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'68 Shelby Mustang Convertible


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Hey Plastic Whackers,

Just wanted to show you a ''68 Shelby convertible transkit that should be available soon. The master is finally done and will be shipped for casting (if it has not already). Historic Racing Miniatures has wanted to do this one for a long time (he owned a real one), and he wants to have some ready for sale for the NNL East.

Additionally, the photos do not show the more accurate front seats and console that will also be included in the transkit. The AMT seats seem to have been designed for a person about as wide as my leg.

Feel free to offer any comments, suggestions, criticism, etc.

Steve D.

post-2995-0-66033000-1423764849_thumb.jp

post-2995-0-93677500-1423764867_thumb.jp

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Very, very nice! You've got the "hip" shape right as convertibles were not fastbacks with the roof cut off. They used the quarters from the coupe.........the hips were "lower" and the very rear quarter sections were just a scooch taller/straighter.

I'd be the renegade and use the nicer AMT '67 Shelby for the running gear and such. The extra work would be worth it. The only change I would make on the body is to reshape/remake the vent wing posts a bit. On the 1:1, they don't quite come up to the very corner of the windshield header, but sit just slightly below it.

Easy fix with some square rod......... ;)

Edit: Steve, do you have any pics of the front end? One of the things that's bugged me for years, is the shape of the AMT '68 Shelby's grille. It seemed too "upright" and square compared to the 1:1. Not a difficult fix, but one of those signature things that makes a Shelby a Shelby.

Edited by MrObsessive
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Bill, good catch - looking at some pics I would say that the whole vent window is beefier than the one in the kit. We might leave that one for Harold to decide as we have to consider fragility in the casting process also.

He did not do anything to the grille area because there are a number of problems with the original AMT. The hood ends up too far forward, the angle of the front clip is off, and the height of the grille is off.

Redoing the grille would mean re-chroming bumpers and things like that. It also means a fairly extensive redo of the entire front, and would also increase the parts count and cost. Vic and I discussed the front, and there was just nothing good that was involved with any of it. He did end up scribing the front clip, but even there it is still not right because of the total goofiness of the original.

He did remove the grille part from the bumper, so it could be painted body colour.

Rex, unfortunately, no work was done to the engine bay. It is still the open hole as in the original kit. There are a number of options to change that, but those all include chassis/suspension rework, interior tub, firewall, etc. All of that increases parts count and cost, and we didnt really think it would make it all that marketable. There are plenty of kits out there that could be used to modify the existing setup. Who knows...if it sells well enough it might get a small block, a better chassis and engine bay, and a decal run. ;)

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Not for this model but are these decals available yet?

VRM-018 Big Block Snake #1 for Revell Monogram 427 Cobra

I screwed up the #6 stripes - they are at Cartograf right now. Hopefully by the NNL. Along with Mod Tops, 250 GTO, and 250TR.

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These will be available from Historic Racing Miniatures. I cant comment on the price.

I would suggest getting an order in at your favourite reseller. He sometimes gets a bit backed up with orders. We are trying to keep the parts count down in order to make casting go a bit quicker.

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  • 1 month later...

Ok - I have an update on this.

Still no price yet as parts are still being worked out, but hopefully soon.

It has been tweaked to use the AMT '67 as a transkit. It will also include single and dual exhaust tips, more accurate seats, separate grille and bumper. There is also more detail on the door panels.

The downside is that it might not be ready for sale at the NNL East, but the delay will be worth it.

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The old photo in Rex's pictures are of Brad's car back in the day. And if they were any doubt about the quality of the kit HRM will turnout the fact he want's replicate "his" car should put any fears to rest.

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Yes! I got to see it in person at the MAMA club meeting today! Very, very nice Harold!

Hey Bill - give credit where credit is due...Vic Laskorski did the first 85%. He did the same for Brads 300 SLR, and some other things that Brad has in the 'I'll get to it' pile (Filioinetti and NART Corvettes come to mind).

Steve

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