Mark

As for a blower setup, I would first try any small-block Chevrolet setups that you may already have. One of those may work as-is. None will be a perfect fit, problem areas will include the width of the intake manifold as well as where the lower pulley attaches to the completed engine (could be too high or too low, necessitating alterations to the blower drive belt). Another option might be to swap in another complete engine, that way you will know that the intake setup fits the engine. If the width of the new engine is comparable with the Nomad engine, the Nomad's headers should fit. As for the drag front suspension, it should fall into place provided the instructions are followed. I did one some time ago, as I recall the crossmember fits into notches in the frame and fits with the spring mounting tab pointing one way (would be difficult to install pointing the other way). The crossmember has pins for attaching the tops of the shock absorbers that are molded to the axle. Provided the parts are cleaned up (recent issues probably have some flashing on the parts) and the crossmember is attached with the tabs pointing correctly, everything should fit as designed.

Give Atlantis some time, up until now they have done little in the way of automotive stuff. But they seem to be going all-in judging by what we have seen in a short time. I can't wait to see what they come up with once they get licensing for Ford and Chrysler stuff...

Those parts are from a Lindberg kit. Slightly smaller than 1/25 scale, and had provisions for an electric motor (notice the filled notch in the body side).

That is a Monogram kit that dates back to the late Seventies, one of their better ones from back then. Early issues had radial tires with raised lettering. The whitewall insert tires (which are older than the kit) were put in after the first few issues. Most Corvettes 1956-61 were two-tone, only a handful were one color. I believe the hard top should match the main body color and not the side cove.

Why change them, those aren't bad tires. If you want black sidewalls, paint the inserts semi-gloss black and install the tires with the painted inserts to the inside.

The MPC '79 Pinto Cruising Wagon has a set of wheels with four-lug detail and five slots.

I believe the Imperial wheel covers were included as a custom option in a couple of other kits, that's why a lot of them are floating around in old parts boxes.

Early Sixties Imperial, probably '60 or '61.

First off, thanks to all of you who serve, or have served in the past. Second, I haven't seen it today, but you can find it easily enough in a search. If you haven't read it, there is a story out there regarding the fates of some of the lesser known signers of the Declaration of Independence...it's well worth a read. That's all I'll say...

One other thing: I don't put smaller parts like engine blocks or suspension pieces into the "big tank" unless they are attached to something bigger. Those go into smaller containers like prescription bottles or small plastic jars, with snap-on lids. Less likelihood of small parts getting lost that way.

The original Minilite wheels in that kit weren't anything to write home about; they had no lug detail at all. With many of the parts from that kit, and with a piece here and there from other sources, you can get a really decent Trans-Am version out of it.

The shortcomings of this kit (not necessarily the individual parts, many of which were state of the art in their time) have been addressed, here and elsewhere. The Revell of 2021 is Revell in name only, its owners have decided on the direction in which they are going. Their product people (at least those in charge) probably know little and care even less about this type of subject matter, and the cost of moving it to where they do their production likely tipped the scales against their doing anything with it. Prior Revell leadership over the previous forty years varied from foreign owners who also didn't know the product, to a greeting card company, to one or two quick-buck artists who never got to some of this stuff because they had other things that were easier to deal with. So now, with this subject matter being too small a market for much beyond revisions and restorations of already existing tooling, Atlantis will do very well with it, in most cases selling multiple copies to people who grasp the idea that some work will be needed for 100% accuracy but also realize that the parts in the box will also be used for other projects in the future.

Make a template for curved areas. I use old credit cards, you can get several templates out of one. Shape one edge to match the line you want to scribe, and make sure you add witness marks to ensure proper placement. Bonus is, you can flip it over and use it on the opposite side to ensure symmetry.

One thing I do (more correctly, don't do) is leave the scribing for last, especially when dealing with areas where you are going through more than one material (styrene, filler, and/or resin). Work starts on that right from the start, including aligning cut pieces to ensure minimum rescribing later.

The 91% is pretty much "it" when it comes to Testors or Tamiya lacquers, also many prepainted kits. I didn't mention it because, fortunately, I haven't had to use it in some time.

Don't just use a bucket, get a container with a tight fitting lid...keeps fumes and smells in, keeps moisture (which will dilute and weaken the solution) out. I use a cheap plastic "shoe box" with a tight fitting, snap-on lid. As for stripper itself, there is no one, concrete answer...it depends on what you are trying to remove and how long it has been on there. I haven't used brake fluid in many years, as it does make styrene brittle. Lately I have been using something called LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner which I picked up cheap (something like four bucks a gallon). So far it has handled everything I have thrown at it, some paints take longer than others though. The next five people who provide an answer will likely recommend five other products, just watch!

The combo kit is still out there, maybe not locally everywhere. LHS in my area still has one, $13 over retail. I had one dropped at my doorstep by an emissary of the United States government cheaper than that, even paying sales tax now. I thought about getting two, but already have several of the Falcons and a couple of Galaxies. The blue tint glass in the Falcon, and the new decal sheet, make it a must-have. I never saw the drag team kits anywhere back in the day, so I'll want most of whichever ones are reissued.

Those rear wheels and slicks (similar ones at least) were in many Revell kits. Early issues of the generic chassis gassers (Willys pickup, Austin, Henry J) had them, as did early issue '53 and '54 Chevies. Forgot to mention, Revell issued a modified Tweedy Pie a couple of years earlier...the Rodfather. Again, different wheels and tires, and they altered the intake stacks on the carburetors. The rear slicks are literally an inch wide, and they threw in some nice custom decals. That kit is hard to find unbuilt, and most seem to have been built or started by unskilled builders. There are other variations on the Tweedy Pie, all are pretty neat on their own.

It's interesting that SMP didn't issue this kit as a '58. The tool did exist, promo models were made for '58, but no kit. It's just as baffling that AMT didn't offer a '58 Thunderbird kit.

I forgot about those scoops, thanks for reminding me! I have a Dual Jewel kit, and also have two or three Outlaws (lots of good parts in those kits). I might want to find a pair of the rear wheels and build a Canned Heat version.

Seventies MPC decals are often junk, they dry out and fall apart on the sheet. And that's not getting into things like muddy brown colors substituted for gold or gold leaf, and cutting corners like using the same lettering for both sides of a drag car when the letters lean forward on both sides.

In the mid-Seventies, Revell issued the Outlaw without reference to Roth. It was called Canned Heat and was molded in yellow. Besides the air scoops, the Canned Heat version had different rear wheels and tires. The alterations apparently made the car different enough to release without paying royalties to Ed Roth. Revell issued an altered version of the Mysterion also, as the Dual Jewel. Slightly altered body, no bubble top, zoomie headers on the outside cylinder banks, different nose piece, and a fuel altered style wing and roll cage.

That's one of the tougher issues of the MPC Mustang II to find. If you haven't got a specific idea for a build in mind, I'd build it as-is. The decals may be beyond saving however, MPC decals from that era tend to dry out and break apart.

Why not just apply all of the putties to a junk body, and do a test to see which option is best with your go-to primers and paints?

On the interiors that I spread the sides out on, generally the instrument panel will only need a sliver of material added at the lower end of the mounting tabs. The side panels don't spread out at the very top at all, so that the interior still fits into the body. The bottom of the side panel coming a bit further out doesn't affect the instrument panel fit very much.