Mark

What year(s)? The original Jo-Han promos were all acetate through the 1963 model year. They did reproduce '56, '57, and '58 promos through their X-EL division in the Seventies and Eighties. Those are molded in ABS which does not warp and has a nice shine also.

Not so much different size, but rather different interpretations of the same item decades apart, by different people, using different methods to get from A to B. That happens in the aircraft and armor modeling realms also; you have the Fifties kits designed in a hurry to be the first one on store shelves, scaled from aerial photos with measurements determined according to the size of the concrete slabs around the hangar, versus more modern kits designed with measurements taken from now-obsolete units in museum settings. I used to be bothered by things like that, now it's part of the fascination with the heritage of the hobby. For example it's interesting to see multiple interpretations of the same subject, like AMT, MPC, old and new Revell C2 Corvettes, or all of the different '57 Chevies now out there.

Notice the backwards leaning lettering on the Barracuda. MPC made the lettering for both sides exactly the same, meaning it is wrong for one side. The Missile project involved a few ex-Ramchargers personnel; like their cars, the Missile lettering should lean forward at the top on both sides!

Earlier today, while putting away the lawnmower, I spotted a neighborhood cat taking a squirrel to lunch (not as his guest). The cat seemed to be proudly strutting down the sidewalk carrying his meal. I'd have liked to see him making the actual catch, much as I like watching the neighborhood squirrels.

NNL Buffalo haul! I was set up there, didn't sell much but then again I didn't have much to sell. Parts include a few sets of glass (two Falcon funny car, '58 Impala, '62 Bel Air among others), couple of engines, Modelhaus '70 Chevy pickup grille/bumper, and some suspension parts. MPC 1/20 Altered is complete. Monogram Rolls is missing some small stuff but it is a first issue and the shiny black body parts are mint. I have another later one to rob the needed parts from. I don't know who did the resin Dart but it's quite nice. I figure one of the chrome paints will take care of the bumpers and grille. Sandkat is missing the engine but the chassis is all there. '66 Nova is missing tires/wheels and decal sheet. Mustang II is missing one front wheel. I was going to get some pro stock decals for it, but might actually go with an out-of-the-box build. Cyclone is missing traction bars, JJ Vega is missing tires and decals but the chassis/engine are intact. Not a bad day.

I'd lay odds that someone will offer a resin no-scoop hood shortly after the '64 kits first appear.

I would NOT disassemble that model. I'd instead build another one with the new kit and aftermarket decals.

Yes, original '66 Fury kits (even rebuilders) are that difficult to find. The original Jo-Han company was, size-wise, a pimple on the backside of AMT, MPC, Revell, or Monogram back in the day. They just didn't have the same distribution and weren't available in as many places. Plus, the subject matter wasn't as desirable back then. So an all-new injection molded kit of a '66 Fury would not be a smart business proposition. It wouldn't have been even in 1966. The only reason it appeared then was that much of its development cost was borne by Chrysler Corporation because they wanted promos. But apparently enough people still want one to justify a resin kit. Whether enough of those people are willing to lay out 100 times the original kit's retail price for a kit with no plated parts has yet to be proven, pro or con.

There's enough of us out there who couldn't care less about F&F type cars, and consider polycap wheel attachment more suitable to Hot Wheels than to model kits. Not that we don’t want that market to be served, but it's just not anything we will ever have any interest in. Then again, the parties currently locking horns over the Jo-Han brand name are niche/boutique manufacturers at best. One in fact hasn't manufactured anything in a bunch of years. The other is a resin caster, dress that up however anyone will. Neither will ever get up to a level where they will have products on store shelves anywhere but in their own store. There's simply no comparison between them and any company selling typical injection molded plastic model kits.

The Impala has been out awhile, the T-Bird is relatively new in the current issue. HL gets the price per kit they do because they buy in large quantities. So they might have a particular kit long after other sources have sold out of it. One store in my area had the Dodge Warlock pickup kit, sold out of it, and restocked with the '78 long bed pickup which predates the Warlock issue.

MPC did those pro stock kits in stages. The ('72) first ones had stock interior buckets, stock chassis, and a few special parts like hoods with scoops molded in. The '73 kits got gutted interior buckets but the Landy Challenger used the Barracuda piece which is way too narrow in the Challenger. The '73 kits still had stock chassis, the Jenkins Vega having the stock exhaust detail as well as the Challenger and Barracuda. The '74 kits got rid of the molded-in exhaust detail except the Duster which still had the sections on either side of the driveshaft. The last ('75) kits all had gutted interiors and chassis, pretty much because most of the equivalent annual kits had separate parts in those areas. The kits were often a year behind the 1:1 cars. The '72 cars included a Jenkins Camaro but he was running the Vega that year. The Mopar Missile Duster was released in '74 but by then it was only being used for testing and not in competition. The Vanke Duster was not a pro stock kit, just a sheet of decals added to the stock '72 annual kit. MPC threw Motown Missile decals into the '72 Challenger annual kit, but they were for the '71 car.

You don't want sheet styrene for windows unless they are flat or very nearly so. Any kind of bending will stress the clear styrene turning it a whitish shade in the stress areas. I'm not sure what happens when you vacuform clear styrene, but I would suspect the same result.

Only the Sox & Martin, and Mopar Missile Duster kits had the gutted interior bucket. The ('72) California Flash kit has a stock interior bucket with console and stock rear seat.

This kit, and the existing '71, are both correct in not having a console. The console was only available with the automatic transmission. The annual kits had the console and automatic transmission but a four-speed transmission (a common issue with annual kits). The Volare kits had engine block halves with the automatic, and those will interchange with the annual Duster, Demon, and Dart Sport kit parts.

I test fitted the chassis and interior; those will fit with minor work. The grille/bumper is another story due in part to the MPC body having the rectangular headlamp setup. I'd instead look at 3D print earlier grilles designed specifically for the MPC body.

Said to be coming before years' end. Price will be in line with other Round 2 car kits coming at the same time. No box art made public as of now.

2X on noise reduction. I once had a pair of snow tires that had an uneven tread pattern, likewise for noise reduction. Radial snows might have been quieter, but these were bias-ply, bought as radial tires were just ramping up in popularity here.

Any small part that snaps into place has a habit of eventually separating itself from the model.

The parts will be a less expensive way for potential buyers to get acquainted with the quality of the parts. If they are satisfied with those, they'll be more likely to lay out the bucks for a complete kit later on.

MPC '72 Chevy ramp truck has some. Revell '53/'54 Chevy (sedan delivery and sedan, NOT the '53 hardtop) has a few.

There are at least three different series of 1/32 scale cars. The basic series started at 50 cents and ended up at 70 or 75 a few years later. No chrome, no vinyl tires. All did include clear parts, a handful had engines, and some had a small decal sheet early on. About 40 cars, most made in two versions like coupe and convertible. Usually one version is a lot harder to find ('37 Chevy coupe versus convertible for example). Table Top Classics included more upscale cars, had engines and plated parts. I believe most if not all had vinyl tires too. These were priced higher ($1 maybe?) Brass Series also had vinyl tires and engine detail as well as brass plated trim parts. Had Pyro done these in 1/25 scale, even with the same parts breakdown, they'd have lasted a lot longer in the model kit business. They should have done the Design-A-Car kit in 1/25 also.

I don't believe the two were connected, though they were from the same general area. They existed side by side for awhile. Premier kits did have plated parts (one of the earliest companies to have them). They did do some interesting things. I've got their '55 Chevy convertible kit, it is molded in blue and off-white. They go together to form a two-tone body, with the plated side trim covering the seam. If anyone has a convertible kit molded in red and white, I'd be open to trading for one.

Don Hardy (Pro Stock chassis builder) briefly offered a kit to put a small-block in a Chevette. I believe he stopped selling it thinking the bolt-together swap with the stock unit body and front brakes was unsafe. He also constructed the only Pro Stock Chevette I'm aware of, the Kenny Hilger (Brown & Hilger) car from the Southwest (Colorado?). Chevettes had a 94" wheelbase, same as a Ford Pinto. The Pro Stocker had a small-block engine.

In the Northeast those cars rotted with lightning speed. My mom's '70 Torino (bought new) had quarter panels that flapped in the breeze four years later. In mid-'77 she bought a new car, one of my brothers wanted the Torino's 302 to drop into a Falcon sedan delivery he'd bought. I remember being at the garage when he pulled the engine; the second it broke free of the engine mounts, the windshield cracked. The floor in that car was in Fred Flintstone condition by then too.

Get one of each, and measure the key areas. I'd bet that Monogram still had information gathered for the 1/12 scale kit in the archives at the time they were acquired, and Revell used it in the creation of their kit. Both of them look "right".