Mark

The Ranchero is out; I saw it locally about a week and a half ago. That particular store had it for $21 (sometimes their prices are above retail) so I'll probably wait and pick one up at NNL East, if I get one at all. I've got a mint-in-box original and another one that was missing a couple of parts when I got it. I did find a wheel cover later (it was missing one) but haven't found a steering wheel for that one yet.

The artwork fits right in alongside the '62 Catalina and '62 Bel Air kits. Putting it in an AMT box makes sense...

Only the annual kits came with the correct piece. The original tooling was likely recut to create the '63 piece. The '64 used an entirely different interior, so the '63 tooling was set aside and then dusted off later for the USA Oldies kits. The entire series was cobbed together from whatever could be found, product choices dictated more by what was more complete (or less incomplete depending on your view) versus what might sell better. The '64 Cadillacs used the '63 chassis (annuals had poseable steering) and the front seats don't match the originals. The promotional model front bumper/grille was used also (annual had separate clear headlamp lenses). The Marlin's interior has a different upholstery pattern from the annual (interior tooling was used in later kits so that was changed after the annual kit was run). That kit too lacks the separate clear headlight lenses. The '70 4-4-2 is essentially a '72 with '70 hood and bumpers. The X-EL reissue promo models have differences too. Some of the X-EL reissues were described as having no interiors "as originally produced". The truth is closer to "has no interior because the interior was altered for use in something else, and no longer fits the body, that is if it even exists". The '59 Rambler wagon falls into this category. The reissue '58 Cadillac has a '63 interior.

A Camero with Cragers, and a 12-volt rear end...

It is what it is...it just ain't what it was...

"110 percent". I'd like to see someone draw a sports-related pie chart, where everything adds up to 110%. On to the automotive-related ones... "For sell" "Needs restored" ("needs rebuilt", "needs repainted", and so on) "Runs out good" (what exactly does "runs out" mean?) "Hard loaded" (used to be just "loaded", until that term got misused)

Regular or metric?

Toys #9 and #10 were both called '72s. Both were built with the early front clip. #9 was never updated having been destroyed in early '73. #10 did eventually get the '74 grille, bumpers, and taillight panel. I remember reading at the time (and it's repeated in Doug Boyce's book) that Jenkins didn't think the later front end helped the car's aerodynamics at all. Toy #11 (the last Vega) was constructed as a '74, and never had the early front clip. MPC produced stock Vega hatchback kits and promotional models for all years, '71 through '77. The '71 and '72 annual kits had a body with a separate, opening rear hatch. If you want an early one, look for a scuffed or shopworn promotional. Built kits are usually poorly built.

The interior bucket in the Magnum GT II is altered quite a bit too. As cool as we (myself included) might think the full-size cars are now, back then those kits weren't world-beaters. MPC was more aggressive than other companies in wringing additional uses out of its tooling (see: "Barnabas' Vampire Van", "Jolly Rodger") so it's not too surprising that the Dodge got hacked into the Magnum.

I wouldn't buy anything at Snap-On East that either spins at high speed, or is needed to support a lot of weight. That said, a lot of stuff that would be "junk" for heavy-duty use will do just fine for model building uses. I've got my model building tools and general purpose tools. The two don't interchange, at least for anything I use them for. That said, for model building uses, the digital caliper comes in handy, and I've taken a liking to the small "diamond grit" files. I've since bought a couple of sets of files on eBay that are smaller than the Harbor Freight set. The foam sanding sponges are good for rough-shaping filler. The disposable gloves are cheap; I keep a few boxes of those around. My safety goggles and respirator were obtained elsewhere however. As for general purpose tools, I do have a few items from HF but for the most part I'll spend the money once and get decent tools the first time. If you know what you're looking at, you can get high-quality, often made-in-USA, old-school tools in great shape (sometimes still new in the box) at a flea market or automotive swap meet. A lot of baby boomers are retiring/retired, and downsizing/simplifying their lives.

The last couple of printers I bought only had "starter" cartridges. People would do just what has been mentioned (buy a new printer instead of the cartridges), except they would often take the new cartridges out, replace them with their used-up units, then return the printer to the store for a refund.

The '70 Coronet pro street, and a Gremlin, can be seen in other pictures. They are currently available items; why wouldn't Round 2 show those to drum up continued interest in them?

Well, the stock '29 roadster has a 100% stock body (no raised wheel openings like the Revell body). It's got a couple of issues (reinforcing ribs on quarter panel inner wheel well are recessed, should be raised) but overall it's very good. Not a lot of parts, but what is there goes together easily and looks like a stock '29 roadster once it's assembled. The original kit built two complete cars, and if that's not enough, there were extras for each. The stock roadster could be built as a vintage hot rod with a Riley cylinder head (simplified compared to the Revell '29 pickup, but not bad) and had a few other small accessories. The Ala-Kart had a few optional parts like the Deuce grille shell, cylindrical fuel tank, and dual quad setup for the Dodge engine. The original Mod Rods (there were two different boxes) had the same parts as the original Ala-Kart issues, but the optional parts were emphasized over the Kart. These later issues had fewer decals for the Ala-Kart (scallops for the undersides of the fenders were eliminated). The second Mod Rod issue (the one Round 2 is copying) was the last go-round for the Ala-Kart parts in their original form. The next issue, the Street Rods Series/25th Anniversary issue, had some changes (wheels, fenders, elimination of some Ala-Kart parts), and was the last issue of this kit with two complete cars in it. Neither the new Ala-Kart kit nor the original is perfect. The original has all four tires and wheels the same size (1:1 has a pronounced rake, and wider/deeper rear wheels). It also has a "pinched" area where the hood side panels transition to the headlamp pods on the grille shell when viewed from above. The new kit corrects the tire/wheel size differential and the hood/nose transition, but its engine is too small and the upper hood and cowl are too "squared off". The decals in the new one aren't right either; if I remember right the scallops are too yellow. Between the two kits, though, it would be possible to build a really good one. I'd probably take the new one, splice in the upper hood/cowl from the original, tweak the grille shell (new one is "too stiff"), drop in the engine from the original kit (looks like it will fit without much effort), and make up a new set of wheels for it. The Rodders' Journal article on the restored Kart should be sufficient reference material.

Every Jo-Han kit in that box that I have seen was a '76. Jo-Han played fast and loose with box art illustrations in those days.

I've never bought into the idea of pro sports teams "generating revenue". St. Louis won't have an NFL team next season. What will happen to the money that people there won't be spending next year at the games? Will they burn it, bury it in their backyards, flush it down their toilets? Nope, they'll spend it somewhere else locally. Whatever money was spent in St. Louis by outsiders attending games there, was in all likelihood offset by locals going out of town to attend away games in other weeks. To the contrary, and it's my personal opinion and not backed up by any research...I don't think pro sports teams (football in particular) even carry their own water in terms of stadium cost versus money "brought in". The taxpayers build the thing, pay to maintain it, and maybe get a token payment in return. These teams remain hot commodities only because there are two or three fewer teams than there are cities that want a team, and that keeps the pressure on for the next city to come up with a bigger handout package than the last one.

I wonder how much fuel is used at all of the NASCAR races in any given year, versus the amount of fuel used by NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL teams traveling to/from away games in a season. Even adding in the fuel used by the trucks toting the cars from race to race, I'd bet NASCAR comes out looking pretty good...

I've heard of people applying black lacquer as a base, and having problems with the Alclad rubbing off. I'd suspect that they specify the enamel base to (in part) give the Alclad something to "bite into". Resin alone wouldn't provide that. There's nothing stopping experimentation, though...

'68 Shelby kits issued after 1975 or so (starting with the Lesney/AMT "Snakebite" boxing) use wider tires than earlier issues of the kit. With narrower tires (and wheels narrowed on the back side to match) the finished build should look a lot better.

You might still have to apply the black base; it's probably needed to help the Alclad adhere to the parts. Alclad alone might rub off with even light handling of the parts. But you probably won't need as much of it on a part molded in black, and that would be a good thing...fewer coats, less likelihood of obscuring fine detail.

double post...oops

I've never seen an El Camino kit with the soft rubber tires. The '58 Chevy came out in late '63 or early '64, the El Camino in '65...by that time the supply of those tires would have been exhausted.

The Imperial didn't share any sheet metal with other Chryslers from '57 on. So when the switch to Unibody was made for '60, Chrysler first changed the high-volume cars. They had the Valiant coming online for '60 also, so between that, Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler, and Desoto they had a lot on their plate for '60. The Imperial was to have gone to Unibody for '62, but Chrysler ran into some financial difficulties during '61. The Imperial stayed with the existing body/frame and just got the fins trimmed down. Chrysler pushed its all-new body back to '63 and got a hasty redesign, basically the '61 Chrysler with new quarter panels and '61 Dodge trunk area and rear bumper. They cut some corners on the Dodge and Plymouth redesigns too. Those were made a bit smaller and lost some touches like curved side glass in the process. I don't think the Ghia Imperial limousines had anything to do with the delay; that program ended with a handful of 1960 cars (and the total number produced wasn't any big percentage of production). It was probably just a case of the Imperial not selling in enough numbers in those years to pay for a full restyle. It didn't go to Unibody until '67.

General Lee kits produced prior to 2008 have bodies with the 500/Daytona rear window. It's incorrect for the General, but that's what was in those kits.

I'm not clear on what you want to do...if you have a Charger 500 kit and need a replacement body, you can get one from any of a number of kits. Besides another 500 kit, an AMT/MPC stock Charger Daytona will have the exact same body. General Lee kits other than the current Round 2 kits will also have that same body. (Round 2 kits, both their issue of the glue kit as well as the new snap kit) have the tunnelled rear window. If you have nothing at all to start with and want to build a 500, you might want to start with a Revell '69 Daytona (for the flush rear glass) and one of their regular '69 Chargers (for the front clip). How you combine the two is up to you, but you'd need to have both the non-Daytona front fenders and the Daytona flush rear window on one body. I'm not sure which hood you'd need, and you're still without the flush exposed-headlamp grille (a repurposed '68 Coronet piece). I think Modelhaus casts the 500 grille/bumper from the MPC/Ertl kit.

Chrisman's '64 Comet started out as a stock, steel body car, as did the '64 Dodge S/FX Chargers. The Comet was later updated to a '65 and still exists, as does one of the Chargers. Many of the early fiberglass bodies had panel line detail, as the molds were made from showroom stock cars. To prep the car for the mold-making, they'd pull the scripts and lettering off (easy; it's often held on with "barrel clips") and either cram clay into the panel gaps and put a heavy coat of wax on the car, or put a layer of Saran Wrap over the whole car spanning all of the panel gaps. Then they'd lay on a couple of layers of 'glass and resin, in such a way that the mold could be pulled off in several sections. Some of them did have stock trim (Mickey Thompson's three '69 Mustangs had door handles, stock grilles, and other stock trim pieces for example).