Robberbaron

That's a pretty top notch group there, you can be proud.

Interesting! Never realized there were 2 different versions of the MPC gasser Vette, in addition to the factory stock '57. Did these earlier gasser versions share the body with the stock '57? (I recall several people on this forum stating that the rear wheel wells on the stock '57 were way too big, maybe to accommodate this version?) Or did MPC actually make 3 different '57 Vette body tools?

I believe once Round 2 got the production rights for the AMT/MPC tooling around 2007, their official policy was to discontinue doing production runs for 3rd parties such as Model King and Stevens International. The Round 2 guys seem much more "in the know" about how to market their product and the sales potential for the different tools in their inventory, as opposed to RC2 (Racing Champions) which seemed to be literally clueless most of the time. As the model car hobby shrank, I believe Round 2 also accepted the reality of smaller production runs for pretty much all their kits, which used to be the territory of MK. Previously, RC2 seemed desperate to stay in Wal-Mart's good graces to keep their "checkerboard" kits on its shelves. Not sure what Revell's current policy is, but I don't think I've seen an MK release of any Revell/Monogram kit in quite a while, either. The only MK stuff I believe I've seen the last few years are the Moebius releases.

Count me as underwhelmed, as well. There's at least a couple previous Model King releases that are begging to be reissued: The '64 Comet in particular is a no brainer, since the Moebius '65 is now available for kitbashing for those that want to upgrade it to full detail. And for those who want to chime in about how these were such slow sellers for Model King, curbside kits don't sell, etc.: hold your breath (or keystrokes, I suppose). The name of the game is price point, and MK way overshot the price point on these when they released them 10-15 years ago (?), especially the Comet. You can't try pricing a curbside 50% more than a typical full detail kit and expect them to fly off the shelves. If Round 2 would price these equivalent to most of their other kits, I think they'd do fine. Since they like to gild the lily, throwing an extra set of wheels/tires in with the Comet would probably help sales for those that don't want to build a granny-fresh car. Round 2 has a couple different sets of newly tooled mags that they could choose from.

Just looked at the above thread: Yikes! I might have to agree with your assessment on that MPC Camaro. The poster sure gave his best effort, but as he said: lipstick on a pig. Between the narrow body, incorrect wheel wells, taillights, and bumpers, that thing actually seems a little Palmer-ish. Makes the old Monogram 1/24 '69 Camaro seem elegant...

Excellent! Clean build all around, and I concur: those wheels work on this car.

Bought a bunch of Jimmy Flintstone resin bodies from them earlier this year. Great prices. I wasn't in a rush to get any of it, so the ship time didn't even register on me.

I might be one of the few here that has warm fuzzy feelings for this box art (awful as it seems 34 years later). This version was one of my first glue kit builds, completely independent of my older brother's help. Even at 8 years old, I don't recall having any major issues assembling this one. This was right when Ertl started hitting their stride reissuing a lot of the classic AMT kits that hadn't been seen in years. I was overjoyed when I saw these hit the shelf, because I'd only recently learned what a '58 Chevy looked like, and I thought they were the coolest looking cars ever. I've built several since and have a couple more in the stash, probably ranks as my all time favorite kit.

Pretty sure the taillights are molded into the rear fenders, if you closely at Scott's second pic.

Since I'm off work until next year, decided to stop in at some of the local antique shops to see if I could find a bonus Christmas gift or two for my wife. Some of the shops occasionally have a couple model kits, almost never anything unusual or desirable to me (usually unwanted NASCAR kits and some '90s Corvette promos). However, at one shop, among a half dozen useless kits was a Prestige AMT 1963 Corvette Convertible. Box was kinda rough, but everything is bagged inside and it seems complete, including the drag strip accessories and the hard/soft tops. Best part is it was only $10, so just a fraction of what I would have to pay new if Round 2 decides to dust this one off again. I was shocked to see the box dated as 1990. Yikes! It's actually been 27 years since they brought this one out? Didn't think it was that long ago.

That's the only thing I could think of, as well. Snake is correct - it was reissued via the Blueprinter, along with unplated versions of the engine parts packs (although "not that long ago" is a relative term - I think it was probably early 1990s, definitely over 20 years ago) Only problem with this theory is that there's a bunch of stuff in this parts pack that obviously post-dates 1957 (1960 Merc grille, 1962 Chrysler 300 grille, etc.)

Nicely done! I especially like the improved headlights and turn signals. I always thought these cars had a lot of potential, as you've shown. Kind of surprised that the 1:1 Mopar guys haven't warmed up to these more, especially considering the escalating prices of the older muscle era Molars.

Thanks for posting, Scott. Don't think I've ever seen pictures of this kit built-up before.

Round 2 did reissue the factory stock version just within the last year or two, including the photo etch parts, I believe. Not sure if the Street Machine version was ever reissued.

Similar thread from about a year ago on these tires that didn't turn up much info, either: When the Dart Sport was reissued I also tried Google researching these tires, without success. However, tonight I was able to turn up the following vintage ad, supposedly from 1973. Although it doesn't feature the cheater slicks in question, this ad at least confirms that Holley and M/T's parent company did indeed co-brand tires with both brand names. This ad is the only example I've found so far that proves that Holley/Mickey Thompson branded tires did indeed exist. My gut tells me that the MPC tires probably legitimately existed in the 1:1 automotive world, but available only briefly with both names (guessing only a couple years max). If they were available longer than that, I'd expect more pictures/ads to be turning up on photo sharing sites, etc. Normally, sites like the H.A.M.B. are great for getting the straight dope on stuff like this. However, they usually try to limit their subject matter to mid-to-late sixties and older, I believe, so this subject kind of falls outside of that realm.

Looks like kitty is hacking up a hairball. Gotta ask: is this one legit? Took me a minute to realize that the car is a poorly altered 1970. And hows abouts them accessories? "All them kids want the fins and the lake pipes on their Cougars"

Looks like the guy is crouching down in an attempt to hide behind that thing, in shame.

Thanks Dave - probably never would have figured that out otherwise!

I am missing the "go to first unread post" function.

Revell's recent factory stock '76 Torino is about as bad as they come. Absolutely awful.

...that history will repeat itself and they're going to gather dust on the shelves. I believe the 1/20 '94 Camaro convertible and '93 Nissan Hardbody are already out and available, branded as AMT. And at least on the board here, there seems to be nothing but crickets chirping. At least the 4x4 Sonoma is a subject that wasn't available elsewhere (maybe also goes for the Nissan?) The real headscratcher for me is the Camaro: Why not just reissue the AMT 1/25 Camaro convert annual, which I think ended as a 1995? Not much of any difference between the 2 years.

X2 Lindberg peed away several years of otherwise great tooling by doing this 1/20 non-sense. Lots of stuff that I would have wanted if it wasn't for the oddball scale. Anything besides 1/24 or 1/25 is not an option for me. Guess I can't blame Round 2 for trying, though - they've got a bunch of white elephants here. Wonder how these and the other ex-Lindberg 1/20 are going to sell? I have a sneaking suspicion...

I also agree it's about time we saw the '40 sedan again. Also agree that I hope it's not an overpriced "Original Art" version. Wonder what they'll do for the '66 Mercury reissue. Could do new art work, but I suspect it will be a retro version of one of these: They each have their charms. I have a half-built version of the "no name" box art issue that I purchased before the RC2 reissue. Both of the above versions had a very nice set of Hurst mags that would be great to have again (I believe the last RC2 reissue had American Racing Vectors?) I suspect that even if they do one of these two versions, they may just swap in some of their recently tooled Torq-Thrust or Cragar-style wheel sets instead, and slightly alter the box art. I believe they did something like that with the recent "Retro Deluxe" ''69 Barracuda.

Yeah, I remember those, too. Lots of people used "The Club", too, thinking that would stop someone from being able to steer their car even if they did peel the column. Didn't take the thieves too long to realize that it only took a minute or two to saw through the rim of the steering wheel itself, then just slip it off.

Yup, that high quality GM steering column that a toddler could peel. That's not much of an exaggeration - I clearly recall a couple news stories in the Chicago area back in the nineties about 10 year old kids stealing Cutlasses and Monte Carlos. About half the people I knew with these G-bodies ended up getting them stolen, including my brother's Monte SS that got totalled in the ensuing police chase.