Motor City

The '50 and '51 AMT Stude promos are quite affordable and not severely warped like some models. A kit would be nice. It would be easy to change the front to a '52 for the Indy Pace Car, so that would be another version besides stock and gasser. Other good kits would be versions of the '56-'58 Golden Hawk, and '62-'64 GT Hawk.

So I guess Manhattan is even more congested than when our family passed through in 1966?

yes, Dave, thank you for an update on Gregg; Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery, Gregg! Most of us can't imagine what you are going through. Jim

I bought this magazine at the local drug store on the way home from school. I was interested in the 442 road test, and still have the magazine. It would be nice to see the '73 GTO, Grand Am, 442, Cutlass Supreme and GS as complete kits.

Bill, What a bizarre coincidence. I just logged off of the Cadillac LaSalle website (I own '68 & '77 Eldorados). The last post I read was a link to this auction. The guy had 3 '67 Eldorados, and one's body tag indicated it was built without seat belts (the cars are in France). What a waste of cars!

I agree with you, Steve (except for buying multiple '68 Impalas as one is enough for me). Moebius is trying by coming out with three different years and body styles of the Hudson. I hoped for a Hollywood hardtop by now, but they came out with a '54 coupe instead. In retrospect, it would have been better if Moebius had done the '57 300 instead of AMT as I would have expected '58, '59 and '60 variations to have followed, and possibly '61 and '62. Younger people seem to like the early Camaros and Mustangs. Lots of people on this forum like the special cars done by dealers (Yenko, Tasca, etc.). I have no interest in them whatsoever as I never saw them on the street, but apparently they sell, so we get more of the same. After some gaps were filled ('65, '66 & '67 Chevelle SS 396, '66 & '68 El Camino, '66 & '67 442, '69 & '72 H/O, '65 Cyclone, '65 Satellite, '67 GTX & Coronet R/T) has the well run dry? There just aren't enough passionate people running the model car companies to try more cars of the '70s and '80s, or newer. Revell came out with the '70 Torino GT, which I bought, then later the Starsky & Hutch Torino. Wouldn't a Ranchero XL ('67) or GT ('68-'79) sell? What about the '68-'69 Cyclone GT? Especially with the '69, there are multiple versions that could be done (Spoiler, Cyclone II, Yarborough Special). The '77-'79 Thunderbird and Cougar XR-7 were quite popular. We're still waiting for '66 Satellite and Coronet 500 models, '64 & '65 442, and some Buick Gran Sports. Then there are the large, bucket seat models that have never been done ('62 & '70 XL, '67 and '68 Mercury,'62 & '63 Grand Prix and Wildcat, '64-'66 Starfire, '69-'71 Sport Fury & 300, '67 & '68 Monaco, and others). What about the '71-'76 GM wagons with the disappearing tailgate? The only accurate '73-'77 GM intermediate has been the '73 Cutlass S. Even the '74 Cutlass S started out as a 442, then was messed up, and the '75 Cutlass grille is totally wrong. The '76 or '77 Monte Carlo model was somewhat crude. As Bill and Steve mention, the basic engine and chassis can be used on multiple kits, and so can the glass. The bodies, interiors, grilles, bumpers and taillights differ, but with 3D printing, it shouldn't cost a fortune to design these parts. I just don't get it.

Geez, Tim; I haven't even had a chance to compile my notes into a Word document for you. I guess it'll have to wait for another edition.

I thought there would be further iterations of the 300, but maybe the sales didn't warrant it. The '60 Eldorado seems like a no brainer, but you would have to tool up a different body and interior. The Edsel was quite different from '58 to '59, and from '59 to '60. Unfortunately, most people under age 50 haven't even seen one, much less be able to relate to one. Again, you would have to tool up a new body and interior. It's the same story on the Impala. I think all of Steve's suggestions would be great, but those of us who would be interested are dying out. I'm tired of the same Camaros, Chevelles, and Mustangs. There are plenty of cars that haven't been kitted that would sell decently to justify the development costs. I recently bought the Craftsman version of the '59 Edsel since I didn't want a warped promo. I'm buying older kits since I've pretty much given up on seeing new kits of cars I like.

That's correct, Rich, and a thread on this site indicates it cannot be built 100% stock (I think it was the wheels and wheelcovers). I bought an original AMT '60 T-bird kit. Like Dave Darby, I'm guessing the tooling was probably scrapped.

Snake, yes, I expect the Comet to be released soon, but I'm not privy to anything; hopefully it happens

Rich, The 1/32 'Bird is really nice. I bought the 1/25th kit recently. I wonder why it hasn't been reissued.

I'm wondering why Chad is wearing a Nike cap instead of an AMT Kat logo cap! Seriously, though, I think it's the best month's lineup that Round 2 has done so far. I saw the '59 Imperial and '34 Ford pickup kits lurking in the background and impatiently waited through the rest of his narration. Some of the Johnny Lightning die casts looked nice. Then the '58 Impala and '70 El Camino in 1/18th scale are tempting. To top it all off, the McEwen dragster and see-through trailer are possible purchases. The Chevelle had me thinking of the awful taillights and incorrect body molding from the '68, but maybe they worked on fixing those? The GTX is one of my favorite muscle cars, but I already have the hardtop promo. I'm looking forward to next month!

Sadly, I can't think of many vehicles over the past couple of decades that I would want a kit of, though many of you might be interested in kits of SUVs, exotic sports cars, or tuners. I don't know the European or Asian vehicles or kit manufacturers well enough to know if these are covered. For the American market, I would do a Cadillac CTS-V coupe, ATS-V coupe, or ELR. Going back a bit further, I would do an XLR. The last Buick worth doing would be the '95-'99 Riviera. A Pontiac G6 retractable convertible or coupe, the G8 sedan, and the Chevrolet HHR would be other good subjects. The current Charger offers the most potential with various police car versions.

Thanks for all of that great information, Christian! I didn't realize there were so many variations of these cars.

Todd, Would you be able to post pictures of the kit - especially the bodies? Thanks.

Joe, I remember talking to someone from Brookfield Collectors Guild at a Toledo show. They were soliciting suggestions for new models, and had recently released the '95-'97 Olds Aurora. I suggested the then-current Riviera. Too bad that never materialized. Sad to say that the '79 Coupe deVille was the last annual luxury car. Too bad no Lincoln Mark III, IV or V has been kitted, as well as some of the post-1969 Rivieras. Casey, You are not going to find ANY kit that meets your "mass appeal" criteria. Cars of different eras is the only way to attract a broader audience of potential kit purchasers. By the way, the car pictured is an Auburn.

Most of us would like to see the results of market research done on behalf of Moebius, Revell and Round 2. I have always liked the full-sized bucket seat models and the muscle cars. I've wanted a Ford GT40 since I was a kid, but also appreciate the styling of the late 1920s to mid-1930s, the fastback GM cars of the 1940s, the large hardtops of the 1950s and 1960s, and the early Nomads. I own GM luxury cars of the '60s-'90s, and an El Camino I bought new (none are in show condition). How would someone such as me be categorized as a potential model car buyer? My nephews like anything fast, especially later cars since they can't really relate to the cars their Dad and I liked growing up. They aren't really into model cars. It has to be difficult to please most potential model car buyers.

I know Hubley made cast iron toys decades ago. Who owns the tooling to their kits, and is there a comprehensive list of the models they made? Thanks.

Whew! I've got so much eyestrain from studying the details of the '69 and '70 that I need to go look at my '65 and '74 Mustang promos! At least I won't be tempted to make any corrections to those.

Raoul had mentioned the lack of hood pins. I've rarely seen a '69 Boss 302, and it isn't in the '69 Ford Performance brochure. Thanks to Robert's photos, evidently the pins didn't come on all of them.

That 1/4 window shape looks more like the MPC Ford EXP. To fix it, you'd have to extend the top and rear of the window back a bit, then cant the bottom of the window up at an angle. To get the bottom correct, you probably need to add a wedge-shaped piece. Then you'd have to get a correct hood with the lock pins. That's more trouble than I'm willing to do.

Raoul, Based on what you have said, it sounds like the best thing to do is take the hood and interior from the Mach 1 and use it in the Boss kit. Then sell the Mach 1 for parts.

thanks for posting the decal sheet, Bill; I like the availability of the stripes in 3 colors; too bad the body doesn't have the emblems; it wouldn't take much to have SS or Malibu scripts included I like what they did for the rear cavity where the taillights go, as it makes it easier to do '68 and '69 versions. The eventual '69 Chevelle will hopefully have accurate lights, unlike all of the AMT/ERTL/Round 2 versions.

thanks, Snake; it's getting difficult to remember details that far back! I used to work with a guy in '74 that had a white '70 Boss 302. It had black stripes and interior, and the color combo did nothing for me. The doors were already rusting out on it!

Thanks for the review, Bill. It looks like another nice model. The included rally wheels were available on non-SS Malibus through at least 1970. I used a set from an MPC Corvette kit to replace the wheelcovers on my '68 Impala SS427 convertible kit, so they will make good upgrades to other kits. I didn't see any engraved emblems on the fenders or trunk. Is this another case of Revell substituting decals for emblems? Are there any photo-etched emblems available in the kit or from the aftermarket?