Luc Janssens

While we (my son and I) were riding our bikes on a overpass, over the Antwerp beltway, I saw a metallic green '69 Olds Cutlass H/T, crawling towards the dreaded Kennedy tunnel...

I have to agree that the Fairmont was a clean design, but another car from the same period wich is growing on me, is the '78 Malibu 2dr.....would those fly?

Maybe many of us here on this forum already got this kit the first round. Sure, the tires will be better, same for the decals, so for those who didn't have the chance to pick one up before, a real tread. Me personally am hopeful that more presumed lost ('60s-'70s) tools will resurface in the coming years. But again the aforementioned more common reissues do have their place, not only for those who missed out, but for Round-2 too, so they can finance the restoration/cloning/improving process, of lesser cared for, forgotten designs, which in the past were, maybe rotting away in some cornfield in Iowa (that or maybe to finance the acquisition of another company )

I'm sure a standard '69 Charger will do, or sell it a White Hat special through Hemmings

Hmm...the link you entered, lead me to one pic of the box top artwork, but see now a description was added, which says... Skill 2, paint and cement requiredMolded in whiteVector and Torq-Thrust wheel optionsTwo engine intake setupsCountry racing parts includedAll new decal sheet with flags, numbers and letteringExciting Illustrated packagingSo yer right sir!

I concur, do hope it this modus operandi is their new standard for glue kits.

IMHO a 2'n1 kit would be the best way to re-introduce this one, but....it kinda depends on the tool layout, one more reason a cluster of smaller tools in kit design in this day and age is the best way towards multiple siblings....

You're sure it's not the new snapper in a new wrapper?

At least 40% off!

Don't think they erased the sidewalls of these tires to begin with, same for the Michelin TRX. Only the ones depicting Goodyear tires were affected by the licencing woes IIRC

Looks great Chuck! Wonder if the US Border Patrol used these back in the day...

But not your average tire either... BTW love your T/A

IMHO an American car which would/could fly in Europe, besides the classic Mustang, I think would be a '60s (think Boss Hog) up to '80s Cadillac Deville and maybe a mid '70s Eldo. convert too... Revell has the best hand of cards to find out...since they are present both in NA and the EU

When that kit was designed, I wonder if the rimsize was reduced for existing tires. Cuz at that point in time, when low profile tires were widely introduced (or so I think) kit manufactures weren't ready yet. Think it took Amt/Mpc/Ertl 'till '88 to make a low profile tire, Monogram '85 (with the new 'vette) only maybe Revell of Venice Ca. with their '82 Camaro and Firebird...

Me like!....now if they could do the same with the full size Dodge truck.

That's the Amt kit, isn't it? Wonder what tires they're gonna include in it.......

Sliks can, and have been done in the past, but tires with a tread are complicated, cuz you'd have to do the tread in several sections to make it work, see tasca Zundapp KS750 Motorcycle. http://www.missing-lynx.com/reviews/german/tasca24004reviewbg_1.html

Think that's a good thing, cuz when engineering for "pre-paint", one looks for ways to make it easy to paint the kit, in a production environment, something the casual modeler will appreciate I'm sure. The metal axle thingy....wonder what the profile was of all who voted on Facebook, think it might explain a lot.

Indeed, the white one looks just like the one, my Grandfather on my mother's side, owned. Will buy that one for sure, for sentimental reasons...

There are a few more which could've inspired certain models, I'll post them sometime..

1973 Ford Bronco, by Mike Boyle 1) What subject would you kit, and why? 1973 Ford Bronco. One of the greatly overlooked "SUV" subjects. 2) Set your target audience, decide on skill level, parts breakdown and overall design. Skill level 2, adult audience. - Chassis: Separate ladder frame, multi piece suspension with separate coil and leaf springs - Drive-train: Full detail 289/302 small block, separate 3spd or C4 tranny, accurate Dana 20 T-case - Body: 1 piece "tub" with separate windshield, hood, doors and tailgate. Stock rear 1/4 panels with light scribe on inside to indicate where to cut for "sport flares." Full hard top. - Interior: Simple molded as part of body tub. Stock bucket and rear bench seats. Stock 4 point roll bar. Decal for guage cluster. 3) Do you want to include optional parts? Name them, and why? - Drive-train upgrades: 3" lifted coil and leaf springs. Rancho shocks for lifted suspension. - Body add-on's: Optional "sport" fender flares for front and rear. Swing-out tire carrier. 1/4 cab and back cab wall. Inserts for door openings. - Interior options: Racing or Sport bucket seats. Floor shifter. Full 6 point rollcage. - Wheels & tires: 5 (not 4) Nice modern 35" radial mud terrain tires (BFG style). 15"x8" Aluminum slot mags. - Decals: 4wd aftermarket logo sheet (similar to the contingency sheets AMT use to put in their kits) 4) Are there alternative versions possible from that tool?, and if so, what parts can be used for both versions? Alternative kit #1: Stroppe Bronco. Most kit parts will carry over. New decal sheet and laser cut paint masks included in kit. Alternative kit #2: Big Oly Baja Bronco. The body would be about the only thing that would carry over. New full tube race chassis, correct detalis, decal sheet and laser cut paint mask. (Info on Big Oly can be found by searching link on Stroppe Bronco at bottom of the page) 5) How do you want the packaging? - Box art: Typical layout, photo of real vehicle on box top, one side panel showing photos of built model in stock and custom versions - Info on the box: Building and parts options - Box vs. parts layout: Larger box (size of the Revell '50 Ford P.U.) - Packaging of the parts: Bagged as normal, white plastic, chrome, windows, tires, decals in clear packaging, instructions calling parts by name and giving full factory color options. 6) The bean counters went all over your little project and it seems the kit you're proposing slightly exceeds the budget, luckily you are in the planning stage, so what do you lose, and why? </b> I'd lose the 1/4 cab and rear wall, the full roll cage and that’ s it!

1952 Hudson Hornet, by SpeedyO.K, I'll give it a go. 1.) What subject and why? 1952 Hudson Hornet This was one of the most significant cars of it's era. An engineering feat in it's "Step-Down" advertising and design. One literally stepped down to enter this automobile while the others were riding high. (Hmmm..a factory low-rider!) This factor offered excellent handling with it's lowered center of gravity. 2.)Target audience would be skill level two to advanced. Parts breakdown would be along the lines of AMT's 49 Merc. Remember, Hudson’ s were simple but effective cars. One could make the argument for marketing this kit as a convertible and include two optional tops to build a standard coupe or Hollywood hardtop version. That alone offers three building options from one tool. 3.) Chassis. These were uni-body cars and as such would be modeled along the lines of much later MOPARS. Posable steering, separate exhaust and suspension lowering options are a must. 4.) Drive-train. Separate parts for drive-shaft, differential and springs. 5.) Interior. Floor-pan, separate side panels and rear seat. Stock and custom dash. stock and custom seats, scale fuzzy dice for the rearview. 6.) Body. A clean and crisp one peice molding with separate hood. Bright work options to create'48 to '52 models. Custom parts include full fender skirts, lake pipes, frenched headlights,'59 Caddy tail lights, etc. Again ala '49 Merc kit. 7.) General. The engine in this kit offers one of the most powerful flathead 6 cylinders ever manufactured. Twin H (dual carb) production engines were 308 cubic inches and could and did give Rocket 88 Oldsmobiles fits. Wheels would be stock steelies with options for stock or custom wheel covers. Tires would be period wide whitewalls with optional later low profile tires. 8.) If the bean counters (get the shotgun, Ma!) object, I'd say chuck all the custom parts and just give me the basic kit! My imagination will take care of the rest. Maybe this will make my thoughts clearer.

1975-’ 76 Ford Gran Torino Sport, by D. Van 1) what subject would you kit, and why? 1975/76 Ford Torino 2 door. This is the famous Starsky & Hutch car. But it also is the first car NASCAR driver Bill Elliott drove in a cup race. The car also fits the new ‘ Mainstream’ theme of American cars. Very few Fords where modeled during this time frame. 2) Set your target audience, decide on skill level, parts breakdown and overall design. Wide target audience. This would mean a kit along the lines of the Revell ‘ Wheels of Fire’ Chevy Monte Carlo. I would like to see a 3 piece chassis with nice detail and separate simplified front and rear suspension clips. Body would be a showroom stock trim. An interior with separate side panels would make using it as a stocker would be simplified. 3) Do you want to include optional parts? name them, and why? Wheels and tires. Factory style Slot wheels with period BFG tires. Maybe a S&H stripe in decal and/or die cut stick on - or both as Polar Lights have done. 4) Are there alternative versions possible from that tool?, and if so, what parts can be used for both versions? I would sell it as a 3 N 1 kit. S&H Torino, Period street machine using a mix of stock and S&H parts and some stock wheel covers to build a mid range showroom Torino. The NASCAR guys would use the kit as a starting point as a Cup car. The bodies were very close to stock at this time but another chassis would need to be used for a contest model. If the modeler wanted a passable curbside stocker could be built using kit parts and some suitable wheels. 5) How do you want the packaging? I would see a box with box ART. A box showing a S&H Torino on a city street power sliding into a side street with a showroom stock Torino parked nearby. It would not need to be labeled a S&H Torino but rather a special edition Torino as labeled by Ford. 6) The bean counters went all over your little project and it seems the kit you're proposing slightly exceeds the budget, luckily you are in the planning stadium, so what do you loose, and why? About the only trimming that could be done would be losing the stock wheel covers or going to a one piece chassis. I would tend to go for the chassis first as the wheel covers are needed for the optional building versions. Going with only the decal or the sticker would help cost but not enough to make or break the project.