mk11

I'll bet the story behind the molding process for the AMT '69 and '70 bodies is an interesting one... A closer look at both bodies is makin' me wonder if they didn't find a way to juggle certain elements of the body mold between the Mach 1, long-nose f/c and the '70 after all. There are similar parting lines, dimensions etc, plus the sharing of the f/c chrome shot and also the recycling of the '69 front valance in the Mach Won f/c kit (because the stock '70 retooled chassis had the front valance built in). Now, with three kits using the same '70 body - Blue Crescent and two Mach Won f/c issues, red box and blue box, taking the life of the mold into maybe the mid-seventies... is there even a glimmer of hope that the body cavity molds still survive somewhere or were they victims of a scrap drive ?

Agreed; the first pic is an accessory rad overflow jug. Otherwise, from what I can find, the washer fluid bag was standard up to '67. The jug in the third pic may be a mid-year changeover or a '68 jug retrofitted. mike

Very involved build going on here … https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235040668-ford-mustang-1964-12-convertible-116-from-the-coupe-amt-kit-the-indy-500-pace-car/ mike

Lots of work needed for that From some measuring I did a few years ago I found that the windshield needs correcting to a 40 degree angle from the 30 degrees it currently slopes. You're absolutely right, Steve; looks like that whole dang roof needs to move forward about a quarter inch. That would cure the windshield slope but those A pillars surely need some beefing up. Seems to me that the wheelbase checked out okay but I'll have to see if I can dig up the measurements I took off a 1:1 to check the other proportions. Also hoping there's a 1/18 out there somewhere that might be a good source for some better wheels/tires. mike

X2 ! Just enough rake... mike

That's a really appealing blend of the US and Canadian models. Nice work, Steve.

Be careful what you wish for …. mike

This kit is a re-re-re-issue of the original mpc kit shown in Rex's post and is available with many different forms of box art under the amt banner. Maybe there's some info here that might help sorting these out... According to some that know a great deal more than I, the original amt '69 body was retooled into the long nose funny car; never to be reissued. The '70 was a separate tool with a new chassis, issued in both stock and funny car themed kits but never released again. mike

After hearing you paste everyone here north of the medicine line as foolish buffoons wanting to pay more for everything, I doubt you'd have my business either It could be there's a teensy possibility that modellers will order from businesses promoted on the sites they haunt the most and if there doesn't appear to be a somewhat local source that's publicized, it will most likely be overlooked. Just curious where you advertised and under what name... mike

I would guess you've never had a rock hit any of your windshields Windshields are made of laminated glass; three layers, two of glass sandwiching a plastic middle layer. When heat is applied to the inner layer, it will expand and put pressure on the colder outer layer. If there any rock chips down low, they will create a weak spot and with the applied pressure, a crack will often issue from it. Elementary thermal dynamics at work.

Great vid for showing what's in the kit. Lots of restoration detail pics and vids out there so we should see some excellent realistic builds of this subject surface. mike

These look pretty good Bill. Maybe a thin sheet (.010) of plastic on the back of the bars would decrease the fragility for casting? Then all one would have to do is some light Dremel work to reopen the gaps... mike

The car that launched a thousand builds Very nice! mike

True, but that's the way amt rendered it A closer look at the subject of this discussion will help one see that the oil pan has been glued on backwards and the valve covers are positioned too far outward. No 385 series engine ever came with those log manifolds either. In the context of the original surrounding model, it would represent an FE 360/390. Of course, being that it's Your model, Pat, you reserve the right to call it whatever you want mike

That may be what amt wrongly calls it on the box but the physical design reveals it to be an FE series engine; could represent anything from a 332 through the 352, 360, 390, 406, 427 and 428 cubic inch variants. mike

True, but free doesn't always last forever Putting the magazine-destined content and bonuses into a premium area makes a lot of sense for the reasons Bill clearly elucidates. You'd pay for the magazine anyways. mike

...and styrene bodies too

Looking forward to riding along on another one of your fantastic builds, JC Here's what she looked like twenty-five years ago; original body work, new paint... One thing that appealed to me about this car was that it didn't have the extreme rear axle forward move (only 8") that some other AFXs had. I was actually at a friend's bodyshop in London the day a sikkens (I think) rep gave her a fresh coat of pearl white. The T-Bolt chassis is a great fit and easy swap in scale but the comet chassis is closer prototypically with floorpan engraving, etc. The scale '65 comet chassis is actually a modified 'borrow' from the '66 Fairlane/comet kit, so availability is plentiful for the basic design. mike

Thought some of these looked familiar... more here...

Long past time for Kevin to refresh his resin '69 … and maybe a notchback as well mike

Worked fine for me yesterday. Thanks Casey, for taking the time to dig it up. mike

Nicest build I've seen yet of that monogram kit

My high school shop teacher had one in pieces in a box. He let me take it home to reassemble and bring back. Wish now that I'd bought it from him.

A pic comparing the revel '69 Mach 1 body to the revised Boss 302 body... and a comparison of the original amt body to the revell '69 body.... The amt body has the reputation of being the best representation of balance and scale fidelity. An opportunity to get some measurements recently from a 1:1 revealed a few points of interest. Revell's body looks vaguely off for a reason; the side 'panels' and door height are each about 1" taller than the prototypes, the rear wheel openings are too big and the quarter windows can stand a slight reshaping. They did, however, capture the correct rocker height below the doors whereas the amt rendition is too skinny. The side window height on both is about an inch short. Having gotten the lower rear quarters and rear wheel openings correct, the real surprise on the amt body is that the rear quarters themselves are at least two inches too short! Revell got them the right length. Other minor weaknesses on the amt '69, like the windshield height, chassis and interior detail and small tail lights, are there as well, but the nicely sculpted front fenders and headlight area bring the whole package together as the most appealing. The revised front headlight area on revell's just released Boss 302 is a noticeable improvement over the Mach 1's treatment but it is obvious that without some finessing of the fender itself, the ghost of the misshapen 35 year old 1/10 master will continue to lurk. mike

Sure glad it fell into your hands... that's a beauty mike