Mark

The AMT coupe kits I checked ('66 and '67 annuals) have the seats molded as a unit with the interior, as does the '64 convertible. The convertible annuals may have gone to a "separate seats" interior at some point, and that interior would probably swap straight into the coupe. I've got a couple of built '67 convertibles, but didn't look at those. The '67 coupe was reissued several times, and was probably in continuous production through '72 ("Color Me Vette", "Funny Car" issue, "Candidate", not necessarily in that order). For '73 (AMT's 25th anniversary) it was backdated to the '63. The body, interior, and trim parts were backdated but the engine and custom parts were straight from the '67. The body details are pretty decent even when stacked up against a '63 annual kit. The knockoff wheels aren't perfect, but if you don't like them you can get wheel covers from Modelhaus, or from the Prestige issue '63 convertible kit. Early production coupe kits have the '67 backup lamp over the rear license plate recess. The Street Rods/25th Anniversary issue included only the big-block engine. The artwork on the Street Rods box was kept in production into the mid-Eighties. For a couple of years, the same plastic parts were dropped into another box (Barris Cruisin' USA) with different decals and possibly tires. It and the Street Rods issue were available at the same time. The next AMT/Ertl issue added the small-block engine back in. The engine appears to be the original one from the '63 annuals (used through '65 in the coupe annuals, through '67 in the convertibles, and also in that nasty '68 annual kit). A couple of parts are newer tooling, mainly the air filter for the stock FI setup. True, the interior and chassis have a lot of detail molded in. But this is a decent kit nevertheless.

The Sixties Revell tires (the solid one-piece ones) seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to softening adjacent plastic parts. Apparently it comes down to the compounds used in making the tires. The thin Revell plating that seemingly wore away quickly (and the clear plastic under many of the plated parts) probably didn't help matters any. AMT tires of the same period aren't quite as soft, and don't cause damage on the scale of the Revell tires (though every once in a while you do see built kits with softening damage to the wheel halves). At the other end of the scale, you have the least flexible tires in Monogram and Jo-Han kits. I can't recall finding softening damage on wheels in a Monogram or Jo-Han kit, ever. As for the MPC BFG radials, those seem to be a freak occurrence. Other MPC tires from the same era don't seem to cause the same damage as the BFGs. Maybe the mix of materials used in molding those tires had to be different to allow for removal from the tire tooling...that's all I could think of.

With mid-Seventies kits (particularly AMT) watch out for the plastic itself...poor quality, milky looking. "Extenders" (whatever those might be) were used, and more recycled plastic was used than is usual. Some of what is called "regrind" (recycled already-molded plastic, like sprues and short shots) are used, and that is even desirable...up to a point. In that period, though, they went beyond that point. And don't get me started on those two-piece tires they were using, or the kits with the separate red lenses eliminated and replaced with lens detail on the bezels or bumpers. Early Revell kits have chrome plating that somehow disappears, leaving exposed bare plastic. The plating in those kits often rubs off under even minimal handling anyway. The early vinyl tires include a lot of "plasticizer", which causes softening damage to the plastic parts the tires come into contact with. To top that off, when the kit in question included red lenses, they were usually bagged with the tires. If you want, say, an Ed Roth car or one of the Model A Ford kits, the recent issues are the way to go instead of the first issues. Though the Model A kits never did get any clutch, brake, or gas pedals! Jo-Han plastic is noticeably brittle compared to that of other manufacturers. You get a warped Jo-Han part, you'd best be careful trying to bend it back into shape. A lot of Seventies MPC kits had decals that dried out and cracked within a year or two. And, when the lettering was supposed to be gold or gold leaf, it usually came out a washed-out brown (probably cheaper to print that way). Those early Eighties BF Goodrich T/A Radial tires probably caused as much plastic damage as the early Revell kit tires. Kill them all with fire!

A lot fewer of the large scale kits are sold. On top of that, if you are producing a detail or conversion part for a specific kit, you are "boxed in" sales-wise, confined to selling to those who bought that specific kit. And only a small percentage of the people who bought the kit will want the part. In my own experience, that is a big deal...when that kit is not a current production item, sales of the conversion part drop to nil. The kit review thread includes info on a new Lindberg reissue, the 1/16 scale T. Someone told me awhile back that the Lindberg (ex-Pyro) kit was copied to a large extent from Monogram's 1/8 scale T, and that seems credible to me. Size-wise, the Lindberg T takes up a lot less space: half as long, half as wide...one-quarter the "footprint" on a shelf, even less in a display case where height also comes into play. Bottom line...the Lindberg kit has a much better chance of getting built, at least by me. The Monogram kit is going on the sale pile...

Ironically, the Laramie Stage Ghost has bull horns while the Bull Horn does not...

I picked one up with the intention of working the drivetrain and suspension parts into a Minicraft (ex-Entex) Model A sedan. But the T is pretty neat. It does look like a scaled down Monogram Big T, except for some of the details. Changing a few things around (interior bucket, gas tank ends) will personalize it a bit. It shouldn't be too tough to scratch a bobbed pickup bed to replace the tank. I'll be checking engine parts from a couple other kits with Chevy engines (MPC '57 and '63 Corvettes) to see if anything interchanges.

The "Chrysler" that built those cars no longer exists. Apparently Fiat Chrysler can make money selling 93 of any combination of new Vipers, Challengers, and other high-end SRT (or even Ram) vehicles, and doesn't feel obligated to rescue 93 vehicles that were built long before they entered the picture. These cars were basically scrapped 20 years ago, they are only now making it official...

Fiat Chrysler is in business to sell new cars, not to unravel the legalities involved in reselling twenty-year-old ones that have probably been disassembled and put back together a bunch of times. Anyone who wants an early Viper (and can afford to buy it) can find one, so it's not like anyone is being hurt personally by this. The day Kennedy was shot? Really?

Both the '53 Studebaker and the Avanti were available through 1967; both were issued with the "wordless" box art that AMT used for Trophy Series kits that year (that coincided with AMT's changing their numbering system). The Studebaker body and related parts were also used (with the Piranha dragster chassis) in a funny car that was available in this period also. The Studebaker was issued again in 1969 (the Gasser series, with the printed cardstock drag strip starting line display base). That issue is also in the 1970 catalog. For 1971 it was issued in yet another box ("Double Whammy", the one copied for a late Nineties Buyers' Choice issue). Both the Avanti and Studebaker resurfaced in the mid-Seventies Modern Classics series. So the Stude, at least, was available pretty much continually in one form or another through the mid/late Seventies.

The body looks like it is really straight. That's a good find...many of the early kits have damaged bodies (lower body sides pulled closer together, cowl section broken). The unbuilt one I found was damaged, but later I found a built one that had a number of parts missing. Being assembled, the body stayed straight, and the missing parts were missing because so little cement had been used in assembling it.

A while back, I picked up a couple sets of the whitewall tires there...same $7.99 price, but were a lot less with the weekly 40% off coupon. Hopefully they will get the white letter Goodyear tire packs at some point...

The blue one is the '82 annual, the yellow one is the '83. I don't think there are any differences in the parts, except the '83 has clear parts that are tinted dark enough to use as welding goggles. MPC did that with a lot of kits from late '82 (when the '83 annuals appeared) through '84 or '85. I remember most, if not all, of the early production '67 GTO reissue kits having those dark windows.

The 327 Chevy pack was pieced into the Revell '57 Chevy kit (the old opening-doors one, due to be reissued this year). If you have one, check out the tree with the unplated engine parts...you can see the "parts pack" style tree that surrounds the parts. Some parts inside the tree are deleted because they weren't needed on the Chevy, or were redundant to parts on the existing plated tree. I believe the switch was done around 1968, when other changes were made to the Chevy: different hood and trunk hinges, addition of the supercharger option (which was part of the parts pack), the drag front axle, and deletion of the roll bar and spare tire in favor of a molded plastic "tire cover". Prior to the reissues, the 427 Ford was probably the toughest engine to find, as it was the last one released (in 1965, one of the last few packs released). The 327 Chevy might be a tough one, but I'd say that the Buick and the funky turbine are tough too. People still pay a decent chunk of change for the Chrysler, even though it is available in the Miss Deal kit.

I was eleven when those kits appeared, and thought they were dumb even then. I didn't care for the Zingers, but in the case of those I could just ignore them and buy something else...

Because for '71, MPC was obsessed with those incredibly stupid "spoof" parts. I guess they thought that kids liked building Zingers, so they'd like to build regular car kits as Zingers also. Epic fail. About half of the '71 annual kits got them; they wasted a lot of plastic and took up space on the parts trees that could have been used for other optional parts. Most of the '71 kits that had them, kept them for '72 also (the Vega and Jeepster Commando lost them for '72). For '73 they were gone, replaced in part with another waste of plastic (those "belt badges"). Hopefully the tooling inserts for all of those things are lost, never to be found...

If you have warpage AND bad plating, why not contact Revell about getting a replacement kit? A small problem might have been passable when retail prices were in the $10-12 range, but when they are double that, I don't bother fixing stuff...I contact them and get good parts.

MPC also offered a '76 convertible. Both companies' Corvette kits had big-block engines through 1977, though they were gone after '74. For '78, MPC created an all-new 'Vette with a small-block engine, while AMT walked away from the business of doing annual kits altogether...

I've purchased a Dupli-Cutter from Micro-Mark...it is the NWSL item. This was a few years ago, but I'd bet that Micro-Mark still sells "name brand" items as opposed to knockoffs...

Check out the tool vendors at automotive flea markets: some of them will have some items that will be useful for modelers, though probably not the smaller files. IPMS shows usually have one or two decent tool vendors, as will model railroad shows. Going to the shows (as opposed to ordering online) gives you the opportunity to handle the stuff before buying, which is often important with tools (some "feel right", others don't, regardless of quality or price). The automotive flea markets will have other supplies like sandpaper and two-part catalyzed putty; the IPMS and train shows will often have sheet plastic, Bare-Metal Foil, and paint brands that the local hobby shop(s) may not stock. All of them will probably have vendors selling kits too. That said, I do buy from Micro-Mark often enough to keep the catalogs coming. I like their mold material (but not the resin), and some of the tools also...

The stripes aren't correct for a stock Dart anyway, so what's the difference?

Look at it this way...until it is finished, it still has potential!

The '53/'54 always had the "do it yourself" opening doors (also the sedan's trunk lid, and delivery rear door). Revell did the '55, '56, and '57 Chevies (including the '57 Nomad) with separate parts, but the '53/'54 kits were done later. Revell also did a Porsche 911 kit with the "do it yourself" doors. Later variations on that kit include the parts but don't mention the feature; it was tough for younger modelers to do.

To bring this back up to the top, I did get a copy of the new book for Christmas (as well as buying a copy, to give to someone else). It is NOT a rewrite or repackaging of any previous work. Since seeing the announcement of the new book, I had been looking for a copy to check out before buying one, as Patrick Foster's previous AMC book was, in my opinion, not very good. I haven't cared much for his Hemmings Classic Car columns either. But the new book is very good, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in AMC, or independent American automakers in general. Foster seems to have made a particular effort to not recycle anything from the first book, photos included. There are lots of interesting pictures, many of which I hadn't seen before (having once owned an AMC car, I have long been interested in them, and gravitate towards any reading material about them). The information is interesting too, and includes things I hadn't read about previously. This book only touches on AMC's racing activity, something I wish would have been explored more deeply. It does get more into styling and prototypes, something lacking in the first book and with AMC is always interesting. Of course, we'd probably have liked to see a chapter with brochures and promotional items, and maybe more dealership photos...but no such luck. Even so, this is easily Patrick Foster's best work, and I would recommend it highly.

Look closely at the illustration of the stock car...it has the Cragar wheels on it. When built according to the original annual kit's instructions, that's how it came out. The only choices were the stock wheel covers or the mags. The inner wheels had some "open wheel" detail (no lug detail as in more recent issues), but no outer halves were ever included to take advantage of that. IMO, Round 2 made the best compromise here. Another set of tires would have added to the price, and those building an all-out NASCAR version would probably not have been happy with whatever tires would have been included. The stock version is here, the original custom parts are back, and the NASCAR version is closer to being accurate than ever, certainly more so than in many annual kits.

The "Revell" (ex-Monogram) Bel Air hardtop is 1/24 scale, so few (if any) parts will fit the 1/25 scale Revell sedan or delivery kits. Best bet is to use the engine/transmission/rear axle from one of the AMT '51 Chevy kits. The Revell '53/'54 frame and front suspension are actually fairly accurate, the inner front fenders are another story though.