Faust

I don't like the early Escorts at all... However from 80 until about 92, I do like 'em. A lot. They're gutless and small, and yes, look like many other Econoboxes, but they are the least bland, I find. I like the little trunk step vs. Straight hatch or Sedan styling. I also like the back end of the Malibu Maxx too, though. Yes, the EXP was plain ugly. I love 'em too. I have 5 EXP kits. The original MPC, the yellow 1/32 Monogram, the white 1/32 Monogram (Glidden clone) and 2x 1/32 LN-7s. Ugly but definitely cool today!

I think there are a few reasons. 1.) Age and comparison. When the Pacer came out, there were a lot of "normal" looking cars that, despite the big crash bumpers and smog restrictions still looked kind of like they did in the 'glory days' of the late '60s early '70s. The Pacer was so different and oddly proportioned that it didn't fit in. Now, though, cars are a lot thicker and rounder than they were then. I mean, look at things like Civics, and how big and rounded they've gotten. Altimas and Maximas are pretty rounded and thick, and the new Lincolns are to, to name a few. Well, the Pacer is also round and thick. The wraparound lights were also a bit weird. We were used to corner lights on the side, tail lights and indicators on the grille and back end. However, the Pacer is wrapping them around. Now, wraparound is so extreme that some cars seem to have more side head- and tail light glass than front or back! Thus, like in everything else, AMC was WAAAAY too far ahead of its time. Also, it's a "compact" wagon/hatch. Those weren't cool then, but they are accepted now for sure. I think, then, that maybe time has caught up with the Pacer, some 40 years later. 2.) Familiarity, or lack of it. They say "Familiarity breeds contempt". right? Well, when you put the awkwardness of the Pacer's styling against it's contemporaries (as in 1) and then mulitply it by quite a lot... you get sick of seeing the weird little bloated ticks, right? However, how often do see them now? Now, almost any old car looks cool, just because it has survived! Hell, I even give a thumbs up to a local '89 Escort (perfect shape.... unreal!) when I see it! It's just a joy to see something that's different from everything else on the road. 3.) Geek = cool. Pacers are still geeky. But (thankfully) geeky is cool now, and the Pacer can come into it's own without living up to pretensions. it's got a future-retro look, and that's a good thing today. I agree with you; I find myself liking a lot of cars that I didn't give two hoots about before, and some of the reasons above are part of that, I think. Okay, enough deep thinking on a Sunday morning. My brain hurts now!

Nice! That's likely the last time any Pacer got such loving attention!

"Poop Coloured Sadness Factory"... EPIC. I am so ashamed that I could not have come up with this line. Truly inspiring and LOL-inducing words. Yes, I LoL'ed on that one, and when I read it to those around me, they did the same. Well done, sir, well done! I love the woodgrain and the whitewalls! Where did you get such nice whitewalls? As for the Hungarian decals, yeah, it's the customizing kit that came with them originally. Tony Packo's is a real place, and he created the "Hungarian Hot Dog Craze", which there really kind of was, it seems. There's some seriously great work being done on these cars. I think the guys at Round 2 should be pleased!

I'm not sure. Technically, they should be since both are 1/25... but there's likely going to be some minor issues. Has anyone out there tried it?

Everyone knows that I love loser cars. I seem to gravitate towards the odd, eclectic, underpowered and unloved. Well, there aren’t too many cars that are more of all of those things than the AMC Pacer! That’s why I was so stoked when I got my hands on the MPC ’78 coupe from Round 2 a couple of years ago. I’d seen the on the second hand market, and wasn’t about to pay what they wanted there. It never occurred to me that there would come a day that we’d be able to actually go into a shop and CHOOSE between two different Pacer kits! However, when I saw the new AMT ’77 Pacer Wagon in a local shop, that’s exactly what happened! Two different kits, of two different body styles and two different years. It’s loser Nirvana! While I don’t normally get too excited by AMT’s, there’s nothing not to like about this one. I mean, it’s a Pacer wagon and it comes with all kinds of crazy custom bits! Check out the newest addition to the Pacer model kit family out of box here: https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/round-2-amt-125-1977-pacer-wagon-out-of-box/

Man, I am falling sooo behind on this one! I've only go the T-tops filled, the interior bucket and chassis primed and some of the engine together. Of course, I'm also working on a Master Grade Gundam at the same time, but still, your efficiencies blow me away! I'd love to see yours, too, Scott! I hope your buddy's child can help you out!

Wow Mike! That looks fantastic! What did you do to get the paint so smooth and polished? I stand in awe and amazement. I think these builds are indeed making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, quite literally!

Man, that looks great, Jack! is that a Targa Roof I see? Any mods under the hood? The colour scheme reminds me of my EXP. Dark with red is a great and eye catching combo, that's for sure. Is it a Tamiya Metallic Grey or something you used? It's subtle, but strong. Good choice. I found a "for sale" listing for an '80 that was spotless. It's black and red, like my beloved Trans Am (Faust). That's how I'm going to do mine, since I want it stock (as stock as possible) and the decals are red. So, mine will also have a red interior. Sounds like a case of "Great Minds Think Alike". Who else has one of these "bad boys" (okay, sad boys is more like it) on the go? I'm working on filling in T-tops at the moment. Darn putty keep sinking...

Man, that looks awesome! So much smog work and performance choking hosery makes me cry! I do remember a lot of those cars looking like that in the early '80s myself, so I'd say you're right on!

Yeah, there's a lot of different fighter ideas in there. Clearly, more F-16 than anything, but it's just different enough that it's entertaining. I really do think that it would make an awesome Talon replacement, but I guess it's too big. It at least has two engines, which is good for training safety. I love the A/T-50 Golden Eagle, but I wonder about the single-engined nature of it. There are lots of 1-engine trainers, of course, but the US has generally gone with two. The IDF here already has that part covered!

I do love the odd, esoteric and somewhat forgotten planes, it seems. I always find that there’s something intrinsically rewarding about picking up a kit of a plane that most people don’t even know about. It makes it a lot more fun to build, too, assuming I can get around to it sometime! One particularly good example of this is the AIDC FCK-1, or IDF. This is the Taiwanese answer to the F-16/F-18, and, maybe not surprisingly, looks a little like both combined. This fighter wasn’t built in large numbers, but it was successful and is still in service. I personally love the idea of a twin-engined F-16, and with the IDF, that’s kind of what you get! When I ran across an injection moulded example at a swap meet some time ago, I was thrilled! Even though it’s not in my preferred scale of 1/72, it’s still a cool kit. I think it will look great once it’s built, too. Heck, as a What-If, it could even make a cool T-X contender for the Talon replacement program! Check out my out of box review of this rather oddball creation below. You might be surprised how not-terrible the kit seems to be! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/zhengdefu-148-aidc-fck-1b-ching-kuo-oob/

Wow. That looks awesome! I love the Falcon and that looks great. It looks dirty and derelict without being overdone. Good job making a beaut of of what's supposed to be a simple little model!

There was one at a car show in St. Thomas just last year, I think! You're right, though. Those are terribly lame... I really wanted to buy it, but it wasn't for sale!

Hey Mike! Hope you liked the show. I think it went off pretty well, actually. It was fun to see some great kits on the table, and I always like getting a few of my oddballs out and about! The good thing is that there is no shortage of gaudy MPC kits. They really were the kings of that kind of thing! As for what you're saying, Scott: I hear ya. I just always feel bad for the last "sporty" cars. I definitely get what you mean about cars with engines mounted the wrong way, and using too few cylinders. We had nothing but V8s at my house until 1991, when my dad's '76 Torino finally died. Then it was an '89 Escort until 2002, and then a Protege 5. The P5 is decent (we've rustprooved the hell out of it) trash hauler and fun to drive, for sure, but it IS a go cart... I drove the old '85 Marquis until 2006, when I needed to get a new car, and went with the Mazda 3. It was too small, and I had to beat it too hard to get anything out of it. It was decent, but again, didn't really have a soul. The good news for me was the Australians still had a soul, and I managed to get a 2009 G8 GT. Going back to a 6L V8 reardrive was an enlightenment. Never again will I deal with front wheelers. There's something charming about the last of the "decal" muscle cars, though. They're so much pretending and fail, but they did mean well. You have to respect the intent, even if the result wasn't great. Funny thing is, seeing one now, they actually look kinda neat. They're a product of their times, and that's why I love kits of them from that time (at least originally). I don't think I'd care for a brand new, awesome Tamiya of a Volare - I'd rather have one that was born back in the day!

Oh, nice! I'm glad to know there are some good Slant 6's out there. I personally also love the horribly smog-choked 8's, just because they're so weak. I mean, my dad's '89 Escort put out 90 hp, and some of the Malaise 8's were getting into that territory. So sad... My brother would definitely agree on the wheel covers. There needs to be a movement towards getting more wheel covers and even wheels for these "loveable(?) losers". I know my brother used the wheel covers off of some late '60s AMT Ford for his 70, and I think he said that the Christine wheels are just about dead ringers for Pacer stock wheel covers; he and I both have the AMT Pacer wagon, but mine will be the lame-o cruising version, he wants, of course, to do a base or at least wood-grained example of a stock one. Glad you like the site, man! I was just at a show this weekend, and I can tell you I got a few new things that will likely tickle your funny bone when I get around to writing them. MPC is just the best, man...

Oh man, that's awesome! I have the Silver Bullet Omni, and hit has those pieces in it, I think. If not, I know my Shelby Charger does; You can customize your "new" Shelby Charger to look like last year's Omni! How good is that! Those "super" Omnis and Monzas are awesome. Good on you, MPC!

Hey Bill! It's funny, because when I was young, I was surrounded by the big '70s boats and "personal luxury" yachts (and the odd Street Van, and many a rusting T/A, of course). I know the feeling you had, because around '83 I started to notice there were these weird foreign cars (Honda? Datsun? The heck?) that were starting to replace the dying Vegas, Monzas, Astras, Pintos and Mavericks. I still remember when I guy in our neighbourhood got the first Tempo we'd ever seen. It was like an alien space ship. All the kids just looked at it and were awed. Yeah, a Tempo, I know... Thing is, the shape, style, trim... it was all so radically different. I can definitely see how you wouldn't be a fan of the real car, and please understand that I'm not either. However, I find the Malaise Era fascinating because we got so many "everyday" car kits from then, and it's awesome for me to a.) build the cars I remember as a kid and b.) get to rag on them for being such BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. I would buy everything on that list of yorus, except the Lincoln. I'd rather have a '77 Cougar, myself. My uncle had one, and my brother does today as his classic car. They were EVERYWHERE, and now his is, I believe, the only one in our city of 350,000. I don't know why there's never been a kit of one; I mean, the real things sold like hotcakes! 77 Olds though, I'm sooo there.

Yeah, that was a great description. T-tops are a very 70's kind of thing. As for Muscle Cars, I know a lot of people say if it has a big V8 it's a muscle car. Not to me, but then again I'd say the '73 SD-455 T/A is a Muscle Car, as is a 427 Vette, but the T/A is a Pony Car and the Vette is a Sports Car. Regardless, I think it's safe to say that under NO circumstances are Volare Dusters muscle cars, at least not stock ones! Interesting about how to wake up a LB engine, though. Could be useful later!

True enough on that analysis, Jesse. I do like the "targa" roof on the Superfly, actually. It kind of helps the entire project be almost kind of believable, a bit. What ever happened to T-tops? I guess rollover standards killed them, eh?

Man, what WON'T MPC try and repush. What is with the roof on Fonz's rod? At least give the full roof, for goodness' sake! Now it just looks like a big golf cart! That Seathogs/Superfly car is awesome, though. All kinds of bad taste in one Hungry Man meal of aesthetic disaster. I sooo need to get one.

Oh my... what in the what is that. It's like the illegitimate (and somewhat genetically de-contented) love child of a Poncho and a Stutz Bearcat. That thing, is just the worst, and yet, it is the best. Now I HAVE to get one of these. Does it even actually have anything to do with Welcome Back Kotter, or did they "Fonzy's Dream Machine" the original Superfly in the same way? That thing would be a scream! MPC, you never disappoint! I would need a bag of Doritos just on opening the box! Yeah, I wondered about that. Fab? If it was a 4-cylinder, the "Fab-4" jokes write themselves (Ooh! Abbey Road-themed inappropriate EXP custom is now coming into view in my minds eye!). It's almost like even MPC was just at the end of their ability to care at all about the car. That's fair, I get it. One day, I'm going to review something that doesn't suck, and you guys are likely going to be bored. My apologies in advance.

Oh man, Alan is going to go all out, eh? Nice! Those wheels will look great with it. As for that Nova, I am SO IN! It will HAVE to be light metallic blue. They were ALL light metallic blue when I was growing up. Weill, that or beige. As for beige, man, Randy, that's a lot of hate on the Volare. I can totally see why you'd want an earlier version. My brother has the promo of the '78, and yeah, those are really quite nice-looking cars. Your "may as well" description pretty much sums up his IDEAL version of this kit. He loves ultra-base cars (since no one preserves them, but they are usually the rank-and-file that were on the streets - gotta preserve what was real), and would kill for a good slant-six engine! Me, I love that it's a last-year, square-headlight lame-o Volare. To me, those sum up the total hopelessness and futility of driving enthusiasts and even the automakers in general. It really is like they weren't even trying. Well, I guess they weren't... I like to do my cars of the Malaise Era up as the "almost cool" cars they were trying to be, just because it's that much sadder. Let's face it, an '80 Road Runner fits well with the "sporty" X-11 notchback and EXP I already have in my collection, right? On that note, I found a beautiful black and red example online, and I must say, time has been kind. In immaculate shape and eye-catching colours, this car can almost pass for cool now. It couldn't do that in 1980, could it? Glad everyone was able to enjoy the review. Sometimes, I wonder if I make them too long, but I get passionate, and I have to let my inspiration run its course. Glad you guys take the time to read them. It really keeps me motivated!

I grew up in the middle of the Automotive Dark Ages. I was surrounded by the last, sad remnants of the old V8, rear drive cars and the vanguard of the new, more compact vehicles. At the time, I remember thinking that there was no reason to announce to the world that you had a “2.2” on big numbers on the door. I mean, what good was that? What I didn’t realize that the time was how truly sad the “real” cars had gotten. That dawned on me as I grew up, and that’s part of the reason that I love to model cars from this time period. Remember them from my childhood, and now understand them, and what they meant as the collapse of a passion for motoring that would take a long time to recover. There are a lot of cars that fit into this category, but some of my favourites are those that tried hard, but failed. These were the “Faded Glory” cars; little more that econoboxes or downsized shadows of their namesakes’ former greatness. Perhaps one of the best example of this is the Road Runner. By the time 1980 rolled around, it was little more than just a decal package on a Volare, and a not-very-inspiringly-restyled Volare at that. That’s why I was so pumped to see Round 2 punch out the old MPC “Fuzz Duster” Volare! It really is an encapsulation of its era, and all that was wrong with it. Despite the lameness of the car, though, MPC did a pretty nice job on the kit, even if it’s a bit incorrect. Check out my out of box review of this “muscle” machine here. Just remember that yes, it DID get this bad! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/mpc-125-1980-volare-road-runner-fuzz-duster-oob/

Thanks for the compliments, Phil! I really wish there were more Transformers kits, too. I think they'd be awesome. Like the "Robot replicas" from the first couple of Bay-verse movies, but of G1 guys and, you know, cool. I also have an old HG 1/100 Epyon as Devil Gigatron from Car Robots (Galvatron in RiD) and that worked amazingly well as a detail/colour overlap. I also have a Frame Arms I think looks like Hardhead. Overall, though, it's tough to find a mech that looks like a Transformer (Valkyries and Dorvack mecha aside, of course), eh? I'll keep my eyes peeled!