Mark

I've done a lot of casting (both for myself, and to sell) and DO use talc...but not during the mold making process.

There were no full size Olds (or Buick) wagons in that period, and the midsize body was narrower than the Toronado...so the Pontiac body would have been the biggest one available.

The last "Jo-Han kit in an AMT box" was the T-391 "Torino Stock Racer" (NASCAR version of the '72 Torino) which appeared in the 1975 AMT catalog.

If you are really into Mavericks, Jo-Han produced several variations of their kit. The '70 annual could be built stock or as a funny car, and had a six-cylinder engine for the stock version (1:1 wasn't offered with a V8 until '71). If you build the stock version, the leftover parts include a complete funny car chassis complete with engine. For '71, they did a Comet annual, stock or Pro Stock. Again the stock version had the straight six. The stocker had Maverick wheel covers (promo model had the correct ones though). There were also '71 Comet and Maverick "annuals" that could be built only as a funny car. A stock/Pro Stock '71 Maverick was announced but was not produced. Next up was an Eddie Schartman Pro Stock Maverick, still with the early style grille. This kit had the gutted interior and chassis like the later kits, and had a bunch of parts that never appeared again like the Motor Wheel Spyder mags and a hood with a small scoop. For '72. Jo-Han issued the Dyno Don Maverick and Schartman Comet kits that, except for decals, stayed in Jo-Han's catalog for many years. Throw in the hard to find AMT issue Maverick, and you've got ten different versions by my count (this includes the decal changes to the later versions). Which reminds me...does anyone have the later version Jo-Han Comet with "Rapid Randy" decals that match the box art? I've had a few of those over the years, and have looked at a bunch of others...I've never seen those decals.

The AMT issue Maverick is listed as a March 1973 release, in the '73 "second edition" AMT catalog. On the same page are two other AMT/Jo-Han kits, the AMC Hornet hatchback and Dodge Challenger funny cars. The Maverick is pretty much the Jo-Han Dyno Don car, with additional engine parts from earlier issues to build either a Boss 429 or (less accurate) 427 Overhead Cam engine. The Jo-Han Maverick was issued as the Dyno Don version (with the Grabber style grille) in '72 if I remember right; it and the Eddie Schartman Comet were probably sold by Jo-Han alongside AMT's version. The Hornet hatch was new (in 1:1) for '73; Jo-Han issued it in its own packaging alongside the AMT kit. Why they never issued any of the Hornets as stock versions is baffling. The Challenger funny car was issued by Jo-Han as the Gene Snow car initially, and that one was still available from Jo-Han alongside AMT's issue.

It's a "light transfer bar". Only two bulbs were included; one for the front, one for the rear. The bulb snapped into the transfer bar which would then light up when the switch was flipped, making the lenses glow a bit. Same deal for the back, except for the red lenses. The '64 Galaxie kits had the same arrangement.

The AMT pro stock Maverick was the Jo-Han kit, reboxed. AMT sold a number of Jo-Han kits in its own packaging between late 1966 and 1974-75; the Maverick was one of the last kits issued under the arrangement. These were apparently produced by Jo-Han and packaged in AMT boxes, with AMT instruction and decal sheets. The parts weren't bagged as they were in AMT kits from about 1969 on. The plastic is typical Jo-Han more opaque/more brittle material. Jo-Han kit parts weren't bagged until the Seville era. A lot of people are familiar with the Olds Toronados and AMC products issued in AMT boxes, but there were others including the Maverick, the '72 Torino stock car, and the Dodge Challenger funny car. Nobody has ever written about this arrangement, who chose the kits that were to be issued this way, why those and not others were chosen, or why it ended. Issuing Jo-Han kits in AMT boxes probably added a few items a year to AMT's catalog without additional tooling expense, and kept Jo-Han busy without their having to advertise or promote the products. Jo-Han always had spotty distribution as far back as I can remember, while AMT kits were on the shelves in any store that cared enough about model car kits to stock them. The Jo-Han Comet drag car was available long after the Maverick went out of production. The two kits shared a bunch of parts. Bodies are the same except for the taillight areas. Both bodies were probably produced from the same tooling, with the taillight area insert or "slide" being unique to each version. Someone once offered a resin conversion kit to make a Maverick out of the (then) still available Comet. It included the front bumper/grille, hood, taillight panel, taillight bezel/gas cap piece that fit in from behind, and taillight lens insert. The MPC Ohio George Multi Maverick was an entirely different kit (MPC and AMT were competitors then). That body has a chopped top, radiused quarter panels, separate front fender pieces, and a molded shut hood with a huge scoop. The same body (but with a flat hood) was used in the Jolly Roger funny car kit, a one time issue. How MPC was able to produce the Jolly Roger version body and then convert it back to the Multi Maverick configuration again a few years later is a mystery.

If this wagon was actually an Olds project, I'd bet there is more to it than meets the eye...like, maybe, a load area with ultra-low lift height, something to exploit the possibilities offered by having the entire drivetrain ahead of the firewall.

The Super Street (1968) issue had everything but the battery box and switch. The Street Shaker (1973) deleted all of the customizing parts, the headlamp covers, the tow bar, and the light transfer bars. The Halibrand wheels were replaced by baby moon/reversed wheels, and the open wheels were replaced by unplated Cragar S/S wheels. Next issue after that (Countdown series) restored the custom parts (though the grille was altered). The Cragar S/S wheels moved to the plated tree and the reversed wheels were deleted. That's pretty much the way the kit has stayed since.

The T-222 Super Street issue (1968) had everything the annual issue had, except the battery box and switch. Mine even has the light transfer bars, though they aren't mentioned in the instructions. The grille has headlamp detail, though the detail is "clocked" (as though the sealed beams were installed crooked). That was fixed with the next issue, the Street Shaker. The license plate areas on the bumpers still have "1964" in the Super Street issue.

It works with custom parts too. The parts from the AMT '62 Bonneville annual kit are a pretty good fit on the newer Catalina, though you will have to work up new attachment points for the rear of the floorpan (existing areas will have to be cut away in order to fit the custom pan). The Stylizing parts from the hardtop look like they will fit too, though they probably won't look as good on the shorter Catalina. The AMT '62 Impala annual kit parts look workable on both the newer AMT kits (Bel Air hardtop and Impala convertible) and the Revell Impala hardtop. Haven't gotten around to trying the AMT '57 Ford custom parts on the Revell kit yet...

The AWB Falcon bumpers are altered; the "1965" is gone from the license plate areas, mounting tabs removed, and headlamp areas have covers engraved on. As for the six cylinder engine, the AMT '62 Falcon and Comet Stylizing kits (the ones that came in the box with the cellophane window) had them. The Falcon engine was mostly chrome plated. Each had different optional parts. Both kits had them included as display items, no instructions were provided in regards to putting the engine into the car. The assembled engines look pretty good in spite of a lot of molded-in detail (distributor, fuel pump, oil filter). No Ranchero kit ever came with an engine prior to the 1977 issue with the big-block Chevy from the '66 Impala. The Replicas & Miniatures engine looks like a straight copy of Jo-Han's engine, which was included in their '70 Maverick and '71 Mercury Comet kits. That one has better detail than AMT's Falcon/Comet engine, but is a late Sixties unit.

1:1 Superbirds used Dodge Coronet hoods and front fenders. The hood was altered (forward portion trimmed off) to make a smooth transition from the extended nose. If you are working with the Jo-Han 1/25 scale Superbird, a resin hood based on the AMT '70 Coronet hood might work.

The original 1970 annual kit did not have the plastic whitewall inserts. The '68 and '69 did, but not the '70.

AMC probably footed some of the initial tooling costs of this kit (the '68 was initially available by mail and from some AMC dealers, though it may have been sold in stores later). MPC probably updated it to the '70 on its own dime, though...maybe they decided to cut a corner and not update the seats. Ironically, Jo-Han updated their AMX promotional model to '70 spec (because AMC wanted '70 promos). Ironically, when Jo-Han backdated the AMX in '71 to produce the Shirley Shahan drag car, they left the '70 interior bucket untouched. The racing seats, originally molded in that "thermoplastic" that no paint or cement known to man will stick to, are molded in styrene in the reissue. Those have some neat detail that I hadn't noticed before...the seat looks like a replica of a fiberglass shell with the upholstery wrapped over the sides and attached with snaps. I might use those in a Lindberg Gremlin, that I plan on stuffing an AMX chassis and interior into...

Between the first Buyers' Choice reissue of the Winged Express (with original MPC box art) and the second (pictured) one, the Bantam Blast fuel altered (which shares many parts with the Express) was reissued. Besides the body, another difference was the front wheels. Apparently, someone at Racing Champions didn't put the correct wheel inserts back into the tool for the second Express reissue. When the second Express reissue was a currently available kit, some dealers selling them would provide the correct wheels separately. One other thing: the first Winged Express reissue was authorized by Al Marcellus (Willie Borsch's partner in the 1:1 car) while the second was not. That's why their names aren't on the decal sheet in the second reissue.

Look for some cardboard tubes (poster mailers, wrapping paper tubes) or long boxes. If you decide you like the "tube" storage method, you could buy some cheap PVC pipe to make a fixture to hold everything. I keep mine in the packages, and have a couple of long boxes to keep them in so they stay straight. I think the boxes I have were from packaged breakfast items (cinnamon rolls, Danish, or something like that). I've got a few cartons from my mom's nutritional drink that are probably long enough to use for this too. Look for boxes or tubes that you can pick up for free, as opposed to buying/building something. You might change your mind later about what is suitable, so don't tie up any money in it for now.

The '68 and '69 versions had separate clear headlamp lenses; in the new kit, they are still included. The extra set of wheels are the ones from the Lightning Bolt issue.

I've got the new one. It looks much the same as the annual, except that the stock wheels (new tooling) are on a separate tree. The custom wheels from the previous issue are still included, though the tires that fit them are not. The custom hood's clear insert is newly tooled, and the racing bucket seats are now molded in styrene (they were flexible plastic in the annual, and were not in the Eighties custom-only issue). The decal sheet has a few added things (license plates) but doesn't have stock striping (shouldn't be tough to do). The slicks and optional parts from the annual kit are all included. If you're into AMC stuff, you'll probably want one of these.

For the $34 I paid for the hardtop, I expected a lot better. The general shapes are there, but everything is off. The inner rear wheel wells are way too deep (you can't get too big a tire on a Falcon), and that steering linkage looks like it was scaled down from Erector set parts. I've seen a couple of built ones that looked great, but that was more due to the builder's effort than the kit itself. I came to my opinion long before Moebius started spoiling us with kits we never expected to see, with way better execution to boot. Hang on to that Trumpeter chassis and compare it to the '65 Cyclone when it appears. Trumpeter seems to have gone about it the wrong way; the first kits had too many gimmicks (finicky photoetched hood hinges, too-thin separate panels, metal-clad plated parts). The Falcons ditched most of that stuff, but not enough effort went into getting the shapes right. And those came after the '63 Novas, which (aside from the too-tall convertible windshield) looked pretty darned good, gimmicks and all. I sold my Falcon and got my money back...when I started putting together a sale pile for NNL East earlier this year, it was probably the first thing I set aside.

I did the exhaust removal on a '55 Nomad chassis a couple of years ago (nope, the model isn't finished yet!). The Nomad chassis would be great as a first-time project. The only area where you will break through will be the muffler. That can be filled in with thick sheet plastic after the muffler is gone. You can use a Dremel for the muffler area, to do the rough cutting. The rest can be done with SHARP X-Acto blades, slowly and carefully so as not to nick the surrounding areas. I did the bulk of the removal with the narrow #17 blade as shown above. Make sure the blade is sharp. If you have a dull blade, you'll put more brute force into moving the blade through the work. The more muscle you put into doing the work, the less you have available to guide the blade. Start by grinding away as much of the muffler as you can, to the point of breaking through. Then, cut a piece of plastic as a press fit in the muffler hole, then hit it with some liquid cement to hold it in. While that is curing, work on the other areas. I'd start at the tailpipe and work forward. When most of is gone, sand the areas smooth, putty the muffler area and anywhere else that is needed, sand again, then get some Evergreen strip and reconstruct the missing floorpan detail as a mirror image of the other side. The Nomad piece is good practice for some other project where no replacement chassis is available.

The Trumpeter Falcons are a hot mess, don't waste your time or money. If you want a '64-'65 Falcon, start with the AMT altered wheelbase body. The rear wheel openings are moved forward, and there's a recessed area for the drag 'chute in the rear body panel, but changing that stuff beats dealing with Trumpeter's "reflection in a funhouse mirror" rendition of the Falcon body. If you want 100% stock, look for a resin body or a less-than-perfect promotional model. That aside, the AMT new-tool '67 Mustang underbody is the way to go if you want more detail for the '66 coupe. A distant second would be the parts from the AMT/ex-MPC '69 Mustang fastback. Those parts originated with the MPC '66 Mustang fastback...chassis looks like the AMT '66 piece, but with separate exhaust and rear axle/spring unit. The "stock chassis for Gas class" rule fell by the wayside around the time Ohio George's '67 Mustang appeared. Mike Mitchell ("world's fastest hippie") built a '33 Willys in 1966, with a fabricated frame. At first, NHRA stuck to the "stock frame" rule, but later backpedaled, seeing how fast those cars were getting. The first few times out, Mitchell's car was moved into Altered class, but the rule change came for '67. The stock frames under some of those cars needed extensive rework for drag racing. Ever see a stock Anglia/Thames frame? (Don't look at the Revell kit; that one isn't accurate.) It's awfully puny. The Austin unit wasn't much better. I remember my older brother building a 1:1 Austin pickup; by comparison with domestic cars, its frame looked like it was made of heavy gauge sheetmetal, though several layers thick in places. A Sawzall made short work of it; the frame was intact but had a lot of scaly, scabby rust (the truck sat in a dirt floor building in Ontario for many years). Montgomery's Mustang had the Willys frame because he'd started construction on it prior to the rule change, but then again he used a Willys frame under the red '69 Mustang which was built after fabricated frames were allowed. He probably just liked them as a starting point.

Motor Trend's "awards" seemed to be connected more closely to the amount of advertising sold to a particular manufacturer, as opposed to the perceived merits of the vehicle itself...

As much of a GM hater as I am, I wouldn't call the Cavalier a failure. GM sold a mess of them, and in my area (where cars rust into oblivion) I still see plenty of them, even though the newest ones are now twelve years old. It might have been Car & Driver that remarked that they "run poorly, longer than a lot of other cars run at all". My mom got fourteen years out of a Chevette...bought new towards the end of '81, replaced by a Dodge Neon in '95. The Chevette stranded her three times in a row...three strikes, you're out. Each time it was stupid little stuff, but the floor was starting to go away, so it wasn't worth throwing money at it by then. She was happy with it overall, and got pretty good service out of it. There were things that irritated me (oil filter directly over a crossmember, no cam bearings in the head-just metal on metal)...typical GM penny-pinching. Another guy I knew bought a Chevette Scooter (the one with cardboard door panels, and no rear seat) when they first came out. He put about 160,000 miles on it, and sold it to another guy I knew. When she packed up and left him, she'd put another 100,000 on it by then, and took the car with her. The midsize and fullsize GM cars with the V6 engines were the real failures. Around here, the frames rotted behind the rear wheels where the tires threw slop on them every winter. The V6 engines were overtaxed and not up to the job. The guy who bought the Scooter brand new, later bought a Bonneville "G" (midsize) with the Buick V6...puked the engine with fewer than 50,000 miles. The rebuild didn't last any longer. He had a V8 put in after that, as did a lot of other people...

The side panel of the AMT '62 Corvair (and SMP '62 Valiant) Styline kits list the other kits in the series...at the bottom of the list is "El Camino". Presumably this would have been a third issue of the 1960 kit with Stylizing parts added (there was a straight reissue of the original version in 1961). Between production of promotional models, toy store frictions, and kits in '60 and '61, the El Camino tool was probably shot even at that point. The Jo-Han 1969 kit "sell sheet" lists 1969 GTX and Cadillac convertibles, neither of which were produced. The 1969 Auto World catalog lists the GTX convertible also, not a Roadrunner convertible as I had previously posted.