Motor City

Bill, Actually, the '55-'57 Chevy was a very popular used car all throughout the 1960s. It's ironic that the all-new Ford outsold the '57 Chevy that year. My Dad traded in his '57 Bel Air hardtop in 1963 and got $1200 for it, which was a lot of money for a used car. Five years later, when he went to trade in his '63 LeSabre hardtop, the dealer only offered $500.00. The LeSabre looked like new and the Bel Air was rusting out!

I turned 33 the year I first got a temporary card in the mail.. I kept it, and am now way past old enough to qualify.

I don't understand it when, for example, AMT comes out with a '67 whatever, people on this forum want Revell to come out with an improved '67 whatever. There are so many old and new cars and trucks that have never been produced in kit form. We should appreciate the effort companies are making to produce models they hope will sell. We have been given quite a few kits to choose from since the annual kits went away. Revell has done a good job of issuing models that Round 2 has not reissued from the old AMT/MPC tooling, and has also done many new subjects that no one else had ever done. I, for one, am looking forward to the '85 442, and was elated to see the various Hurst/Olds models. It's still a good time to be in the hobby.

a 1972 Ranchero kit could then be modified for the '73-'76 model years with few changes; adding the GT emblems as separate parts wouldn't be difficult, and the Squire option (wood graining) could also be added as separate parts

thanks for the suggestions, guys!

Sam, How did you mask off the blue to prevent white overspray from when you were painting the top?

Are there any available other than small and large die cast? It would make a great 1/25th kit and could be built in several versions (pace car, Earnhardt, other special editions) with the V6, supercharged, V8). I'm surprised it hasn't been done by Revell.

Hi Sam, That's a sharp El Camino. I own an '87 that I bought new, and have always liked them. You referred to a promo in your first post. There were Chevelle promos, but no '68 or '69 El Camino promo. Did you use an air brush or spray paint from a can? What kind of primer did you use on the body? Thanks!

Jo-Han made the Fury hardtop from 1958-1968, the convertible from 1962-1968, and a 1968 police 4-door sedan. After 1970, the only big car models made as annuals were from Chevy (1971-1976) and Cadillac (1977-1979). The '70s is a forgotten decade for the most part.

thanks for the replies, guys

I wonder if the Aishoma? (Japanese) 1/24 kit has the correct interior.

I was wondering if anyone makes a correct interior for the 1966 Wildcat. As some of you know, all versions used the 1965 interior. The 1966 interior should have had the thin-shell bucket seats with small Wildcat logos on the seat backs front and rear, a different dashboard, and different side panels.

Aare the Coronet 500 emblems decals or photo-etched parts?

For the '51-'54 Chevy promos, if it's plastic, it was made by PMC.

I emailed PMC last year to ask if they still had the model car molds, but received no response. I have the '59 Opel and Ranchero, and '52-'54 Chevrolet. The interiors are somewhat simplistic on the convertibles, but like the '52 pictures above, are nice models. The color combinations are interesting, too.

Thanks for another great review, Tim. Like you, I got spoiled by all of the great annual kits that came out in the 1960s. Those days are over, but this proves that the model companies are trying to produce kits that people want to buy today. I hope Round 2 does well with this kit and can continue restoring old tooling as well as producing new kits.

I've seen photos of early AMT and Jo-Han kits on Ebay where the tires and wheels don't fit well together. I'm guessing that the tires shrunk, but don't really know. Has anyone had success softening up tires on old metal promos (Banthrico, National Products, Master Caster) to eliminate flat spots due to the weight of these early models?

As I recall, the original promo kit doesn't have as poor a fit stuffing the interior tub and chassis into the body as the regular original kit. It's not a very good tooling. The comment regarding the hood scoop is correct, too.

Jerry Heasley also published a book in 1979 called something like "Production Figures for U.S. Cars". It covered roughly the 1920s to early 1970s. I have a copy of it at home. What are you looking for specifically as I also have the Standard Catalog of American Cars?

Rangoon Red

Thank you for the information, Chris. I'll make sure to be careful. I did repair the windshield frame, so it is barely noticeable. Jim

Thanks for the great suggestion, Bill! Jim

Hi Steve, The resin wheels looks slightly different than the originals and the resin grille doesn't fit as well as the original, so I'm inclined to replate all of the original parts at this point, or buy a kit that has a bad body. Other than with this car, I've rarely seen a steering wheel in a promo that looked to be molded as part of the dash. There usually is a slight gap that can be seen where the stem would fit into the hole. I am a little reluctant to drill through the existing wheel, but putting in a full steering wheel would probably hold up better than just gluing the rim onto the spokes. I thought maybe running the tires under hot water would soften them up enough to remove them easily? This car has the typical promo wheels with thick, ribbed axles. Thank you for all of the other great tips. Jim

I was eating at a Bob Evans a while ago. They had model cars on display all over the restaurant high up on shelves. I noticed a '63 XL convertible with a broken windshield frame, but it was all there. I told the store manager that someone should repair it before it was broken off. So he gave it to me! I took it home and removed the hand painted silver accents from the cowl vent area (below the windshield). It was quite filthy as you can imagine. While cleaning it up with soap and warm water, most of the chrome came off of the bumpers and wheels. The steering wheel rim was missing, and the glass was missing part of one vent window area. So I ordered chrome, glass and a steering wheel from Modelhaus. How do I safely remove the wheels from the tires, the taillights from the rear bumper (which are heat sealed into the bumper), the top-of-fender ornaments (also heat sealed, and the convertible boot (also heat sealed)? The steering wheel and dashboard appear to be molded as one piece, so instead of drilling out the old column, I expect to snip off the new rim, paint it, and bond it to the original column. Any thought on this? Thank you, everyone!

Customized vans started to become popular as the muscle car era was dying off. You know, shag carpeting inside (including on the walls and ceiling), garish paint jobs, custom wheels, flares, and a pop-up sinroof - errr. sunroof. Then you could order a FACTORY custom van (remember the Pinto Cruising Wagon, and various full-sized vans). These were, and are, lame. I would have preferred spending the money tooling some Rancheros, Cougars, Thunderbirds, Regals, etc. Hopefully we'll eventually see some of the popular cars from the '70s. If not, pimping out a van is the next best thing!