Mark

That gutter-guard mesh in the grille isn't doing anything for me. I don't even care for that krap in my gutters; put it in for a while and wound up taking it all out. Should have left the full-width grille surround with the horizontal center bar, to make it look wider. The sharp corners of the new grille surround clash with the more rounded shape of the body. The rocker panels look too wide also, like they grafted the upper body onto the lower half of a newer car. Which is what they did, but it doesn't necessarily have to look like it. To each his own, though...

I have used Chrome Tech numerous times, and have never had a part lost.

That's the only issue with the dull finish plating. The box even lists "satin finish plating" as a "feature". Whoever commissioned the reissue was the one who had the brainstorm to ask Revell to do that.

I've never stored spray cans upside down, though the idea does make sense. Before doing that though, I'd give them a really good shake. You don't know how long the can has been right side up. If it has settled prior to your purchasing it, turning it over without shaking will put the settled solids at the "top" with the solvent at the "bottom". Usually, I give the can a vigorous shaking a day or two before using it, with the as-specified-on-the-can one-minute shake the day it is used. You should be able to roll the agitator ball/marble/whatever around the bottom of the can. If you can't do that, there are probably settled solids at the bottom preventing that. This goes double with primers, especially automotive touch-ups. They're probably putting more solvent and fewer solids into those lately. I want to get as much as possible out of the can, and not be blasting solvent-heavy primer onto anything.

For all any of us know, Revell may have just been caught off guard with demand for the coupe kit, and haven't got another container load of them on the way yet. If it's as popular as it seems to be, they'll get more of them onto the shelves however it has to be done. Some guys were complaining about the short availability of the Blue Bandito kit. Last time I was at my local shop, there was one on the shelf there, maybe more than that. I'd bet he has a couple of the A coupe kits too.

I wouldn't bother with the stuff unless I had a lot of time to experiment with it. Bed liner can be simulated with "fabric texture" spray paint, or the Testors vinyl top texture spray. I wonder if Tex Smith didn't unknowingly invent bed liner...there's a series of articles in Rod & Custom in the late Sixties where he rebuilds an early Fifties Chevy pickup as a street machine/occasional work truck. On that project, he actually sprayed the inside of the bed with spray-on vinyl roof texture finish, way before I can remember anyone else doing that. I remember those cheap plastic liners that rubbed the paint off of the inside of the bed, again way before seeing the roll-on or spray-on finishes.

The '49 is a decent kit, and for more possibilities the optional parts from the '50 convertible fit it also.

Store personnel will occasionally tell tales about something being discontinued, damaged, or otherwise not available when they haven't got any on the shelves. They're half-hoping you'll grab something else off of the shelf and buy that instead. One of the Hobby Lobby stores in my area still had the coupe kit when I was there last week. The other two stores did not, but that isn't out of the ordinary because the coupe is a hot item right now. And there's no problem getting the roadster version, which shares a ton of parts with the coupe. Someone is probably just blowing smoke because they haven't got any to sell.

If I remember right, it's from an AMT '64 Thunderbird kit. I'm not sure if both kits (hardtop and convertible) had it, though.

Give them time...

The dealer should have figured that out; I don't think the 409 was offered across the board in '61, as it was '62-'64. I'm led to believe that with Fifties and Sixties Chevies, where both sixes and V8 engines were offered, they can be told apart by either the VIN or by other information on the ID tag.

Neither AMT nor MPC (competing companies back then) made a '70. Only Jo-Han made one in 1969/1970, then Monogram converted their GTX to a RR many years later.

Talk about detail, they've even got the crapper in there! My Buddy L Texaco station doesn't even have that, and the Texaco stations had "registered rest rooms"!

The etching primer can be used if you want to strip/repaint a diecast piece, but there's no place for it when it comes to plastic.

The circular things are probably hubcaps. I don't think that piece is from a kit, it's more likely from one of those lithographed sheet metal toy gas stations from the Fifties or early Sixties.

Guess you won't be eating sandwiches anytime soon...

And you don't even get the diarama!

If my mailman would dump the election mailings in the woods, I'd nominate him for a commendation...

Fluctuation in the exchange rate probably also has some bearing on prices. I'll have to check the price sticker on the box, but earlier this year I bought the Revell Germany VW panel van at the same local store. I remember paying more for it than the pre-discount "sticker price" of the Lufthansa shuttle version I bought last week.

From what I have seen at the local shop, when both Revell USA and Revell Germany are offering the same kit at the same time, the German one is priced a couple bucks higher than the run-of-the-mill US version. I've heard that some of the racing and exotic car kits are worth stepping up though, because the German version usually has a better decal sheet. I don't know if that applies to the US subject matter like Mustang or Camaros though.

It's even better if you are fortunate to have a local hobby shop that carries the Revell of Germany items. I was able to get the VW Type 1 Lufthansa shuttle locally. I'm not sure what the retail price is over here, but his sticker was $32, right in there with a lot of domestic kits. The owner is a member of the local IPMS chapter. Normally, fellow members get 10% off the top (which covers the sales tax, at least) but this week his e-mail included a 25% off coupon. I don't remember seeing the kit online anywhere under $30, let alone $24. Now, to find the Lufthansa blue and yellow paint. Revell of Germany offers that, but doesn't export it here...

The AMT Challenger kits are very good, but none include engine detail.

Two-tone wasn't available on a '62. The '61 had the trim around the cove to facilitate two-tone paint jobs, '62 eliminated that trim. I'm pretty sure, too, that the second color in a two-tone was limited to the coves (but not the hard top).

The cheaters are in the Mod Rod/'29 Ford roadster kit, but with black sidewalls. The Surf Woody has them too, but with double white stripes as the 1:1 car's tires had.

The cheaters are in the Mod Rod/'29 Ford roadster kit, but with black sidewalls. The Surf Woody has them too, but with double white stripes as the 1:1 car's tires had.