Mark

There is now a universal excuse for high prices, poor service, and out-of-stock items. "Well, you know, Covid..."

Don't think of this as a kit that will be built, as that is highly unlikely. Instead, think of it as a collectible item associated with 1969 Dodge Chargers. The buyer probably already has one or more 1:1 cars, a bunch of factory accessories (either on the car, in original boxes, or both), every dealer brochure and book you can imagine, and promos in every color. An unassembled kit would fit right into the collection.

Just check the assembly for correct positioning of each part, and overall straightness, each time a part is added. That shouldn't be tough, as the kit manufacturers often put unusually shaped tabs and slots on unique parts, and those should fit only one way. Short of building a jig (which can't really be done unless you have a properly assembled chassis to begin with), what else can be done?

Make sure each individual piece is perfectly straight before assembly. Don't count on the assembly process to help straighten anything. Check for straightness before adding parts to the assembly so far.

They are pretty much the same as a typical Monogram 1/24 scale car kit from that era...just bigger. The first-generation S-10 pickup kit is a bit simpler than the Monogram (now Revell) 1/25 scale version.

A kit that was manufactured during the Seventies? Revell QC was at a low point towards the end of its original ownership then, and the company that bought the company afterwards didn't improve things.

The Don Mills treadplate is the way to go, period.

Did you remove all of the rust treatment prior to applying the paint? Red and brown pigments are the strongest, even the most minute trace of red will turn white into pink.

Doc Dixon...the guy behind Dixco, the tachometer manufacturer? May just be coincidence.

Or this particular kit might be someone's piece de resistance, to top off their collection. Most of us will spend stupid money to get the last item they need. And, like Tom says, what's big money for one person is small potatoes for another. My mom and one of my aunts liked Hummel figurines. They even took a trip to Germany to see where they were made. My mom was happy to have one figurine in the size of her choosing. My aunt, on the other hand, had to have nearly all of them, in more than one size. My mom's were displayed in the cabinet in her living room, and each of her surviving children has one or two of them. My aunt probably unpacked a lot of hers, looked them over, and put some of them back in the boxes. When I bought a home in 1989, I remember getting a pile of QVC boxes from her. My mom got her moneys' worth in enjoyment from the several pieces that she put the money together for.

Those parts are mounting brackets for side boards that are no longer in the kit. The side boards were only in the 1960 and 1961 Chevy pickup kits, and the mail-order version that was sold in the early Sixties. When the trailer was updated for use in the drag team sets a few years later, the side boards were deleted.

Both the materials and process are different. Why Salvino had to reinvent the wheel by doing the plating this way is beyond me, Trumpeter did it that way too and it didn't help them.

Both the Iaconio pro stock Camaro and the sprint car have been in the catalog awhile. The hobby shop here had a few of both kits when they first came out (2018 or so), they discounted the last couple of sprint car kits to move them out. I'd hazard a guess that both kits have already been dropped from the catalog, or will be before much longer.

That's a snap-together kit with no engine or interior detail. I had an original issue one, can't remember if the "glass" was tinted extremely dark or molded in black.

Then Revell still has it.

Where was the most recent issue (sedan delivery with military themed decal sheet) made? That would provide a clue as to whether or not Atlantis got the tool for it...

Is that car a '67? Front fender and headlamp bezel look like '66 to me...

Nope, no 327/350 in the Camaro...wonder why they didn't offer it. Too many warranty claims in '66, maybe? There was a 275 hp 327...how different was that from the '66 L-79? Probably not too much, and the lower HP rating fitted it into a lower Stock class at the strip. Anyway, the initial top engine was a 350 (exclusive to the Camaro in '67). But with Ford dumping the 390 into the '67 Mustang (and Chrysler building 383 Barracudas that year also) it was only a matter of time before the Camaro got the 396...and it did, in mid-year.

Only in the '66 Nova here, though there have been claims of a handful of '67s having been built. Chevy dropped the 327/350 from the Nova to sell Camaros with it instead.

But, likely, that car would have been ordered with it. Why buy a new car, then buy another engine? Jenkins couldn't get one anymore when he needed the second one, as the '67 model changeover was underway. Besides, he already had the engine and whatever else was needed. That happened to the Ramchargers in '63 when they rolled one of their cars...they had to buy a six-cylinder car and change it over. There was another way of getting one. A guy one of my brothers knew back in the day ordered an L-79 Chevy II two-door sedan brand new. A few months later, it was stolen. A week or so later, he found the car...minus engine and transmission, minus every part, bracket, bolt, and piece of wire needed to convert a six-cylinder car over to a V8. They did leave the rear axle in so as to leave it as a roller. The guy didn't have theft insurance, even though it was financed (in NY that wasn't required yet). So here's this guy, he's still got to make payments on a car he can't drive. He shoved it in his garage and left it, until the late Eighties or early Nineties. My brother asked him if he still had the car...he'd sold it a few months prior, just the way it was after the theft.

I wonder how many of those rolled off of the assembly line with the 327/350 combo. Someone who worked at Knafel is probably still kicking himself over putting the torch to that car...

That's it. Round 2 has issued the Charger as Nelson Carter's Super Chief funny car prior to this.

The Mail Truck pieces are molded as an assembly with the spreader bar/fender brace, and aren't very well done. As I remember, the Bed Buggy units are way better. That kit was floated at one of the hobby trade shows a few years ago, apparently didn't get a favorable response from wholesalers and store buyers.

I thought the car had a reworked front suspension, but wasn't sure until I enlarged the pic. It wouldn't surprise me if it did have a Pontiac engine swapped in. The way the car is set up, it probably wouldn't have been competitive as an NHRA gasser, and the front end would have rendered it illegal for Modified Production. It could have been set up for a NASCAR drag class such as Ultra Stock. (Yes, NASCAR did sanction drag racing for a time; '66-'67 was probably their high point.)

I can't see that running Super Stock with that Mopar hood scoop, and headlights that look to be blanked out.