Ragtop Man

Did I rave about this yet? Cos I should. This is outstanding.

If R2 announced a 'clone' RR, that would be big news. I'm sure they are well aware of the original kit's limitations, and would take appropriate steps to ensure multiple releases. The RM RR is nice, but 1/24. I'm not a scale bigot, but the opportunity to bash goes down substantially. The idea that a body could be used with the GN basic tool and a few extras to make a clone #43 is pretty yuuge. In fact, mebbe cut a deal with Salvino to contract mold Satellite RR bodies for their GN kits, perhaps with a cost-sharing deal?

Would his early work in Rod & Custom do you any good? His line work is outstanding, you can spot one of his renders a mile away.

Cos I can't get to mine to check - does the bumper grille assembly in the "Blue" 1984 release (the first restored from Mr. Unswitchable) fit any better than the later kits, includuing the current pass? Sad to say, I never got one fully mocked up with the chrome after airbrushing the Tiger Gold went wonky and got dumped in the brake fluid (back in the Reagan administration... ya no, one of those deals.) Have a few lovely builder '67s, even a convert (heheh) that are crisp as new money, but they are the original relesases.

Is that a Pyro? Very nice build!

I believe in the days of actual... metal... grilles (remember?) they would build up quite a bit of underhood air pressure that acted as something of an airbrake at speed. Cracking the hood would vent the pressure, and ideally return better ETs.

Straight outta Car Craft, c. 1977. Looks great!

As noted earlier, I've got a bit of a fetish for the '64s - there was a lovely burgundy/black/bucket/4-speed not far from a friend's home in Dearborn. I wished upon that Comet for a long time, then one day it was gone. Oh well. Found these pix on FB - might be some good inspiration for the bench when they drop:

I'm with you - I'd rate it as easier than scratchbuilding and harder than a Tamiya. A true modeler will have the chops to get it looking halfway decent. Would be great to see a step-by-step of this release from one of the Revell whisperers on the board. Assuming some of the '57 Nomad bits would swap? Dunno who ended up with the Graffitti '55 Chevy tools but that would be a place to go for goodies, too. The AMT Nomad and '55 post has a LOT of goodies in the box. Of course, a fair bit of fettling is needed; classics are rarely easy to wade through, but you all the are better for it. IMO, the bomb build of this would be to make the Ed Roth '55 (well, close, his was a post coupe) with the 406 Ford (!) no front bumper, etc. - the common parts packs needed are not out of reach, and as mentioned, "recycled" bins of leftovers.

When they didn't need no steenkin' ads to say, we are not just luxury, but F**K YOU luxury. Which is really the ultimate luxury. Superb builds, all!

The Palmer '71 looks like they were channeling Mustang Milano and Quarter Horse ... after a long lunch with a few pitchers at the local burger dispensary.

I'm pickkkkyyy AF, will let it pass and look forward to cracking the seal to get a better look! Some kits - it never goes away. AMT '65 Bonneville really stands out. Moby Effies... Most of the builds are so good, I never really notice it. There are a lot of builds possible with the Comet Cyclone/Caliente, my eyes are jumping around so much, it would be hard to pick it out. I do like the conversion, but I'm one of the modelers who have trouble being the 'human pantograph' getting both sides the same. I'll get all hyped up on the project and nail the first side... then get sloppy on the second. Or, first side will be uhhhhhh so close, the I'll sort the problem and second will be perfect but now hate the first. Welcome to modelers ADD...

In hindsight, the Peterbilt changed the business for them, and everyone else. AND DAMMIT, 54 YEARS AFTER "DUEL" WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THAT PETE 261 AND TANKER!!!!

I found a few annual reports from AMT "in the day" - they were as cyclical as Detroit or any other factory town, maybe worse. AMT made some bad business decisions at the peak of their success, particularly with regard to slot cars, as the big three were dialing back promo contracts and MPC was ascending in product. Were it not for the class-8 series trucks such as the Peterbilt "Californial Hauler," and to a lesser extent, some quick saves like Mod Stockers and the Countown series, there wouldn't even BE and AMT now.

The build up the thread ^^^^^ is clearly channeling the Chili Coupe (Chili Sedan, anyone?) and really looks great, one of the first complete builds of that I've seen. I'd love to see a build that used the AMT " instructions " for the Custom Sedan, now that most of the parts save for wheels have been re-released; a proper scrap box would get you most of the rest. That has Tim Boyd written ALL over it! My hunch is that the 'radical rod' look of Lil' Coffin/Chili Coupe/etc. went off a cliff not long after the release, may have been cut completely out of the tool to do the pickup. Mag coverage of that type plummeted about '65-6, as the "vintage tin" stock with all the barbs and trim look became fashionable again. May be some crossover in the rationale with XR6, which also flared and disappeared in the same breath. Speculating, here, but it seems to me that if there were legacy parts in the tool, the 'knock out the gates' effort before the RC sale would have yielded some bits - see "Ala Kart" / "Mod Rod" - in the Willys. Still shaking boxes at the shows looking for a good one to build, and for sure I'm printing the AMT recipe cos all of those parts and more are taking up space in the boxes.

Oh, do I have heart for this kit! Built my first one in the '70s (issue with the coke-spoke American mags) for the Auto World large scale contest. Flared the wheelwells, converted to a gullwing with working doors all the '70s Car Craft cliches in one build. Apparently, it won third place, but I never found a shred of documentation - only a package in the mail with a 1/16 Aurora Vega FC body and a brief note saying "you came in third, thanks for playing." Went to glory in the Great Shelf Collapse... sigh. There is still a door and a wheel or two from the build extant, but that's about it. Second was a replica stock for the best man in my wedding, who wanted a '63 SW, used that "80s art" issue to build it. Spent a LOT of time on it, even rounded up a very nice base and plexi cover from our local collectible shop, as well as an engraved "Built for..." plaque. I don't recall any major issues beyond normal modeling cleanup and fitting. Have tripped over and picked up a few since then, just cos I want one for me, now. A local estate sale had real body shop 1:1 cans of Dupont Lacquer in Daytona Blue (!) for a dollar... hard to believe it was 11 years ago. I was really a big MPC fan in the era, they had the details down. Everything went together pretty well, looked right when complete. Given that my modeling tools of the time were orange Testors, emery boards and a dull #11, the completion rate and quality were surprisingly good.

... fat fingers. ... To quote Kramer from Seinfeld, "I'm out!!!" Your Comets are fantastic, wanted to do BOTH of those builds! Would love any details you have on them, I think they are awesome.

To

This is the best issue of MCM I've read in a while. Tim's FC story is terrific and the photos do a great job of telling the tale of the FC kits. Some day, one of those El Toros will turn up for me! I'm overdue for a Nebraska visit to the family farm operation, I know I will be in the Lincoln area for an extended stay, now. But I'm heaving all the laurels on the MPC '67 GTO-LeMans convertible build and the clear, common sense build suggestions in the story... and oh wait... why ELSE would I love this story? FWIW, I'm a news stand buyer, not a subscriber, so it is an hour drive, minimum to the LHS where MCM is on the shelf. Worth every penny to chase it down this issue!

Well, hell yes. This is one I missed, superb buld and the roof really does look better. Wondering if the '64 Falcon might have a better roof? Honestly, I really never noticed the annual/Craftsman, but now that I see it, it's like people clicking dentures or cracking gum. I can't NOT see it. Great job.

I would be very surprised to learn there had been much remastering of the '64; Moby has been pretty clear that if there's something close in the kit world, they're going to copy it ('61 Catalina is virtually identical to the AMT '62, etc.) Bet the AMT and this are very close... FWIW, though, as we have discussued quite a bit in the past, a "K-" engine code in the Comet for 1964 or 1965 does not mean it is the Hi-Performance version of the 289. I'll spare the bandwidth, but it is very confusing to know what is a true original car with the HP engine bits - they WERE built - because so few actual survivors are available to reference with solid docs to day one.

Digging the '32 Sedan - wondering if they actually found that tool, or just knocked out a new one?

Oh damn! Simple and perfectly executed! Really nice job on that, would really get the nods at NNL.

That is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo it. Wow. Nice work.

Tim's comments are right on the money from what I've observed or suspected for a while. Knowing a few builders, they are INTO the drags and will research the daylights out of the project/era to get them just right. I'll theorize that it is possible to exhaust the build possiblities when the subject is a very specialized or specific (TJ Taxi, f'rinstance) vs. a generalized subject that can be harvested for parts in any number of ways (MPC Bantam, Miss Deal, etc.) Moby has been pretty smart this way, IMO. The ability to reconfigure tooling for stock, S/S, AWB in their Mopar line is impressive. Not sure if I have ALL of them, but there is a good stack going waiting for the shop to be completed.