Mark

Not the first time this happened...there was the '60 Starliner convertible in one of the mid-Nineties catalog. The first draft '87 catalog included a reissue of the '64 Galaxie (not the Craftsman kit, but the 3-in-1 kit which had been butchered into the Modified Stocker long before. The same catalog included a '70 4-4-2 reissue. AMT did sell a '70 4-4-2, but it was a repackaged Jo-Han kit...Ertl couldn't reissue something AMT never actually had. That late RC2 period included a bunch of announcements that didn't couldn't materialize, though...

The Coronet does exist...it is now the '70. The original chassis got shortened a bit, and migrated to the original MPC '71-'74 Charger kits. Someone at RC2 probably looked through old catalogs or a tool listing and thought the '68-'69 version still existed.

The "titanium tube" car was not the same one as those pictured. I believe it was built for the '65 race. If I'm remembering right, the tube (huge diameter) functioned as the fuel tank and everything else (driver, engine, suspension) hung off of the tube. The engine was an aluminum small-block Chevy with most external parts (including fuel injection) fabricated by Thompson. A HOT ROD Indy preview article showed the car under construction. The car didn't qualify: a recent HOT ROD Deluxe photo article on racing in 1965 mentioned that the Thompson car was given the wrong fuel blend (very likely on purpose) for qualifying laps and fried the engine. An accompanying photo in the article shows another team's pit blackboard with "fire all California engineers" scrawled on it. Thompson was a pariah at Indy following the '64 first-lap crash, which a number of Indy insiders blamed on him. He pretty much walked away from Indy after '65.

The '68 CMG would have been tooled long after the first version of the Cougar. Even back then, when these things were selling in much bigger numbers, no manufacturer was going to dismantle a kit and swap chassis, to make it more correct. 99% of those who bought these back in the day wouldn't have noticed the difference, and the change would have not resulted in an increase in sales. Why spend money when you aren't going to get any sort of bump in sales from it? With any sort of racing car kit (be it drag, Indy, NASCAR, sprint, or dirt track) generally the first version released is the most authentic to the 1:1 car. But even it will be compromised if other versions are planned alongside it (or if major parts like the chassis are scheduled to be shared among multiple kits--which they often were). Later versions might get some cosmetic changes like a different roll cage, headers, wheels, or fuel tanks to keep the chassis "in the ballpark". The versions issued at the tail end would be beyond inaccurate. As long as it looked "right", the manufacturers correctly guessed that the majority of buyers wouldn't be upset about the inaccuracies.

Most drag car kits (from all manufacturers) are compromises, and were compromises even back then. The Cougar's chassis was also used in the first Color Me Gone Charger (in a slightly longer version), and was also used in the Untouchable GTO (though the 1:1 used a much different chassis). The later kits that used this chassis likely weren't part of the original plan. The Cougars at least had a dedicated, non-stock body. MPC tended to choose funny cars based on what stock bodies they already had, and then combined those with whatever chassis they had that was the best fit with the needed body. Why else did they make '68-'70 Coronet and '70-'71 Mercury Cyclone funny cars, when none existed in the real world? The name of the game was to get the most use from the tooling, then as now. More recent kits still follow the same plan; an example would be the Revell Pro Mod cars: '55 and '57 Chevies, a '55 Ford and a '58 Plymouth, all with one basic chassis and engine.

Cougar Country issue was first (clear body), then there was a Fast Eddie Schartman version (pearl yellow body), then the Dyno Don version. Somewhere in there, the body was altered a bit (roof escape hatch added) which would presumably eliminate the possibility of seeing the clear body again.

There were three AMT/Heller double kits. The third included a Porsche 907 and a Ferrari P4. These were probably a feeler for AMT to determine whether or not they should have gotten into doing similar kits themselves...which of course they didn't do. Heller did sell an AMT kit or two. I have seen a Heller re-box of the AMT '68 Shelby GT500. They supposedly sold the AMT Mercedes 300SL, but I've never seen that one. The 300SL they have sold more recently is their own; that one was tooled in the Eighties.

No '67 or '72 kit for them to copy from...

I've never seen those Uniroyal tires. Notice the hacked-out center "web" in each tire. I'd suspect those aren't AMT because of those. If they were AMT, they'd probably have molded them without that, more like the Goodyears. I've got a bunch of the Goodyear tires...they'd make passable 1/25 scale medium-duty tires from the looks of it...

First wheel is indeed '73 Caprice. The second one is AMT '67 Camaro (annual kit; dog dish cap on steel rim).

I'm 99% certain the Machine is the only kit with those wheels. Some of the Jo-Han Javelin/AMX kits have illustrated box art that shows those wheels, but every one of those kits that I have examined have included the five-spoke "Magnum 500 style" wheel with trim ring, like those in the SC/Rambler kit. The 1970 AMX kits (there were two versions sold by AMT, same parts in different boxes) also have the five-spoke wheels, as does the Jo-Han '70 Javelin kit. I have a couple of '72 Javelin/AMX kits and an AMT-boxed '74, but not a MIB Jo-Han '71. But I have looked over a number of those thinking they may have used the Machine wheel. I do have a busted-up '71 or '72 Javelin/AMX promotional model (not sure which year...rear bumper is missing, probably a '71). It has the Machine wheels.

Nope, but the kit piece wraps around as on the pictured build. For some reason, I have all four versions of this car, and scrounged a second Iron Horse for the purpose of building that version also...

Revell has reissued the Hemi engine several times. It's expensive, but you get a free '53 Studebaker along with it...

Yes, with (I believe) the second issue (the Autolite version), there's a cut line on the inside of the body, to remove much of the roof as shown. A reissue would be begging for an extra tinted clear shot, Round 2 style...

One of the Chevy engines was pieced into the opening-doors '57 Chevy kit in the late Sixties. If you look at the unplated parts trees, you'll see the Parts Pack tree incorporated into one of them (minus a few small parts). Besides the engines, the motorcycles, and the "chassis accessory" kits, most of the Parts Packs didn't sell well for long. Some of the chassis were outdated when first issued, with the rest becoming obsolete soon afterward. The "dream car" parts in particular could be had for cheap for many years. Revell would probably have to get $15-20 apiece to make it worthwhile to replace complete kits in their production schedule...how many would pay that much for a parts pack?

Looks like they restored it to the "original" Eliminator, going as far as undoing the chassis updates from the Thom Taylor Cabriolet (which, left in, would have made the Eliminator a bit more accurate). Consider it a passable curbside kit as-is...incorrect Pontiac engine and early Ford driveline.

I think it might be a case of "no other way to do it" unless they molded the bumper in three parts (separate end pieces). People would complain about that, too. The wrapped-around areas on the sides are extremely deep. I suspect that a mold for casting this piece in resin won't last long either...

The Monogram '57 is very similar to AMT's in parts breakdown. Those were among Monogram's late-Seventies re-entry into "normal" car kits after doing only drag cars and Tom Daniel stuff for several years. It seems like they were trying to come up with a new alternative to AMT's '57, with newer optional parts (and a companion Nomad kit). But they slipped up by sticking with 1/24 scale, and did a face-plant with the proportions of the bodies in their kits. Had they gotten them right, they'd have sold a lot more of them (though they did pretty well anyway).

Why build one that matches the newer kit, when two other choices are available?

People want them more for the Ford sedan, because that custom version went out of production nearly fifty years ago. But the Willys coupe in the double kit has its original slotted wheels, and has the original clear parts which are better than those in later issues. Of course, the "glass" is all flat; you can make even better parts yourself. But the headlight lenses are better than the later ones too. Another part that is better in the early issue Willys kits is the "mailbox" injector scoop; recent kits have a "mold shift" that makes the scoop paper-thin in some areas.

The later issues of the '56 are unbuildable. But piece one together if you can...just use the 150 or Bel Air side trim. I'm not sure what interior trim is depicted in that kit. Or, locate the custom parts from one of the early issues. The Revell snap '57 is really nice. I've got a stock one in the display case, bought a custom to pillage the wheels from (but will replace them with something "earlier"). I needed another AMT '57 like a hole in the head. But I picked one up anyway...

Moebius added the script to the grille, but the bumper (like the AMT annual kits) has obvious parting lines, and the side areas of the bumper have a roughness to them that shouldn't be there. This is true of the Weatherly NASCAR version also. I haven't checked the earlier Ventura kit to see if they are the same in this respect, or if this has crept in over time. I'll probably clean up one bumper and make castings without the parting lines or roughness on the sides.

I knew there was a problem with the '55, but not the '57. I've only got that one '57 built so far, and it's stock. But a couple others are planned, so that problem is likely to crop up. As for the '55, the one I have in the works is the box-art drag version. Cutting the quarter panels made that one work. That narrow rear wheel tub on the '55 is what probably kept Revell from converting that kit over to those cheap-o two-piece tires like they did the '56 and '57 kits.

I didn't have any problems fitting the Revell '57 together. Some things will look "off" (positioning of interior side panels on the chassis) but resist the urge to re-engineer everything, and it will be fine. The one pictured is built from the second most recent issue, the post-HOT ROD Magazine custom-only issue. To get back to stock, I swapped wheels, tires, and some other parts with old AMT, newer AMT, and newer Revell '57 kits. I chose that issue because it was molded in white (the Ed Roth issue wasn't available when I started on this one). There are other issues with these kits, but anyone who is into these cars should tackle one of the old Revell kits just to be able to say they did. Back to the AMT kit: I picked one up today, and looked for one minor thing first. The stock "script" 283 valve covers have no sink marks within the script area. I used two of those valve covers on the Revell build pictured, had to paw through several kits to find two really nice ones.

'66 Skylark exists, as the Modified Stocker. The Craftsman and opening-hood kit were produced from one tool. The last issue of the Modified Stocker has the stock Craftsman wheels in it as I recall, as well as some customizing parts from the annual kit.