Robberbaron

Oh ye of little faith: Under $40 out the door for all five.

From the front end I can tell it's based on the 1975 Caprice kit.

The weird thing to me is that Round 2 continues to release certain MPC-tooled kits as AMT, even now. Can't understand the rhyme or reasoning to when they decide to tag them one way or the other. But no great loss regarding the Lindberg brand, IMHO.

At lunch I stopped at an "Antique Mall" near my work. Been there a couple times before, and have never even been tempted to buy anything. Seemed like another waste of time, but I decided to go down one more row of vendor booths before I left. Wouldn't you know it, someone was selling a box of five built-up AMT sixties Ford kits: '61 Sunliner and '63, '66, '67, and '68 T-birds. All are well-built, definitely too nice to call glue bombs. Fortunately no custom parts on any, except the mags on the '61, which I don't mind. That one has plastic pins on the chassis, not screws, so I'm suspecting it may be the late sixties reissue? The '63 body is bare white styrene. The only one that seems to have any missing parts is the '66, which also has a crunched windshield frame. Frankly I could care less about that one since its still available as a reissue. It just came along for the ride with the other four, since it was a set price for the whole box of five. For the bunch I paid less than the cost of one typical new kit.

Stopped at my LHS yesterday after work and picked up an AMT 1965 Bonneville. Somehow managed to never get one before. (I typically have multiples of most other sixties-vintage AMT kits)

I think the last time the AMT '66 was out was when they were getting blown out at Ollies (what, maybe about 12 years ago?). Unfortunately, there were no Ollies in my area at that time. I always wanted to get a second '66 kit to try to graft the Lindberg front and rear ends onto the better AMT body.

My typing got ahead of my thoughts: my intent was to say that the AMT/Ertl '66 442 KIT is superior to the Lindberg '67 KIT. The general body shape of the Lindberg '67 is just off in roof shape and the quarter panel and front fender profiles, whereas the AMT '66 seems spot on. The Lindberg also has some fit issues with the front bumper/grill assembly and the separate chrome side trim. The rear axle housing in the Lindberg also looks wacky because they tried to mold the rear sway bar with it as one piece, and it just ended up bizarre-looking.

A bit surprised but also not surprised by the '67 Olds 442. Since it was out more recently, I would expect there to be more demand for the AMT '66. Notwithstanding the '66 vs '67 model year differences, I and many others would argue that the '66 is superior to the '67. On the other hand, maybe the fact that the tooling is here in the states and ready to run is a big factor? I'm sure with current conditions, they can get these cranked out and on the shelves in a fraction of the time it would take for production/shipping from China and then getting them through the ports. I am glad to hear that this tooling is remaining in the USA (at least keep a couple of eggs in a separate basket). Smart move also to rebrand as AMT, the Lindberg name is just too associated with the junk they made pre-1990s.

Here's a build from Phildaupho where he did exactly that:

Mike, the tires in the picture you posted are the new style: each of them has only the "Goodyear" tampo. The previous versions are shown on the box art: in addition to the Goodyear logos, they also had "Polyglas GT" and the size lettering on each.

I recently had the same thought and did the same thing. Unfortunately, at some time Round 2 made a change with this kit and is no longer printing the "Polyglas GT" or the size lettering on any of the eight tires, just the "Goodyear" white letters. (As shown in your picture above) The kit is still a good deal and the tires are still nice, just not outstanding like they were in earlier runs of this kit. Round 2 really needs to revise the box art to correctly show the tires that they're now including.

Stopped at my local HL on the way home from work. No new releases (as usual), but the shelves were pretty well stocked again. (maybe they've caught up on their staffing shortage, so it's easier to keep the shelves stocked?) One additional Revell kit was now also stickered at $37.99.

Outstanding work! You're accumulating quite a collection, adding this to the El Caminos you've already done. Can't wait to see the '79 when you get going on it.

Steve beat me to it. If nothing else, check out the link to see how sketchy that old body work was when they were redoing it in the '80s!

This one was reissued by RC2 (as an AMT ?), so shouldn't have been a need to retool anything. Just as well. If that was the "mystery" kit, that would be a huge disappointment. At least Round 2 is using the proper MPC branding.

The '50 Ford "Showboat" was reissued not too long ago:

Very impressive work, as always.

From your map it looks like you will be taking I-80/94 through Northwest Indiana. I highly recommend visiting G&G Hobbies in downtown Griffith. It's less than 10 minutes off 80/94. It's a classic old-school hobby shop with a great kit selection (almost the entire east wall is kits, and mostly automotive), been in business for decades. Downtown Griffith has quite a variety of shops and is pretty happening, so the rest of your family could easily find something to occupy their time while you hit G&G. They also have a couple micro-breweries and several great independent restaurants if you're getting off the highway to eat.

I stopped at my local HL yesterday. Deja vu from the week before, so no additional price jumps on any other kits. ? I was hoping to get another Revell '29 Ford roadster, but they haven't had any in quite some time. Not sure if they're restocking them and they keep flying off the shelves, or if they're out of inventory on those.

I'm assuming (?) that Thomas meant that he never sees items marked down on clearance. As far as I know the biweekly 40% model discount is nationwide.

I've been doing the same thing the last couple months, picking up kits that are parts goldmines and/or that have chassis I'd like to slap under something else. I've gotten additional copies of the '63 Stingray, '53 Ford PU, '68 Camaro, and '66 Nova PS. Yesterday I picked up another '67 Chevelle PS. Might want to stick that chassis under a 442 someday.

Yes:

Glad you mentioned the Pontiac, I was starting to think I hallucinated it (think I only saw it that one time). Didn't notice the spotlight difference between the Chevys. Main thing that sticks out like a sore thumb to me is that the '65 is an Impala hardtop, while the '66 is a sedan, either a Bel Air or a Biscayne (think I spotted Bel Air side trim) You're right about the continuity issues, I've noticed a bunch of scenes showing Manuelito driving in the '65 (with no B-pillar). Then the scene cuts to her getting out of the '66 sedan. Overall it seems like they use the '65 more. I'm a bit on the fence about the '65 being an Impala hardtop. Certainly not something any typical PD would order new back in the day. However, if the Navajo police were seriously underfunded, I suppose it's possible they could have purchased used vehicles. An example is back about 15 years ago when Indiana revised its property tax system, and suddenly our county (Lake) and local municipalities started crying poor. The K.O. punch was the Great Recession in 2008. Lake County flat out didn't have the $ for new Crown Vics, so they actually started buying used civilian CVs and Grand Marquis from rental car companies and retrofitted them. (So I figure anything's possible)

Anyone else notice what this subject ? and the Green Hornet Black Beauty ? have in common? So looks like they will already be creating a set of Appliance Apaches for the GH BB. And they already will have the chassis/engine they need from the '66 Mustang. So add those to a retooled body and interior and you should be there. Betcha it's the Mach 1.

And THAT'S why there is no reason for R2 to mess with that vintage tooling - it consistently sells. (even to guys that complain about it!) It would be pure insanity for them to start changing it or, as you suggest, replace it. Don't mess with a good thing.