Mark

The '57 still looks buildable, at least from what I've seen so far into the project. The '55 hardtop might be the best of the bunch (in relative terms), with the '57 hardtop right behind. Far behind are the '56 sedan and '57 Nomad. I built one of the '56 kits around 1969, and got it into one piece. The HOT ROD issue '56 I had was unbuildable; windows fell through the openings, warpage, things like that. The wide tires in the Skip's Drive In issue '55 don't fit the back of the car (at least on one side; one inner fender is narrower than the other).

I think Revell will get to the '57 Nomad at some point. The ex-Monogram kit is a mess, and the Revell kit was never really buildable. Every one of those that I have ever had, has the cowl area on the drivers' side drooping badly. I've got a started original that I want to tackle...it will get a section spliced in from a spare hardtop body. They might get around to a '56 hardtop or even a '55 Nomad at some point; the kits they have done so far seem to have sold very well.

The three kits pictured ('29 Ford pickup, two Buttera T kits) should have plated parts. I have the pickup and phaeton; mine have plating. I did have the Anglia and Thames kits; neither had plating (that tree was molded in silver plastic) or decals. My Porsche 911 also has one tree molded in silver. Advent was supposedly a sideline operation that allowed some Revell employees to increase their earnings. It operated only one year (1979 or 1980; I've got the lone catalog but can't remember the year). Quite a few Revell kits were offered, not just cars. Advent didn't get the best sellers ('53-'57 Chevies) or the newest tooling that was out under the Revell name at that time. I'm surprised the Buttera kits were offered by Advent; they were fairly new and were pretty decent sellers for Revell.

The Nomad and hardtop are similar, but I doubt they share any actual tooling. Revell had the hardtop in continuous production from 1963 through about 1998, and the Nomad was available, with a couple of short breaks, from 1968 into the early Nineties. Neither share any actual tooling with the '55 hardtop or '56 sedan, though some of the parts look very similar. Revell probably kept each kit as a stand-alone item to ensure that damage to one tool wouldn't keep any of the others out of the catalog for any length of time. They sold a bunch of the tri-five Chevy kits over the years. Around 1968, the '57 hardtop was reworked. The engine was replaced with the C-1107 parts pack unit, the straight axle was added, hood and trunk hinges were changed, and other numerous little things were done. The Nomad was created around the same time. Some of the parts removed from the hardtop (the original stock engine) may have been used in the Nomad. I'm down to one started original-issue Nomad, I sold off three or four other issues, so I can't compare the parts trees of the two kits. I should dig out the instruction sheets and compare part numbers between the two kits. I do know that some parts like the front bumpers (which do interchange, and do look the same) have different part numbers and have visual differences that are apparent only under close examination. Issuing the hardtop as the Roth car makes sense. It fits in with the existing Roth kits (including the '56 Ford pickup) in terms of parts breakdown. It was first issued shortly after he started his tenure with Revell. After seeing the Roth/Thacker book, I always thought that Revell should issue both the pickup and '57 hardtop in Roth garb. There are two other Roth cars that would be within reach for Revell; I hope they do those at some point too. I haven't seen the new issue yet, but am currently tackling the last issue (1998 street machine) as a club project. It actually seems like it won't be as tough as it looks. I've got a couple other issues, including the low rider and an original issue, that I want to build also. Of course, I might not feel like doing one of these again after getting the first one done, but that's another story. For this build, I'm trying to get parts in from as many different '57 kits as possible. The AMT Pro Shop PE grille looks like it will fit, the old-tool AMT grille bar and maybe the valve covers will be used, wheel covers and intake setup will come from the new-tool Revell two-door sedan, and so on. I'm going to hopefully have some fun with this one.

I like the paint, and the tinlets. When I get the lid pried off, I'll keep a piece of aluminum foil handy, and wipe as much of the paint from the lid as possible onto it. That then goes back into the tinlet, and gets mixed (I don't usually shake them). The paint left on the inside of the lid then gets wiped off; first with a Q-tip (with the "fuzz" removed) and then a rag. If you clean the lid and the top of the tinlet prior to putting the lid on, there's seldom a problem getting the lid off again. I still like to paint a lot of parts with a brush. My dad taught me how to apply paint with a brush years ago; he also showed me how to keep the brushes in great shape but, unfortunately, I don't always have the patience to do that so I'm hard on brushes. Humbrol is the best enamel I've tried for brushing; usually it covers with a single coat. I've never had much luck airbrushing it, though. If I try again, I'll probably start with a brand new tinlet, and decant straight to the airbrush bottle. A LHS that opened about two years ago here sells Humbrol; the owner tells me the nearest dealer is over a hundred miles away. I'm glad I can get it again. I just hope they don't have to mess with it to meet some unknown/upcoming regulation...

Aurora issued coupe and roadster kits in the early Sixties. Only the coupe has ever been reissued, whether by Aurora (with WWII military style decals) or by Monogram (and later, Revell). Revell's 1/25 scale kit was never issued as a coupe, only a roadster with a separate top. It was reissued in the early Seventies, again in 1979 (Advent; possibly with no chrome plating), and sporadically in the ensuing years. It was in a three-car set (Car & Driver, or Road & Track, can't remember which). It was issued once in SSP in the original style packaging, and again as the Austin Powers car. There are probably other issues too. But with Revell having two XK-E tools, we will probably never see the ex-Aurora kit offered as a roadster again.

It's way more accurate. Besides the Revell parts pack, their Thunderbolt kit's 427, and several AMT engines, are better than the Aurora piece. The Aurora pistons have "connecting rods" that are just round stalks sticking out from the bottom. The cylinder bores look way small. Parts like the water pump, oil filter, and starter look like whoever sculpted them never looked at a Ford engine, or even a good picture of one. The rocker arm detail just attaches to the upper part of the cylinder heads, not surrounded by any valve cover mounting surface. The valve covers are way too wide. And it isn't even a 427; I can't recall seeing a 427 with a three-twos setup. Yes, the parts should fit, but who ran one? The Revell engine, with larger carburetors and some tweaks to accept the piston/connecting rod parts from the Revell display parts pack, would be a way better engine. Aurora didn't do any other engine packs; that should say something.

The Aurora engine has separate pistons, but I'd take the Revell engine over the Aurora every day, and twice on Sunday.

There were no photoetch or cast resin parts (though somewhere here I do have a 1963 Model Car Science issue with an article on resin casting). But there were some aftermarket items. Ulrich, a company that made model railroad items, got into cars with their Mini-Men figures in both 1/25 and 1/32 scale. Those were aimed at slot car guys, but they later did surfer figures with surfboards for the static model crowd. Ulrich also did some cast metal car club plaques in 1/25 scale, as well as pre-packaged upholstery kits. Flocking in usual and unusual colors ("Funny Fur") was available. Another designer, Monte (credited by some with some of Ed Roth's creations) offered upholstery items, decals, injection molded custom tops, and a show car display. The display is interesting; it incorporated the box in which it was sold, as a platform. Lengths of dowel are included for stanchions, along with fabric covering, and a "potted plant", the "pot" being an inverted cap from a toothpaste (or something similar) tube. Engine wiring kits weren't prevalent because a lot of builders were still using waxed thread back then. Chassis detail items weren't really available because most kits still had everything molded as a unit with the chassis. If you look at the old magazines, there was a lot of customizing with detailing being secondary. Even the AMT Trophy Series kits had exhaust detail molded as part of the chassis. You didn't see a lot of separate chassis details until the classic Revell kits ('56 Ford pickup, '55-'57 Chevies) appeared.

Finding a 1:1 brochure for the truck in question isn't a bad idea. Usually, those include dimensions of the short and long bed versions, including bed length, overall length, and wheelbase. Prior to the last couple of generations, most full size pickups were available with 6-1/2' or 8' bed lengths. Mini pickups were usually 5-1/2' or 7', but not always. The difference in overall length (8' to 6-1/2' = 18" in the instances I checked) is how much the bed is shortened overall; the difference in wheelbase (usually 12") is how much of that must be ahead of the rear wheels. That's for full size pickups; the minis seem to vary by manufacturer. The newest pickups all seem to be different, but most of those aren't available as kits anyway.

My theory is that the '66 Valiant was not offered as a Craftsman kit simply due to declining sales. With the Craftsman Valiant kits, the '63 seems to be "easiest" to find, with the '64 "less common" and the '65 being the toughest to find. They weren't performance cars, didn't particularly lend themselves to customizing, and few were drag raced. Were any '66 Craftsman series kits issued at all? I know the '66 Buick Skylark GS was offered as a Craftsman kit, but I always thought that it appeared in '67 along with the '64 Galaxie, '63 Nova wagon, and '59 Continental. A buddy of mine did a few of those fake kit boxes a few years ago; one that I have is a '66 Valiant Craftsman kit. It's fooled a few people who have seen it. His stuff was way better than the ones I've seen on eBay, but he was paranoid about being sued over the copyrights (he's a graphic artist by trade) so he never sold more than a couple of boxes.

Because the Dart Sport kit is based on what started out as the MPC '71 Duster, the front wheel openings are in fact reshaped from the Duster, with that slashaway rear line that exposes the lower part of the underbody. It's that way on the Dart promotional model too. I'm not sure if there was a '75 Duster promotional model; if there was, it would have been run first. The '75 Duster annual kit would have been next (it was among the first MPC '75 annual releases) then the tool was permanently changed to produce the Dart. Again, promo models first, then kits. In between the '71 and '72 Duster kits and promos, the mid-year '71 Dodge Demon kit was produced. Truth be known, it's not that good a kit. The hood is too flat (the underside tooling is straight from the Duster, center bulge and all) and the front wheel openings are pure unadulterated Plymouth Duster. The 1:1 Demon was a quickie cob job, a Duster with a Dart front clip (and a taillight panel designed for the 340 Duster). The wheel openings on the Dodge front fenders differ from those on the Plymouth-designed quarter panels in both shape and detail. The Plymouth Scamp is equally unbalanced; it has Plymouth Valiant/Duster front fenders on a Dodge Dart hardtop body.

The '60, '61, and '62 Valiant kits were SMP. '62 Valiant Styline kits can be found in SMP and AMT boxes. From what I've heard, neither is "rare" compared to the other. The acquisition of SMP by AMT apparently took place during 1961. Besides the Valiant, a handful of '62 Imperial convertibles were sold in SMP boxes, and the chrome plated "1962" license plates in the Chevy Impala kits have "SMP" engraved on them. There are "design differences" between AMT and SMP kits...the latter seem to have bodies that are thinner in many cases. Valiant snap kits were offered for '63, '64, and '65. The '66 promotional model is a super low production piece, and a snap kit was not offered that year. Jo-Han never did a Valiant. The only other one in 1/25 scale was the Revell '62 kit...the only one with an engine.

The box art car has "427" markings, but the engine is the 426 Hemi from the Barracuda. That engine has the distributor/magneto (not sure which it has) in the wrong place; in the kit it is at the rear of the engine (like a 392 Hemi).

It is basically the stock Corvair body (around 1967) with the chassis/engine/interior from the mid-engine '66 Barrcuda funny car (released by both Model King and AMT as the Hemi Under Glass). You could use the body from a recent issue Corvair kit, and sand the side markers off. The custom engine cover (with two oval slots and the integral spoiler) was used. The headlamp covers, front spoiler, and two shortened rear bumpers (mainly to fill the attachment holes for the rear bumper) were new parts, on a separate unplated tree. Those parts have never appeared in any other issue of the Corvair, but you could instead use the stock parts and make a front spoiler. The rear of the Barracuda chassis (where it slopes downward behind the rear wheels) has to be trimmed for it to fit inside the Corvair body, but otherwise everything should work. The fit may not be perfect, but if so then neither was the original kit. AMT did several of these "combine two kits to make one" deals in the late Sixties, to get a few new products at minimal expense.

The '28 Ford sedan units don't fit the car (a set of headers was included). They were meant to be used on the engine if it were built as a display item, separate from the car. They are on the "fat" side and probably wouldn't fit too many "in scale" installations.

All you need now is a shark tank...

That's why I'm not going to get crazy building a new garage...it'll be a two-car structure with maybe a few feet of extra length so I can walk all the way around the inside with the car in there. If I get the car together, then all the parts that are now stored separately will be ON (or in) the car instead of needing additional space. Some tools, the compressor, and a work bench or two can go from the basement to the garage also. The "not worth enough to sell, but worth too much to give away" kits can go in the garage too.

Beats paying for rental space, which is something that is done by more than one person I have talked to. I'll never do that. As far as I'm concerned, my home is paid for, both vehicles are paid for, bills get paid on time, I'm setting funds aside for both savings and retirement, and there's enough left to cover other expenses, charity, and anything else that comes up. I'll do as I please as long as the basics are covered, and as far as I'm concerned anyone else who wants to can do the same. If someone has a big collection, or half a dozen collector cars, season tickets for some sports team, or a new set of golf clubs every other year, but "can't afford" the necessities, that's where other people could (should) have issues...

After noticing that I already had most of them in mint unbuilt condition, I decided to track down the AMT Ford Falcon (including Ranchero) and Fairlane kits that I didn't have. The Falcon annual kits run from 1960-69, the Fairlanes 1962-71 ('68-'71 are Torinos, but still Fairlanes as far as I'm concerned). There are a few variations like the funny cars and Modified Stocker versions that were converted from obsolete annuals. I've now got every issue of them, at least from the original (Troy, MI) AMT company. I had some of the later Ertl and RC2 issues but decided to cut it off at a point, and have done that. I think I do have every version of the '65 Falcon funny car that Model King issued, though. I liked the fact that Dave worked to get that kit back out when the people who ran AMT at that time didn't know or care. The last Fairlane kit I found (original issue Modified Stocker Torino) came off of eBay, the one before that ('68 Torino annual) was found at the AACA meet at Hershey a few years ago. Both of those were/are sealed-box kits (though most of the other ones I have aren't sealed). In the mid-Eighties I bought five '62 annual kits because I owned (and still own) a 1:1 '62, the same body style as the kit. Those weren't terribly popular back then so they were cheap compared to some other annual kits. The last Falcon (1/32 scale Ranchero) came from a local seller of collector kits. The second last Falcon was (as I remember) the '63 convertible snapper, another eBay find. Those are tough to find in the box because some promo model sellers were sticking them together and trying to pass them off as promotional models. I'll probably keep all of those as-is because I've got rebuilder versions of all the annuals, and any of the other variations I'm interested in. For a while I was trying to round up every Indy 500 pace car available in 1/25 scale, both builders and mint unbuilt. I have since thinned out the unbuilt ones...can't keep everything. I'm trying to make it look like a "manageable sickness". Sometimes someone will ask if I "need that many model car kits"...my answer is "I only need a few of them, but I don't know which ones...and sometimes I change my mind as to which ones I need...it's better to have it and not need it, than to decide I need it and then go out looking for it". They don't eat, and I don't rent space to store them. I've started thinning out some stuff, but on my own terms.

Because there was no '78 Pacer promotional model, MPC probably tooled the hood and grille out of pocket, to try and wring another year or two out of the kit. It turned out to be one year; MPC quit on the Pacer kit after '78 though AMC sold them for '79 and (briefly) '80. After '78, only the bigger AMC dealers kept a Pacer in stock, and then usually a wagon. I was shopping for a new car in early '79 (bought a Spirit GT) so I was at several AMC dealers in that time frame. I believe a few Pacers with the X package were built as '78 models. Early in the model year, it was renamed the Pacer Sport. The Sport vanished at the end of the '78 model year along with the Levi interior package (in AMC cars, at least). Had MPC produced a '79 Pacer kit, it probably would have had an incorrect interior as they wouldn't have changed it from '78. MPC gave all of their '79 annual kits names ("Bear Bait" Chevette, "Street Savage" Camaro)...what might they have done with a Pacer?

The last '70 Impala with these wheels was the Barris Cruisin' USA. AMT/Ertl and subsequent issues have different wheels. The best version of this wheel is the Jo-Han Schartman Maverick (not Comet) unit. All four of those are the same (no narrow/wide) but they are designed to fit Jo-Han tires which usually have smaller center holes than AMT or MPC. The wheel will usually slip through the center hole of anything but a Jo-Han tire. Next best are the AMT Impala units, followed by the MPC wheel (which were in a number of kits, mostly Pontiac Firebirds, over the years).

Needs a surfboard that's as long as the roof!

The two ribbed parts are grille inserts for the Stylized version. You are probably correct regarding the missing part (I checked my '62 annual kit but the extra "half tree" containing those parts isn't there). In the other '62 kits I have, or have looked at, the accessory motorcycle (or go-kart) parts were usually grouped together. Some parts were included in more than one kit, so it's not like you had to buy specific kits to get all of the parts. The parts in one kit might be plated (go-kart wheels) while in the other kit they would be white plastic. These parts were only in the '62 kits. For the '63 annuals, a complete Triumph motorcycle was included in the Chevy pickup kit, and a complete go-kart went into the Ford pickup. The '63 cycle had an optional Bonneville-style streamlining canopy, and the go-kart had a Bonneville-style outer body. I don't know if those parts were in the '62 kits, but I don't think so. I never checked the parts from the pickups vs. the scattered '62 annual kits, but I'd guess that many of them were the same. The tooling for those items may have been done all at once and then scattered over the '62 kits, then joined together for '63. AMT never did that sort of thing again (scattering accessory item parts), so I'd guess that the idea didn't go over well.