Mark

The MPC panel truck piece is the only styrene option. I don't know of any in resin, not even copies of the MPC piece.

The Firefighter reissue body is pretty much all by itself when it comes to hood fit. Long story... The original Firefighter kit was a '74. The kit body was revised for '75; though the 1:1 cars all look the same, Ford made numerous changes for '75. The hood is different, grille is taller (all of this was done to fit the V8 which wasn't offered here in '74). The fuel filler was moved also. The MPC pro stock kits all used stock bodies (why else would they have windshield wipers?) so the body was changed each year to use in the annual kits. So it ended up as a '78. RC2 modified the hood opening back to '74 spec, but unless you have any '74 kit hoods there's no way of telling whether or not they will fit the reissue Firefighter body. Best to keep the hood that came in the kit, and change the scoop to whatever you need.

Because of all the junk they foisted off on family members and people I knew in the Seventies and Eighties. Substituted parts (not just engines and transmissions) that made it difficult to ID needed parts (even down to getting a key made), endless corner-cutting and penny-pinching, dealers that didn't take care of their customers (but were quick to boost prices when something new hit the showrooms), outright lying to me about availability of power train combinations in a vehicle...the list goes on. Never owned one, never will. Haven't had one on the shopping list since 2004, and that one was the first to get scratched off...

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool GM hater, but that Nova looks great. GM handled the Seventies regulations better than most other manufacturers when it came to styling. Take the Monza versus the Mustang II for example. Endura bumpers versus somewhat clumsy looking hang-on bumpers, rear view of the Mustang gives you a muffler and gas tank half hanging out. Mind you, I do like the looks of the Mustang II hatch, but those elements (plus the multicolor tail lights) do detract somewhat.

No announcement from any manufacturer, so it can't be called The Great Unloading as with the deluge of 1960-63 Ford pickup items that currently appear.

Do you always put acrylic lacquer jobs in the dehydrator? I don't see the need to do that, as Tamiya spray dries faster and harder than enamels.

That amphibious Jeep would be interesting to build. Some of the real ones were built by Studebaker. They tore up parts of their proving grounds to add areas in which to test the capabilities of these vehicles.

To admittedly stray a bit further, recent issues of the old, opening-doors Revell '56 Ford pickup no longer include the Pontiac engine. The change took place when the 100% stock red one was issued. It, and all issues since, are about 1/3 new tooling, with the Pontiac engine being left out of the mix.

Well, MPC never kitted any Mexico specific cars...

All of those were made during the Second World War. Prior to about 1950, there were few, if any, plastic model kits. When they did appear, they took a while to catch on, as older modelers dismissed them as unassembled toys. To them, real model making required working with wood and sometimes metal. Of the companies we are familiar with, Monogram hung in with wood in some kits the longest, the last ones going away in the early Sixties. Model kits were made of wood back then. They didn't change much during the war, as wood and cardboard to produce them was still readily available. Other hobbies were affected. For example, Lionel trains were not produced during the war because they were made of steel, and all of that was commandeered for the war effort. Lionel did produce a non-powered train set made up of cardboard and wood items. Those turn up at toy and train shows from time to time. Had model kits been made of molded plastic as they are now, the steel tooling that would have existed then might have been seen as non-essential and melted down so it could be repurposed for war materiel.

The fronts I can at least understand, they're what was in the original kit. I've already found replacements for out back, the slicks will go into the parts box with all those leftover wheels from the Atlantis reissue parts pack kits...

Anyone else pick up one of those Revell Firebirds, and are you too shaking your head over the choice of rear tires in that kit?

Probably a later version of the Hands wheel, or a copy. I wonder what those were used on in the past, the 5 on 5" pattern is pretty much limited to 2WD pickups and fullsize passenger cars. On a similar note, Sears carried Cragar S/S wheels when they first came out, only theirs were named A.J. Foyt wheels! They did have Foyt center caps (I have seen a couple of those). Sears wound up swapping the Foyt center caps for the normal Cragar ones to clear the wheels out, the Foyt caps are probably really tough to find now...

Both of the stock Mustang II kits have a correct V6 engine for the stock versions. Both originated as 1974 models; no V8 was offered that year.

Those later Novas have been gaining in popularity over the years. The '75-'79 cars are essentially a second-generation Camaro under the skin ('68-'72 have the first-gen Camaro front subframe and suspension/steering layout). The MPC kit is converted from the '75-'77 Pontiac Ventura and still has a Pontiac engine, but the body proportions have the AMT '76-'77 kit beat all hollow. The Cougar kit can't be built 100% stock unless you swap in a correct engine or leave the hood closed. Its engines, chassis, and wheel covers are carried over from the MPC '69 and '70 kits. Unless the engine is a real focal point for you, just stick the hood shut.

The Corvette convertible annual kit (not the reissues) has them, they are better than the Lindberg units as the AMT ones have open holes. One of the AMT Hot Rod Shop (parts packs from the Sixties, reissued a couple of times) has a set also, that set is four-lug however.

The Dart body was updated from '69 to '70, then altered again for the LA Dart wheelstander. The Ramchargers' 1:1 Dart funny car was a '67, not a '70. That car had a narrowed steel body (with fiberglass roof) and a one-off chassis. Their '70 funny car was a Challenger as depicted by the Round 2 reissue kit. MPC did make a Dickie Harrell '69 Camaro funny car kit. That Camaro body was all over the place; after that, it became the Jeg's dirt track body, then the black street machine with the Pontiac engine, then the convertible.

I don't soak brushes in such a way that the cleaning solution gets all the way up to the ferrule on the brush. That way, nothing gets on the portion of the bristles inside the ferrule, which could build up and dry causing the bristles to fan out. I only dip the brush in the paint a third of the way up (if even that). I'm notoriously bad with cheap brushes, but pretty meticulous with the good ones.

There was a 1962 version also. The Round 2 reissue '62 BelAir coupe kits (Northwind, Don Nicholson) and AMT/Ertl drag versions (Nicholson, Dave Strickler, Hayden Proffitt) include the engine parts for the Z-11 version.

I did a couple of them many years ago, never had a problem with the screws. If anything, I'd think that later production kits would have more potential to be problematic, with the parts being cast in worn-out tooling.

That one actually is from a '59 Pontiac kit. There are similar ones in other kits as custom options, that don't look as good.

I'm guessing my insurance company is still on the "work from home" kick. About a month ago, someone piled into the back of my car while I was standing still in traffic. They got the estimate on 12/1; that day, I received an e-mail stating that I would receive a decision in "two to four business days". Day seven begins today; all the while, they're paying for 80% of a rental car, as well as (in all likelihood) storage on my car. Can't wait for the arguments to begin....

There was a 1960 "hardtop" promo, with no pillars. It's exceedingly rare (I don't think I've ever seen one, only a picture or two), and all are promos molded in warping/shrinking acetate plastic. A couple of resin '63 hardtop bodies were made by different casters. The "cut up a Ranchero" fix is probably the easiest way out. Judging by the way the light is hitting the windshield on that promo, it's loaded with stress cracks and needs to be replaced. Just a few weeks back, the last issue of that kit was available as a closeout item. I myself have parted out a couple of them in the past, to get the glass for Modelhaus '62-'65 kits. Those days are long gone, but I did turn up an unbuilt Ertl issue kit at a flea market, for a buck.

That's pretty much what I would do. I'd only piece in as much as is needed to make the repair, and use the Ranchero's windshield glass as well. The door pillars are missing too; you'll have to make those.

In front, to lower it you'll need to move the wheel location higher up on the spindle. Other methods like trimming the springs will move the steering linkage closer to the frame and/or oil pan, same as when that is done in 1:1 scale. At the rear, lowering blocks installed between the leaf springs and axle will do the job in all but the most extreme cases. The springs stay the same relative to the chassis, so the shock absorbers don't need to be changed. If you're going radically low, then the stock suspension setup probably won't cut it. You'll then have to look at other, more extreme lowering jobs and see what changes were made to those to get the desired results.