1/25 AMT "Northwind" '62 Chevy Bel Air Super Stock

[Mark]

I haven't got an original grille in front of me, but as I recall the grille bars lacked detail and looked a bit thick. The vertical and horizontal bars may have been the same thickness also (look at the 1:1 grille; the vertical bars are way thinner). I had intended to cast a corrected piece, but just after starting on the master the Nicholson issue appeared with the corrected grille.

[Brett Barrow]

ps, till just the past few days, this is the only color picture of this car I have ever been able to find.

I can see the ft edge of the hood is gold, top of the hood is red, is it the same treatment on the decklid

is the cowl area red or gold? same for the area betwen the decklid and the base of the rear glass?

Hard to tell, but I think the cowl and tulip panel are gold, but the trunk doesn't have the gold across it like the hood.

*EDIT* Scratch that, after looking at the rear pic on a different monitor, I now think it has the gold like the hood.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Brett Barrow

[Greg Myers]

What kind of headers come in the kit ? Something like these ?

[Casey]

What kind of headers come in the kit?

[Brett Barrow]

I think the spacing of the "bars" was wrong, but it's long since been corrected.

Thanks for posting those pics, Brett.

All those came from about 5 minutes digging on one thread over at the HAMB. "Northwind" got lots of search hits, so there might be more, but there's also a rail dragster with the same name.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201085&highlight=northwind

[Fabrux]

I looked through my stash and found I have no less than four copies of this kit...! Unfortunately the only "correct" grille I have has been started by the fellow I got it from. The tree on the left is from the original 1993 issue with the blue car on the box and the grille on the right is from the Walmart issue with the red car on the box.

[Bob Ellis]

My first issue AMT '62 Belair had the incorrect grille as well.

[Brett Barrow]

These are hitting distributors now, so keep an eye out for them to hit the shops this week.

[mikemopar70]

Good to see this one again, one of their better efforts, and I love that new box art. I did this stock version last year...

Peekay, your Bel-Air is gorgeous!!!

[mikemopar70]

I looked through my stash and found I have no less than four copies of this kit...! Unfortunately the only "correct" grille I have has been started by the fellow I got it from. The tree on the left is from the original 1993 issue with the blue car on the box and the grille on the right is from the Walmart issue with the red car on the box.

I have all issues of these 1962 from AMT, and the last reissue of the Bel-Air (red on box) and the Impala convertible has the right and accurate grille included...

[Dan Rosenello]

Does anyone know if this kit will actually have chrome reverse wheels as pictured ? I know the originals ones didn't. I wonder......

[Brett Barrow]

Does anyone know if this kit will actually have chrome reverse wheels as pictured ? I know the originals ones didn't. I wonder......

Nope, just the regular unplated steel wheels. Content-wise it's the same as the Super Stock kits but with the small sprue with the Torq-Thrusts and Offenhauser finned valve covers and cross-ram intake added from the showroom stock version (seen here in gray plastic, new kit is off-white).

Edited June 6, 2014 by Brett Barrow

[gtx6970]

So the box art shows it has chrome reverese wheels,,yet none are included in the kit ?

[Rob Hall]

So the box art shows it has chrome reverese wheels,,yet none are included in the kit ?

Well, it shows an illustration of a 1:1 car with what appears to be chrome reverse wheels on the top. Is there a photo of an actual model w/ such wheels on the box sides? Content doesn't always match illustrations.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Rob Hall

[Deano]

So the box art shows it has chrome reverese wheels,,yet none are included in the kit ?

Since the steel wheels are on a tree where nothing else would be chrome it would be reasonable to assume that the wheels would, likewise, not be chrome. Looking at the reference pics, it appears that the wheels weren't always chrome on the 1:1 either.

[rasafyff]

Nope, just the regular unplated steel wheels. Content-wise it's the same as the Super Stock kits but with the small sprue with the Torq-Thrusts and Offenhauser finned valve covers and cross-ram intake added from the showroom stock version (seen here in gray plastic, new kit is off-white).

+

As for the incorrect grille, I'm pretty sure this is the only boxing that you'd need to worry about having the incorrect grille:

I think the first kit that had the corrected grille was the Don Nicholson Super Stock.Issued in 1995.

The Hayden Proffitt and Old Reliable kits issued in 1993 have the incorrect grille.

[Brett Barrow]

I think the first kit that had the corrected grille was the Don Nicholson Super Stock.Issued in 1995.

The Hayden Proffitt and Old Reliable kits issued in 1993 have the incorrect grille.

Yeah, you're right. The worst part is I have both of those versions! I was thinking the Dyno Don was the first Super Stock kit and the others came after.

[johnbuzzed]

1993? 1995? Holy cow, it seems like just yesterday that this kit was introduced!

[Luc Janssens]

1993? 1995? Holy cow, it seems like just yesterday that this kit was introduced!

Know how you feel, still remember seeing the announcement of the all new '66 Ford Fairlane GT/GTA kit in the Blueprinter magazine...

Or the all new Monogram '83 Ford Mustang convertible, I saw in the then all new '83 Monogram catalog, I remember thinking September (the release month) being far away (got the catalog in Feb.) and after the 2 month summer vacation from school...then I was almost 15, now almost 46...time sure flies

[W-409]

Looks like this kit has arrived in Model RoundUp. In my opinion $21.90 is not a bad price, either. This is one kit I really need to have!

http://www.modelroundup.com/product-p/amt-r2-865.htm

[Brett Barrow]

Here's a peek at the kit contents. My kit came from a case that was badly damaged during shipment to the distributor (a freebie - one of the perks of working in the business!), so some parts were broken off. The full stock exhaust is int there, it's just broken off on mine. Note that only the race kit specific tree with the raised front suspension, headers, and Z-11 engine parts is included - if they had included the equivalent tree from the showroom stock kits then we could have had a true 3 'n 1 style kit with stock, custom, and race variants. It's still nice to see the Torq-Thrusts (probably the best AMT-sized Torq-Thrusts out there) and the cool Offy cross-ram intake and ribbed valve covers in there. Some folks have pointed out the the box art shows chrome wheels, but since the wheels are on the tree with the hood and the engine parts it wouldn't have been feasible to plate that sprue. I suppose Round2 could have thrown in the chrome wheels from the 36 Ford, but those aren't the right style. So Alclad, plating, or alternate parts will be necessary if want chrome rims. I couldn't get a decent picture of the tires - you get 4 of the parts-pack Firestones (without any tampo printing) and 2 of the Parts Pack Goodyear slicks (also without any printing). Bit surprised they didn't use the pie-crust M&H slicks like the 62 Catalina, but it's possible they might not fit this kit. The new hollow Parts Park Goodyears are the same size as the solid Goodyears used in previous versions of this kit. Molded in scripts are still sharp, this tooling has held up well. There's only one spot on the engine sprue where flash affects any kit parts.

Corrected grille, of course!

My stock exhausts were broken off, they're in the kit.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Brett Barrow

[Brett Barrow]

Race-specific sprue:

Decals are a bit disappointing, the passenger side "Northwind" should be straight across the bottom and slants upwards, they made them both in the style of the driver's side which is straight across the top and slants downwards. Also the "Engine By" and names are gray, in photos these appear to be light blue.

Noticed I forgot to take a picture of the clear sprue and clear red tailights. This kit is a rarity in that it has full side windows..

Edited June 11, 2014 by Brett Barrow

[jjsipes]

Decals are disappointing I guess it's good I still have my Fred Cady sheet.

[gtx6970]

I am glad to see this kit back on the shelves as I think it's one of AMT's better efforts and should sell well ,,,,,,,but the lack of pre-plated rims and the decal error makes it a bit dis-appointing to me.( good thing I have the Fred cady sheet as well )

box art is cool though and I may buy one just for that.

Between all the previous variants I have probably close to a dozen on the shelf as it is.

[Brett Barrow]

Yeah, in hindsight I would rather they had included the stock suspension tree and just made it a retro-Trophy Series 3 in 1 kit with a fictional race version. It is a kit that deserves to be in regular rotation in the AMT lineup. Good to have it back. I have 4 now, plus 2 Revell 62 Impalas and a Lindberg 61, love my 409's!

As an OOtB replica of the Northwind A/Stock in 1964 with the gold trim, it's a little disappointing. They cold have done the earlier all-red version which plenty of pictures show with painted wheels, but that's not as attractive IMO. Still a great kit. Maybe Round2 will consider the 3 in 1 version for the future.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Brett Barrow