unclescott58

Great link Mark. Thanks. Scott

Very nice Marty. And thank you Bruce for are asking for more details. I too was wondering what scale and what kit? I suspected the MPC, but.... Any how I'm glad you asked. Scott

So is the MPC Mach 1 in 1/25th scale or not? Again I've heard it is not. But, from reading Dave Van's comments above, I get the impression the kit may be in 1/25th scale after all. Scott

Very cool Tom. I'd love to have been in your shoes. Scott

I remember building a version of this kit back in the late 1970's. I loved it! This is high on my list of things I'd like to see Round 2 reissue. Scott

I'm with you on this one. I have the Avanti and Ranchero. The Avanti was built very nicely by another person. But, in a color I hate. The Ranchero I built, but is missing a taillight. The others were cars I like. So I know I'd be buying them if they are reissued. Scott

Just re-read this posting. I think you need to check your facts a little better. Both Mercedes and Porsche raced cars with swing axles well past 1953. And where you come up with the .45 cent figure on two U joints? You maybe right on this. But it sounds a little low even for a manufacturer in 1960? Scott

OK guys. Nader did not kill the Corvair. GM sent word to Chevrolet 6 months before Nader's book was published to stop all development work on future Corvairs. They would only allow updates to meet required standards. Corvair was killed by the Ford's Mustang. Corvair invented the sporty domestic compact market. But, Ford and Iacocca figured how to make the idea sell. And sell big. With cheap components shared with their cheap Falcon. Corvair shared very little with any other GM product. It was expensive to build. And did not, and could not offer a V8 engine in that form. Corvair's replacement was in the works. The Camaro. They should have over lapped only one year, 1967. But, by that time there so much bad publicity because Nader's book, GM could not let go of the car. Two years after the last Corvair was built, the National Highway and Safety Administration released their findings on the Corvair. They found it to be no more dangerous than any other car on the road. In the end GM won most of the lawsuits against it. Very few people have ever read Nader's book, Unsafe At Any Speed. True, he did go after the Corvair. Mainly the 1963 and earlier models. But he also condemned any car with an independent swing arm axle design, like the early Corvairs. This included Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, and others. The mistake GM did was getting caught trying discredit Nader. This brought the Corvair into the news. Volkswagen mainly kept their mouths shut and went on to sell record numbers of swing arm Beetles at the same time. Unsafe At Any Speed also covers other automotive safety questions other than Corvairs and swing arm axles. It's interesting to me, hearing the myths that developed over the years on automotive subjects like the Corvair. People hear something. Assume it has to be right. And rarely check the true facts. Soon everybody believes the story because so many people have told it so many times. Corvair's death was economics more than anything else. Falcon sold so many more units in 1960, that Chevrolet quickly developed Chevy II to counter it. In the mean time, the sporty Corvair Monzas sold well enough to keep the line going until the Mustang showed up. Showing a much better and cheaper way of going after that same market. Even then, Corvair sales didn't really take a bad hit until Camaro showed up. Lastly, I got to meet with Ralph Nader on October 11, 1989. He autographed my copy of Unsafe At Any Speed. With his autograph he hand wrote, "For safer cars & other vehicles". I did not agree with Mr. Nader on several of his conclusions in the book. But, I liked him and feel he was attempting to do the right thing in writing the book. R. Scott Aho Automotive Historian, and Corvair lover.

This is how it starts! I'm twice your age and never took the ten year break. I always have an idea or two on how I'm going build a kit. I just get distracted by other kits. I have a lot of built kits. I maybe have slightly more unbuilt kits. I'm sure all together I now have over 500 or 600 kits! Probably close to 100 or more promos. And I can not even guess how many Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning, etc. I own. So your young. You have plenty of time to catch up. Scott

Today close to home, I saw a 1st generation Viper coupe. White with black stripes. It surprised me. I thought when you bought one, you had agree to drive it home. Park it your garage. Rope it off. And worship it from a far. I did not know you were allowed to drive a Viper except on special Mopar holidays. Maybe today was a Mopar holiday I didn't know about. Second, I saw a much more common 1956 Ford pickup truck. I know that common mortals are allowed to drive those anytime they want to. I see one from time to time. This one looked very nice. Red with what may have Chevy Rally wheels. Scott

Hey! Your no fooling me. I know at Hass drove a Pontiac Firebird in that show. I think you got gypped. Scott

Speaking of rare kits. Here is another I wish I had in my collection. Scott

One of the "Holy Grail" kit for me. Premier kits were not good kits in general. But I love the Ramside and the Greenbriar. Scott

By the way, all of the fake kits on Westphal's web site should be made into real kits. Just about every one on his site I would buy if I could. Scott

So from Dave's comment, I'm getting the impression the Revell Mustang is not an old Monogram tool? Is it in 1/25th scale? And is the old AMT/MPC kit the wrong scale? Like I've heard. And did AMT tool their own 1/25th scale Mustang back in the days before AMT and MPC were combined and started sharing tools? Scott

What do you guys know about something another MCCM member suggested at the last meeting about a hobby canopy glue with the name of 560 something? Paul, the MCCM member who suggested it can be a little pushy with suggestions, but is a pretty good modeler. None of the other MCCM members seemed to know anything about this glue. But, none countered him. So what is this stuff? And would it work for this? I like the idea it's already designed for hobby use and will not damage clear styrene. Scott

By the way, that first post I made is a joke. It's true. But, meant to be a joke since you weren't very specific in your question. I assume your asking about radial airplane engines? If so, what's not to like? My all time favorite airplane, the Beech 17 Stagerwing was power by radials. And AMT made a very nice kit of this plane many years ago. Still have. 1/48th scale and the engine is hidden under the front cowling, so you don't see much of it. So it's not very detailed. Yes radials are cool. But, what do you want to know specifically? Scott

I only use radial tires. Would never consider going back to bias plies on any vehicle I own.

So this is not the Pete sleeper? Scott

I'm not a funny car guy. But, like Allison Thunderland I'll have to get this kit. Just like I love big personal luxury cars from the 1960's like Thunderbirds. I love Chevy's quirky old Corvair. One of histories most misunderstood cars. And the first subject of a major paper in my going for my bachelors degree in automotive history, 25 years ago. So, I think I'll be picking one of these up. Plus it's just plain cool besides! Scott

I forgot to mention, the '69 Mustang fastback kit I like the best is AMT's 1/43rd scale version. A little small. But, I've always like the looks of that kit when finished. Scott

What truck kits was this sleeper specifically designed to fit with? Scott

I hope your right about them restoring back the Falcon. That is the number one kit I'd like to see back in its original form. Followed closely by the '66 Skylark. Scott

By the way, after posting about this kit, I went to Round 2's web site and saw and few other cool old AMT kits just announced. I think Round 2 is trying to run me into the poor house. And you know what? I'm happily going along with it! Scott

My intent in buying any model is always to build it. The trouble is I've got so many kits I know I'm never get around building then all. There is only one kit in my collection I will for sure never build. And that is a JoHan Chrysler Turbine Car kit. I have a mint one sitting in its original box. Everything is still on the trees and pack in that unique set up JoHan used on some kits. Like I say it's mint, but for some reason when I opened it up, and it was still factory sealed, I found it to be missing the glass parts!? I've built the Turbine several times in the past. And I own an original promo. Plus with that unique so called "frame-pak" parts layout. I want to leave this kit alone. I just wish I had the glass for it, still on there original trees to complete the kit. Scott