Mark

A lot of us here laugh at a reissue kit like the AMT '63 Corvette, but Hobby Lobby is still moving a lot of them. Someone is buying them! Probably the longest run of any of the Round 2 items, it's one of their early ones and it's still going strong. I don't agree with a lot of peoples' assessment of that kit, I think it's pretty good if on the simple side. One guy who I used to know who owned and operated a hobby shop told me his big seller was the AMT '64 Impala. This was back in the Nineties. He said that no matter how many he ordered, he'd always get only about half as many as he wanted (even if he ordered three times as many as he really wanted!). He'd put them on the shelf, and within a couple of days they were gone. He knew some people had bought several copies of that kit, though not more than one at a time. It was just a popular kit. The AMT '66 Mustang coupe was another one. I know a guy who used to buy collections from casual builders. There were a handful of kits he could count on getting at least one of in any collection...the Impala, the Mustang coupe, the Monogram flip-front '66 Chevelle, Monogram '29 Ford roadster pickup, and a couple of others.

I'd start out casting parts (not tires) and move on to tires later. I have cast (and sold) thousands of parts over the years (though not recently) but never did get the hang of doing tires. Don't start out experimenting. Start with a set of matched supplies from one source, that way you will know everything is created as a system and will work together. For example, some mold making involves the use of clay to block off an area. Some clays contain trace amounts of materials that are not compatible with certain mold materials, and using the wrong combination will result in a mold not curing. You want compatible materials that you know will work together until you get enough confidence to start experimenting. If you are making large parts like engine blocks, you definitely do not want a 1/8 scale one to be solid. It's not so much the weight of the part or the amount of resin used, it's that a large solid part will generate a lot of heat while curing. That heat is what dries out the surfaces of your molds, wearing them out quickly. "Hollow" parts cast in two-piece molds look more professional anyway. I would start with small parts and work up to larger/more complicated ones with the experience you accumulate over time.

No, there were two small-block Chevy engine parts packs. If you have a post-1968 issue '57 Chevy kit, check out the unplated engine parts tree: you can see the parts pack tree plain as day.

No Fords either. Give them time, they probably have to make a few bucks with the GM licensing and Tom Daniel and Ed Roth deals before going after other products.

Moon went with the Potvin crankshaft drive blower setup because they manufactured it. They didn't build the chassis, but probably sold them. The car itself was probably a showcase for products they made and sold. No reason you couldn't go with a more conventional blower setup (old-tool '57 Chevy has one, from the other small-block Chevy engine parts pack!), or a fuel-injection setup from the AMT Double Dragster kit. Me, I've wanted to do something really weird with one, like a Viper V10 with weed-burner headers and a log intake manifold with ten carburetors...

It was always assumed that the Chrysler engine in the Studebaker funny car is an ex-Parts Pack item...maybe it is in fact a copy, tooled from the same patterns? It will be interesting to see the reconstructed Mooneyes dragster kit, from the looks of it many will be bought as a parts gold mine in addition to being a good dragster kit in its own right.

Another thought...maybe see if you can float a trade for the conversion parts (bed sides and floor, frame, driveshaft, exhaust system)? Maybe, just maybe, someone out there bought a short bed kit and would prefer a long bed.

Easy enough to do it yourself if you don't feel like buying a second kit. I'm doing just that with a '78 Dodge pickup, in my case the short/wide bed was never included in any kit. I'm undecided on whether to shorten the kit chassis, or just swipe one from a Little Red Express kit.

If you intend to cut one down from the long (8' bed) wheelbase to the short (6-1/2') wheelbase, why not pick up one of the existing short versions? You could either use its frame and pickup bed as templates, or just swap the parts.

The body is included in the Mod Rod reissue, as are many parts that could be used to restore an original Ala Kart. The body is slightly modified in a couple of areas but is basically the same.

That body was only used in the Ala Kart and (with some alterations) derivative versions like the Round 2 Mod Rod reissue. The new tool Ala Kart kit has another version of the body, the new version's cowl is misshapen in that the top panel of the hood is too blocky--the rounded corners of the firewall have too small a radius.

I'd guess no changes to the plastic parts, but new tires and improved decals. There is little to fault in the kit as it was first issued, so what else would need to be changed?

Too little too late, but I've gotten into the habit of wiping the end of the nozzle with a rag before putting thr cap on. I use Loctite super glue because I think the cap seals better than others I have tried; with the most recent bottle I did use all of the glue.

The '70 annual had the safari version and was molded in white. The '71 annual still had a safari version, I'm not positive but I believe some of the extras for that version were deleted to make way for those hated spoof parts. I'm pretty certain the '71 had only the short pickup roof. My '71 is molded in orange. I do have all of the kits through '72, will check tomorrow and see which ones have which tops. There was a short pickup roof, the longer "wagon" roof, and a raised convertible top that was in a couple of early kits.

I think that's all of them. '72 was the last annual, MPC could have done a '73 (final year for the 1:1) but maybe the sales were falling off so they chose not to. The V6 engine is incorrect for the '72. The front clip (and wheelbase) should be 3" or so longer than it is in the kit. AMC did the restyle so they could fit their own straight six engine in place of the ex (and future) Buick V6. A compromise correction for the kit would be to leave the wheelbase alone and fit an AMC V8 from a Gremlin or Matador kit.

Someone from Round 2 has already stated that there will be a "full" version with a stock engine, and even the trailer and display/accessory engine. Come on guys, you don't think they'd tool in that engine compartment detail and only issue it as a curbside kit? The full kit will probably come after the curbside version, which will also be the one used in a drag team kit should that be offered.

AMT did have the promo contract for the Impala for 1970. I haven't got a convertible promo; as I remember, the upper quarter panels are the same as the hardtop kit (incorrect for the convertible) but the decklid area is correct. AMT didn't do a '70 convertible kit, but MPC did (the glow-in-the-dark "Bat Machine"). The MPC kit was just a coupe without the roof; it had the coupe quarter panels like the AMT convertible promo, but also had the coupe trunk lid with the recessed area in the center. It also had SS emblems (there was no Impala SS in 1970). The AMT coupe annual kit also said "SS" on the box, but had a bench seat and no SS emblems.

The "Petty-Charger" kit pictured is the first of the two issued by MPC. I'm pretty sure that one was molded in white while the later one was blue. If your built one has the number decals applied to an all-blue body, then the decal sheet probably did not include the red areas. You'd probably remember trimming the numbers out. All of the manufacturers were cheaping out and using smaller decal sheets back then. There's that AMT Mopar Kit Car that had all of the stripes, none of which were on the decal sheet! The sheet only had the numbers and a couple of other items, it wasn't much bigger than a postage stamp. MPC was using sheets about half the size of what we were used to getting.

The Revell '57 frame should be roughly the same shape as the '60, correct? These modern kits with correct detail like steering boxes and linkage do complicate things though. Ford did put the FE in the '58 Ford which is the same as the '57 in those areas, things might be on the tight side but something should fit.

I have seen resin headers, but they are copies of the Revell kit fenderwell pieces. The most readily available "street use" headers in the Sixties were probably the Hedman units as in the AMT '56 Ford kit.

The original kit had the interior molded with the front seat as part of it, and a separate rear seat, just like this all-new kit. All new, no parts reused from the original. Not even the tires or clear parts.

You'd think that there would be the ability to turn off the remote start, period. Imagine the lawsuits resulting from a car starting up in an attached garage in the middle of the night.

MPC. Jo-Han made no Dodge kits post-1964 except the Gene Snow Challenger funny car.

The coupe with the roofline as in the kit had the script on the roof. All others: convertible, sport coupe (the other roofline), and the four-door hardtop had the script on the front fenders.

The AMT '57 Ford has a set of headers. Not the greatest (tooled in the early Seventies, most kit headers looked a little spindly back then) but they should fit.