Motor City

a great loss for sure; I hope his family has found some comfort as time has passed

That's the same color interior my parents' first new car had. It was a '57 Bel Air 2-door hardtop, black with a white top. I really loved that car! Thanks for posting the video, Bill!

I believe 1956 was the last year all AMT models (Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Lincoln, Dodge, Studebaker, Thunderbird) used metal bumpers.

It was actually located in Troy, Michigan with a mailing address of Birmingham since Troy apparently didn't have a post office then. The building looks very non-descript today, and last time I went by it, was used by Stanley Door Systems.

The original '66 Riviera promo and kit were not GS models. The newer promo and kit are GS models.

The '66 Fairlane also was available with a 427, but not many were made (50 or so). I believe all were white with a black interior. I read this in an article in Hemmings Muscle Machines or Muscle Car Review of a guy who owns 2 1966 427 Fairlanes within the last year..

This IS one of the best threads I've seen. I for one am tired of the same old new models (Revell and AMT versions of the same car, too-numerous-to-count Camaros, etc.). Some of the cars shown are quite creative, even though I wouldn't want to own any of them.

Geez ... I thought this was going to be a topic on the latest iteration of a Chevelle or Camaro model kit (Yenko, COPO, etc.). Some of these customs must have been the inspiration for the Aztek, Rendevous, Prius, Element, Juke and other beauties of the past few decades!

I never saw a '41 Stude coupe pickup like that! Their Coupe Express from 1937-1939 had an integrated box. Chevy made one like this '41 from 1936 to 1942 where the box also bolted in where the trunk lid normally goes. I have a diecast '37 Stude Coupe Express in 1/18 scale. It's a beautiful model. Besides some of these classic trucks, some Rancheros are still needed.

thanks, Casey; I guess some Nascar die-cast were re-issued, but I was more interested in the 1/25 regular cars; I was hoping someone would start coming out with new product

Does anyone know what happened to the tooling? They made some really nice vehicles in the 1990s.

I forgot to mention that Palmer (yes, THAT Palmer) made a '70 XL GT kit with a multi-piece body.

The XL GT was also an option in 1970. The 7 Litre (428) was available in 1966 and 1967. The 427 was optional from 1963-1967 on the big Ford. I saw a rusted out '67 7 Litre in Dearborn once, but have never seen a '67 big Ford 427. I saw an article on a '67 Galaxie 427 with factory 4-speed, and it was mentioned that at least one LTD that year had the same engine and trans.

Landau roofs became an option starting in 1973. The '70, '71 and '72 all had grilles distinct from one another. In addition, the '71 had a hood ornament.

One of the worst kits ever for body/interior/chassis fit was the MPC '77 and newer Trans Am.

maybe there's hope for a '68-'69 Cyclone GT or '67 GS or one of the other 1960s intermediates that was never done

That's why I buy older kits instead of the warped promos from AMT and Jo-Han.

I think it was a promo made by Product Miniature Corporation (PMC) out of Wisconsin. I emailed a couple of years ago regarding what tooling they may still have and got no response. I have an Opel Rekord 2-door sedan, and I think they made a Renault Dauphine and a few other European cars in the late 1950s. These models typically have no glass or interior, with generic hubcaps or wheel covers, and blackwall tires.

Bill, The color looks dead on for a '57. Do you use lacquer or enamel? I haven't used an airbrush yet, and I still have some factory-type Duplicolor paint in large and small spray cans. The best paint job I ever did was from an auto supply who mixed up some Jade Gold lacquer for my '68 442 kit. I painted it the same as our family's Vista Cruiser. I've found that the spray nozzle makes a big difference when using cans. A fan-type spray nozzle seems to provide a wider, smoother coat than a conventional nozzle found on most cans.

Bill, You did a great job on that Corvette! Congratulations for having it used on the website. What paint did you use and is that Bare Metal foil for the chrome trim?

Some guys in the Cadillac club will hate me for this, but I always thought the '57-'58 Eldorado Brougham looked like it was designed by a committee. From the side, the front fender and front door have tasteful use of chrome. The rear quarter trim is a continuation of the rear bumper, and the rear door tries to blend in all of this mess. It just doesn't work. The Continental Mark II was much more tasteful looking.

No, it's not what you refer to as a vanity city, Dave. On the north side of 8 Mile (also occasionally referred to as Base Line by old timers) are the cities of Southfield, Ferndale and Warren. The south side of 8 Mile is Detroit, and farther west is Redford, Livonia, Northville.

one several miles from me had them stacked 6 high, which was nothing compared to this!

forgot to mention that there was no 1948 Eldorado that this Foose design was based on

What's with this abomination that is supposed to be an Eldorado? It looks like some kind of customized car with a '54 Pontiac grille, but nothing resembles an Eldorado - not even a '53, which has vaguely similar rear fenders. https://www.revell.com/model-kits/cars/85-4435.html#.W3WoRU3fOAg