Mark

That's the '73 annual. It could be built stock, and there was a drag version included too. The Warren Tope racing issue deleted the stock parts, gutted the stock interior bucket, and replaced a few things like the wheels. The roll cage in the annual and Tope versions was hacked together from the drag roll bar. A better cage was tooled for a later issue; that's probably what will be in the reissue.

The "yellow car on the box" RC2 issue Mustang (called a '73) is the AMT kit, the same one that is being reissued as the Warren Tope racer. The built model shown on the box is an MPC kit however. Around the same time as that yellow one was issued, RC2 also issued the ex-MPC "1971" Boss 351. That kit's box art featured a metallic blue car, again built from an MPC kit (but, unlike the '73, this one matched the contents of the box).

I used to like the CAR MODEL covers that would mention a particular article, and the fine print underneath would read "coming next month"... Other than the 'Vette, I can't remember any unfinished series of articles. Not to say there were none, but I've got every issue of CM and have gone through most of them pretty well. Hank Borger's stuff was usually contained within one issue, as was Dennis Doty's. The longest-running one I remember was Jim Keeler's "Unraveling The Snakepit" (which, due to the sheer amount of content, demanded several issues to get it all in). Some slot car articles ran in multiple issues too, though I'll admit to not paying too much attention to those.

How many articles in CAR MODEL were left uncompleted? Off the top of my head, I can think of only one: the 1/8 scale Corvette funny car...the body looked like a hack job (particularly on the inside), and there never were any photos of the chassis construction, only text... IMO, the work in progress stuff is great to see whether it ever gets finished or not. Lots of creativity, lots of different approaches to how a particular thing gets done. Go ahead and post them, and don't worry that your work "might not be good enough".

Strombecker, Aurora, Merit, etc. were all competing companies back then, so all of their kits were different. The Aurora Indy cars were first manufactured by a company called Best. Those are a bit smaller than 1/25 scale (at least the ones I've seen) and not terribly accurate. The Monogram Kurtis-Kraft is a pretty simple piece, but what is there looks pretty good, particularly considering its age...

It's surprising how close all of the Corvette kits (MPC and AMT annuals, AMT/Ertl and recent Revell kits) are in terms of parts and decal fit. Nothing is an exact fit from one to another, but it's surprising how close they all are when you realize they were done by competing companies, with half of them done thirty years after the others. The AMT annual kits start going off the rails after '72 (MPC was doing the promotional models, leaving AMT on the outside looking in) but other than that, they're all pretty close to one another.

The AMT kit is AMT's, and first appeared in 1965. Had Frog (or any European or Japanese) company made that kit, it would be 1/24 scale like the others.

The motorized version was issued separately. The box art was pretty much the same, but the box was bigger for the motorized kit. There was a motorization fad in the early Sixties; Monogram, and also Revell, issued motorized versions of a number of their kits. Ideal (ITC) motorized their car kits ('40 Mercury, '50 Ford, etc) but theirs were sold only that way and not as non-powered shelf models. I think Strombecker and Lindberg did a lot of motorized stuff at that time too. Revell also offered the motor and related parts (battery box, switch, etc) as a separate pack. I don't know offhand what size batteries were used.

The steering setup was there because this is actually a pretty early kit, and the manufacturers were still figuring out if kids wanted to build their model and then play with it, or just set it on the shelf. Later, there was a motorized version. Being able to set the steering would make the motorized model go in circles. As simple as this one is, it does actually look like the subject matter...

The tuner issue is interesting; it has decals for the stock emblems. It would take a bunch of work to change this kit back to stock, but as I understand it most of these cars are now modified, stock ones aren't often seen. I'll probably stick the tuner together out of the box, maybe smoothing in the front fender flares that are molded in place but represent add-ons to the stock fenders. This is one of those kits that I didn't give a second look to in the past, but it seems to be very well done...

As I understand it, the 2014 issue was an SSP item; one production run, will not be restocked, and has already been dropped. I don't have the 1996 BRE issue (sold mine a while back) but as I remember, it had the two-piece tires from the original issue, but molded in a softer vinyl. The 2014 issue has one-piece tires, probably the same ones as were in the "tuner" issue I have now. In any event, if you want this kit and have access to them at a price you think reasonable...get them. No doubt it will surface again in the future, but who knows when, and at what price...

Back then, that particular chassis was used in a few other AMT kits like their '69 Cougar (not the '68 that Model King reissued, which was an MPC kit), the Funny Hugger '69 Camaro (again not the one reissued by Model King, that was the Funny Hugger II with a different chassis), and a longer version was used in the AMT Gas Ronda longnose '69 Mustang. MPC was a competitor to AMT back then, and Jo-Han sold a few kits through AMT but none of their kits were combinations of the two company's parts or tooling. No recently reissued kits have that exact same chassis. I'd wait until getting the built model in my hands before looking for parts; you may be able to save most of what you have. If you need to snag another kit for parts, I'd say get either a Polar Lights funny, or one of the recent MPC reissues like the Beswick GTO or Model King '68 Cougar, and either adapt the whole chassis or take only the needed parts from it. The engine from one of the AMT '33 Willys kits might be good to have around, too.

Maybe the twelfth ball was earmarked for the kickers...it might be tougher to kick an underinflated ball, at least for distance. The persistent stench of cheating puts an asterisk next to anything they have accomplished. Not that I care too much...haven't watched the "big game" in over twenty years. The playoffs up to this point are where the better games are anyway...

Controversy and talent have become interchangeable...

Check out the artwork: Boss 429 with the distributor at the back, and the Chevy with it at the front (the parts inside the boxes were correct, though)...

A couple of years ago, a guy set up at the local IPMS show with an entire table of nothing but NASCAR kits. $2 each. A lot of car guys come to that show. At the end of the day, he still took a bunch of them home. I've got a few of the AMT Eighties/Nineties kits (they do have a lot of good parts). Never paid more than $3 for any of them. The truck chassis are a bit longer, and look like they would be a good fit under larger Sixties car bodies for a pro-touring sort of thing. A while back, I picked up a couple of the earliest Monogram NASCAR kits. That series of kits was a long and successful one for Monogram, and a landmark of sorts. I got one of the first two Buick Regals, sealed, for $3. That's the original early Eighties issue, not a later repop. I've got one of the earlier Monte Carlos that I think I paid $5 for.

An innovative idea, but that vinyl looks like the same stuff used to mold the figures in the Raiders' Coach kit...no glue or paint known to man at the time would stick to that stuff...

The Comet passenger cars (coupe, sedan) had the longer wheelbase, but the station wagon did not. It's a Falcon wagon with Comet front sheet metal. After the North American Comet was restyled for 1964, Ford Australia acquired the '60-'63 Comet front end sheet metal dies. They combined the Comet front clip with a locally done restyle of the quarter panels and rear end, to update their Falcons for the '64-'66 period. They never used the North American '64-'65 outer sheet metal on their cars.

The Lindberg '32 pickup (the custom-only one, not the '34) was cribbed heavily from an AMT '32 Ford five-window coupe, and was designed around an electric motor. The Revell '32 chassis is a tight fit (you'll have to trim away a crossmember, the apron between the front fenders, and the molded-in gas tank cover from the Lindberg fender unit) but you can make it work. The engine block has some funky engraving that can be wiped off if you want to keep that engine (so it fits with the modified hood that's in the kit). It's cool, it has the look of an early Sixties East Coast or Miidwest rod. I wouldn't pay anywhere near full price for one, but I got mine as part of another deal so I haven't got much (if anything) in it. I was stumbling over Revell Deuce three-window kits at flea markets and shows for a while (as cheaply as $2 for sealed kits) so I've got a few of those to play with also. I'd probably do the Lindberg '32 to look like a late Fifties/early Sixties build, but with the updated chassis...like one of those rods that stayed in the same region, changed hands a few times, and got updated and used a lot...

The Falcon and Mustang share suspension parts, but not much of the platform itself. The floor pans look way different. The Revell early Mustang kits are 1/24 scale, and have 9" rear axles as well as non-stock exhaust systems. If you have to buy a kit for the underbody parts, you should consider waiting for the Moebius '65 Cyclone. The Comet/Cyclone hardtop wheelbase is slightly longer than the Falcon's, the difference will be behind the front seat. I've heard about people cutting and fitting the Revell Thunderbolt underbody into the '64 Comet, but I haven't tried that one myself. The engine compartment in the Thunderbolt is non-stock (shock towers are altered to fit the big engine) and it has a 9" rear axle. AMT '67 Mustang/Shelby could be used also, but if I remember right, it too has a 9" rear axle. If I were using Mustang parts, I'd probably use the engine compartment and front stub frame, and the rear section, then scratch a more "Falcon looking" floor pan (or use the original kit part with the exhaust and driveshaft detail removed). The Trumpeter '64 Falcon parts look sort of like Falcon parts, but the rear wheel tubs are too wide, other parts are so-so, and they are expensive, especially as parts donors. I'd wait for the Moebius Cyclone, myself.

See if you have a plastics supply/fabrication company in your area. Some of these places build store displays and such in addition to selling material. The one in my area sells the cutoffs (scraps) by the pound: $1.50 per pound, buy five pounds, get five more free. I've come up empty on the last few trips, but have found sheets in the past ranging in thickness from .030" to 1/8". What they call "scrap" dwarfs the prepackaged sheets you can buy at the hobby shop. I buy precut Evergreen strips/rod/tubing/etc but not the sheet material. Companies that do vacuum formed signs and packaging sometimes have thinner stuff that is often thrown away because it was on the margins of a job they did. With that type of scrap material, you'll have to do some cutting to get the good material, and the pieces won't be huge (but they're often pretty big for most of what we're doing).

The availability and selection of dry transfer lettering is way down compared to years past. These were used extensively by architects and draftsmen, and a great selection was as close as the nearest drafting supply store. A lot of that type of work has become computerized, so unfortunately their need for dry transfer lettering has, for lack of better words, dried up.

Looks like the raised top is made up of about four parts (side areas including top irons, rear window area, and top area) while the body looks like several parts (sides, top of turtledeck, probably a separate piece for the top of the cowl). The body looks as though it was broken apart along seams that would exist on the 1:1 body, so it's not as though massive amounts of bodywork will be needed after the sections are joined together.

I need another kit like I need a hole in my head. That said, at the very least, I'll pick up the touring when it appears...

The original issue of this kit had the hollow Goodyear Stock Car Special tires (tooled in the late Sixties, last seen as rear tires in the Meyers Manx kit) with plastic sidewall caps (similar to those included in a number of mid-Sixties AMT kits) with Firestone lettering.