Motor City

yes, but I don't have a smart phone ?

except for the '55 Nomad, '56 Corvette, Chrysler 300, ...

Steve, Thanks for the information! That is an awesome build. I went to the Jo-Han factory a couple of times in 1974. That year, Detroit set a new record for murders, and it was not in a good neighborhood to be in if you had any car trouble. Anyway, the older kits and promos were $3.00 each. The nice lady thought the '68 442 kit was missing a few pieces. I took a chance and bought it anyway. Nothing was wrong with it except it came in one of those flat boxes. I built it in the same color combination as our family's '68 Vista Cruiser, Jade Gold (a dark green with gold metal flake) with a Willow Gold (mint green) interior. The paint job came out excellent.

Steve, Is that the Jo-Han '68 442 kit? Who made the aftermarket parts for it? Thanks!

I'd like to see a 5th generation with the glass roof option in addition to the '71 Boss.

I was hinting at having Tim approach his publisher with the idea of separate books on the histories of AMT, Jo-Han and MPC. I'm not at all interested in the drag racing book, but the subject matter is a great idea. I'm sure the book will do well, as would comprehensive histories of these three companies.

I have the AMT 1/25th 4-door hardtop Roadmaster promo without an interior. Modelhaus made replacement portholes for it. These Revell kits had pretty good detail for their time.

Mark, Thanks for the tips on the books by Graham. I didn't expect anything regarding original records of the companies, but first-hand accounts from some of the people who worked at Jo-Han, MPC and AMT would be interesting (Marketing, Assembly, Sales, Prototyping). Tom, I agree that we are fortunate as to how much tooling still survives. People like to complain about another reissue of (fill in the blank). I have gotten many kits that I never would have been able to afford when I was a kid.

It would be nice to see a book on the early history of AMT, Revell, Jo-Han and MPC. I wonder how many employees of those companies are alive to even interview? To go back even further, it would be interesting to interview anyone from National Products, Master Caster and Banthrico for the early promotional model car history. All three of those companies were in Chicago.

I don't have to agonize over the bumper fit, side marker lamp, wheels and trim rings. I'm going to build my '69 El Camino SS396 kit, which I always thought was better looking anyway! Let the wailing begin! ?

no metallic red paint was available on the '57 Chevy unless someone special ordered it

I don't care about the chassis, but everything else. After all, when a model is on display, who looks at the chassis? The shorter wheelbase model, the Torpedo, shared the same body as the Fleetline. Dad had a Streamliner, the longer wheelbase model, with the extra inches behind the door. I would have to section in a few pieces or just pretend such a difference didn't exist.

I was very excited to see the announcement for the '48 Fleetline Aerosedan (2-door fastback), and was hoping for more variations of the '41-'48 GM body styles. I would like to do a version of my Dad's '48 Pontiac Streamliner sedan-coupe (2-door fastback). I guess I'll have to buy another to scratch build that car.

"The big surprise for me was the metal flake red paint. Though the flake is very fine it is still surprising for a production car in 1957." I don't know when metallic paints were first offered, but GM had them as far back as 1939. Car enthusiast magazines and model car companies over the past several years such as Hemmings Classic Cars and Hemmings Muscle Machines, and Round Two/Auto World now refer to these as "Poly" colors, a term used on the color chip sheets of Ditzler and other paint manufacturers. These were always referred to as metallic colors, which is how the general public knew them. People didn't go into a dealership asking what poly colors were available. I think this trend started with people born in the 1960s or later.

yes, they were very popular around the Detroit area anyway

I would like to build that!

the car or the box art - or both?

I thought I was at work with all of the abbreviations flying around! Geez. I had to re-read the entire thread to realize that "SML" is side marker light.

remember, they did modify the '70 Torino GT after people complained about a few issues with it

It looks like someone decided it would make more sense to combine the rear bumper and taillights for assembly purposes, which would be understandable if they were making promos of this. Separate pieces for the bumper, lights and SS trim panel would have looked better. Maybe if enough people complain, Revell will modify the tooling.

The 300 would make a great kit, though I would prefer a hardtop. I never saw this photo before, and didn't know a convertible version was made. Variations of the '69-'71 300 could be made, and the basics (engine, chassis, interior tub, glass) would also be there for the '69-'71 Sport Fury and '70-'71 Sport Fury GT. I met Linda Vaughn at the Woodward Cruise several years ago and she was signing free posters. She even personalized them for my brother and me. She was really nice. I wish I had bought a few of her photos that were available to be signed, too.

They seem to be concentrating on some Ford pickups right now. Hopefully they will see the light and come out with some Rancheros.

Dave, How were you able to do that? The supervisor that my brother and I reported to had bought a '71 Satellite Sebring Plus in '74. It was a root beer color with a white top. It was pretty nice.

the same situation as MPC branding used on kits that originated as AMT - or vice versa

Dave, That looks to be a Satellite Sebring with the 383 engine. If you're talking about the original version of this movie, I haven't seen it since it came out in 1974. My brother and I thought there were a lot of cool (sorry, Chad!) cars in it.