Mark

Reminds me of a few years ago, when they sent something out to subscribers (hat pin?) and tried billing everyone for it later. Nobody had to pay for whatever it was, because it had been sent without approval or authorization. Maybe they're in a financial bind again?

Should the lenses on that car be convex? Most cars back then used flat lenses which would make your job easier. Find some pictures of similar headlights (they were probably bought from a supplier, and were used on other cars too) and scribe the lines into some clear sheet styrene, then cut out the lenses. Or try finding a second kit; some Pyro kits sell fir the long dollar, but not many of them.

I wouldn't count on seeing any of the others returned to stock...too many parts were altered. It would probably be cheaper to just copy an early issue '65 GTO kit to create a new tool...

(1) is from an MPC Mustang kit, probably the '68. (2) skid plate might be from an AMT '64 Falcon, which had a Monte Carlo Rally version. I'll edit that, it is likely from the MPC Roadrunner kit due to the notch in the center/front (to fit around the K-member). (3) are from the Aurora '34 Ford. The front section of the frame is missing though.

I've got one of the newer kits, started (of course), with the roof from an original kit. I've also got the lower rear quarter panels and all four wheel openings reshaped using an annual kit as a template. But then I found a couple of cleanly built annuals for cheap, plus I've got two promos in decent shape (and different colors). If I ever finish one of the new-tool kits though, it will be the modified one.

Those are similar to the wheels in the '53 Studebaker (some "recent" issues, but not the Mr. Speed one) and the Warren Tope Mustang. They're deep. and too big to pass for 13" even in 1/24 scale. The Jo-Han Trans-Am Javelin kits have smaller, more shallow ones that could be cut down on the back side. Those don't have lug detail (Penske experimented with 4-lug wheels-20% fewer lug nuts per pit stop) but was forced back to 5-lug. Jo-Han compromised by not putting any on. Those kits aren't falling out of the trees though. Check the MPC '73 Mustang reissue. They might pass for 13" in 1/24 scale, and they are nice and shallow. I used a set of those (from the parts box) on a Yenko Stinger Corvair a while back, and they look good. The center "hole" is recessed and can be drilled out, and the lug detail can be removed and scale bolt heads added if you need a different pattern. The reissue might not have open areas between the spokes (I'm not sure as I don't have one) but the back of the wheel can be sanded or filed to open them up.

Next up: The "Crosley kit thread was locked" thread locked...

Get a "starter" kit that includes small quantities of everything you need (mold material, resin) and start with a small part that can be done easily. Read and follow the directions to the letter, and don't experiment until after you get decent results that way. Sticking with a "system" from one company means you will get products that will work together as intended. Some mold materials don't work with certain resins; there's a learning curve to finding those things out. As far as the "best" products, you'll have to find what works best for you. I've used a number of brands over the last 35 years. A couple of them, I've never gotten good results or usable parts with. Those companies are still in business and selling materials, and others swear by them and get excellent results. So I probably wasn't doing something right when I tried them. What works for you may not be what I like, and what I prefer might not work for the next guy. Start small, expect to put in some time and effort before getting results, and you shouldn't come away disappointed. Even if you decide not to continue with it, you'll get an appreciation for the work of others.

I've got both kits (the Dodge and Tiger Shark), never really compared the stands in them though. The RC2 reissue even included the ball bearings and (I think) the little packet of oil that the original MPC kits had. I thought about sticking a motor in one to get it to actually work, but that's probably pipe dream # 13,587,691...

Anyone ever get that revolving display stand to work?

Has that happened to anyone else? Several years ago, I walked into a KFC near my mom's house, to be told they were out of chicken. It was pretty early on a Sunday. That KFC made the national news awhile back, with an employee changing the message on the lighted sign to proclaim that he was quitting (with a four-letter word or two included). My mom liked KFC (the original variety, and no other) and once a year or so she'd ask me to get it instead of me fixing dinner for her. No other locations within a few miles, and Swiss Chalet (next choice) had retreated to Canada by then, so I had to get a rotisserie chicken...

If anything Jo-Han is compromised more so than usual, it's probably the Cadillacs and bigger Oldsmobiles. Even then, the '56-'57 stuff is probably pretty close to correct. It's the late Fifties stuff that would be suspect to my eyes, because those cars just got out of hand size-wise. I should check that '58 Olds I bought not long ago. I just remembered checking a Jo-Han/X-EL '56 Desoto against a Moebius Chrysler 300, and finding them remarkably close. Some trimming will be needed to fit the Moebius Chrysler guts into the Desoto body to get my Indy 500 pace car, but that's because the Jo-Han Desoto body is much thicker than the Moebius Chrysler, what with over 50 years' difference between the creation of the two...

My own experience with Jo-Han stuff is that, within one corporation's offerings, if they aren't 100% accurate, they are at the very least consistent. That can't necessarily be said about AMT or MPC. The Jo-Han '62 Plymouths and Dodges (and reissue '63 Plymouth) share a lot of parts. The seats-molded-in interior morphed into a "one piece fits all" deal over time; early USA Oldies kits have different detail from later ones. The '63 Plymouth reissue in the early Eighties brought a universal bench-seat bucket that was used in whatever '62 Dodges and Plymouths that were still available. I'd guess the Lindberg Plymouth and Dodge are the "odd men out" here. Each has its own chassis, similar to one another but not from the same tooling. The same pattern work may have been used though. The first version issued was the Color Me Gone Dodge, and from what I heard the kit was developed from the 1:1 "nostalgia drag" car which is a replica. It has a number of alterations like widened rear inner fenders and a Dana 60 rear axle. The widened inner fenders aren't tough to do on those cars; my older brother did that alteration on a '65 Belvedere. These deviations from stock were unwittingly included in the Plymouth kit also. I'd feel free to hack the Lindberg chassis to work with the Jo-Han bodies. The Moebius '65 Plymouths might be worth a look too, but the Lindberg kits can be found more reasonably and aren't bad. I bought another stock '64 Dodge at the club meeting last week for ten bucks. It's the early version with the bench seat (blue car on the box). It has the Leaning Tower of Power included also. Check the Allpar.com website regarding the development of the '62 "smaller fullsize" Plymouth and Dodge. I seem to recall something about that platform being developed not from the earlier fullsize cars, but actually being expanded from the Valiant/Lancer underbody. Back to the Jo-Han kits: for the most part they are consistent. I've got that '62 Dodge 880 project sitting in a box. The 1:1 was a rush job: '61 fullsize Dodge front clip on a '62 Chrysler body. I did the same thing, hacking the front clip from a shattered Dodge body I fished out of a junk box at NNL East, and sticking it on a USA Oldies Chrysler body. It fit like it should: no narrowing, no messing with either the clip or the body. Just made the cuts and fitted the pieces together. That's not the case if you want to stick an AMT early Mercury Comet front clip onto an AMT Ranchero body (should "bolt on"; Ford did it to make Comet station wagons) or stick a Buick Special station wagon roof onto a Corvair body. Even their '65 Pontiac kits (Bonneville and Grand Prix) don't quite match up as they should.

Looks like a relatively easy DIY project...just a matter of finding the right fonts. Shouldn't be tough to find an 8-ball graphic on another decal sheet and scan it in; maybe one could be found in "clip art" also. Only the white area of the 8-ball wouldn't print, but a small white decal applied in the right place beforehand could fix that...

The last construction-related place I worked (a commercial roofing contractor), the owner gave bonuses to the job foremen for bringing a job in under the estimated hours. Naturally, the first corners cut were in setting up safety equipment. That practice ended when someone literally walked off of a roof due to no safety barrier. The (flat) building roofs were/are warrantied for 20 years. The first one or two years (can't remember which) the contractor had to eat the repairs because the problem would be blamed on the installation and not the materials used. Cutting corners on the installation meant sending guys back to (re)do things correctly; of course these repairs were always needed after the bonuses had been paid out. Getting away from construction was the best thing I ever did, career-wise...

I worked construction (clerical) for a bunch of years. On a lot of construction jobs, safety/barricades/signage is a much more substantial part of the overall cost than you'd think. The person waving the flag or holding the sign gets paid a bit less than the guy on the jackhammer, but not much. Cutting corners there can save a bunch of money for the "right" company. The "right" companies can be narrowed down by comparing the list of companies getting awarded these jobs, with a list of campaign donors...

Who says something absolutely has to be 1/16 scale? That was probably Aurora's mistake, bringing those items out in a larger/more expensive scale...

The V8-60 midget kit did turn up in one of the "closeout" stores a few years ago. I don't recall seeing any of the Offenhauser version there. My older brother was into midget race cars for a long time (restored one and pieced a couple others together)...when those kits came out, he was telling me that the Offy would way outsell the 60. A lot of guys, him included, couldn't stand the V8-60 cars. With those guys, I think it has to do with the larger grille opening the V8 cars needed; they just don't like the looks of it. He pieced a prewar Hillegas rail-frame car together into a roller, but sold it rather than finish it because he couldn't afford an Offy and hated the 60 that was in it. The Kurtis midget that he restored had a four-cylinder Ferguson overhead-valve engine in it (a four-cylinder version of the early Fifties Ford straight six). Again, couldn't afford an Offy but it wasn't a V8-60. He didn't want a Chevy Nova four or a Falcon six; those were "too new". I'd guess that the Kurtis/Offy kit will get reissued again in the next couple of years, but not the 60. As for the Crosley, I was sort of expecting a second kit based on the Slingster dragster, with a chopped Crosley body replacing the American Bantam coupe. That kit may not have lived up to expectations, at least not enough to prod Revell to do a second version...

I'd go with the Jeepster V6 as it has the stock "stamped sheet metal" valve covers. The long block is pretty decent too. You'll have to scour the parts box for things like the correct air filter (maybe the V8 piece is close enough?). I'd guess that the Jeepster exhaust manifolds are specific to Jeep applications, and you'll probably end up scratching or adapting something for those. I'm not 100% positive, but I think the V6 in the Monogram El Camino kit is a Chevy and not a Buick.

The pre-Round 2 issues of the 1/32 scale All-Stars kits (even the Indy Roadster) didn't include decals, so only the slot car(s) would have had them. I'd guess that however many 1/32 scale slot cars AMT issued probably all had the same decal sheet.

That, or use the stock wheelcovers in the kit, which are correct if I'm not mistaken. I mooched one of those (stock '67 piece) off of a buddy to do castings, as those were used later on the pickup trucks--

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the AMT '67 Shelby kit has those.

Those wheel covers originated in '66 with the 7-Litre package in '66. The '66 annual kits had them, but not the '67. '67 annuals had regular Galaxie wheel covers that were used later on pickups. The optional wheel in the '67 and '68 kits was a Kelsey-Hayes Mag Star, which I don't think was ever OE on anything.

Those wheels look like the ones in (most) Lindberg issues of the '34 Ford pickup.

A guy around here built an EXP with a Boss 429 engine in it. The car had the (stock) EXP body over a rectangular tube frame. As I remember, the engine sat a bit further forward than it would in a Pro Stock (furthest forward spark plug in line with the center of the front wheels) but still went back into the passenger compartment a bit. It did have a stock instrument panel, and generally looked like a drivable car. I never saw it on the street, but it had license plates. The engine was pretty much stock (single four barrel, no scoop sticking through the hood). It was at a few local car shows in the Eighties, but I haven't seen it since.