Mark

I wonder what the final resolution was. 30 months would have been closer to correct IMO, unless that car had a ton of miles on it or was a rebuilt wreck. The total is high but does include interest and (I'm sure) other charges including some hidden/bogus ones. The Chevy was only a year old, and the '57s got a second life once people saw the '58. A lot of people thought the '58 was too big. Whenever anyone mentioned '57 Chevies, my mom remembered one of her brothers buying one. It was new, he bought it late in the model year when you could no longer order a '57 but the '58s weren’t available yet. Right after the '58s first appeared, he had several people approach him asking if he'd consider selling his '57.

If I don't see a name attached to the incoming call, I let it go to voice mail, then listen to the message and block numbers as needed.

It may have worked back in the day had it been done better. Now, you only need a look at YouTube...several such providers with fresh info tailored to your interests as opposed to trying to cover different subject matter in order to please some of the audience some of the time.

Besides, filling the underside looks way better in most instances. It can be tough when there's a lot of detail on the underside, but still, worth doing = worth doing right... --Mark

Fill from below before priming. Lacquer primer will highlight the areas where the thickness of the panel changes abruptly (where the cut line is).

Since the body is 1/24 scale, and you'll be scratch building much of the structure anyway, I'd look at available kits with an eye towards which one has the most suitable suspension parts.

1955. Prior to 1970, it had no plated parts, and had plastic tire/wheel assemblies.

Usual run for most any car kit is in that neighborhood. From what I heard, the stock wheelbase Golden Commando Plymouth's first run was 1,000 kits with most going to members of the Commandos to resell as autographed items. Even if the Strickler version is limited to 6,000 there will be other runs of the same kit, just with different decals.

All new means just that. The original altered wheelbase Chevelle started out as a dealer promotional model, was sold as a snap-together kit, then the body was converted to the funny car. Later the body was again altered to create a dirt track car, itself reissued a couple of years ago.

It would be crazy to pull the shrink wrap off now. In all likelihood, you would find tires stuck firmly to the clear parts and decal sheet...

I wouldn't doubt that the '69 Rebel is the lowest-production Jo-Han annual kit, ever. Not 100% accurate as a funny car though, as the Grant Rebel program ended in '68.

Most likely replaced by one of the other sets of wheels now in the '69 kit. You'd have to compare trees from the new issue '69 to intact parts trees from a '68 to figure that out.

No.

Some of the newer hollow tires from Round 2 should fit those wheels. Solid tires and slicks will necessitate trimming the flange of course.

Testors can't catch a break with most of the newer product lines. I'm seeing them discounted and cleared out in every store I have seen them in. Here's a thought...maybe they should go back to doing the stuff they were doing before all of these brainstorms?

The street machine had the four-link/solid axle setup, but the tubs weren't as big as that. That kit had an odd combination of parts; the stock rear wheel openings prevented any sort of huge pro street tires from being used, and it had a stock hood. A good start for a pro street project, but needs bigger tires out back as well as a wilder engine.

Gassers were on the wane in the late Sixties, so calling it a funny car would have been logical.

The street machine kit is related to the '70 coupe kit, so the instructions relating to the basic engine, front suspension, and interior will apply.

Could it be bleach that has been sitting on the store shelf for a long time, or maybe absorbed some moisture?

If removing it leaves clean plastic, no problem. It would have to be either something from the vacuum metallizing (plating) process, or mold release.

AMT kit has gone through some changes over the years. It started out as a three-window with a somewhat incorrect roadster version (doors are too long). First couple of issues had a chopped roof, later a stock one. The Dick Tracy kit had a five-window roof. Door line was moved making that version more suitable for a roadster, but those parts weren't included. Next couple of five-window issues had a different roof from the Dick Tracy version. Round 2 moved the door line again and restored the five-window, now with both chopped and stock roofs as well as the roadster parts. Glass for one of the coupe versions is not included, however it is all flat glass so not a big deal. Issues with more recent kits include no headlight lens detail, also interior bucket is thin on one side and thick on the other. Generally a good kit though.

The Buttera sedan kit pictured is the first issue, with photos of the 1:1 car on the box. That first issue was a slow seller, hardly anyone bought it because it didn't show the actual model. Most people, me included, figured it would be a typical opening-everything Revell kit, thus unbuildable. Once Revell changed the box to show the model instead of the actual car, those kits started flying off of store shelves.

Rabbits make a lot of mistakes...put the little ones in the wrong places, abandon them at the slightest hint that they won't make it, and don't really do too much to protect or defend them. Easier to go off and make some more, and try again.

I never got around to casting tires with flexible resin, but my guess is that the resin is breaking down and releasing the sticky substance. Resin may not have been mixed properly, or maybe it was and it just hasn't got a long term life as manufactured.

Have they always been sticky, and how long have you had them?