the paint job for this build was kind of a learning experience for me. Unfortunately between changing colors mid-build and doing some puttying and to try and fair in some add on parts I learned that I initially probably didn't get the surface smooth engouh initially, and so one I tried to gloss coat it and polish it, I ended up sanding/buffing through the top coat a couple times (and I think you may be able to still see a few such spots in the images below. As such, I kind of now realize the importance of trying to get a smooth surface at each step along the build rather than just figuring that you can work it all out in the end.
I may try and do a little more clean up (especially around the windscreen and silver trim parts) but I'm hoping to finish this off some time this week :)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250902_225006.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250902_225016.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250902_225011.jpg)
(https://www.mnvdet.com/Other/Misc/20250902_225047.jpg)
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1950s Hover Car:
- Ginormous rear fins = Check!
- Vast swathes of chrome = Check!
- Outrageous side profile = Check!
- Swoopy, curved windows = Check!
- Huge lift/exhaust/propulsion = Check!
I think we have lift off :smiley: :smiley:
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1950s Hover Car:
- Ginormous rear fins = Check!
- Vast swathes of chrome = Check!
- Outrageous side profile = Check!
- Swoopy, curved windows = Check!
- Huge lift/exhaust/propulsion = Check!
I think we have lift off :smiley: :smiley:
;)
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Winner!