Mark

The individual '32 Chevy kits had the accessories but were not in Gangbusters series packaging. The boxes for the individual kits resembled MPC '66 annual kits. The Gangbusters Chevy kit was an expensive 7-in-1 deal with both bodies included. That kit built one car, not two.

Hubley did make some 1/24 scale kits, but all of those were plastic. The metal body kits vary in scale, if I remember right the Model As and '32 Chevies are 1/20 scale. They're about as common as dirt, go ahead and modify it to your liking.

Don't assume that dealers' service departments automatically use OEM parts. The dealer where I bought my second Dodge Dakota pickup is part of a large dealership group. They also own a NAPA store, and when it comes to things like shock absorbers and brakes they do offer a choice. Having just under 30 years' experience (about 310,000 miles) with two Dakotas, both bought new, I'll say that when it comes to brakes, Genuine Mopar is genuine krap. The original brakes on the second truck started pulsing like mad at just under 20,000 miles. Front and rear, discs all around. Replaced with Genuine Mopar, replacements got me to about 50,000. Again pulsing like crazy. The third set (NAPA) were still on the truck at 133,000 when I got rid of it. I chalked the OEM parts' "quality" up to the "merger of equals" that left Chrysler a gutted hulk abandoned by the roadside after M-B looted it.

The body sides look nothing like the Corvette they are attempting to copy...wheel openings are the wrong shape, and the sides lack the sharp crease that goes all the way around the 'Vette. If they had gotten those elements right, it would look a lot better.

HL clearing something out doesn't always mean that the item in question is discontinued. It only means that perhaps sales on it have topped out for them, leading them to stop carrying it and devote the shelf space to something else. To my knowledge the '57 Ford wagon is still in the Revell catalog, and available elsewhere.

I had both annual kits back in the day; they were the same. The reissues no longer have the year engraved on the license plate area of the bumpers, and the Round 2 versions include parts for two entire figures (one driving/one standing) rather than one that could be assembled either way.

AMT was in on the ground floor with Star Trek. They built the models of the ships used in filming the show, and got the rights to issue model kits as of day one.

The shape of the '49 axle differs from the 9" a bit, in the areas where the axle tubes transition to the center section. A little work with a round file in those areas will go a long way. The 9" housings do have some changes over the years, the earlier ones are generally "smoother". The '57 station wagon axle was the one you'd always see referenced in magazine articles as the best looking, the one the street rodders would hunt down. Not sure if Revell's wagon piece is any different from the one in the sedan kit. The AMT '57 hardtop piece lacks detail on the gear carrier side.

Not the first time...a couple of the only decent kits Palmer ever made are copies of other companies' stuff. Their 1/32 scale '40 Ford sedan is copied from the AMT 1/32 kit, except Palmer split the body into three pieces to simplify tooling. Another of their 1/32 kits, a Chaparral, is a copy of another company's kit. The diecast companies do this too. I had a couple of 1/18 scale '56 Chevy hardtops that were copied from the Monogram 1/24 kit, screwed-up roofline and all. The 1/64 scale diecasts (Hot Wheels, etc) are usually made using 1/24 scale masters as part of the design process. There was an article in the old Johnny Lightning newsletter that showed a couple of them (they used original designs for theirs). What would stop someone from using a kit body in place of the carved master?

The LUV is probably a fair start towards a stock version. Are the pickup bed inner wheel houses correct? The kit pickup bed has them running from front to back instead of being only behind the wheel opening on each side. Losing the custom fender flares will take some doing, nothing out of reach for anyone who has done much in the way of conversions. As for the engine, maybe check the rapid prototype guys, someone out there might be a LUV fanatic who wants a stock model and has a 1:1 engine to work from to develop one in scale. As an aside, not many people remember, but the '82 (first year only) S-10 was available with that engine.

The Palmer Maverick could very well be "workable". A guy I know who collects Palmer stuff (long story there) showed me one of their AMX kits, and it didn't look too terrible (about as "good" as I'll admit anything Palmer could be). Probably a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut...

The two MPC kits used the same body, with the separate front fender panels. The Jolly Roger had a different chassis (engine further back), different windows, and didn't have the hood scoop that the Multi Maverick had (which was incorrect for that car). Jolly Roger only had one set of fender panels as the wheelbase was not adjustable. The AMT kit was a straight re-box of the Jo-Han Dyno Don Maverick. AMT didn't tool any unique parts for the re-boxed Jo-Han kits.

Official cause of death was listed as a busted goober...

The LUV cannot be built stock. It has been issued in the past as a 4 x 4 without the cap, a stepside, and with the cap similar to this reissue. All of them have custom fender flairs and a V8 engine. Could probably be reworked to look stock if you are willing to put in a little work, but I don't know where you would get a stock engine.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson yet...

The '70 Mustang is the MPC Connie Kalitta "Bounty Hunter". Looks like a clean build, good score there.

Correct. You had to send in some box tops (how many, I don't recall) and maybe some money (wouldn't have been much) for each one. My dad worked for General Mills and bought "grab bags" and damaged box stuff at the company outlet, so the box tops weren't an obstacle.

Pre-1971 issues do have visor detail on the windshield header. That was removed in the Modified Stocker butchery and did not return.

If I remember right, that custom roof is all separate pieces tacked onto a convertible body. MPC didn't make Firebird convertible annual kits, but they did make promotional models so apparently they could have made a stock convertible kit had they desired to do so.

Get that foot control, and play dentist! "Open the hangar, let the airplane in..."

Revell made a kit of this car in 1/25 scale, that one has an operational top. Maybe get one of those, or the instruction sheet, to get an idea of how the mechanism would fit and work.

What is the slowest speed of a variable-speed tool? The one I have is about thirty years old, I operate it on the slow end of the available speed range which is OK in most cases. But in this case, variable is not infinitely variable. I also have a cheapo single-speed Harbor Freight unit (probably got it on sale, under ten bucks) that I plug into an old Dremel separate speed control that I bought unused, in the box, on eBay. With the separate speed control, that one can be cranked down to so slow you can see the bit rotating.

Those are 1/29 scale (why, I have no clue; that's what it read on the box). They were made by Eldon. There was a harvest gold one that was motorized and had chrome Mylar stickers for the grille and other trim. The blue one didn't include the stickers or motor. Neither version had an interior, both had those dark tinted windows.

This is true. Apparently some of the "alloys" used to make the diecast parts were mixtures of metals that don't like to be mixed with one another. I have seen several 1/18 scale cars that suffer from this also: big chunks of paint coming off, parts "swelling up", parts crumbling. Some early Hot Wheels cars are afflicted with this also; from what I have read, there are a couple of HW cars that are difficult to find in any condition.

Good mechanics and bodymen can make a good living because so few people are coming in. Were I in high school now, it's a field I'd consider. But a lot of school districts don't have shop classes anymore. My brother-in-law recruits techs for a large dealership group; he likes the job but it is challenging. Good tradesmen can make decent money: automotive, plumbing, electrical, drywall, painting, because so few people are willing to do it. I work for a construction company (in the office); we are a union contractor, but some of our (and other contractors') key guys actually earn higher than scale.