The Tri 5 Chevys are really popular. How about some BOP's ?

[Art Anderson]

Even the frames are not quite the same for the '55-7 Chevys and Pontiacs. IIRC, the wheelbase difference is noticeable as the Pontiacs were longer-----especially between the leading edge of the front door, and the trailing edge of the front wheelwell.

I've seen conversions done in the past as fellas have tried to base the Pontiacs on the Chevys, and they always appear a bit too "short" to me.

Still, it would be nice to see a '57 Pontiac Safari for instance, or maybe a '57 Olds 88-98 (would make a nice stock car racer!)

Yeah, back then, Pontiacs were almost always at least 6" longer than Chevrolet's, the extra length being between the firewall and the centerline of the front wheels (a concession to the years of Pontiac straight 8 engines).

Art.

[Edsel-Dan]

No 55-57 BOP paced the Indy 500. But Bonneville Bid in 58!!!

56 DeSoto Pace Setter Convertible

57 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.

Buick go the job in 59, Olds in 60.

Want to see my Pace car Projects on the Buick & Olds??

I can show those, but I don't have the Bonneville yet.

Yes I too would like to see some of these Buick/Olds/Pontiac's in Kit form.

Especially the Safari wagon. Pontiac's Nomad!!

[mnwildpunk]

Ya wanna borrow my "Flack Jacket"?

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I would like to see something other than a Tri-5 Chevy. A person can only build a 57 Chevy so many times.

Amen brother I personally will never build a 57 chev because they are everywhere. much like the camaros of the 60's but give me BOP kit and I'd build them in a heartbeat much like the 50 olds kit

[Ramfins59]

Drew you are right in that taste and style are very subjective and personal. Personally I LIKE the cars of 1958 along with ALL the cars from the 50's.... but that's just me.

[Eshaver]

Ever just try an do a diorama with just 57 Chevrolets .............................. ?

[pharoah]

A '55 Pontiac...a face only a Mother could love:

Now, I like some of the styling details on the above car, like the side trim/color split and rear quarter panel shapes, but the headlight eyebrows, trim strips running the length of the hood, and the baleen looking "mouth" aren't all that attractive to me, especially in light of the '55 Chevy's simplicity up front.

The '57 Pontiac's face is even busier, and the dagmars seem excessive and ostentatious compared to the '57 Chevy's:

I think the Tri-Five Chevies are the most popular because style wise, they look the best and are the most appealing to the eye, but as we know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I know Casey,But it was my oldest brother's first car and I've always been sentimental about them.

57 Pontiacs do look better.

[gray07]

I just sold my black with white top 55 pontiac 4 door last summer, i was taking it to a cruise and a guy stopped, me and he needed it more than i did because he offered me the right amount. Now i here he is mounting it on a suburban frame. I like the 55-57 BOP better that the chevys, you dont see them at every show you go to like the chevys.

Edited February 28, 2013 by gray07

[2002p51]

Drew you are right in that taste and style are very subjective and personal. Personally I LIKE the cars of 1958 along with ALL the cars from the 50's.... but that's just me.

Well, one or two of them have kinda grown on me in the years since. I remember the first time I saw the new '58 Chevy! I was shocked that they could mess up so bad after the '57. They don't look all that bad to me today. But that's really about the only '58 car I can say that about.

For awhile in high school I had a '58 Olds that my dad passed down to me after he bought a '59 Buick. That Olds was one huge, ugly son of a _______! I never could quite understand how they got there from the '57.

[mistermodel]

Unless they do a Canadian Pontiac ,,and I really doubt that's gonna happen.

aint that the truth.

Edited February 28, 2013 by mistermodel

[Brett Barrow]

I'd rather see a 2-door post or lower-level wagon tri-five Chevy with a true gasser alternate building option out-of-the-box. Or a junior stocker, at least (Jere Stahl's 57 150!?!?)

There's several tri-fives that need to be done, and anyone who says it's easy to make a 57 Bel Air convertible out of a hardtop doesn't know their tri-fives very well. Convertible interiors are much different than the hardtops, which were also much different than the post sedans and lower-level 210s, 210 Delrays, and 150's.

Also we need good, modern 55 and 57 Nomads, and I'd like to see at least one year's lower level Handyman wagon, preferably 57 (losta potential gasser and junior stocker material there).

I'd like to see a BOP, and I'm sure a lot of rep-stock builders would, too, but I don't see them having the staying power or broader appeal needed to sell in this current climate as a long-run styrene kit. I think they'd make good resin subjects, though, especially if done in simpler promo-style curbside form for somewhere in the $30-$40 range.

[MrObsessive]

Also we need good, modern 55 and 57 Nomads, and I'd like to see at least one year's lower level Handyman wagon, preferably 57 (losta potential gasser and junior stocker material there).

I'm surprised that Revell with all of the good Tri-Fives that they've done, we STILL don't have a REALLY good '57 Nomad! Seems to be a no-brainer at this point!

[Brett Barrow]

I'm surprised that Revell with all of the good Tri-Fives that they've done, we STILL don't have a REALLY good '57 Nomad! Seems to be a no-brainer at this point!

Probably for the same reason they haven't done a 56 Bel Air yet, either. They'd be getting rid of an older, cheaper model that's still a good seller, and most importantly, the tooling was paid for years ago!

[Craig Irwin]

For awhile in high school I had a '58 Olds that my dad passed down to me after he bought a '59 Buick. That Olds was one huge, ugly son of a _______! I never could quite understand how they got there from the '57.

A high school friend of mine had one of those, a big 4 door tank, and with a small wrench and a 1/8 inch drill the Oldsmobile letters were rearanged and he was the proud owner of a "SLOBMODEL". If we went anywhere together we drove my 56 Chevy 2 door Belair.

[Greg Myers]

What gets me is with all of the new good stuff they keep reissuing the old stuff. About time for another run of these ?

[Edsel-Dan]

Maybe as long as the put the Stock parts back in them.

Most of those Old Full functioning kits have been altered to Hot-Rod status and

can not be built stock anymore.

I would not mind having a few of those again.

[charlie8575]

If they do it, this is what I'd like to see and I think would sell well.

1. 1955-57 Olds 88 2-door sedan (stock and NASCAR) and convertibles for the obvious reasons- it's a convertible.

2. 1957 Pontiac Bonneville. Do I need to say more?

3. 1957 Olds Fiesta or Buick Cabellero

4. 1955-57 Pontiac Safari

5. 1955-57 Pontiac Chieftian 2-door sedans (again, NASCAR).

6. 1955-57 Buick Century. A '55 2-door sedan could be used for a police car or for some type of racing. Rivieras and convertibles would simply be a nice addition to any shelf. A Roadmaster would also be welcomed.

If they pick the subjects right, they'll probably sell reasonably well.

I'd really like to see a real gamble taken and offer something like a Roadmaster or Olds 98 four-door.

Charlie Larkin

[2002p51]

Earlier in this thread we were talking about the interchangeability of '55 - '57 Chevy parts. Here's a perfect example!

[Art Anderson]

One of the characteristics that gets looked at anymore when considering a new kit of any model car is what I would term "versatility". That is, does the subject have some "legs" to it, or can it stand alone, as a "one hit wonder". By "legs", I mean can the subject be presented in different "roles" from say "factory stock" to drag racing, to Nascar, perhaps even a street rod, or does it have enough popularity to make it sell successfully just showroom stock.

Just the sheer number of kits that must be sold in a reasonably quick time from introduction practically dictates the type(s) or make and model of cars that make good subject matter. How many? Well of course, model kit manufacturers are loathe to reveal numbers of that sort, but rest assured, it's many 10's of thousands of any one model car subject. It takes sales of such a magnitude to replenish the bank account after paying for all the development and tooling that goes into any new model car kit--and that kind of money will still buy a very nice house, or a VERY serious exotic sports car! Now, 50-some years ago, model companies almost could not miss--the market for model car kits was made up largely of kids, mostly in the age range of say, 10 to perhaps 16 or so (you know,that age when guys discover real cars and girls), who gladly scraped together allowances, paper-route and lawn mowing money to fund trip after trip to the hobby shop, variety store or wherever they spotted model car kits. Considering that in those years, several 10's of millions of potential model car customers having very little in the way of "competing" activities (cable TV had yet to be invented, computers were massive consoles with flashing lights and bearded scientists in white lab coats, electronic and digital games had yet to be dreamed of--all of that). Model companies were not that far out of their infancy, so the choices of kits was a lot smaller than it is today and model kit manufacturers were virtually guarranteed that whatever they tooled up to squeeze molten styrene plastic in would sell, and often in HUGE numbers.

Contrast all of that today: While kids certainly do build model cars nowadays, their segment of the market is much, much smaller than it was in say, 1963; the bulk of the model car kit market being adults--the oldest of whom still remember being teenagers in the 1960's and 70's. In addition, where a half-century ago, in any given month of the year, there might have been 50-60 model car kit subjects available, today there are several hundred, if one takes into consideration not only the American brands, but also model car kits from Europe, Japan and of course Korea and China (hey, there are even model car and truck kits being made in Russia!). All this means that any new model car kit subject that reaches store shelves has to be able to make an impact sufficient to pull sales from all those other competing products. Any time that a new model car kit can be laid out so as to be able to produce several versions of the actual car, that's a huge plus--often that alone is the "make or break" or "go-no go" decision point. A 1956 Thunderbird is a 1956 Thunderbird, about the only option being to include the lift off hardtop or not, while a '55 Chevy came in several different body styles, and I've not even mentioned the concept of a racing version. In the latter case, provision must be made, going in, to make possible future variants--once that steel has been cut, it is both expensive, and rather "iffy" as to the idea of doing even a second version "after the fact" can mean very expensive tooling alterations which may or may not be possible to undo later on (Revell's '57 Country Squire of 55 years ago comes to mind--the tooling was irrevocably changed to produce a Ranchero a year or so after the Squire was put on the market. So such planning almost has to be done from the get-go. And these are but a few of the decisions that must be made, and of course, the subject matter being considered, and how that might be produced weigh in very heavily indeed. Too many kits generating mediocre sales and the company may well not survive.

So, today much more than in the distant past, careful subject selection is key to the success of any model kit manufacturer.

Art

[Dan Helferich]

I'd love to see any '50's BOP or even an early to mid '50's Caddy. Having said that I still would rather have a nice new tool '53 or '54 Chevy. This kit is long overdue. The Monogram kit is caricature like and the Revell kits are not quite stock either. A nice current standard new tool would be a big hit as these cars are very popular in the full size world. Drew, you're one of my favorite modelers but we disagree on '58. To me it was '59 that left me wondering what the heck happened. '59 Fords still leave me cold.

[2002p51]

Drew, you're one of my favorite modelers but we disagree on '58. To me it was '59 that left me wondering what the heck happened. '59 Fords still leave me cold.

The '59 Chevys were very strange looking in '59 too, trust me. As for Ford they took a really good looking car in '57 and just messed up enough of it for '58 to make it ugly. However, I do remember that, in '59, I thought the '59 Fords were among the most beautiful they had ever done. (Obviously I hadn't seen the '61 or '63 yet, but that decade is a topic for another thread!)

It has always amazed me that, given the cost of completely remaking a car over from one year to the next, that Chevy did what they did in '57, '58, and '59. We've already talked about how the '55-'57 shared so many parts, but the '58 was a completely different car in every way. Except for the drive train, the wheels, and a few minor interior pieces like the door handles, nothing from the '57 was carried over to the '58. No sheet metal, no glass, nothing. Then they did it all over again in '59! When you consider that the design cost to go from the '55 to the relatively minor change for '56 was over one million dollars you can only imagine what it must have cost GM to start with a nearly clean sheet of paper two years in a row!

[Greg Myers]

Earlier in this thread we were talking about the interchangeability of '55 - '57 Chevy parts. Here's a perfect example!

All I can say is WOW!. I saw one similar during my collage days, it was only a '55-'56 though. Sill it had me going both ways.

[Greg Myers]

. . . and Art, most eloquent.

[Craig Irwin]

Earlier in this thread we were talking about the interchangeability of '55 - '57 Chevy parts. Here's a perfect example!

That can't be done without cutting and welding. Thats either a 57 Chevy with a 55 / 56 cowl or a 55 / 56 with 57 quarters fitted.

Edited March 1, 2013 by Craig Irwin

[2002p51]

That can't be done without cutting and welding. Thats either a 57 Chevy with a 55 / 56 cowl or a 55 / 56 with 57 quarters fitted.

You'd have to see the firewall to be sure but I suspect it's the latter. The dash is '55/'56.

Edited March 2, 2013 by 2002p51

[peekay]

Art, speaking of versatility, wouldn't a 1952 Lincoln fit the bill? It could do everything the Moebius Chrysler and Hudson kits have done.