Mark

Foose pickup is a '56, totally different windshield on top of the '55 and '56 kits being different scales.

No exact date yet...as to pricing, it should be right in there with the Chevelle.

Even if a move like that were successful, a company like Atlantis wouldn't do it, as that could create issues later on with licensing other items.

Yes. The Revell issues are somewhat changed from the early Monogram issues (interior parts, wheels/tires) but the basic truck is the same one.

Are there separate hinge pieces? I remember the tailgate going into the body from the inside and being trapped by either the interior/bed floor or side panels...

I wouldn't contact the importer, I'd go directly to the company. The importer might figure they'll sell you another whole kit.

4. Contact Tamiya, there is a chance they will help you out. I did that with a Heller kit years ago. I didn't even buy it at a hobby shop, I picked it up at a show. They didn't have a problem with that. It's worth a try...

The one I bought didn't include any material, nor did any of the ones I compared it with when shopping for mine. Sheet styrene can be had in 4' X 8' sheets if you have a plastics supply company near enough to you. A nice sharp cutter and a good metal yardstick, and you're good to go. Lots of YouTube videos dealing with the dental machines, with tips on how to make the most of them.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, so I will. Cleaning the brush is a lot easier when you don't dip it too far into the paint. No more than a third of the way up to the ferrule (metal part that holds the bristles in place). Even less is preferable. If it's accidentally dipped in too far, the paint that has gotten too far up can't be properly removed and will dry in place, causing the bristles to fan out. When that happens, the brush is ruined at that point.

Canadians will have to start making copies of Testors or Krylon Short Cuts labels, to paste onto Tamiya spray cans for the border crossing...

Train show season is approaching...if you've got any in your area, go! Lots of used stuff turns up, including items bought and never used. If you know what you are looking at, there are deals to be had. As a bonus, there are occasionally deals on model car kits, new and old. Prices on those are often lower than at toy shows or model car club meets because most people are there looking for train stuff. The biggest shows will have a good tool/supply vendor or two. The train guys buy all sorts of neat tools that you don't see at toy shows or model club events, and you don't think you "need" until you see them.

Absolutely none. Some of the Monogram early Ford kits were reworked to eliminate all of the optional parts in the mid-Sixties. The chrome trees were even shuffled to move the stock parts together more closely. That would indicate that, even then, Monogram had no intention of going back to the multiple version kits.

The Firebird was the Camaro. Same separate roof, same interior. The body was slightly different (lower body side trim) but the Firebird had the Camaro cowl panel (neither kit had windshield wiper detail). The Firebird did have a Pontiac engine. It had custom grille detail on the front bumper. The rear bumper was completely custom, it looped around the custom taillight insert. Not looking at the kits, I believe both kits had a set of Keystone mag wheels as one wheel option.

That's a "for 1968" AMT kit, meaning it wasn't 100% stock as delivered. Basically a mildly altered '67. Upholstery pattern is non-stock, and there is no stock trim on the body. I'd be inclined to keep it as-is, but then again I've got a pile of parts to build one or two of those, and plan to do so.

The Superbird is actually molded in blue...is that an early one with wire axles and one-piece tires?

That's one of the first items Round 2 issued. Someone is buying them if HL is still putting them on the shelves...

Not just sitting inventory, perhaps licensing period has ended. When that happens, the company producing the licensed item has to stop on day X, but has a specified period after that to sell off the items. If too high a percentage of total production goes to closeout, that can be a bad thing. A small amount every so often is tolerable.

That e-mail mentions kits manufactured exclusively for Ollie's, but the two kits I saw earlier today have been available elsewhere. In fact, the local IPMS chapter met earlier this week, and those of us who entered the "summer challenge" had to bring our finished models. One guy who normally builds aircraft chose the Jungle Jim Vega, and did an extremely clean build on it.

I believe the Mustang (and the Multi-Maverick) were pearl blue. Montgomery's earlier cars were a solid color, 1952 Cadillac Pastoral Blue.

It's been a long, long time since I have seen it, but I recall Duplicolor having a spray can product called "blender" or "panel blender". It may have been a clear coat (cars weren't clearcoated in the Sixties), but now I'm wondering if it wasn't a spray can thinner intended to soften the OEM paint in areas adjoining the repair/repaint area.

That's not something I have heard or read anywhere.

I'd disagree on the Grand Am. Though only Mickey Thompson used that body (he designed it, and nobody else was allowed to buy one, except one guy who bought a complete car) that kit was by far the biggest seller of all of the 1/16 scale drag cars that Revell did. Prior to finding that out, I always wondered why Revell never did a Grand Am in 1/25 scale. It probably would have cut into sales of the bigger one.

It's true, I got one today. They only had a couple of Atlantis kits, the other one was the ex-Monogram 1/32 scale dragster. On one hand, I'm hoping this doesn't become a trend as Atlantis is a smaller company. If they end up dumping a lot of car kits to closeout, that might discourage them from digging deeper into the vault. On the other hand, this could be a one-off thing as the JJ Vega was issued on the heels of the Green Elephant issue, and the 1/16 builders may not have wanted another Vega right away. The lack of Revell markings on the box art photo may have played into it too, though they are on the decal sheet. The fuel line material is improved over the Revell issues, and the new tires are better than the new ones Revell tooled for the Hawaiian Charger they did a few years back.

The Beetle body shell supposedly has great crush resistance. One VW book had a picture of one underneath a Ford pickup that had landed on top of it after crashing through a bridge guard rail. The roof sheet metal was messed up, but the structure didn't crush to any great degree...

Apparently he's tested the idea, and it works well enough that he's announcing it to the world. Anytime you're using something in a way it's not really designed to be used, or using paint materials from different manufacturers or systems, TEST, test, and test again before going near anything of value.