Stef

Heh, we've all been there, Gary! Right you are; it's all about "point of entry". In the 70s, many old 1/32 Lindberg kits were pretty rough for a 10 year old. That bias carried with me into the early 90s, until Scale Auto raved about a bunch of all-new Lindberg kits, except that THEY WERE TOO BIG! Everyone begged Lindy to go 1/25, and so they did. And what followed was an insane onslaught of state-of-the-art kits of long sought after subjects: 61 Impala, 66 Chevelle, 64 Dodge 330s, 53 Fords, 64 Belvedere, 67 Olds 442, 97 F-150, and more. And so, by 1999 or 2000 when Lindy announced their upcoming 48 Lincoln, I was so excited. Home run after home run, Lindberg could do no wrong. Heh. Got mine, opened the box, and I was shocked, horrified, apoplectic, and crestfallen by what I saw inside the box. To me, it was utter trash. Unbuildable. Unworthy. Beneath me. An insult. Waste of time. How could Lindberg betray me like this? How could they get this so wrong? I immediately threw it in the garbage, and swore off Lindberg forever. That was 25 years ago, and I've since learned that 48 Lincoln kit was actually an old Pyro, and Lindberg merely reissued it. So yeah, "point-of-entry". I came into the new Lindberg not realizing their extensive back catalog, and was not prepared for something older and sucky. Sometimes old kits are mega awesome, and new ones are baffling, and then there's everything inbetween. A couple years ago, I tracked down a decent 48 Lincoln buildup, and I plan to one day take it apart, clean it up, and do as nice a job on it as I can, warts and all. And having said all that, I don't get angry at what's in the box anymore; I just realize there are SQUILLIONS of kits of all kinds of vintages, and I just enjoy 'em for what they are. If I want to go the extra mile, I have. I do. I will. And if I don't want to go the extra mile, just as well. And yeah, girls have a funny way of making us lose interest in models!

Right you are, Gary, and I've been thinking about your post for days now. Lindberg made some really neat stuff in the mid-late 90s that Round 2 should still have. The Sebring, the Caravan, and the Atlantic all come to mind. I built all three back in the day, and I'm sure a lot of us would love to see these classics again!

Nooice. Even when you DON'T stuff huge wheels under your builds, Tim, they still look like you DO, heh.

Awesome! Looks like nearly all of the pieces and options for this kit have survived the test of time. All we really need now are the stepside bed and topper from EXPRESS-O to complete the series. Me personally, really hoping Round 2 brings back RISING SUN next!

Thank you, Round2, another of my grails has been resurrected from the dead!

Just saw F1 with Brad Pitt, and man, I am rather stoked to get this! Anyone know what the F1 movie APX cars were, and any chance they are, or will be, made as models? Me wants.

DJ mentioned above that the recent 85 Camaro did not have chrome, confirmed here with an HPI Guy screencap. 99% certain the Revell 81 Camaro snapper never came with chrome to begin with. Also just occurred that NONE of the three Stranger Things kits had chrome! And... Revell's recent 1/16 Trans Am GTA did not have chrome, either. IIRC, the late 80s version I had featured gorgeous satin-chrome plating. Good news everyone, Revell has not bailed entirely on chrome; recent reissues of the ex-Monogram 1/12 Camaro and 1/8 Trans Am DO still have plated trees.

You're 128% correct Peter, and I totally agree and prefer chrome-plated parts myself, too. I found an original sealed Monogram molded-in-red Fiero in the mid-90s and painted the wheel recesses flat black, then dullcoated the wheels, and they looked sick awesome realistic. It's interested how Revell of all companies has come full-circle with not plating their parts. They stopped plating in the late 70s/early 80s for awhile, and now here they are, back at it again!

Pretty sure Revell recently did the same on their ex-Monogram Stranger Things Camaro. IIRC, that entire parts tree was plated in every pervious version I'd ever bought/seen over the years. Revell saves a few bucks, while some hardcore modelers don't need to strip plated parts.

Man, that was BRUTAL to watch. My teeth flew outta my skull just from watching that impact. I'll be certain to upgrade the braking system on my kit, thanks.

Agreed. Years ago, I saw a review/buildup of the Moebius 61 and I'd swear it was the same underpinnings as the AMT 62 I'd just finished. Did Moebius license/borrow/buy parts/tooling from AMT/Round 2, did they outright copy/clone, or was it something else?

Awwwwww yissssssss This is wicked awesome. Wide fat lopro tires, sinister stance, all designed from the ground-up to be a modern killing machine. Will be getting this Pro Touring version, and a K-Code for an African Safari Rally version, too. May the best Merc win.

Imagine selling models for a living and being angry that some don't sell as well as others.

I really enjoyed this kit; finished this about a year ago, and highly recommend it. I took a few liberties with cutting out the passenger side window, increasing the track on all 4 corners by .080", deleting the rear diffuser, filling in the front license plate mount, cutting out most of the front skid plate, and a few other details. Paint is Tamiya TS-92 over Tamiya light grey primer. Wish I would've clearcoated and polished it out! Tamiya also produced a Z-Tune version which featured foil transfers, meatier wheels and tires, huge hood vents, aggressive front and rear fascias, flared front fender tops, side ground effects, subtle rear overfender arches, and a few other details. Both kits share some common parts so you can certainly mix-and-match to build your own version, whichever you get your hands on.

Right you are, Alan! I'll take Super Charger any way Round 2 releases it! Even if it's molded in red, with heavily-tinted glass, no pad printing, and no updated decals, ha ha. But since Round 2 is in command, they're probably going to give us much more value than we ever hoped for. They're no doubt watching this thread with great enthusiasm, and Chad is practicing his best "A LOTTA YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR THIS ONE..."

Ha ha, right you both are! We've all acquired squillions of these over the years, and me personally, I have never, EVER used a single set of them on any project I've ever done. Until last year!

TRON GRIDS FOR THE WIN!

Agreed 128%. As much as I want Revellogram's new 71 Mustang, I'm strongly leaning towards getting one of MPC's craptastical 73's I butchered as a zygote. As a kid, I fought against butt joins, speculative engineering, and technical naivite. As an adult, I love kits that fight back. I love levelling surfaces, trimming, smoothing, test-fitting, filling gaps, scribing, bashing, modifying, and overcoming challenges for bespoke creations with a super-clean look. As much as I loved all the great new high-end stuff put out in the 90s and beyond, I've since developed a deep respect for and reverence of nostalgia. I now love building kits I destroyed in my youth, building vintage kits I never built before, and taking on vintage subjects I never cared for before. Dave, I do believe you and I are both onboard for snagging an Atlantis 57 Nomad and taming that beast, heh.

Since this was brought up, I've often wondered about MPC's sudden and drastic improvement in overall quality and engineering of the late 70s/early 80s, long before ERTL took over. For example, MPC's 79 Mustang and 82 EXP kits had separate door/engine bay panels, their Omni 024/Shelby Charger/Daytona featured highly complex engines and front drivelines, their Fiero had insane detail throughout, their F-body Firebird and Camaro kits were far ahead of their time, the 80 Bronco was far more sophisticated than what Revell or Monogram had put out, and their C4 was top-notch for the day. Just curious if anyone has any insight as to how MPC got really good in the 80s!

Nooice. Especially McLovin' your Grand Champion-style 74 in the background!

Right you are, Olivier; I paid about $75 for the Moebius 72 Wrecker in person at Sunward at Christmas 2024. That was a very special one-off that I was willing to pay quite a bit extra for. I'm usually OK with $45-50, but above that, it's really gotta be a special kit! But the real problem is, EVERYTHING American has gone up, and I'm having a hard time paying $50+ for what was only $40 last year. To top it all off, the secondary market has gone bonkers, too. Used domestic kits, opened kits, old kits, would usually be $10-15 CDN, and recently, people started asking $30-40, and I ain't havin' that, unless it's a grail. Ain't no tariffs on a 25-year old 58 Impala. Even $5 glue bombs are going for $20 now, and the market is overdue for a serious correction. Having said all that, the Japanese kits have gone down in price! There's never been a better time to stock-up on Aoshimas, Tamiyas, Fujimis, and Hasegawas!

Fantastic work, Will. You have a very bright future ahead of you!

Pics please! Mine was similar, no doubt. First, built it with unpainted red body, then took it all apart and rebuilt it with brush-painted Testors 1146 Silver body!

Wow, Steve, so glad you're back on this one! I loved your pics you posted last year or so, and it will be a pleasure to watch you finish this beauty. So glad everyone was able to inspire you!

Totally agreed 128%! You guys rock! I'm just a dude who butchered my original Super Charger back in 85-86, and it remains one of my all-time fave kits that I've never had the chance to track down yet. Just knowing you cats love it as much as I do warms my cold, dead, black heart. Straight reissue, partial or total remaster, whatever, I'm confident Round 2 will bring this kit back from the grave. Thanks again everyone for your facts, stories, pics, knowledge, and deep reverence for this oft-overlooked kit. Godspeed, good sirs.