ChrisBcritter

Yes, and if they tooled the coupe body and wheels they'd have a perennial seller.

Sweet find! I like the color combo, but here's a quick Earl Scheib photoshop: Note how it makes the Polar White pop a bit more. The wheels you have look like the ones with the smaller bolt pattern used on the later '60s to mid-'70s smaller series Buicks (Skylark, Regal, Century, base LeSabre) - I have a set on my '78 LeSabre that came from a '76 Regal. Just so you know in case you decide to sell them.

Excellent job, Mike - you were lucky to find one in such good shape. I have a couple I'm working on now; the 'vert will have the same interior as yours but with a pale yellow body like the one in the brochure.

Great meeting last night - lots of old-time members there. Please post photos - even if I'm in them...

The '58's face is a bit friendlier, and resembles a certain cartoon dog:

Oh, I know - I had a '64 Catalina 2+2 convertible once whose Roto was just beginning to slip when I sold it; my boss's '64 Starfire's trans cost over a grand to rebuild. I guess I'll just go with "kinda-sorta" since another board member just gave me a clean resin copy of one. I checked the '64 AMT Grand Prix, which should have the Roto, but it's the same trans as the Bonneville.

Got a resin copy of the Olds/Pontiac Roto Hydramatic for my '62 Catalina today from a fellow member - Thanks Tom!

Thanks for that photo, Bill - I've been trying to ID a set of 13" wheels I have with open slots; looks like they come from that kit. I also have a Craftsman '64 Monza in progress. Are you going to add an engine and rear suspension? The Revell Ed Roth "Road Agent" kit has the early Corvair setup. Good luck with it!

Thanks for the info! Great photos. I'm using that front axle on my '58 Ford. Ended up cutting the round part of the spindles way down and mating them to backing plates from the '60 Ranchero, which were attached to the Dodge drums with large flat retainers, then the drums were glued to the front mags with just enough clearance to still rotate. The spindles snap onto the kingpins so they steer fine; but there's just a bit of slop and I'm not risking too many test fits. Like you did, I also added the front shock mounts that IMC forgot.

I want to put an automatic transmission in my AMT '62 Catalina; it would have used the smaller GM Roto Hydramatic (aka "Slim Jim"). I think my only option for this would be the '63 Olds Starfire; but are there any aftermarket Rotos available? I'd think some builders would like them for the Moebius kit as well (along with the correct brake pedal, which is in the old Revell Stone-Woods-Cook Willys IIRC). Over to the experts...

I believe the folks at the Modelhaus based some of their kits on old promos (like their '57 Plymouth); would it be possible to check with Don and Carol to see how they did it?

Or if the dies don't turn up, hopefully some of the more popular/scarce kits can be scanned and reverse-engineered back to life. The Maverick would be a good candidate...

Update on that; Tom and I visited Des Plaines Hobbies this afternoon and I made a few notes. The (brass) tubing is made by Albion Alloys Ltd. and comes in a 3-pack in 305mm lengths; thinnest was 0.3mm OD/0.12mm ID. They also have a Slide Fit Pack with one each 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1mm OD. Price was $6.80 per pack. Even if you don't make antennas, this tubing should be useful for something.

I built one of those Ramblers from an original kit in the late '70s; shortly thereafter Jo-Han (or what was left of it) reissued the darn thing (or what was left of it). It was one of my nicer builds at the time. (I think, like their Studebaker Lark and Rambler American, the scale was closer to 1/24?) Ellen, do you have plans for the custom parts?

Maybe someone here with artistic talent could create a fake ITC, Aurora or Palmer box for it?

Three 404 errors in a row. Try again... The '32 Ford sedan shown above is the original Switchers version; it was later converted into the sedan delivery.

That looks like the original issue of the kit; if it is - especially if it has the sponge-rubber (instead of vinyl) tires and everything is intact including decals and whitewall stickers - someone will want it. Emphasize that point if you do list it someplace.

Oh, yeah - it's the angle - shadow from the drip rail hides it. (Amateur photographer with a 15-year-old point-shoot-view-curse-delete-repeat camera.) Thanks to all for the encouragement!

I've used Bondic to cast some '58 Ford side trim for my '56 Plymouth - you can pour and cure a bit at a time; the material stays flexible enough to conform to curves.

For many years I've wanted to do a '61 Pontiac Tempest; finally I got a reasonably-priced and near-mint builtup on eBay: Managed to get it apart without much trouble - almost no glue was used. To me, the biggest problem with this kit is the overly-thick and crooked window pillars. To wit: (eBay and Hemmings images; real car has baseline trim) So I made the following modifications: I also thinned down the window frames considerably. Note that only on the driver's side the B-pillar is crooked; the one on the passenger side is correct. Here's where I am now: Some more little things have to be finessed, like the windshield and rear window trim, body seams and the wavy areas of the hood (where AMT put cutaway lines for louvers), but I'm getting there. Plans so far are to keep it curbside, and maybe add an underdash A/C unit. Hope this is of some help to anyone else tackling one of these little Ponchos - one idea: NASCAR had a compact class in which a few of these sedans raced alongside Falcons and Corvairs (while the Valiants mopped the floor with them!). Happy modeling!

Are you going with spoke or disc wheels?

Or maybe just a little tweak like this?

^^^ And no fuel tank. I've got one of the Jimmy Flintstone bodies and it looks pretty good; picked up an original '61 chassis for it so it can stay curbside. My current plan is for a '60 grille and separate front bumper, rear end jacked up, and 13" wheels/tires with hubcaps from the JF Econoline (the most accurate early Falcon dog dishes I've ever seen), plus some surfboards in back.

"Happy"? She looks like she's trying to talk him into one more store and he's had enough.

Sandra Bernhard!