Mark

Annual kits through '68 had single exhaust, '69 annual had duals (even with the slant six).

If you are trying to decode colors not currently in the line (bought at closeout), you'll probably have to track down one of the books that the auto parts stores use. You'd need an obsolete book that includes the colors in question. The closeout stores usually put the price sticker over the color code too. I wouldn't be surprised if Dupli-Color wanted that done as part of the deal. In the past, when the spray cans didn't have labels (information was printed directly on the can), they would either obliterate the name of the color on the lid, or (more often) obliterate the brand name on the can.

A lot of those Lindberg kits are cribbed off of AMT kits. There's a custom '32 pickup that has a cab that looks like the front half of AMT's '32 3-window coupe. The engine and cut-down hood resemble optional parts from the same kit. There's a fenderless rod that looks like a combination of parts from the Ala Kart/'29 Ford roadster double kit. The engine in that one is very similar to the Ala Kart's Dodge engine; even has the lettering on the rocker covers. There are a few others like that, for the most part "inspired" by other companies' offerings.

I just checked a Lindberg T body against an AMT one...the AMT is longer by maybe 1/4", and a shade narrower. The fender unit is about 1/2" shorter, but probably narrower by the same amount. I didn't compare the height of the bodies, as I checked against the chopped version of the AMT body.

After I bought my house, while I had a mortgage, the property taxes and homeowners' policy were paid from an escrow account. The banks that handled the mortgage (it changed hands five or six times over fourteen years) shopped the insurance around every year. Every two or three years they'd find cheaper insurance (not by any great amount, just a few bucks) and I'd have a different insurance agent. The last one would bug me every few months: "we can handle your car insurance too, let us give you a quote". At the time, I had my daily driver (an '88 Dakota) and a '62 Fairlane. I had (still do have) regular car insurance on the Fairlane because the "collector car" policies put a lot of restrictions on the car's use. I've got a mileage restriction but I could drive it to work if I wanted to. I'd give the insurance agent the information on both vehicles. Every time, he (same guy, not a flunkie from his office) would call back with a quote on the Dakota only. My reply would be "...and?", to which I didn't get a reply. "You forgot something; when you remember what it was, get back to me". After the third such go-round, I told him what he had forgotten, and not to bother me again. Not long after that, I paid the mortgage off and switched the homeowners' policy to the company that insures the vehicles.

The T coupe was a Lindberg kit from day one. Early issues included an electric motor that had to be assembled (!), later ones cane with an assembled motor. Later ones yet did not include a motor. The body and fenders are a little bit smaller than AMT's '25 T parts. That last issue included the plated tree from the '34 pickup, along with tires. The stand-alone T coupe, motorized or not, had plastic tires and no plated parts.

Didn't the voice-over guy for the commercials pronounce it as "Baccaruda"? Were I with Chrysler, I'd have told the ad agency to get someone who could pronounce it correctly...but then again, maybe the commercials got a positive reaction in spite of that...

The MPC snappers ('40 Ford coupe, '50 Mercury, and Willys panel truck) are all simplified copies of AMT kits. On the Mercury chassis, you can see traces of the seam in the AMT kit's oil pan, and traces of trunk mat detail on the top side. But MPC did do some unique touches: the Willys panel has '34 hood side panels, a separate grille, and stock running boards. The Mercury has 1950 side trim (but a 1949 grille like AMT's). Round 2 now has three 1/25 scale '40 Ford coupe tools: AMT, PSM/Lindberg, and MPC snapper.

Palmer (under the PSM brand: Palmer Scale Models) cribbed three 1970 annual kits. They issued a Challenger and a Corvette (copies of MPC kits) and a "Boss 302" Mustang that is copied from parts of AMT '69 and '70 Mustangs. The "Boss 302" kit included a 428 engine (but not a 302). They did some totally original parts like the Mustang's hubcap/trim ring wheels, and some Firestone radial (!) tires. The Challenger was issued as a '71, and a custom '72. The Mustang was hacked up to look like a '71. The Corvette was reissued as a custom-only version later. Lindberg reissued all three of these, with different wheels and tires. The Challenger is probably the best of the three, a little rough around the edges but the body is passable. The '70 Mustang isn't totally irredeemable. I've never had the 'Vette so I can't say if it is any good or not. PSM never released the '40 Ford coupe. I heard a rumor that they started on a crib of the AMT '36 Ford coupe but never finished that one.

There was an upscale department store in downtown Buffalo in the Nineties, that had a dress code. I missed it by a year or two; I was working downtown for a few months in 1989. The store lasted about a year. Yeah, you're going to save hundreds of dollars on your car insurance by switching to GEICO or Progressive. They don't spend any money on commercials, they must get free air time. I should start switching insurance companies...if each one will save me hundreds, I only have to make four or five switches before they start sending me money... If they're telling you that your call may be monitored, they probably just want to try and discourage you from swearing at their call center people.

To convince you to switch to the "new, improved" product, they sabotage the "what I have now is good enough" product...

The AMT Nova engine has a whopper of an axle hole, and is extremely simplified. The '62 hardtop/convertible engine (stock version) is made up of seven parts: block/transmission halves, pulleys/generator, fan, exhaust pipe, valve cover/carburetor, and air cleaner. Intake and exhaust manifolds, and oil pan, are molded as part of the block. The '63 wagon used the same engine but with a couple more parts (intake and exhaust parts were molded separately) but the big axle hole is still there.

I've got a book that describes how to build a machine that looks a lot like that one. I bought the book more to see what was involved, as opposed to actually building the thing. Mattel used to make an injection molding machine. Theirs used plastic with a lower melt point, the plastic felt like a cross between greasy soft toy plastic and glue sticks. The thing didn't get hot enough to melt anything else. As I remember, the molds were pretty small. The Thingmaker operated on a similar principle, but the soft material for that probably had a low melting point. I remember the molds for that being pretty decent size-wise, producing much larger "things" than the injection molder could churn out. That Thingmaker goop was nasty stuff, when it was hot it would stick to you like mad. The limiting factor will be tooling. You can get RTV material that is usable for casting metal items, but you'd need something that could handle the pressure of injection molding, and RTV ain't it. Metal tooling isn't cheap. I inquired about having a tool cut for a 1/25 scale hood about thirty years ago; I was quoted in the $5,000 range for an aluminum tool. And that's a hood...shape would be critical but there's no really intricate detail. Then you'd have to find someone to run it. There are some industrial epoxies that might work, but that would be an expensive way to go. I can't see any advantage to home-brew injection molding over decent quality resin castings, especially with the cost/difficulty involved in the former.

The Mod Rod illustration is tweaked just a bit, to reflect the alterations made to the ex-Ala Kart fender unit (removal of louvers on aprons, removal of running board notch and side exhaust). There were two Mod Rod issues back in the day. The first one had the illustration of the red car as the main one on its box. The illustration Round 2 is using wasn't on that first Mod Rod box.

The AMT Chevy pickup promo (a '66) is supposedly still out there in someone's possession. Joe Wheat had a number of them run (250 or 500 from what I heard) and sold them as assembled promo models. These are molded in turquoise, and have vacuform glass (apparently the window tooling wasn't part of the deal). They have blackwall tires; I believe adhesive whitewall stickers were included. I've got one of these. American SATCO had promoted an issue of the pickup as a curbside kit (no engine, apparently none is in the tool). The scuttlebutt at the time was that SATCO couldn't get (or afford) licensing from GM to produce it. The Wheat issue might be an "under the radar" sort of thing.

The AMT kit is a fictional car based loosely on the McEwen '65. It was created in '67 after there was no more need for AMT to produce 1966 Barracuda promo models or stock/custom kits. Don Emmons was a consultant to AMT around that time; the kit is probably based on a kitbash project he did for Rod & Custom back in the day. He started with a stock '65 kit, scratched the mid-engine chassis/interior from basswood strips and file card, and bashed the driveline from the Barracuda and other kits. The AMT funny car was issued years ago with Hemi Under Glass decals but was the same kit, possibly with Hurst mag wheels included. The chassis and engine were also used in a Corvair funny car kitback then; the one reissued by Round 2 recently. Back in '68 and '69, MPC offered Hemi Under Glass kits. Those had (then) current year bodies, and a completely different chassis. Nothing was shared with the AMT kit because the two companies were competitors at that time. All of the recent production (since 2005 or so) Hemi Under Glass kits are the AMT 1966 kit. The Model King issue was first, followed by the RC2 Nostalgia Series issue. Early production kits from that issue have MPC box art with a '68 or '69 MPC kit shown, but the '66 is what's inside. Once someone at RC2 figured out the mistake, they cobbed a picture of an earlier Barracuda onto the same artwork. The MPC '68/'69 Hemi Under Glass hasn't been reissued. The chassis and interior got reworked for the LA Dart/Hemi Hunter Dart kit. If you look at the parts in that kit, you can see traces of where alterations were made to turn the engine/driveline around to place it behind the rear axle for the Dart. MPC even moved the front wheel openings on the Dart body (taken from a Ramchargers funny car kit) to line up with the wheelbase on the HUG chassis. The Dart's wheel openings aren't quite in the right place for a Dart, they're a bit too far back.

A company in England did issue AMT '59 Buick kits over there. Not sure which one(s) (hardtop, convertible, or both) were offered, or if any other AMT kits were sold by the same company. I believe there was an article about the Buick in Model Car Journal. If the kits were produced there, the tool would have been shipped back afterwards because AMT issued the '59 Buick hardtop as a Junior Craftsman series kit in 1962, and reissued that in 1969.

Round 2 provides a parts breakdown on the bottom of every kit box. If you wish to avoid "ancient, less detailed" kits, all you need do is take a glance at the underside of the box.

The Round 2 kits have a parts breakdown on the box bottom. If you don't see separate suspension parts (and do see wire axles), then the kit in question will be a reissue of a vintage kit designed with old technology (molded-in exhaust and suspension detail, interior with fewer separate parts). A lot of optional parts in a kit is usually another tipoff; newer kits with a higher parts count often have minimal (or no) optional parts. With those, custom or racing versions are issued as separate kits with some of the stock parts being replaced by alternate parts.

The first issue GTX convertible (white car on the box) had only the Hemi. The stock GTX hardtop (red car on the box) came out two or three years later and has the 440 (which first appeared in the stock '70 Coronet). The kits with the 440 should have most, if not all, of the Hemi engine parts though. The stock kits in particular have a lot of extra parts like wide rear wheel backs and engine parts, that aren't mentioned or used in those kits.

The blue '37 Ford convertible will have the lettered tires; again two sets (two small "front" tires for the trailer, four for the car, two large tires left over).

Only the GT-350R has those tires. The other variations (including the Shelby GT-350s) used Monogram Michelin TRX tires in the early issues, maybe something else later on. The TRX tires had unobtrusive/smooth sidewalls and were about the right size, so those got used in a bunch of kits, even the early issue '67 Chevelle if I remember right. The smooth sidewalls worked for applying decal whitewalls or red lines, I guess. The fastback kits aren't bad, but look just a little "stiff" to my eyes. All versions have headers, and most have a dual exhaust system that might be correct for the Shelby versions but not the garden-variety Mustangs. The headlamps have clear lenses but not buckets (lenses attach to a relatively flat backing) so they look two-dimensional. The suspension needs to be tweaked a bit to bring them closer to the ground, but that's typical of Monogram kits from that era. The early issue Shelby versions sometimes had satin finish plated parts including bumpers (whose brainstorm was that?). On the other hand, they did do that GT-350R version which has several unique parts including that "vented" back window.

I've got one set of Carrera tires; they look great (pad printed lettering and stripes) but the center holes are probably larger than the wheels in the AM kit. I've got some turned aluminum rims that fit them, for some yet-undetermined project. I picked up the one set of tires on closeout thinking the center holes were on the large side...once I figured out how to make use of them, the rest were sold out. The ones I have seen since appear to be the same tire but with no brand name, only the color stripe...

The GT-350 R kit pictured will have the lettered version of that tire. In fact, it will have two sets because the kit needs four of the smaller "front" tires. Mine had two sets when I bought it back in the day. That first issue didn't seem to be around long, so it will probably be tough to find. The reissue(s) in other boxes will likely have the no-name version of that tire. Other kits to look for include the '32 Ford three-window coupe and Dan Fink Speedwagon (first issues of course). The highboy roadster was out alongside those two but used different tires. If you are looking at opened kits, check the tires because some sellers will swap the later ones in. The next Deuce variant was the sedan. I bought a couple of those right when they came out; just checked them and they have the no-name tires. Since the three-window coupe came out after the sedan, it too will have the no-name tires. The Revell-boxed 1/24 scale Deuce roadster (ex-Little Deuce) that comes with the cardboard McDonald's stand has the lettered tires. Later ones probably won't. There was a racing '68 Corvette (topless version with Owens-Corning sponsor markings) that had the lettered tires too, but that's not one you'll trip over at a swap meet.

Some of the RTV mold materials definitely last longer than others. I used to use Kastpro products; anything else I have used since doesn't compare to theirs when it comes to shelf life. It's best to use the stuff quickly once you have it, particularly once it is opened. (Advice I often forget/ignore.) Store the parts A and B apart from one another once they are opened.