Can-Con

Sounds logical to ship directly to the target markets guys but I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon. It takes roughly the same time to reach a port in California then to reach Vancouver but most if not all model kits coming from China still go through the U.S before reaching Canada. Not to mention that for a lot of these ships, Vancouver is the first port they dock at in North America before heading south to California. This info comes from the owner of my local shop who imports a lot of kits from the U.S.. He tells me he wishes he could just get them shipped more directly but it's just not set up that way.

OK, Gil, This is what it comes down to. Buy what you want and don't bash other people for buying what they want. I hope I'm wrong on this but you're coming off as the rest of us are somehow "wrong" for buying the reissues that we want instead of ignoring them and only buying the freshest, most current releases and demanding ONLY first run kits fresh from virgin molds. Maybe I'm just not getting something in the subtext but this is how I feel about this whole thread.

Turned out beautiful, Dennis.

To add to what T-Ray said above, the only body panels the Regal and Cutlass share are the roof and door skins, everything else are unique to their individual makes. That said, Hey, sounds like you're planning to build a custom, not a replica of the exact car in the link then go for it. They are the same under the skin besides the engines and specific springs, shocks and sway bars [and a few other odds & ends] which would have specific rates but that doesn't matter at all on a 1/24 or 25 scale model.

No worries DJ, just saying that I try to make sure I have my facts strait before posting and when I'm not sure I say so. Even then I have made mistakes before. At least I think I have, I may be wrong about that.😉😁

Then your grey one would be a third variation then, Luc. As you can see [maybe not too clearly though] from my pics above, the grille and front bumper on mine was cut from the chrome tree and not plated. The 454SS is turning into quite the enigma.

Basically the same kit as I had posted with some different parts so, I'm sure it is. It wouldn't be the MPC kit as it was updated every year [as needed] and was last issued with the '80 front end.

Bill, won't being burnt weaken and/or warp the sheet metal?

All the kits a company has are "inventory". They need to sell this "inventory" in able to have funds to put toward developing "newly tooled inventory" and/or stay in business. Every model company re-releases their older kits from time to time, even the Japanese companies. There is NO model company that has been in business for any length of time that exclusively releases only "newly tooled" kits. To that point, how many times would a "newly tooled" kit be re-released before it's not considered "newly tooled" any longer? When the Lindberg '40 Ford coupe was released in '91, it was the first time that kit was ever on the market in spite of the tooling actually being cut by PSM [Palmer] back in the late '60s or very early '70s. Would that be considered a "new tool" even though it was actually tooled 2 decades earlier?

Just sent you a PM Bill.

Sorry to hear that Carl. Hope you mend up fast .

You can ask anyone in here DJ, I don't post a comment like that without knowing it's a fact. I've done that too many times in the past and got called out. I don't like being called out so , , ,

Yes, MPC had the annual contract and even did a one-off Buick Skyhawk. The chassis was simpler but there's something about the MPC ones I like better. Can't exactly put my finger on why ,,just feels more "right" to me for some reason whether it's actually more accurate or not, I'm not so sure.

'88 Mustang. The part# match up on the carbs and stacks.

I think the 454SS was run at least twice Jordan. The one I used to build my silver and white truck was molded in black and the unbuilt one I have is molded in off-white. Maybe 2 runs using the same box art?

Yea, that definitely looks like the '90 long box cab, box and interior for sure. The engine looks to be based on the original tooling. Chassis looks quite different though. I wonder if it was modified from the original long box chassis plate or a new tooling?

Hoping the Monza SS is the one with the IMSA body kit and if it is, hopefully it will keep the stock parts in there too. I had the original and IIRC, it didn't include the stock front end, just the IMSA front. Oddly most of those AMT "custom only" kits back then didn't include any performance engine parts but that won't be an issue now. 😉

Looks great but please tell me you're going to replace those Kelsey-Hayes Ford Mag-Stars on the front with proper Buick road wheels same as on the back.

No, I haven't. I would think it wouldn't be too hard to do though. I know people have been using the stock AMT and Revell [old kit] '53-'56 chassis under the '60 so it sounds plausible.

IIRC, there's a couple generic ones out there. Steve-O keeps offering to set me up with one and I'm gonna take him up on it when I get that MPC snap '75 Blazer. Much like building one of these real show trucks, I'd just use the body and interior and swap out the whole custom chassis. I looked at the Foose Ford chassis when I built my Sour Apple '74 but the amount of mods to adapt it to the newer layout would taken as long or longer then the route I went in with no real advantages in the end.

Someone resin casts the original 2WD front suspension from the '78 but the suspension from the AMT Chevy vans would be correct and can be adapted with some work. Neither one gets the kit low enough for me without modifications though.😈

It's certainly a lot more attractive packaging then the last go-around of the kit. I still have one of the reissues unbuilt but I'd buy that one because of the decals.

That kit is gonna get very popular because of those decals. That stripe scheme is super popular right now. Just google GM desert fox and at least a dozen different trucks with a variation of those stripes will show up. This was the original special edition truck those stripes came on from back in '79.

Bil, get a hold of Chris Martin [Fabrux on this forum.] He can hook you up with the grilles.

I'm digg'n it Pat. Looks like it came right off the pages of Sport Truck Magazine in the mid-'90s. Kinda hard to tell from the pics but it looks a bit low in the back for a 4/6 drop as those sat level but whatever it sure looks the part with the custom bumper and Phantom grille. 👍