Motor City

Since they are adding/improving kits, maybe they will put the correct interior in the '66 Wildcat for the first time ever.

It seems that most of the '67-'70 Bonneville kits go for the low $200.00 range. I consider the '63 to be the cleanest looking of the Bonnevilles, before they started dripping with chrome side trim and fender skirts. But it doesn't go for much money. I guess most people like the later ones?

There was some spirited discussion on this issue with the review of the 1969 Barracuda kit. Some say it was originally an AMT kit for '67, while others … (under Kit Reviews)

That Lamborghini Miura looks sharp. Is the kit any good?

Bob Shelton, PMB 140 3116 W. Montgomery Rd. #C Maineville, Ohio 45039 or: thedirectory@cinci.rr.com $32.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling (in U.S. only) (as of November 2018)

I was typing in a reply and all of the previous replies suddenly disappeared! Tim, I belong to the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, but haven't been out to the Gilmore in probably a decade. I need to get back out there! The last time was with my brother and nephews to see Joe Bortz' collection of concept cars. Rob, Mom lived there while going to UM, and for a year after getting married. The folks hated having to move closer to Dad's work. I have lots of good memories of going to Michigan Stadium. Season tickets for students were only $24.00 for six games!

the '77 is supposed to have a hood ornament; I never bought it because it didn't look too accurate to me

thank you, everyone; I'll have to get this

that's really sad, Joe; God help a person who has an emergency medical situation; the politicians always get the favored treatment because they are special people

I know this doesn't quite answer your question, but Product Miniature Corporation (PMC) made plastic promo versions of the '51 and '52. That might be a good starting point. The chassis is crude as most of these had coin slots on the bottom.

I recently bought a model car from one of the co-authors. Any comments on the book? I have a 1987 book from Paul ?????, but it has a lot of errors and is missing many models. The Internet has brought out much more information about the history of model cars.

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.