VW93 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Were the tools for the AMT Maverick and JoHan Maverick the same? I did some research on the Drastic Plastic instructions page and they look similar. Also did AMT ever make a Comet in the same style body as the Maverick? Last question, does anyone make any resin replacement parts for the JoHan Comet and do any Maverick body parts interchange? I checked Modelhaus and they do not have any parts listed for a Comet. They did have some parts listed for 1971 Comet Cyclone but I'm assuming they are for the Mid size Mercury. I'm looking for a hood, front bumper/grill, rear bumper, taillights and glass. Thanks Edited November 24, 2014 by VW93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I'm looking for a hood, front bumper/grill, rear bumper, taillights and glass. Thanks Needing that much stuff, you might be better off just looking for a new kit. Fortunately, the Comet was one of the last JoHan kits produced/sold (along with the Scrambler, AMX, and '70 4-4-2) under the Testor name, and thus should be among the easiest JohHans to find/afford. You could also haunt eBay for a clean, restorable glue bomb. Good luck with your project and keep us posted on your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW93 Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Snake45, thanks for the reply. I have a JoHan Pro Street edition that was used by someone to build a drag slot car. I acquired an unpainted mint body at a local swap meet. I was hoping someone may have the parts from what they've accumulated over the years as I have!! I don't do ebay anymore since my Paypal account was hacked twice a few years ago. I also have a lot of "stuff " available to trade. Edited November 24, 2014 by VW93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I've never seen an amt maverick. Anyone got a pictire of the box and the model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW93 Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Here's a pic of the only version I have seen, not sure if there were other issues of this kit. Edited December 10, 2014 by VW93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randx0 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Does the multi- maverick have any parts you could use ? I think it was a recent re-release , but I still think the AMT 66 nova is a "new kit" . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW93 Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Randy, I don't think any parts from the Multi Maverick would work. I don't have one to compare it to the JoHan kit but I would guess they wouldn't be compatible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Here's a pic of the only version I have seen, not sure if there were other issues of this kit. AMT and JoHan shared a few tools back in the day, and it looks like this was one (I wasn't aware of it before). I'd never heard of an AMT '70 4-4-2 until I bought one off eBay a couple years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 What was the year on the amt maverick box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The AMT pro stock Maverick was the Jo-Han kit, reboxed. AMT sold a number of Jo-Han kits in its own packaging between late 1966 and 1974-75; the Maverick was one of the last kits issued under the arrangement. These were apparently produced by Jo-Han and packaged in AMT boxes, with AMT instruction and decal sheets. The parts weren't bagged as they were in AMT kits from about 1969 on. The plastic is typical Jo-Han more opaque/more brittle material. Jo-Han kit parts weren't bagged until the Seville era. A lot of people are familiar with the Olds Toronados and AMC products issued in AMT boxes, but there were others including the Maverick, the '72 Torino stock car, and the Dodge Challenger funny car. Nobody has ever written about this arrangement, who chose the kits that were to be issued this way, why those and not others were chosen, or why it ended. Issuing Jo-Han kits in AMT boxes probably added a few items a year to AMT's catalog without additional tooling expense, and kept Jo-Han busy without their having to advertise or promote the products. Jo-Han always had spotty distribution as far back as I can remember, while AMT kits were on the shelves in any store that cared enough about model car kits to stock them. The Jo-Han Comet drag car was available long after the Maverick went out of production. The two kits shared a bunch of parts. Bodies are the same except for the taillight areas. Both bodies were probably produced from the same tooling, with the taillight area insert or "slide" being unique to each version. Someone once offered a resin conversion kit to make a Maverick out of the (then) still available Comet. It included the front bumper/grille, hood, taillight panel, taillight bezel/gas cap piece that fit in from behind, and taillight lens insert. The MPC Ohio George Multi Maverick was an entirely different kit (MPC and AMT were competitors then). That body has a chopped top, radiused quarter panels, separate front fender pieces, and a molded shut hood with a huge scoop. The same body (but with a flat hood) was used in the Jolly Roger funny car kit, a one time issue. How MPC was able to produce the Jolly Roger version body and then convert it back to the Multi Maverick configuration again a few years later is a mystery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Mark, thanks for those helpful details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW93 Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Bob, I got that photo from the Drastic Plastic instructions site. I did some other research and found out it was kit # T348. I tried looking it up in The Directory of Model Car Kits by Bill Coulter and Bob Shelton. I have the first edition and it wasn't listed in there. I edited out incorrect year of manufacture info. Mark has provided the correct info further down in post #14 Edited November 25, 2014 by VW93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW93 Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Mark, thanks for taking the time to give us an informative history lesson. This is one of the reasons this forum is so great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The AMT issue Maverick is listed as a March 1973 release, in the '73 "second edition" AMT catalog. On the same page are two other AMT/Jo-Han kits, the AMC Hornet hatchback and Dodge Challenger funny cars. The Maverick is pretty much the Jo-Han Dyno Don car, with additional engine parts from earlier issues to build either a Boss 429 or (less accurate) 427 Overhead Cam engine. The Jo-Han Maverick was issued as the Dyno Don version (with the Grabber style grille) in '72 if I remember right; it and the Eddie Schartman Comet were probably sold by Jo-Han alongside AMT's version. The Hornet hatch was new (in 1:1) for '73; Jo-Han issued it in its own packaging alongside the AMT kit. Why they never issued any of the Hornets as stock versions is baffling. The Challenger funny car was issued by Jo-Han as the Gene Snow car initially, and that one was still available from Jo-Han alongside AMT's issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 AMT and JoHan shared a few tools back in the day, and it looks like this was one (I wasn't aware of it before). I'd never heard of an AMT '70 4-4-2 until I bought one off eBay a couple years ago. AMT Corporation marketed several JoHan kits under the AMT brand name back in the late 60's/very early 80's, as AMT, being the big dog in the pack of model car kit mfr's back then had the brand recognition and a much broader customer appeal than JoHan ever did, particularly among hobby shop owners. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 If you are really into Mavericks, Jo-Han produced several variations of their kit. The '70 annual could be built stock or as a funny car, and had a six-cylinder engine for the stock version (1:1 wasn't offered with a V8 until '71). If you build the stock version, the leftover parts include a complete funny car chassis complete with engine. For '71, they did a Comet annual, stock or Pro Stock. Again the stock version had the straight six. The stocker had Maverick wheel covers (promo model had the correct ones though). There were also '71 Comet and Maverick "annuals" that could be built only as a funny car. A stock/Pro Stock '71 Maverick was announced but was not produced. Next up was an Eddie Schartman Pro Stock Maverick, still with the early style grille. This kit had the gutted interior and chassis like the later kits, and had a bunch of parts that never appeared again like the Motor Wheel Spyder mags and a hood with a small scoop. For '72. Jo-Han issued the Dyno Don Maverick and Schartman Comet kits that, except for decals, stayed in Jo-Han's catalog for many years. Throw in the hard to find AMT issue Maverick, and you've got ten different versions by my count (this includes the decal changes to the later versions). Which reminds me...does anyone have the later version Jo-Han Comet with "Rapid Randy" decals that match the box art? I've had a few of those over the years, and have looked at a bunch of others...I've never seen those decals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The last "Jo-Han kit in an AMT box" was the T-391 "Torino Stock Racer" (NASCAR version of the '72 Torino) which appeared in the 1975 AMT catalog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Sikora II Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Which reminds me...does anyone have the later version Jo-Han Comet with "Rapid Randy" decals that match the box art? I've had a few of those over the years, and have looked at a bunch of others...I've never seen those decals. I've never seen Rapid Randy decals either. I have a very early kit with the price extension on the box (GC-2900:200). It's molded in white plastic, has metal axles...and a Tinker's Toy decal sheet. Edited November 25, 2014 by Don Sikora II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyfink Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) I think I have the Rapid Randy version of the Comet, will check when I get home and post them if they are the RR decals Checked my kits and the Tinker Toy is the Maverick and the Rapid Randy is the Comet Edited November 26, 2014 by Daddyfink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fomocomav Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 You've got to be careful when you purchase a Maverick kit. The AMT release of the Jo-Han kit does NOT have the Maverick scripts on the fenders, and neither do the later Jo-Han releases. If you don't get the release with the stock version, you cannot build a stock Maverick. There is no back seat, no front seat, no stock steering wheel, no exhaust and no stock wheels and tires. The Comet Pro/Street DOES have a stock steering wheel. I have the 1971 Comet stock release as well. Other than the scripts, hood, tail lights and panel and front bumper and grille, there aren't any other differentiating parts. The glass even says MAV on it. So what can you do to build a stock Maverick? Car Modeler did a conversion story by Juha Airio for building a Comet GT that has lots of helpful info on helping with your Maverick body. For a hood, there is a stock resin one from Modelhaus and a stock Grabber one from Missing Link resin. Also, They have a trans-kit available that has a Grabber spoiler molded in. It is very nicely done. They unfortunately use a '67 Mustang chassis for it, which is not correct. A Maverick/Comet man will call you on it, but I don't know if anyone else will. Anyway, maybe they can pop the other parts you need, as they include everything but the glass in your list of needed parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Car Modeler did a conversion story by Juha Airio for building a Comet GT that has lots of helpful info on helping with your Maverick body. Any idea what issue of Car Modeler had the article? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk11 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 That would be this one... mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Thanks Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Love those Maverick based Comets. Especially the '71 and '72 GT version. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAFC Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I have a question about these kits that I hope some of the knowledgeable historians among you could answer. I am assuming that the stock option is why these kits had the rear axle/suspension molded into the chassis as opposed to the Jo-Han Sox and Martin 71 Cuda Pro Stock. Is that correct? I was only 12-14 years when I bought these kits and it has always disappointed me that the Dyno Don and Fast Eddie kits lacked that detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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