tim boyd

At NNL East I heard from a very well respected paint finishing expert that there would be news sooner than later about Testors dropping a number of paint lines. Nothing more specific than that. And I do not know how he got his info. I still used Testors aerosols myself, but mostly the lacquers. Probably about a 50/50 mix between Testors and Tamiya sprays these days. Personally I think it would be a big loss to lose these Testors product lines. TIM

Agree with all the comments on the current body flaws. They can be overcome. This is not a great picture of the car, but this "Street Freak: was built from the last release of the kit, warts and all....TIM

Bill is exactly right here. All Imperials through 1966 were derived from the 1957 Imperial; in 1967 the Imperial became a derivative of the existing (1965 onward) C-Body. But there were still some differences in the 1967/8 Imperial vs. other C-bodies....in the mid 1980's my younger brother bought one of the 400 or so 1968 Imperial convertibles ; he has to find Imperial-specific parts sources for a number of the chassis components as they require replacement. The remaning Imperials from 1969 onward were straight C-body derivatives, even sharing much of their exterior sheetmetal with the Chrysler lineup (although retaining a longer wheelbase for 1969-71, and (I think) 1972-73). In 1976, of course, the Imperial was discontinued (though in reaility it lived on through 1978 badged as the Chrysler New Yorker Brougham). TIM

Alan.....build it!!!! Cheers.....TIM

Craig.....you are exactly correct. My guess is that this one (in its later form) has a better than 50/50 chance of being reissued at some point in the future......TIM

There was a Malibu Grand Prix racer as part of this kit series. It was a full detail replica of the real car used at the Malibu go kart type tracks....it was paired with Revell's late 1970's early 1980's Toyota pickup truck and a trailer if I am recalling correctly. TIM .

…..some of you may already know about this, but for those that don't, I am copying here an announcement on Facebook from one of the NNL Founders, Chuck Helppie (who was also the MPC National Champion for 1977), regarding additional NNL-related activities that are planned for the Friday evening preceding, and the Saturday evening following, what will be the last-ever NNL Nationals in Sylvania, Ohio this October. I don't participate on Facebook, but for those of you who do, I recommend you follow the Facebook page Chuck has setup for developments as they occur. I believe you can find it by doing a search on Facebook for "NNL Founders Present...." Here is the text of the initial announcement: ************************* "All model car builders are invited to join us October 11-12, 2019 in Toledo, Ohio for the largest gathering of historical models in the history of our hobby. We are creating a "Ring of Honor" to showcase the most significant models of all time. We are bringing together in one location as many of the National Champions from 1960-2019 who we can locate. Revell/Pactra and Revell/Testors champions from the 1960's; MPC National Champions from the 1970's; and GSL Best of Show winners from the event’s beginning are invited. We are also calling for ALL model car magazine cover cars to join us as well. Mark Gustavson (honorary NNL Founder) will also be joining us for what we envision to be the once-in-a-lifetime “Woodstock” of our hobby. Friday night, October 11, 2019 at the Radisson at the University of Toledo: Banquet celebrating our model car hobby with special guest speakers and stories. Saturday afternoon, October 12, 2019: Original NNL Nationals in nearby Sylvania, Ohio Saturday night, October 12, 2019 at the Radisson at the University of Toledo: The unveiling of the “Ring of Honor” and the largest single gathering of model car magazine cover cars ever held! Room reservations may be made at the Radisson at the University of Toledo by calling (419)381-6800 and requesting the “NNL 40th Anniversary Celebration.” We have 50 rooms with free breakfast blocked out for our group. Come join us for the party! ******* Many of us are sad to see the NNL Nats end its annual run as the original non-competitive model car event this fall, but Chuck's plans sound like a heckuva way to celebrate this milestone in our hobby! In talking with Chuck about the event, it sounds to me like he is working to recreate some of the comradery and the infectious fun environment that made up so much of the earliest NNL Nationals events, while also honoring and celebrating every one who has made Adult Model Car Building such an enjoyable hobby for us all. If you have any questions, I recommend you contact Chuck directly via the above Facebook page....and, be sure to keep up with the plans as they develop. Best....TIM

Mark, to the best of my knowledge it's an all-new engine. Detail looks pretty good. TIM

Me too, Bill. In discussing the changes to the body that would have improved authenticity, I learned from Revell that the tooling process used in China does not lend itself to the types of in-cycle body refinements that used to be possible with the 1/10th scale wood master/pantograph to steel tooling method used previously by American kitmakers. I can't recapture that conversation with any sort of clarity here, but just have to take Revell at their word. Between you, Bill, others who researched this topic, and myself who have all invested significant time in relaying these potential enhancements to Revell management, we can't say we didn't give it a good try. Having said that, the improvements we've suggested are not beyond the capabilities of reasonably experienced modelers, but only if they have the time to invest in making the improvements. Nonetheless, I am still looking forward to the kit and will probably build it (albeit with some of those refinements) when it hits the market...TIM

The McMullen Roadster was specifically proposed to one of the kit makers as a derivative of an existing kit tool. The project was not pursed due to concerns about the degree of tool modifications required for an accurate replica and the difficulty of tracking down intellectual property rights and permissions (as most of you know, the builder Tom McMullen and his wife perished in an aviation accident in the mid-1990's). TIM

Eric.....would be great to catch up in person. Really enjoyed checking out all your amazing models....including your in-scale metalflake paint techniques! It was a whirlwind.....Michigan to Wayne NJ to this great show and back to Michigan in 41 hours flat. It's been a long time since I've driven in NJ.....crazy road layouts I had forgotten about! Torrential rains both ways didn't help either. Maybe next time I'll break down and fly....then again, maybe not. Hopefully we can catch up in person at the NNL Nats in October? Best....TIM

Bill....great seeing you too and hopefully I can make it back again in the future...….Best....TIM

Thanks Peter....TIM

I tried that yesterday, to no avail. Fortunately, everything seems back to normal today, although I completely lost the reply to the Revell thread I had prepared yesterday. Oh well.....TIM

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Judging from the number of visitors to my NNL East Fotki album and the number of page views over the last 24 hours, the NNL East is an immensely popular topic with model builders! TIM