Mark

The 409 in the '53-'54 Chevy kits is a simplified crib of the '55 kit's 409. The '53-'54 kits' inner fenders and rear axle look to be copied from the '55 also, and its straight axle setup is copied from the '57 kits.

Looks like the door isn't closed all the way. As for a drag version front axle, the '57 didn't have one when it was first issued. It was added later. The '55 has two engines and a bunch of other optional parts, so no straight axle isn't a big deal.

Too, the artwork and built '55 look like Atlantis will be including the racing tires and slicks tooled for the Keeler's Kustoms kits, and the parts pack wheel tree from same. The stock tires they tooled for the '57 Chevies will not fit the '55 stock wheels (and probably won't fit the rear wheel tubs either). So either there's no 100% stock version (unless you scrounge the tires) or they're tooling another set of stock tires.

The '55 Chevy didn't change much over the years. The separate red taillight lenses were deleted after the first or second issue (taillights are now one piece each, all plated). Also, the racing slicks and mag rear wheels were deleted at some point in the Seventies. (There were never any optional front wheels.) The slick/mag deletion was apparently a running change. I remember building a certain issue of the '55 and it had those wheels and slicks, but I have one of that same issue kit now and that kit doesn't have them. Unlike the '56 and both '57 kits, the '55 never got those crummy two-piece stock tires. The '55 has one rear inner wheel house wider than the other, something to watch for if you want wider than stock tires without trimming the wheel openings (which is absolutely necessary when using the slicks).

Seems as though the manufacturers have come to a consensus that the transmission should be the weak link on the path to planned obsolescence. GM junk, Nissan CVT troubles. Parts availability for vehicles sold by GM goes back awhile. A family member junked a Saturn because the transmission couldn't be fixed, only replaced with a used unit with nearly as many miles and no guarantee to speak of. Replace a 100% worn out unit with a 95% worn out one. If the wet belt doesn't take a dump, the transmission will.

A fair amount of that kit is cribbed from the AMT '32 Ford coupe. I've got one, but was planning on tossing the chassis and using one from a Revell '32 Ford 3W coupe. I've got a few of those that I picked up for cheap, also a couple of sedan kits minus bodies. The modified '32 frame in the Revell '29 roadster/'30 coupe kits might be good kitbash material for this one too.

Too, the vents in the AMT hood are correct for a stock Fiat. The best combination of the two bodies would be the Atlantis nose piece/grille, Atlantis hood sides (actually body sides) ahead of the doors, on the AMT body. On the 1:1 stock Fiat, the nose piece is separate while the rest of the body is one unit. The stock engine is about the size of a huge Thanksgiving turkey, mounted slightly ahead of the front wheels (car is rear wheel drive). The nose piece is removable to access the engine. MPC made a Fiat body too, but it is way different. It's for a competition coupe (on a dragster chassis). No hood or nose, stock wheel openings filled in, new wheel openings cut in the middle of the doors. The MPC body is molded in two pieces (split down the center) which results in an odd-looking windshield opening that can be fixed with a bit of sheet plastic and epoxy putty.

That's an AMT body, from the Double Dragster kit. The hood/nose is a bit longer than stock, and the separate grille is incorrect (1:1 had grille stamped as part of the nose section, with trim added around it). But it's closer to stock (has a rear window and a roof filler piece). The Revell/Atlantis body is a replica of a Cal Automotive fiberglass body.

I believe the recent reissue Merc kits have that boot in the box. Before you slice off the Merc roof for a convertible, know that the upper part of the windshield frame is different. I believe you could still make the kit windshield work though.

I don't know about '94 and up, but some of the earlier S-10 frames were two-piece with one half telescoping into the other. For different wheelbases, they'd put the two halves together in varying lengths. I remember shopping for a truck in 2004. GM had just replaced the S-10 with the first Colorado. They must have figured out how bad those first ones were, they made sure the S-10s were broomed out before the first Colorados hit dealer lots. GM should have kept the S-10 as Ford did with the Ranger. Heck, Dodge should have done that with the first-gen Dakota too...

And now, here they are...the Beetles!

Either '63 Galaxie or '63-'64 Mercury. '64 Galaxie boot is shaped differently in the area where it meets the rear seat.

Watch out with the used rags soaked with linseed oil, they are a fire hazard in the extreme! Either get that stuff out of them, or, better yet, get rid of them entirely.

I'm pretty sure the "mica" colors require a base coat of a similar color, like pearl paints or candies.

Next time I get a day off during the week, I should get back to the downtown main branch library. I think the last time I was there was during a job search at least twenty years ago. Further back, I remember going through microfilm of old newspapers, for a project where I had to write a report about the big local, national, and world news events from the day I was born. Hopefully they haven't remodeled it...neat Kennedy-era building with lots of wood paneling, high ceilings, reminds me of back in the day when all those things seemed to be better cared for and maintained. It looks like how old guys expect a library to look...

Minecraft reissued that kit in the Eighties, in a set with (I think) three other cars. The gray plastic has me thinking you have one of the reissue kits.

To expand on the 1/32 scale trucks just a bit, the AMT kits have solid vinyl tires while the Monogram kits have one-piece plastic tires that are open on the back side. The AMT tires are a passable stand-in for 1/25 scale medium-duty truck tires.

A/Modified. I think those decals are from a '32 Ford roadster, where they would have been more correct.

The designers tried to put the most detail in areas that would be seen the most. Often they wouldn't bother to tool parts that wouldn't be seen at anything past a casual glance. For example, you'd have the Monogram street machine kit versions where you'd see a supercharger sticking through the hood, but you'd peer into the engine bay and see exhaust manifolds instead of headers. The opposite of what you'd see an a 1:1 car.

Having extra plastic strip/rod/tube/sheet on hand makes a lot of sense. Saves trips to the hobby shop when you're in the middle of something and don't want to break your stride, and might not be open anyway.

Most of the kit units are simplified in the extreme, lacking the "adapters" that join the intake tubes to the cylinder head, and always having the fuel block molded as part of the valley cover. The AMT altered wheelbase Nova and Tempest have the adapters, but those are simplified. For an out-in-the-open setup, scratchbuilding or 3D print will be the way(s) to go. Really, with many of the smaller parts, scratchbuilt parts will often crush the molded plastic equivalent. The kit designers have to deal with removal from the mold which means you're going to see ejector pins, and they have to bring the whole project in at a target price which will bring compromises along with that.

Most of the kits with a setup like this included it as an optional item. More optional parts generally equal less detail on each of those parts. They'll look okay in the original application (under the hood of a full-bodied car) but you'll find them wanting when they are sitting out in the open. The best kit items out there will be the McLaren, or the Monogram sprint car unit.

The 1/32 scale semi chassis make decent 1/25 scale medium duty truck chassis, like under Jimmy Flintstone phantom crew cabs and such. Strange, but the Ollie's stores around here had the 1/32 scale reefer trailers but no trucks.

It's the same kit, just the promo version. The '60 promo and kit were four-doors. '61 promo was again a four-door; '61 kit was a convertible body with separate hardtop but still had the lower four-door rear wheel openings. '62 kit has a correct coupe body, '63 was a convertible, '64 went back to the coupe.

Were Modelhaus still in the game, their complete kits would likely be in the $150 range, and they'd be worth that. But they'd have plated parts.