Mark

SMP waffled on the "separate roof for hardtops" thing. The '59 Impala annual also used a separate roof for the hardtop, as did the '61 Corvair (which lacked door frames/pillars as it should have been a coupe). I can't recall any AMT annual kit of that period having a separate hardtop roof.

'61 Imperials were SMP. SMP was a separate company (albeit with investment by AMT) though they were joined at the hip marketing-wise. I believe they had at least some separate engineering staff, as there are differences in design. SMP kit bodies tend to not be as thick as AMT in panel thickness, and most also seem to be roughly finished on the inside compared to AMT. SMP was bought out by AMT in August 1961. A handful of '62 Imperial convertible kits came in SMP branded boxes (identical to AMT but for the similar logo). About half of the Styline '62 Valiant kits are in SMP boxes, with the rest AMT. If you have a '62 Impala annual kit (either hardtop or convertible), check the little custom license plate on the plated tree...it still has "SMP" on it.

AMT/SMP did some goofy stuff back then. Since the 1959 kit has been reissued, it would seem that the '60 was an entirely new tool which was then altered to produce '61, '62, and so on. I do believe the '61 has a separate roof for the hardtop. It's amazing that Chrysler actually ordered Imperial convertible promos in those years, because they sold so few 1:1 convertibles. Then again, Ford ordered '60 Edsel promos when they knew they were pulling the plug on the car even before the '59 came out.

The one available now is a newer tool, and 1/24 scale. The older one has been reissued in a bunch of different versions, but not lately. The Barris issue (only issued once) is the only one with the custom pseudo-Rolls parts however, and it's one of the toughest ones to find as it wasn't available long.

Modelhaus sold a copy of the Modified Stocker piece. Not sure if theirs was changed from the original in any way.

Don't think so. If someone did, they'd probably have done the cab too (with the one-piece curved windshield).

The Modified Stocker Galaxie bucket still has the doglegs for the convertible boot.

Sure did. The Sizzler package (looked sort of like a 340 Demon) could be had with the six, as could the base model.

They may have been copies of the '64 Galaxie Modified Stocker unit. The stock kit is entirely different and does not have that interior.

That's a later kit. To keep the price in check, they went to the one-piece box with the printing directly on the cardboard. Does it still include a decal sheet? Considering the low price, which dictated the simple tooling design which in turn forced the use of multiple piece bodies, most of those kits are actually quite well executed.

RustOleum is too busy manufacturing a half dozen different "chrome" spray paints in different brands, all with vacuum metalized caps on the cans that don't come close to resembling what is actually in the cans...

I'd bet that the passenger car versions built in the Soviet Union back in the day all used the same (commercial version) running boards. They do interchange on the 1:1 cars and light trucks. Occasionally you'll see over-restored trucks with the rubber covered car running boards.

Paint, being one of the last things you do on a model (besides final assembly), isn't the place to experiment, at least on the model itself. Better to test first on something expendable. Like Ed Roth once said, "don't mutilate unless its cheap!" Not that you can't use cheap paint...you just have to test first. There are videos all over YouTube dealing with airbrushing cheap craft paints, and every so often you can turn up automotive touch-up spray cans at the closeout stores. You only need to experiment beforehand to see what works with what. Every so often though, you'll still hear about someone who took two or three steps backward on a project after just grabbing the first spray can within reach and blasting away...

Hopefully they'll issue this one with other body styles later on. I've got a couple of the Monogram kits (including a stock one) so I don’t need another phaeton. A pickup, now that's another story...

I don't know if the last one pictured can be moved off-center to the steering column, but it does have the "spinner" off to the left. The driver could grab that small handle and turn the wheel like a crank. My older brother bought one of those to flip on eBay about fifteen years ago. It was a GM accessory for a '40 or '41 Chevy. It needed a complete restoration but was all there; a lowrider guy paid around $1,000 for it nevertheless.