Mark

I've never wrapped any of them, but there are some years where I'll call something a gift to myself. This year, I missed the first offering of lifetime Rodders' Journal subscriptions, but got one the second time around. After snagging the four issues I was missing earlier in the year at a very good price, I'm all set. I don't have a lot tied up in the first 67 issues (especially compared to others like me who didn't get in at the start), and won't need to spend another dime from here on out.

There was no '80 wagon kit. Only four wagons were issued ('77 in two different boxes, '78 annual, and "Pony" '79). The sedan ended with the '78 annual.

Hobby Lobby has, at times, taken the 40% off coupons on items that were 25% off. When they did, it was of course 40% off of the original price, not the discounted price. Other times they did not work it that way, the discount that was posted on the shelves was what prevailed. That's the way I'd interpret it anyway. I figure they do the 25% off the last couple of weeks before Christmas because they're getting the gift buyers during that time as opposed to the "regulars". I was in there just yesterday, to pick up a couple of gift cards. I spotted an AMT Firestone tire pack and decided to grab that. I noticed the checkout girl rang it up at regular price, and asked her if it shouldn't be 25% off. Her interpretation of the discount was that it only applied to the kits themselves, so I handed her the 40% off coupon which worked out better in this case.

As maddening as it is, it's just self-defense. The light may have just turned green, but if you proceed you might just get clipped be someone trying to get through the intersection under the yellow. That happened to my niece a few years back; she had the green, started into the intersection, and got slammed by someone trying to speed through a yellow that had turned red. I'm seeing people flat-out blowing through stop signs lately too; not even a token tap on the brake pedal to make the brake lights come on. You might be right, but that won't help you if you get hit; you're still dealing with insurance companies and possibly missing work. And the knucklehead that hits you probably has minimal insurance, if any at all. You've got to watch out for the idiots more and more. Leaving a couple of lengths in front when you are stopped at an intersection makes sense lately too. If you're within inches of the car ahead of you, and you get slammed from behind, you're going to get shoved into the car in front. That happened to me about twenty years ago, only I didn't hit the car in front of me because my daily drivers have manual transmissions. At every light, one foot on the clutch (down to the floor), the other firmly on the brake.

Ertl put the small-block engine back in for the first re-boxing they did, in the late Eighties. After they bought AMT in '82, for the first few years they kept some kits in production with the same boxes that Lesney or the original AMT company had used. For the '63 Corvette coupe, it was that 25th Anniversary box. AMT, Lesney, and Ertl used that box with numerous minor variations for close to fifteen years. When Ertl did finally change the box, they apparently opened up all of the blocked-off areas of the tool, putting the small-block engine back in.

I already have too many VW Type 1s in 1/24 and 1/25 scale...but, will be looking for one of these nevertheless...

They don't have to be finished. One guy I know keeps his rebuilders together, even with primer or stripped paint, sticks the bumpers on, and on the shelves they go. Because they're unfinished, they can sit out on a shelf as opposed to being inside a case. He's got boxes for each of them (whether they came with the car, or found separately) and the small parts go into them, along with any replacement parts, decals, instruction sheets, and customizing parts that go with each of them. I've got one cabinet similar to that, except I don't necessarily have the boxes to go with every car. Other cases include a couple of Timex watch store displays (the individual slots are sized right for 1/25 scale cars). One holds five cars, the other eight. I found those at flea markets, one was $5, the other was (I think) $15. Those are plastic, often they are dirty when you find them because they have probably already seen use by a flea market vendor after the store got rid of them. They polish up pretty nicely with some Novus plastic polish. Both of mine load from the back and have doors on the back. I've got a couple other store displays that I got from a guy who was supposed to scrap them. He asked me to obliterate the name on them so nobody sees it if I take one to a toy show; he still works at the place that made them. I researched the designer whose name is on them; she does high-end purses and gloves (these seem to be for gloves). These are pretty well made. I haven't used them yet because they are open at the back. I've got a couple of pieces of acrylic to close the backs of those, even have them marked for cutting, just have to get around to it. I've got hinges and clasps for them once the back pieces are done. These are pretty well made, so I'd like to spend a little time on them and make the add-ons with the same quality as the cases themselves. The big case is a 7' long glass/wood case from a candy store. As far as I can tell, it was made in the Twenties or Thirties locally. It has a thick glass top with scratches from people scraping coins on the glass over the years. I got some of the scratches out, then flipped the glass over. The felt that the glass rested on needed to be replaced anyway, so I did that while dealing with the glass. A retired glazier I know cut shelves for it using sections of broken/replaced storefront glass, the finished shelves have ground edges. I made brackets from extruded aluminum strip and angle, with pads from roofing rubber. Those big pieces of glass aren't always perfectly flat, so one or two pads needed an extra layer of rubber (about .045" thick) to let the glass sit flat. The shelves are half the length of the cabinet. The brackets are adjustable (extra holes) but even at half length the shelves are pretty heavy so I don't think I'll ever change them around. The sliding doors are at the back, and have mirrors in them. One mirror was cracked so I had a new piece cut to replace it. Not everyone has the space for something like that, but if you do, these things are out there. The bigger cabinets aren't in demand because fewer people have the space for them, and there's the hassle of moving them. I got mine because the guy who sold it to me couldn't maneuver it into his house. There are other possibilities too. A while back, I had a chance to snag a section of a Walmart jewelry/perfume counter (glass/metal); they were tearing up that part of the store and offered them for free. I didn't have anywhere to put it. Curio cabinets turn up at garage sales, as do gun cabinets (take out the gun rack and put shelves in, and change out the etched glass in the door for a plain piece). Over the summer, within walking distance of my house, I saw two decent size china cabinets at the curb. A couple of extra shelves added would have made either into a decent display case. I didn't need another one, and didn't have the room for it anyway...

The inclusion of two wire axles in the Impala is an error; you have to use the pins in front because there is no hole in the engine for the axle to pass through. Only the '57 Ford had such an arrangement (steerable front end with optional wire axle that eliminated the steering feature). Ertl deleted that option in the Ford about twenty years ago, filling the holes in the engine block halves and oil pan.

But, it's not enough. It's never enough.

For many years, the NFL has used LA as a bogeyman, in order to squeeze cities with existing franchises into building new arenas for those teams. "If we don't get a new stadium, we can't stay competitive, and might need to move...and, you know, Los Angeles doesn't have a team...". Now most franchises either have a new stadium, or one in the works, so that ploy isn't working anymore. Never mind that with the TV deals that are in place, they could let people into the stadium for free, and they'd still be making money...

The Modified Stocker revision butchered every major part in that kit. The chassis was gutted, the interior cut in half, and the body hacked up. I was surprised to see the reconstructed AMT/Ertl version when it first appeared in '84 or '85. Unfortunately the parts in the box didn't quite match up with the box art, which showed a built pre-Modified Stocker issue. The AMT/Ertl chassis plate and interior bucket were new tooling at the time, and aren't up to the originals. The restored body again isn't up to the earlier version, but if you ever get a look at the Modified Stocker body you'd cut Ertl a little slack on their effort. I did dig in and build that first AMT/Ertl version back then...molded in the roof, cleaned up the wheel openings and added wheel lip moldings, drilled out the crudely engraved headlamp detail and stuck in parts from another kit, filed off the molded-in windshield wiper detail (it was re-engraved putting the wipers below the windshield molding) and scratched some heavy-handed windshield wipers for it. Not a contest-level build by any means, but I was happy with it back then. Ertl later did another revision to the GTO, re-engraving the headlamps again (causing them to stick out because they cut further into the tool to do it), reworking the panel between the taillights on the rear bumper, and engraving better GTO emblems on the quarter panels (but in the wrong place; they are too high). If you are able to attend a couple of major model car shows a year, or check eBay, you should be able to turn up a built early issue kit with a usable body, interior bucket, and chassis. The newer kits have the smaller parts, which weren't messed with: engine, instrument panel, bucket seats, and other things. Of the nine Modified Stocker kits AMT issued in '71-'72, only the GTO has not been reissued in that form. It probably can't be changed back to that without a lot of work, and probably can't be issued as an improved stock version without a lot of work either.

The skirts may have been lost with the T-278 "Gasser" issue update from 1969 or 1970. The box for this issue read "1940 Ford Sedan Gasser", but this kit was not in the series with the cartoon style illustrations, nor did it include the drag strip starting line display base. Updates for this and subsequent issues included: Cragar S/S wheels replacing the Moon discs, unplated tube headers replacing the chrome ones, (probably) deletion of the skirts, and the addition of a hood scoop and grille filler piece. I've got the box for this issue but not the kit, and did manage to find the scoop and grille filler later. A cut line was not added to the underside of the hood(s) despite the inclusion of the scoop. I think the grille filler piece might actually be in the more recent kits like the Millennium issue, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

The one with "1965" on the box is the annual. The "tiger stripe" box kit is a 1966 Trophy Series reissue...one of the first Trophy Series kits that did not actually include a trophy. Annual kits have "1965" license plate detail on the bumpers, "tiger stripe box" kits have "AMT" instead of "1965". Elegance Series (molded in yellow) and 1969 Trophy Series issues have blank plates (not that you need to worry about tripping over either of those at a show...). Parts-wise, they are pretty much alike: convertible body with separate glue-on vinyl-texture roof, customizing parts, Keystone mag wheels. Then came the Modified Stocker...

Probably just simplifying his life. Ringo didn't earn as much as the other Beatles during their time together (virtually zip in the way of song writing royalties) but he's had a pretty decent career since. No major drug problems draining away money that I can recall, no other scandals...one divorce, but nothing he couldn't afford. I don't know how Ringo is doing financially, but I'd bet he's not hurting.

Sure, it's been done. One guy I know does a fair amount of that: building Palmer kits to look like the box art illustrations (the markings on those cars take a bunch of work!), and building some of the more unusual drag versions of AMT and MPC kits (example: the drag version '70 Impala with the injected engine, full stock interior, and no roll bar). He's about halfway to a complete collection of MPC 1971 kits built with the "spoof" parts too. The only thing slowing that down is that he starts with poorly built kits because he doesn't want to use anything in "too good" condition for those. I told him he should build a drag strip diorama with all of those offbeat drag cars; so far he has passed on the idea. I've seen a few "what if" Tom Daniel cars over the years too.

Hitler owned as many Mercedes as Elvis owned Cadillacs...

I remember seeing stacks of those in the mid/late Seventies at one of the local department stores, a buck apiece. I don't think many of them moved even then...

I don't think the prototype Classic Six (Type C) still exists, but rather one of the production models. No others have turned up, so the one in the GM collection is likely the only one that still exists. The production number commonly thrown around is (IIRC) 2,999, but that number has been disputed. Chevrolet probably didn't build that many of them. The first thing I ever bid on, on eBay (at my brother's house; I didn't have a computer yet) was a disassembled promotional model. This was in 1998 or 1999...got it for the opening bid, around ten bucks. Those were the days...

eBay glossary entry: "Seller cannot guarantee it is 100% complete" = "something is definitely missing"

The Hilborn injector manifold in the Round 2 reissue '64 kit is from the '63 annual kits. One is included in the '63 convertible kit I have, and I'm pretty certain it was in the hardtop also. Not in the '64 kit are four pairs of very short, plated injector tubes that go with the manifold. Those are in the Prestige series '63 hardtop, and subsequent reissues of same. They're on the plated tree, on the side with the custom parts. The second-issue Super Street '64 (with the Woodward Avenue box art copied from a GTO ad) included all of the clear parts from the annual kits, including the light transfer bar pieces. The battery box was not included. Engraved headlamp detail was added to the grille, though in the kits I have seen the detail is "clocked", or not aligned correctly. This was corrected with the Street Rods series and subsequent issues. I used to think that there were two separate '63 hardtop tools; one for the kits and another for the promo/Craftsman kit. They are probably one and the same. The slide for the hood area would be different for the two versions (kit with separate hood, promo with molded-in hood). The engine, firewall, and some other parts probably got moved over to the '64 kits back in the day. When the simplified engine was later added to the Craftsman version of the '63, they probably altered the body tooling and tooled a new hood instead of looking for the original slide (which may not have existed by then). That would seem to be the most logical explanation...

All of the snap Javelin/AMX kits were '74s. Those were done in the mid/late Seventies after the last updates of the glue kit which used many of the same parts. I won't say all of them were the same, but every one of those snap kits I have seen was molded in dark green, and had Hurst mag wheels.

Every issue (except that "Woodie") can be built stock.

I'd have to check, but I'm pretty certain the Hilborn intake was an option in the '63 Impala kits.

You wouldn't want to mix parts from the two...they are completely different platforms. The Cougar is more closely related to the '71-'73 Mustang. Those are unit body cars with leaf spring rear suspension, while the '72-'76 Torinos had a full frame with coil springs front and rear.

All of the Toronado and front-drive Eldorado kits include Oldsmobile engines. '65-up Cadillac V8 engines had the distributor at the front, among other differences. Jo-Han never tooled a decent late Cadillac mill (nor did anyone else, for that matter). The Oldsmobile engine's valve covers had no lettering or script.