Ghost Kits - Shown But Never Released

[Mercman]

actually that garbage truck was issued...just not as the garbage truck...body itself i dont think made it into production anywhere for i would have bought several for just the body!

I am sure it was I saw one on a diorama in MPLS. done by the model club there back in the 70's.

[Fabrux]

How about that Blue Thunder Blazer?

[Ben]

Mpc did release a couple different versions of that stepside Chevy pickup in 1/16 and I have that Street Charger?

[1972coronet]

I don't have any pics to share , but I'm certain that never-the-less most of you will at least recall these kits :

1.) 1968 Hurst-Hemi Dart . Originally slated for release in 1996 , it was mentioned in the 1995 Revell-Monogram catalogue . A photo of a red 1:1 was pictured in the back pages of the catalogue.

2.) 1983 Corvette . The only year that the Corvette wasn't produced since its 1953 intro ! Truly , the 1984 models were the same thing as the slated '83 models . Production was postponed as the engineers worked feverously to get those digitised instruments to function .

I remember when that other model car magazine ran an article on "ghost kits" , back in '84 or '85 (maybe at late as '86 or '87 ...)

[Casey]

Mpc did release a couple different versions of that stepside Chevy pickup in 1/16

They released three 1/16 Action Snaps kits which included Chevy cabs of that same era, but they were toy-like kits with utility beds, very different from what was proposed. Maybe they are what became of this idea.

[pharoah]

I did a search a few years ago on the Ford garbage truck.

I found an article (somewhere) that they had gotten as far as making the large scale wooden pieces that they used to make the molds with. something happened to them over a weekend and they warped beyond repair. They decided not to make another set and it was shelved. Too bad I wanted one..

The 1983 Corvette didn't happen either. but there is real one at the Corvette museum in Bowling Green,KY. I saw it when I was there . it's on a rotating table ,and has different wheels on each side. It looks like an 84.

[mikemodeler]

I believe the MPC 78 Monte Carlo was reissued a few years back as an iHobby show special. I have one in my stash and will build it some day, just like all the others!

[pack rat]

I believe the MPC 78 Monte Carlo was reissued a few years back as an iHobby show special. I have one in my stash and will build it some day, just like all the others!

The RCHTA special is a 1980 Monte Carlo, the same kit re-issued by Round2 as the Class Action kit

[Greg Myers]

Accurate Minatures' NASCAR 1999 Ford Taurus. Made it into their catalog, even made it into tooling, was never released. Test shots exist.

AM's 289 Cobra Roadster

[Greg Myers]

Shelby Daytona Coupe from Academy

[maltsr]

And then there were the '49 Oldsmobile and '50 Studebaker announced but never released by AMT back in 2000....

[MAGNUM4342]

Mpc did release a couple different versions of that stepside Chevy pickup in 1/16 and I have that Street Charger?

Actually, I think the 1/16th Street Charger kit just happened to be on the same page as the truck that never was and Casey didn't mean it was a "never was" kit. The Street Charger was issued twice after the Petty version. First in black as the "Street Charger" and later in red as the "Charger street machine".

...and yes, later on again as the General Lee. I would LOVE a set of the wheels in the red version!

Edited April 20, 2013 by MAGNUM4342

[peekay]

Around 1995 Italeri announced a Jaguar XJ6/12 in magazine adds. My patience is running out.

[Luc Janssens]

Around 1995 Italeri announced a Jaguar XJ6/12 in magazine adds. My patience is running out.

I think it was earlier then that, '84 or so. On that same page they tested the waters showing pics from a then current BMW 7 series and a Volvo 760, only the Volvo materialized.

On page 7, of the November/December 1995 issue of Ertl's Blueprinter magazine, there's another announcement hidden.....a '96 Dodge Ram Sport (kit #8247). Five or so years later when talking with one of the former Amt R&D guy's, I learned that the project went as far as the 1/10th scale wooden tooling model of the body. Why it was killed I never found out, but maybe Ertl got word of Revell's Ram VTS kit.

BTW, my first ever email was about this subject, asking Larry Greenberg, at SAE or CM if he could find out more....

[Ben]

They released three 1/16 Action Snaps kits which included Chevy cabs of that same era, but they were toy-like kits with utility beds, very different from what was proposed. Maybe they are what became of this idea.

My bad, I was thinking of the Revell 1/16 Chevy stepside pickup kits.

[chevyfever2009]

How about Revell's 87 Olds Cutlass and Buick Regal?

yes but they released the grand national which basically the same body with just different nose and tail pieces as the other two

[Casey]

yes but they released the grand national which basically the same body with just different nose and tail pieces as the other two

True, Revell did release a Buick GN DONK which is based on the 1/24 Monogram Buick GN kit, but it never had the landau top nor sunroof as shown on the green built up, nor the different Regal grille. Note also that the proposed Cutlass and Regal DONKs were to be 1/25 scale.

[Luc Janssens]

True, Revell did release a Buick GN DONK which is based on the 1/24 Monogram Buick GN kit, but it never had the landau top nor sunroof as shown on the green built up, nor the different Regal grille. Note also that the proposed Cutlass and Regal DONKs were to be 1/25 scale.

If there's enough interest I guess they could add an extra grille and bumpers to the chrome tree, the landau top, would require tooling another body or modifying the current one, IIRC the GN / GNX kit has some symmetrical issues on the 1/4 windows, a retool can fix that;but again it boils down to costs vs return....and 1/24 vs 1/25

[Art Anderson]

The garbage truck was released, along with the Ryder truck also. The garbage truck was a early 70's release, and the Louisville with the Ryder decals has been done several times with different logo's.

Sorry,

AMT never even tooled the Garbage Truck. I was given the commission to do the packer body on the C-600 straight frame chassis in October 1977, but the reaction to the proposal, even with the builtup at the HIAA Trade Show in Houston TX was very poor (bear in mind, at trade shows, items are pitched to buyers for the companies which order and distribute hobby products, NOT individual modelers). The last I saw of the AMT Garbage Truck display model was at LaGrange Hobby Shop in LaGrange IL, in July 1982.

Art

[Art Anderson]

Another "Ghost Model" was the 1/25 scale model of the 1928 Miller '91' driven by Louis Meyer (later of Meyer-Drake Offenhauser engines). That was shown at the Hobby Industry Trade Association Trade Show at the Sherman House Hotel in downtown Chicago in January 1966. Apparently, it died due to a lack of interest on the part of wholesalers and retail hobby shop owners.

Art

[Mark]

The 1967 Auto World catalog mentions the MPC Miller "91", as well as the MPC "Stilleto", a show car commissioned by Bob Larivee and built by Ron Gerstner. The same catalog also mentions an AMT Porsche 911 in 1/25 scale.

The 1969 Auto World catalog lists a Jo-Han 1969 Roadrunner convertible kit, but it never appeared. Years ago, I was dealing with a collector in the Midwest, who was selling kits for someone else. The guy who had the kits (a two-car garage full, stacked from floor to rafters) gave the seller an inventory list. On that list was a Jo-Han '69 RR convertible kit. Both guys tore the garage apart looking for it (the seller was a Mopar fanatic and wanted that kit) but no such kit was in there.

AMT announced several 1970 annual kits that never appeared, including an El Camino, Mercury Cougar (MPC made both hardtop and convertible, but AMT stopped after '69), Falcon, Corvair (in this case, Chevrolet stopped after '69), Cadillac Eldorado (likely a re-boxed Jo-Han kit), and Galaxie XL fastback. Other 1970 AMT kits that did appear differed from the announced versions (LTD four-door and Buick Wildcat were originally $2.00 customizing kits but appeared as $1.00 unassembled promos, the Chevelle was an SS396 instead of the 454 that was issued).

AMT announced a 1977 Gremlin annual kit. The 1:1 '77 Gremlin had new front end sheetmetal, and the V8 option was dropped during '76 (fewer than 500 '76 V8 Gremlins were sold) so AMT would have had to make a lot of changes to keep the kit correct...so they quit after '76.

[Fabrux]

IMC Dodge Diesel LVT-1000

[Nick Winter]

I remember seeing a '69 Fury kit (by Johan, I think) in that year's Auto World catalog. It was a four-door sedan, too. Sigh...

You are correct it was to be released as another Police car, Chicago PD if I remember right Or it might have been Detroit PD (Blue & White car anyway, and both were using blue/white at the time and both were using '69 Fury's at the time)

I have a copy of one of the ad's, I'll have to try and find it, I wish it had made it to production would have been a good base for a conversion to build my 1:1 toy.

Nick

[Edsel-Dan]

I remember Auto World showing a Different Fury on the Jo-Han

Kit, but I believe it was a 70 or 71 Fury not a 69.

I do recall it has twin grills like the Local City cruisers here at the time.

They ran Plymouths till getting a Maverick around 74.

[Nick Winter]

I remember Auto World showing a Different Fury on the Jo-Han

Kit, but I believe it was a 70 or 71 Fury not a 69.

I do recall it has twin grills like the Local City cruisers here at the time.

They ran Plymouths till getting a Maverick around 74.

The add I saw and have shows all of Johan's '69 Releases, the Fury was the only one on the page not released. There were no Twin Grills on Fuselage Fury's till '72-'73, and there's no way a '72-'73 looks anything like a '69, or '70-'71.

Nick

Edited April 26, 2013 by Nick Winter