gbt216

My last order was small; probably the smallest they received as a last order! Just some tires and wheelbacks for a '65 Chrysler 300 I had recently received at that time from Time Machine Resin. gt

Boy, this sure looks a lot easier than the RIT dye method I've used and have been more frustrated with than not (i.e. clear coating the windshield, then dunking the inverted windshield in a heated mix of RIT dye, gradually pulling it out little by little to create a graduated tint gradient - what a headache, and slow!). gt

I haven't done an exhaustive search of this long thread to see if I'm duplicating a desire, but I have always wanted to see a correct '66 Buick Wildcat interior to go with that kit (which, as many know, has a '65 interior). Missing Link had (has?) a resin '65 Wildcat that I bought some years ago and I remember commenting to Kevin that I finally have a correct body to go with the interior from my AMT '66 Wildcat kit! In the same breath, I made a passing reference to him about creating a correct '66 interior for the Wildcat kit. -gt

First of all, a nice build of a great kit of a great car! Love the black and red and the engine wiring! As to the pillarless-ness, the answer could be found in this article: http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/cc-unicorn-hunt-1961-lincoln-continental-pillarless-hardtop-sedan/ What may have happened, and I am speculating, is that the kit was ready to go early on, as a hardtop 1:1 was being contemplated by Ford (the box art seems to indicate such as the illustration is of a pillarless four door). As the article indicates, the hardtop was yanked from production, leaving only the (what was termed by Ford later on, circa 1970) "pillared hardtop". The distinction between a pillared hardtop and a sedan is that the pillared hardtop has no window frames, like a hardtop, but unlike a hardtop has a B pillar. gt

Yes, very nice paint and assembly; and a great color to boot! Speaking of us old guys knowing the real cars, I distinctly remember a family trip up the road to Kenosha for a factory tour of the assembly line and marveling, as a six year old, at the line of '66 Ambassadors (and other Ramblers and AMCs) moving along as they became complete, new cars! Reminded me of a car assembly line toy I wanted called "Barney's Auto Factory".

Well, for my part in it, I don't consider myself a whiner; I am encouraged by the thought (that I, admittedly, didn't think of) that the kits will go for more reasonable prices without much auction challenge once the "I've gotta have it now!" folks got their fill. This is likely how I was able to purchase, in recent years, from Time Machine Resin for reasonable prices, eBay auction process notwithstanding (though I haven't seen any listings recently from them - another story for a different thread). I can wait; heck it was 20 years from the time I mentioned to Don Holthaus about maybe offering a Breezeway Mercury before he actually came out with one! Believe me, in the model car world, patience is my virtue! As was mentioned, Del's Crown Vic is out there and I know I'm on a list (maybe two!) to be contacted when one's ready for me to purchase - no problem! I have faith he and/or Greg will let me know when it's available to me. No slams against Paul; I have too much respect for (and money spent on - via Modelhaus) his work to do that!

Well, I thought I'd be more excited about the availability of this '66 Country Sedan kit on eBay; instead I'm left with an even stronger yearning for the old Modelhaus days when I could get one of Paul's excellent creations (though you may want to re-check the vent windows; they should be more triangular shaped like the four door sedan's) through Don and Carol at only $100 - $110 without worrying about a bidding process to boot! Not only that, but turning to someone else for the wheel covers? (and I couldn't even find them on their website) While I'm generally impressed with this kit as released, I am disheartened over the process to own one. I guess it wasn't meant to be offered as Modelhaus would sell a kit. Oh, well.......

Wow, another striking build! I'm very impressed with your attention to the windshield and vent window differences from the hardtop. In '57, the convertible mopars got a unique, complex curvature to the windshield that hardtops and sedans did not have, though the hardtops got it in '58; same goes for the unique shape of the upper segment of the vent windows. I currently on my workbench have a Time Machine Resin '57 300-C convertible that, though beautifully cast, has the hardtop-style vent windows from that year; I have ideas of how to fix it, but have stalled out on the project. BTW, how did you fix it? Again, fantastic build, Paul! p.s. still looking forward to your '66 Country Sedan kit availability

Wow, that is a beautifully done replica and conversion from the original convertible F&F kit! This is most inspirational as I, too, have the kit and plan on Aqua Mist code Q, though I'll keep it as a convertible. gt

Ah, thank you for the picture, Dominik; and a quick Google image search refreshed my memory of another release of the Stutz in the Connoisseur Classics line of MPC kits.

How wonderful to see this Stutz beautifully built; well done Dominik, and the color is great! Also, I was curious if this was the original issue linked with the TV show "Bearcats" in the early 70s? Or has it been re-released since then? I would buy another to build (I built one from the original release, back in the day) if they released it again! gt

Yes, Art Anderson responded to me many years ago on the "other" forum on this very topic with the answer being as you remember. Cadillacs shrunk to 1/26 or so while cars such as the '62 Studebaker Lark grew to about 1/22.5 or thereabouts; all in the name of filling the promo box! Very odd motivation (I think) - especially making certain models bigger to fill the box. By the way, a nicely built collection of desirable JoHan models, Rob! I, too, have several - mostly from the original USA Oldies release, ca. 1975 and X-EL promos fro the '80s. gt

To expand on the answer above, here's a link to MCW Automotive finishes: http://www.mcwautomotivefinishes.com/resin/resinlist.html and a picture of their built '62 Biscayne using the AMT '62 Bel Air HT kit as a donor. The MCW kit lists for $34 on their website. gt

Though nominally referred to as 1/25 scale, the '58 JoHan Fleetwood Sixty four-door scales out smaller than 1/25 - somewhere around 1/26 or so as I recall measuring. I remember being told many years ago (by Art Andersen, I believe) on that "other magazine" forum that the Johan Cadillacs were too big to fit into the standard-sized promotional boxes of the day, so they shrunk them accordingly to fit in the boxes. gt

Hi Greg, Ditto here - PM sent, too! gt