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Mark

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Everything posted by Mark

  1. Falcon dog dish caps are different from the big Ford units.
  2. MPC produced the Stutz Bearcat because it was featured in a short-lived TV show. The first issue box art includes still photographs from the TV show. I've never heard of MPC or anyone else doing a Mercer kit, except the large scale motorized ITC kit from the early Sixties. AMT didn't release the Beverly Hillbillies truck originally, it was MPC. The reissue is branded AMT because RC2 was not using the MPC brand on its kits. Had Ertl reissued it when they were doing Buyer's Choice kits, they probably would have used original style box art with the MPC brand.
  3. The Ranchero kit chassis is "shallower" than it should be, probably to make it easier to mold. The driveshaft tunnel in particular is "flatter" than it ought to be, because it has to clear that interior/window mounting boss that is molded into the underside of the cargo area floor. Other than that and the rounded inner fenders, it isn't bad. As I remember, it checked out pretty well against a '62 sedan delivery my older brother owned some years ago (he'd just bought it when I saw the '77 reissue Ranchero kit, and grabbed one). I started cutting all of that stuff out of a kit chassis, and once the holes are filled back in (deeper driveline tunnel, higher kick-up) I can then get rid of the molded-in rear axle and spring detail. I cut the rounded inner fenders and suspension detail from a '60 Comet underbody and built a more correct engine compartment for that one (yet another unfinished project that is staring me in the face!). But the Fairlane conversion looks intriguing. The kick-up gradually drops back down behind the rear wheels to create a deeper trunk floor in the 1:1 car. That can be fixed, though. I'd probably approach it by removing the interior mounting boss from the inside of the Ranchero body (and trimming the rear mounting posts), then shorten the Fairlane underbody and fit it in. I'd then cut the Fairlane piece at the highest point of the kick-up, and rebuild from there back with sheet plastic tacked to the bottom of the bed floor. I've got a set of Ford parts books that cover 1960-64 that include pretty decent line drawings of the underbody stampings...between those and the original Ranchero piece as reference, I think it is possible to come up with a much-improved Ranchero. The transmission tunnel will be larger than stock, but unless you are going 100% stock that is actually a plus...
  4. The Fairlane/Cyclone piece appears to be the way to go. However, I wouldn't make the cut where you have it indicated. The AMT Ranchero has the underside "shapes and locations" generally correct; I'd use that as a guide. I think you'll end up making the cut in the tunnel area, more forward of the proposed location. The stock Ranchero gas tank is smaller, and offset to the driver's side, leaving space for the muffler between it and the passenger side leaf spring. The AMT Ranchero chassis never had a gas tank, either as a separate part or molded as part of the chassis. If one had been molded into the stock chassis, the second muffler added for the V8 engine issues wouldn't have fit where it is. You will probably have to tweak the engine compartment walls, or make new ones. The Fairlane's hood opening is wider, and the engine compartment side panels flare out to meet the sides of the opening. They will need to meet the sides of the Ranchero hood opening in exactly the same way. For a pro street conversion, where you aren't concerned with stock appearance, take a look at the pro street '66 Nova underbody. I've got one of those fitted into a '62 Falcon body, and will even use the interior with some tweaks. The engine compartment pieces aren't stock, so they aren't too "Chevy looking", but you can change things around a bit and smooth them up even more. The stock Nova underbody has too many Chevy/GM characteristics to make using it for a replica stock Falcon worth the effort. The Fairlane setup looks like the way to go, even with the amount of work needed. When we make the Falcon/Mustang comparison, we're correct in saying that some of the suspension parts are similar. I don't think that the underbody sheet metal is shared, though. Someone who owns a Falcon or Ranchero can confirm this...do any Mustang underbody patch panels fit a Falcon or Ranchero?
  5. The '65 Chevelle wagon and El Camino don't share any parts (except for a small tree with parts for a supercharger setup, that floats between the two kits). Everything is similar, but again, not the same. Same goes for the '64 kits that they are based on. In fact, the '64 bumpers for the two kits have the "1964" in the license plate areas in different fonts. And the chassis aren't exactly the same: the wagon piece has the little spare tire well at the back. The Nova wagon parts are different from those in the hardtop and convertible kits (the latter two did share a lot of parts). The front bumper/grille units are way different: if you put a hardtop/convertible hood on a wagon, there will be a noticeable gap between the hood and the upper grille trim (which is attached to the hood on the 1:1 car). The parts do interchange, but you have to use the both the hood and bumper/grille unit from the wagon, or hardtop/convertible. The '60 Chevy hardtop/convertible, wagon, and El Camino were all different (though again parts did interchange). The Junior Craftsman wagon used the rear bumper from the hardtop/convertible, reworked to move the license plate below the bumper. Probably just a case of "just patch it together; it'll be good enough".
  6. The '61 Ranchero kit never shared any parts with the Falcon, except for tires. Bumpers and some other parts interchange, but are not the same.
  7. For tools, don't overlook IPMS or railroad show/sales. The railroad show vendors have it all over the usual hobby shop selection. A few weeks ago, I bought a couple of nice panel scribing tools and some Dremel burrs. As a bonus, I also found a cleanly built, unpainted SMP '59 Impala convertible for $10! The IPMS shows are good too: lots of different tools and paints that the local shops don't often carry. If you have a plastics supplier in your area (check the phone book), if they have a retail store it will often include a scrap pile, where they sell leftovers and cutoffs from jobs. I've found styrene sheet in thicknesses ranging from .040" to about 1/8", in pieces bigger than will ever be needed for any one project. Price was $1.50 per pound; buy five pounds, get five more free. Ten pounds of sheet plastic is a bunch! I've never bought a full sheet, but I understand even those don't cost a whole lot. Maybe buy one of each available thickness, and split with friends or club members (or sell some at a show to recoup your cost).
  8. It has both cabriolet and panel delivery versions in one box, but only one car/truck can be built from it, leaving a ton of spare parts! The panel could be built as a "paddy wagon" with a divider between the passenger area and the prisoner/cargo area. That piece, and the Gangbuster related stuff, didn't make it into the panel when it was reissued as a stand-alone kit in 1966. A couple years ago, I bought a resin panel delivery conversion with a busted body (mainly to get the rear doors, which are often missing from built panel trucks, and are not in the Vampire Van). The conversion included that paddy wagon divider. I had a Gangbusters issue many years ago, but had forgotten about that part. It's not in the panel delivery kit that I have now.
  9. The Gangbusters was the first issue (1965); then it was sold as separate "roadster" (actually cabriolet) and panel delivery kits in 1966. The green "roadster" pictured is a 1966 issue kit. Someone took artistic license with the front fenders; the kit had spare tire wells molded into the fenders on both sides. The panel truck had similar artwork with a bluish tint to it: same mild rod version with Impala SS wheel covers on thin-line whitewall tires. The mid-Seventies MPC Connoisseur Classics issue is molded in white, and includes only stock parts. The fender unit is the same as it had been: spare tire wells molded in. Next issue was the "Blue Ribbon Rod" (around 1977-78). Molded in white, it can't be built stock, and the artwork shows a light blue car on the box. This issue had the spare tire wells removed from the fenders. New parts included a nice set of slotted wheels, a tunnel ram intake, and a set of "fender well" style headers that went out over the top of the fenders. Pipes coming off of the collectors at a 90 degree angle were then directed under the car and into a full exhaust system through small holes in the splash pans. That style was briefly popular with rodders back then. The seats were engraved with a diamond tuft upholstery pattern. If you like the '32 Chevy kit, this is a neat issue, well worth looking for. Next up was the AMT/Ertl Connoisseur Classics issue. To get back to stock, separate spare tire well parts were tooled (smart move!) and the seats restored to stock. Most of the Blue Ribbon Rod parts were left in, but unfortunately the slotted wheels were replaced by Keystone style wheels. None of the optional parts are shown in the box art. I asked someone from Ertl about that back in the day...his reply was that the cars issued in that series were inconsistent in terms of optional items. The Lincoln and Chrysler had extras from the Gangbusters issues, while the Chevy had hot rod parts. Every one of this issue kit I have had, or have seen, has poor quality plating (wrinkly, runs and sags, etc). This is the most recent '32 Chevy issue. The currently available Vampire Van kit is of course based on the panel delivery version of the Chevy. The panel body has undergone massive alterations, but it does still fit the stock fenders...
  10. If someone helped himself to the car's power cord while it was parked, would he have called the cops?
  11. The article doesn't mention the car being dangerously low on power, which might be excusable (though still a theft). I don't get to drive up to the town garage and pull up to the gas pumps, and I'll bet nobody else here does either. It could be that the guy does this sort of thing whenever the opportunity presents itself...a little here, a little there...no different from stealing office supplies from work IMO. It's not enough that no road use taxes are being paid on the electricity, even when it's paid for...some folks have to have the whole thing for free...
  12. The Pro Shop kits were made in 1998, towards the end of production in Mexico. AMT/Ertl produced kits there from about 1995 to 1999, and never did get their act together. Saggy, wrinkly plating in some kits was the main problem during that era. Racing Champions took over the operation and moved production to China, most likely because they had done everything else there prior to buying into Ertl. I checked a Pro Shop kit on the shelf; there is some sagging but most of it is in an area that could be covered by adding a front license plate. The Round 2 reissue has noticeably better plating.
  13. The Coronet "rear half" is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the Roadrunner/GTX unit. The over-the-axle "kickup" on the Coronet unit is higher, The Roadrunner/GTX chassis has wheelie bars, the Coronet does not. The RR/GTX has a Dana 60 rear axle, the Coronet has a reinforced/fabricated 9" Ford housing. No idea why different parts were created for the Coronet, but they are different...
  14. Mint condition original issue kits will always be good, though in some cases they will drop slightly in value after a reissue. The project and "rebuilder" kits take the biggest hit, while started or mildly messed with kits are also affected to a degree. In a lot of cases, I'd still rather have the earlier issue, though the improvements in the reissues (tires and decals) do sometimes make me rethink that stance...
  15. I like the "Jo-Han" in the description...I didn't look too long, but there aren't many, if any, Jo-Han pieces in there. Most of the NASCAR stuff isn't even worth shipping. I've seen guys at shows putting them out at $2 apiece, and still taking some home at days' end. If you were close enough to pick them up, and you set up at shows, it might be borderline worthwhile. It's strange to see that '50 Olds custom kit in there...I only saw that around here for the first time about a week ago.
  16. See if you can save it. It won't be reissued in that version, as it was later altered into the ZZ Top Eliminator (and changed yet again for a Thom Taylor-designed cabriolet). Try to get the Thom Taylor kit; it has a reworked chassis with the stock exhaust detail removed, and modern/traditional suspension. (The ZZ Top kit is a hack job, Monogram reworked the stock chassis parts just enough to get the finished model to look decent on the shelf.) I can't recall how much the lower body and fender unit are changed from the Early Iron issue. But you should be able to combine one of the newer kits with the good parts from your Early Iron kit to get a decent street rod.
  17. Pyro didn't do a '40 Tudor (they did a coupe and a convertible), but Palmer did. It does look like a crib of the AMT All-Stars kit, though...wheels/tires are a dead giveaway. The Palmer kit is noticeably larger than Pyro's "1/32 scale" '40 convertible...
  18. Three things helped kill the Aurora kits: -the Aurora name: Aurora was never really taken seriously by model car builders -the pricing of these items: Revell's complete car kits were more reasonable than Aurora's parts packs. Combine that with "not taking Aurora seriously", not knowing how good the parts in their kits were, and not being able to get a handle on how good they were from the poor packaging -Revell having "name" cars while Aurora didn't That said, Aurora probably would have been smarter to just offer the garage scene items in 1/25 scale, and if those took off, get into doing some car kits later. The garage items, plus a decent ramp truck, with photographic box art, might have stood a chance...
  19. MPC Datsun pickups. I just like the looks of the 1:1 truck. I think I've got every issue except for the second (stepside) drag version, and the monster truck (which I don't particularly want). I bought the first ('75) annual on closeout not realizing how well done the kit is (the box art doesn't really clue you in). The Dodge D-50 kit is probably just as good, but for some reason that one doesn't do it for me (though I've got a couple of them). Over the years, other kits have seemed to "find" me: MPC '33 Chevy panels, AMT '28 Ford sedans, AMT '69 El Caminos. Most of these were "builders", but were extremely cheap and in most cases had the unique parts (all three of these share a lot of parts with other kits that have been issued many times, and can be found reasonably). I've brought home a lot of Mustang IIs (both AMT and MPC) too; it's not a car I'd ever own in 1:1, but I like the looks of them. I'll look at every AMC-related kit I spot at a show, too...
  20. I haven't looked at Revell's website lately (as I already have as many of each Kurtis midget kit as I want), but as I understand it the Offenhauser version is still available while the V8-60 has been dropped. I figured the V8-60 would go away first; more of the top cars were Offy-powered, and the hardcore midget enthusiasts hold the Offy in higher esteem.
  21. The parts breakdown of the newer RoG kit and the old Revell kit are quite similar (especially the multiple piece body). But the new kit has door hinges that are more in scale (and won't rub the paint off the first time you swing a door open). The parts are cleaner than they would be had Revell refurbished the old kit (which first appeared in 1958). In spite of having a pile of the old Revell kits, all of the body style variations of the Hasegawa kits, and various diecasts, this is still a must-have. Hopefully, they will get to some pickup variations (single and double cab), and maybe even a "fire" version (and include the portable water pump that is powered by a VW engine!)...
  22. Can't say anything about the scale, but the kit is not a copy. The Pyro Table Top Series kits (the sixty cent ones, including the Texan) were molded in one color and didn't have rubber tires. Despite being designed and manufactured to sell at a low price (even for their day), the Pyro kits are interesting, and in some cases, a lot better than you'd think they would be. They also touched on a lot of unique subject matter (early Thirties Plymouths, for example).
  23. A few additions/corrections: Jo-Han did make a '68 Javelin, as a kit, promo, and toy store friction. AMT sold the Jo-Han 1968 AMX kit in AMT packaging. The 1969 Javelin kit was sold by Jo-Han, in their box. AMT again sold the AMX, in two different boxes with different stock numbers. Jo-Han offered two 1970 Javelin kits: stock annual and Donohue Trans-Am racing version. The annual had four versions: stock, custom, oval track racer, and funny car (that narrow box was packed!). AMT sold the 1970 AMX kit, again in two boxes with different stock numbers. Jo-Han did not offer a two-seater AMX kit until 1971 (the first issue Shirley Shahan drag car, which differs in a number of ways from the reissued version). They never offered a 100% stock one (the USA Oldies kits all had Hurst mag wheels, and we won't mention the 1966 engine). Jo-Han did Javelin/AMX annual kits for every year, 1971-1974. The 1971 annual has its own box, the others all came in the same 1972 style box. AMT offered the '74 in an AMT box also, for the 1974 catalog year only. There were also 1971 and 1972 funny car only kits (each had its own box), which include only the funny car version and have bodies with hoods molded shut. These are rare now, because they didn't sell well when new (nobody ran that body in 1:1, and the chassis was obsolete). There was also a 1971 Donohue Trans-Am kit (sold by AMT), and a Jo-Han George Follmer Trans-Am kit, the contents of which varied over the years. These, and the snap-together 1974 offered by Jo-Han, pretty much cover everything made by Jo-Han relating to these cars.
  24. There's much more to the later ('80-'87) Chevette than the taillights. The rear hatch is completely different, as are the quarter panels and quarter windows. The rear hatch glass was flush mounted, and the windshield changed to flush mounting at some point ('81, I believe). My mom had two Chevettes, one '80 and one '81. I don't think the '80 had the flush-mounted windshield, but the '81 did (the original windshield, anyway). While my mom was away on vacation, she let my sister use the car. A truck dumped some debris in front of her on the highway, cracking the windshield. The replacement was installed with the old-style rubber gasket. Mom didn't specifically notice it, but did say something about how the car looked different when I picked her up at the airport with it...
  25. They're the same kit. The blanked-out grille piece was also in the '70 annual kit, which is where the body came from.
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