Mark

The only '65 Riviera kit with "way less content" was the Barris Cruisin' USA issue, which was one of those Lesney deals where they blocked off all of the parts not used in the version shown on the box. Ertl put everything back, except for a pair of chrome headers. I'd bet Round 2 puts those back. The annual issue had a clear display base too, but as I remember the car didn't really fit it very well.

Looks like a little bit through the doors, and a bit in the front fenders both in front of, and behind, the gills. The elongated rear wheel openings help draw attention away from the front end stretch. Looking there, I'm wondering if a couple of inches weren't added behind the door area as well, just above the rear wheel openings. They did a great job on it, it really flows nicely.

The last round of rumors (prior to the bankruptcy and subsequent sale) involved Revell deciding not to do a Ranchero, because it would require tooling yet another body. Whether or not the new company does one, I'll likely stick with the conversion, as the kit is already paid for and taking up space here! If I want a second Ranchero, I can use the leftovers from the first one to fix the door and roof length on a multi-piece-body kit that is also "in stock"...

I started on a conversion from the two-door sedan, long before the wagon kit came out. I'm using pieces of the old Revell Ranchero (the one with the body molded in sections). The parts I cut off (parts of the quarter panels, and the rear piece that goes around the tailgate) actually fit pretty well. Of course I got distracted and set it aside. Now that the Ranchero kit is officially a no-go, I'll probably get back on it at some point.

It was included in an issue of the AMT '72 GMC Jimmy also. I believe it was called "Bushwhacker".

The custom roof is done by cutting the stock roof (lines on the inside of the roof) and then adding a trim band to the rear portion. The trim piece is on one of the plated trees. The kit doesn't build a 100% accurate Villa Riviera: the 1:1 was a '63, it had extended front fenders and hood, and rounded wheel openings. It also had taillights (Rambler turn signals installed upside down) that didn't make it into the kit. IIRC, one of the HOT ROD annuals has a series of articles on the construction of the 1:1. For the wheel openings, weld some conduit to the fenders, then back up the Bondo truck...

The Cadillac kits are still readily available, at least around here. I did see a pickup kit at HL a week or two ago, but it was gone by the next time I was there. Most, if not all, other Revell kits are still available in my area. There hasn't been any sort of speculation run on them as far as I can see. They'll be back in one form or another. Meanwhile, if I see some goober laying out $100 apiece for these kits, he can have my third pickup (and maybe even my second Model A coupe).

New kits: buy 'em, open them up to check everything. Most stuff with a bar code isn't ever going to be worth big money (there might be a couple of exceptions, like the Revell Model A coupe if the reissue never appears). Anything missing, contact the manufacturer and get replacement part(s) pronto. Old kits: if you intend to build, buy opened ones so you can check condition and completeness (and make sure you aren't getting a rewrapped box with something else inside). MPC kits are notorious for tire-marked clear parts and decal sheets. Jo-Han plastic is brittle compared to other manufacturers', leading to broken parts. The nightmare scenario with a Jo-Han kit is a part that is warped AND broken. If you don't intend to build it, a sealed one might be preferable. But you have to have a feel for knowing if the wrap is original. Store price stickers from back in the day can be helpful.

I'd have to check to be 100% sure, but I believe that is the AMT '23 roadster. It was issued only once back in the Seventies, and shares a lot of parts with the delivery truck that Round 2 has reissued a couple of times.

Those parts would make the Nova look something like a Pontiac...too bad the rest of the kit doesn't look much like a Nova...

MPC never changed tires in their kits...maybe the materials changed, but the tires themselves didn't, they always had one-piece vinyl tires in 99% of their kits. Maybe they knew something about these materials that AMT didn't?

That orange hood might be the custom hood from an AMT '76 Nova. There would be a custom front end piece to go with it. I've never had that kit, so it's a guess. There was no stock/custom '75 Nova, and the '77 had all of the optional parts eliminated. So, if it's from the Nova, it has to be a '76.

The two-piece tires were a mid-Seventies deal. Probably cheaper to make than the one-piece vinyl tires. The sidewall detail on some of those is actually not bad, but the tread detail is poor as it always is on two-piece tires. Too, those weren't 100% plastic, nor were they vinyl. They had too much flex in them to be able to mold them together, and styrene cement didn't stick to them. Much later, a couple of kits were issued with two-piece slicks from that period, but molded in black styrene. Those could be cemented and molded together, which was better but still not as good as vinyl.

The air cleaner pictured is from the AMT '49 Ford. The AMT '58 Impala doesn't have anything like that.

First off, that kit builds a Dodge Dart Sport, not a Duster. That issue lacks stock wheels and a stock exhaust system. If you want a 100% stock '75 Dart Sport, get the Round 2 issue. It's molded in white and has the missing stock parts restored. If you want a stock '75 Duster, be prepared to crack open your wallet, as it was issued in late '74. Never reissued, because it was then converted to the Dart Sport.

A guy I know buys and sells a lot of model kits...when he gets a built one of these, he'll save/bag the body, wheels and tires, and (if cleanly assembled) the engine. There's not a lot of 1/12 scale drag racing stuff out there, and the Fiat body is the only game in town in 1/12 scale.

This is looking like an interesting project. Just checked the Model Car Garage website...their PE set for the '65 Impala does include Caprice scripts...

Maybe the Monogram '64 GTO roof? An intermediate roof in 1/24 scale might work as a 1/25 scale full-size car roof...

Consistency can be whatever you want it to be. More liquid = more shrinkage as that liquid evaporates. I still use a styrene/MEK mix every so often; no cement because most liquid cements seem to have something in them to slow the evaporation/cure time. In any event, don't lay too much of it on at one time. When I use it, I'll usually apply liquid cement along the seam and then put on the mixture, packing it into the seam after a few minutes. I can't stress enough...ventilated work area, outdoors if at all possible...

Some of the X-EL stuff is molded from ABS (same stuff the "dark gray" Plastruct is made of). It won't take styrene cement, and is harder to cut. But you can work with it. The acetate stuff is low-demand in most cases. I won't touch them.

I got my copy Tuesday, haven't read all of it yet. But then again, I did read it earlier, only piecemeal. It's "just right". Tim's writing style is great, the photos are excellent (the beat-up boxes in some shots are representative of what you sometimes see for sale, or have in your own collection). The photos of built models are all very good, with many of the builds by well-known and highly knowledgeable builders. They show the subjects in their best light. I like the desirability factor as opposed to a price guide. eBay threw a lot of things out of whack years ago, and continues to do so. The dollar signs a lot of people saw (and continue to see) there brought a lot of stuff out, that might otherwise have gone to landfills or might still be sitting in attics and basements somewhere. I know my own collection expanded considerably since then (and I've also moved a bunch of stuff out, as well as selling other items to pay for things I've kept). The books with price guides often get minimal updates, the pictures get shuffled around, and become "updated editions" with nothing new for the enthusiast. The stories about the development of some of these kits are great too; you get a better idea of just how long it takes to get something to production. The narrative brings in related areas of interest, but never goes off on a tangent which could be easy to do. It's packed with information yet is concise. Even after you read it in its entirety, you'll find yourself reaching for it again later on.

My mom used to buy me a copy of MAD every so often. She thought it was well-written. I even had the issue with the "finger" cover, which I found out (much later) some places didn't display.

No, the lead was added to increase the octane rating, to allow higher compression ratios. One article I read awhile back stated that this could have been accomplished by adding alcohol to the gasoline (as is done now). But the lead was chosen because it could be patented as an additive, while the alcohol blend could not...

They're out; I got one locally Saturday morning. The Hurst mags aren't back in, but the recently tooled Torque Thrust wheels are included as an extra. The Kelsey-Hayes custom wheels are still in the kit too. Tires include four Firestone Supremes with printed white stripes, two of the smaller Polyglas GT tires, and two Blue Streak slicks. The wrist-twist steering parts are included (the wrist loops have a lot of flash on them, not outrageous as they were blocked off in the tool for a long time) but everything else looks good.

Roofs are not the same...sedan roof is slightly taller and rear window is more upright than that of a hardtop...