Robberbaron

I had the same thought: the AMT '53 always looked fine to me, but the roof on the Monogram '55 looks way too flat.

All excellent, but that gold one is an absolute knockout!

Just looks right, as usual with your builds. Really like your attention to accuracy and functionality, as far as how a 1:1 would be built.

Very nice, one of the best builds of the Revell 3-window that I've seen.

Mission accomplished! Really has the look of a '60s street machine. Very good attention to detail, as well.

Very nice detailing on an unusual subject. (Also glad to see that Ol' Gray has the common courtesy to do his business in private...)

Looks odd because the lower headlights and lower grill section are cast with the front bumper. Upper headlights are cast separately (sitting to the right in my pic, above the wheels), as is the upper grille (hidden behind the front bumper in my lousy pic). Rear bumper is also upside down in my photo, which probably makes that look weird, too. My first impression was that it was a straight repop of a '66 annual, but my little bit of research isn't showing that a convertible annual was ever available. So seems like the master must have been converted from a hardtop annual. Has everything necessary for a build except wheel backs, tires, and engine.

Picked up a resin 1966 Cyclone convertible resin at a local show yesterday. Vendor didn't know the manufacturer, and a little Googling isn't giving a result, but it seems to be very good quality, complete with plated parts. Wasn't on my radar, and I'd normally prefer a hardtop, but I couldn't pass it up for the price. And it's not like we're going to be seeing a styrene '66 available again.

Beautiful. I agree, nice to see a non R/T build.

Beautiful job as usual, SFD! Always enjoy following your builds...

Beautiful job on both

Wow, I was just thinking recently that I hadn't seen him post any builds in quite a while. Never met him in person either, just really admired his work - seemed like his rod builds were always very well thought out and executed. His family has my sympathies. Here's one of his builds I especially liked:

Lousy QC on those whitewalls...

AMT did Gremlin annuals through 1976. A couple of years ago, Round 2 restored the tooling and reissued the 1976 kit, followed by the 1975. If you want to convert to the earlier "small bumper" body style, it's available in resin. The AMT Gremlins kits have a V8, but the MPC Pacer coupe and the AMT Pacer wagon each have an I6. Both were also recently reissued.

Not sure how I missed this one when it was originally posted, either. Easily the best Avanti build that I've ever seen, period!

Real nice. Cleanest build I've seen of this kit, yet.

Tulip, really like this one a lot. Just what I would want as a 1:1. Close to stock, just some tasteful and subtle improvements...

As a former owner of a 1:1 '77 Monte, you did an excellent job on this one. Looks like your 1:1 must have been a real beauty! My 1:1 was my daily driver for a few years in the mid '90s, and was about half rust by that time. Can't complain since I paid $700 and got several years of use out of it. Wanted to find a solid one for a summer car, but ended up getting a Malibu Classic instead.

Well deserved! I like your attention to the details, such as adding the correct Rally Sport badging to the fenders.

Flawless build, as always Tulio! Never would guess that the body was so distressed when you started on it...

Wouldn't change a thing - perfection!

One of the best builds I've seen of this kit, well done!

Anytime I've bought a built-up kit with the intention to rebuild it, I never got what you could describe as a "glue bomb". They've always been fairly decent built-ups, without any major missing parts. And it's never been a kit that's currently available. A good example is a cleanly built, unpainted MPC 1981 El Camino that I picked up for a few bucks, many years ago. That's a one year only grill, and the tool ended up being converted (poorly) by Ertl into the 1986 SS, and it will probably never get converted back. So that's your choice if you want a 1981 El Camino. Same for old Johans. Now I HAVE been guilty of buying full-on glue bombs for cheap, just to get a set of wheels and tires, such as the big & little slot mags in the Monogram '55 Chevy Street Machine.

Some good stuff in this announcement. Glad to see they didn't drag their feet too long before bringing out that stock '70 Charger, and I'll also be in for one of the Torinos. Tough to make out from this pic, but looks like the Torino might have full wheel covers? I was kind of hoping for a nice set of hub caps and trim rings, since this was a popular combo on the 1:1 cars that could also be used for the earlier Torinos and Mustangs. Won't stop me from getting one, though. Wonder if the 2 'n 1 description for the T-bolt means it includes the flat Fairlane hood and hubcaps from the Special Edition kit that was out about 10 years ago. If so, I'll be in for one of those, too (missed that one during my modeling hiatus).

So sorry to hear this news, really hoped he would beat the odds. My sympathy to his family.