Robberbaron

Round 2 reissued the '75 "Open Corvette Roadster" several years ago, and that version did include the bare rally wheels. Also had a set of 8 metal injector stacks. My brother built a version of this reissue, and I seem to recall that it did not have the bare rallys:

The 454 was still available in 1974, my cousin owned one. However, as you noted, 75-77 MPCs incorrectly still have the big block.

I seem to recall the 69-72 GP's have a unique 118" wheelbase. Montes are 116". Doesn't seem like much, but it would be enough to throw off the proportions.

Mike, love the '69. Nice job on the Superfly as well. Think that's as good as anyone can make that one look ?

I'm disappointed as well that the tooling is MIA. If the chassis/drive train still existed, it seemed like it would be a good candidate for a retooled body, ala the '64 Cutlass. Hopefully it still turns up. I'm sure the need to recreate all of the tooling vs. just the body would greatly reduce the chance of it happening.

Think you're right Keyser. Had no idea there was a later variation than what we "Muricans" are used to seeing.

Thanks for the H.A.M.B. thread Steve. Always enjoy seeing all the different twists from back in the day that started with the same basic body shell. Regarding the Caddy engine, there have been at least a couple. From the above thread: Obviously street driven currently. According to the caption, the one on the bottom was apparently Cad powered back in the day. (Dig that nose treatment)

We also know the original MPC Challenger body ended up as a funny car. Think a couple of us would be happy to see this. Wouldn't be too hard to have separate front/rear facsias to allow all years. Again lots of driver/sponsor options with multiple years.

Could make a pretty good business case for a Pinto pro stock. We have precedence with the retooled Vega bodies. Plenty more potential variations besides these two:

X2. Others have mentioned the too-small headlights. Be aware that there are all sorts of other proportional problems to the AMT body. They usually got the bodies "right" back in the day, but this one is proof that they didn't hit home runs every time. If you want to build factory stock, there's no reason to buy the AMT (if you want it to actually look like a 1962 Corvette). If I wanted to build the custom/race versions as depicted on the AMT box, I would still buy a Revell and then adapt the AMT parts to that.

Well, the novelty factor on this one just went way up. There is some handwriting on the box top in pen: "Bill Maverick Golden #303". I really gave it no thought when I first got it, I assumed the builder just scribbled a note on the box for some reason. Today I was organizing my area in the basement and ran across this again. Looking at the box, I wondered why anyone would write that. It couldn't actually be his signature, could it? This thing was a garage sale leftover that was getting tossed in a dumpster. A quick Google search turned up several auctions selling similar LRW kits signed by Mr. Golden, similarly numbered. His signature has several unique features, especially the ending letters in "Maverick". The one on this box matches what I'm seeing in those listings, so I'm 99% sure it's legit. Obviously somewhere along the way, this was passed on to someone who didn't know/care what it was. Is it valuable? The contents are half-built (poorly), the box is kinda tattered, plus there's red overspray on the right side. So short answer: No. Is it cool? Heck yeah!

Best build I think I've ever seen of this kit!

Don't think anyone has posted this yet? (forgive me if I'm wrong) Interview several months ago with Jim Keeler: Provides a bit more insight into what he and Atlantis are planning as far as future releases (new tooled '27 T Roadster body, new tooling for a C-cab truck body on the Tweedy Pie chassis). Note that Niteowl7710 already posted pics of these mockups from a show where they were displayed, but its still interesting to hear details direct from Mr. Keeler. Hopefully the new bodies come to fruition (especially the '27 T). Note that he makes a point of showing the Buick Nailhead engine, so I must assume they have that tooling and it will be showing up in a future release (I seem to recall that one wasn't included when some of the other engines were reissued a while back by Revell) If you have the time, it's well worth watching the full interview. This guy sure has lived an interesting life. And watching this, would you ever guess that he's 80 years old? If I'm blessed to live that long, I'd be happy to be half that sharp at that age.

My first thought was "Of course that tooling must exist, it was functional in the nineties. Even at that time, everyone recognized how valuable it was." Then I realized we're talking 25 to 30 years ago, and that's an awful long time since it was run last. Then I thought about how much of the Johan tooling was lost in the same era. Heck, there were stories about the fate of some of the Revell-Monogram tooling being in peril during the recent Hobbico bankruptcy. Seems odd that anyone would hold onto it and do nothing for that stretch of time, but who knows what other factors are at play?

Sweet! I've got this same one in my stash. Didn't think of going all white with the bumpers/grille, but it definitely works here. I think the white roof also really ties it together.

Very nice, I like the addition of the Sonoma wheels. Works with the overall style of the truck.

You nailed it - I wouldn't change a thing!

Roger, thanks for posting this. Probably the best build of a '68 Impala I've ever seen (don't remember seing it with the stock wheelcovers before, though). I had similar hopes after AMT/Ertl released the '67. We have all the Impalas available from 58 to 70, except the 68 and 69. The 68 kills me because we know the body and interior wasn't updated or butchered into a showcar, so theoretically the tooling could still exist. (I know the chassis/drivetrain kept getting recycled and now resides in the '76 Caprice) Then again, MPC probably saw no reason to keep the body/interior tooling if they had no use for it. (Yet the fact that the '70 Super Bee body/interior survived and got resurrected gives me a tinge of hope)

Thanks for confirming, Steve. Sounds like lotsa cool Squarebody stuff in the pipeline. Crossing my fingers for a 2WD option or version in the future (see Can-Con's build above)

One of our local non-profit organizations runs a thrift shop. My daughter and I volunteered for a few hours on Saturday morning. I worked in the delivery area where everyone drops off their items to donate. One of the boxes included a Lindberg 90s era Little Red Wagon kit. The delivery supervisor said they wouldn't bother trying to sell it since it was opened and partially built. They were going to toss it in the dumpster, so you know what happened. ? ? Seems like everything's there. Little bit of a glue bomb, but the price was right!

Oh, forgot ALLLLLL about the Demon, and Round 2 even prematurely announced that one, didn't they? I think that makes it official. I suppose you could, but the way the game seems to work is to post incessantly in threads about unrelated subjects, often by other manufacturers. Example: New thread about those 2 new Moebius '65 Dodges: Post #3 from Joe Palooka: "Dunno why we can get this but we STILL haven't gotten the '71 Dodge Demon from Round 2! Dem guys don't know what they're doin!"

Thanks for the info. Kinda surprised they're not using the '68 RR et al dirty bits. Glad to see a wedge under the hood and not a Hemi. Cue the complaining in 3,2,1... Did the original MPC '68 have a wedge too?

We all have our wish lists (top of mine is '68 and '69 Impalas). My smart aleck comment is in reference to the knee-jerk agreement on that one particular subject. All the ones you listed above I would also be happy to see, but good luck generating the groundswell of comments like the '68 Coronet. That one took on a life of its own over the years, to the point of being comical.

Stopped at my LHS on Thursday, and they now have all of the above as well.

What, that Pyro/Lindberg gem doesn't get the job done fer ya? ?