Bob Ellis

Nobody has picked up the line. 2 years he has been dead, but for a few moths the family made some kits. Ebay is the best bet, though station wagons and big Impalas (big Chryslers) can be very pricey.

And one more, the ADVENT issue of Revell

Airplanes are built to Six Sigma, which is better quality than a model car kit.

Okay, a mistake (most likely) was made. Maybe Revell would supply another bumper (probably not)? It's all too late now. Maybe somebody like Missing-Link could offer these bumpers guards? I look at it this way; is the kit 95% of the way to my objective? Could I scratch build it for less, and that good? I am not a hypocrite. Just realistic. Nothing in the world turns out exactly the way we want or expect.

I can't believe AMT omitted that.

It takes 2 old Revell 57 Rancheros to build one with the correct roof. Plus the wheel wells on the old Revell won't accept newer tires. I fixed those problems on the 58 Ranchero that I am building. It will be a cake walk using the Del Rio kit.

The only reason that I would cut half the roof off of a Del Rio, is that I know how hard it is to make a correct Ranchero from the current offerings. No way on the AMT '57 Ford and the old Revell Ranchero is too much work to make correct (the roof is wrong, take 2 kits to fix). If it's like waiting 15 years to get a Revell '66 Impala based on the '65 Impala kit, that's too long for me. The whole purpose to me is to cut up kits and modify them into cars not available.

I hope nobody attacks me, but I think I am going to build one as a Country Sedan and the other as a Ranchero. Looks like a slam dunk to convert the Rio to them.

I have tried removing paint from Revell Chinese kits. It is very stubborn. If kit production ever leaves China, I lean towards Viet Nam. Like the sneakers are already doing now.

This kit is based on the 1966 GTO kit, and parts of it are used on the 1972. Having said that, it's been modified to death. When I built the '67 GTO (in 1967) it had 4 screws to hold it together. For fidelity, I might toss the MPC engine and chassis for the '66 Revell.

Revell vs AMT 62 Corvettes is a mixed bag. The Revell is more detailed, but the trunk area of the AMT is better. A lot of the original annual kits seemed better in shape to me. Buy both, smash them together.

The problem with the AMT 1962 Corvette started in 1967 when AMT made it part of the Trophy series. The original annual kit had good headlights, AMT reshaped a new bezel, too small and headlights even more small. It is bad, but can be repaired. To fix, file down the headlight about 1/16" flat. Get the Modelhaus resin copies of the original AMT annual Corvette kit bezels and glue over the flat area. You can get clear lights from Modelhaus or use 5mm dia MV lenses. It will amaze you how much better it is after that is done.

You could have Dean Milano elaborate on this kit. He worked for Revell and I asked him about this kit. What I got is that, the parts that you guys want, are gone, and have been gone for years.

According to eye glass ware people; Acetate is stronger and less brittle. Also, acetate doesn't need painting like other plastics to have a nice appearance and shine. This makes sense. The wanted to make promo cars that kids could thrash around and looked nice out of the box.

There were made of acetate material. Most have warped, though miraculously, some stayed straight. These include; pre-1964 Johan and pre-1961 AMT/SMP. Some of the 1961 AMTs are bad but not all. Not sure why they used acetate except it molds nice and shiny?

A little razor saw should separate the brace very easily. Then file smooth.

What are the little bucket seats for?

Snake, I going to have to agree with you. Seeing is believing. The rear quarter window ends before the wheel opening starts on the PL. I still think the idea of cutting the roof a little will fix that problem.

Very nice build. Good tip on the wire wheel covers. If this '69 Lincoln tool still exists, it's doing a great job hiding. My feeling is only the 1965 Lincoln convertible kit still exists. This 1969 is the most difficult one to find of the 1959-1969 AMT Lincoln runs. I doubt they sold very well as a kit and it (as far as I know) was never offered as a promo.

Sometimes it is hard to compare models and decide which is correct. You just know something is different. Probably should have introduced pictures of real cars, instead of just models.

Too much trouble changing the tool for AMT and MPC (though Johan ran their Caddy engines the same for years). MPC was notorious for regurgitating their tools. The '73 Mustang kit has parts from the '66.

I have picked up 3 of the old AMT 64 GTOs as builders ( I wanted to rebuild them so unbuilt not necessary). And Rusty, I agreed with you about 1/24. They look the best to me. The PL is an option not to break the bank. If you don't compare it, it looks okay You can fix the roof C pillar as Snake says, but I think you have to live with the other problems. The lower body is a little too high. More noticeable is the soft details of the PL GTO versus the AMT. To me, the body lines are more crisp on the AMT. Another option might be to marry the PL 64 GTO front and rear to an AMT 65 GTO. Even the AMT 65 is a little soft in detail after a redo from Modified Stocker duties.

The AMT 1964 Chevelle wagon has a straight 6.

According to your photo, the C post of the PL GTO is fixable. I really don't see the banana .

1968s were called Chevy IIs with that name on the hood. Then in 1969 they became Novas.