Mark

The model car specific events and IPMS shows are usually good, in my recent experience better than toy shows and flea markets. The model car guys usually have realistic expectations of what they can get for something, especially if they want to thin the herd. Flea markets and toy shows always seem to have vendors who saw what those "screw-bottom cars" sell for on eBay, and in their minds their busted-up piece should fetch the same money as the best price they ever saw on the best possible example of that item.

I haven't tried it myself, but I have heard that the El Camino hood is a loose fit on the wagon body.

See above...

The '22 Ford V8 engine is basically a crib of the Lincoln engine from the AMT '25 Ford double kit, with Corvette valve covers copied from the Double Dragster kit. The '34 coupe engine looks like a Pontiac, probably copied from AMT's '36 Ford kit.

The AMT 3W coupe is definitely in the running for "worst AMT car kit ever"...

IF they have the kit in question. I haven't seen the '55 Nomad anywhere yet, and have seen the Coronet convertible in only one place locally.

The annual kits were based on promotional models, so much of the parts breakdown for the kits was dictated by that. Besides, the kids buying them expected a lot of optional parts too. Same for the Trophy Series type kits...buyers wanted multiple building versions and the ability to customize so the basic kit was somewhat simplified. The Classic cars were aimed more at older builders who didn't care about extra parts, so the basic kit got more parts and more detail in places where you wouldn't necessarily see it.

I've heard the first box art model was built with a resin copy of an Aurora '34. It'll be interesting to see if Atlantis might have either of the two Aurora '34 coupes...guess we'll find out once they get Ford licensing.

Ford Pinto.

To get an accurate sedan body, one would probably start with the coupe, and piece in the back portion from sections of a Revell '32 sedan body. I wouldn't even try to make the raised detail on the sides match up, instead I'd remove all of it from the sedan portion and add it back again once the overall body shape and fit are established.

The GMC was reworked by adding Chevy trim (which is sharper than that on the MPC cab). Compare chrome trees, other than the Chevy grille/bumper it's the GMC piece. I'm guessing the best pieces of the two trucks were combined into one, to get some more use out of them. I've got a Cooter's truck, the cab is pretty sloppy. And there were two issues after that, so the thing was probably worn out. It was the AMT '67 (promo and kit), MPC '68-'72 (probably a promo or two also), then a couple of stepside issues plus the Cooter's truck.

Some Daytona kits have the 500 front bumper, but you have to find an opened one to find it. It wasn't supposed to be included, but every so often Ertl and/or RC2 forgot to block it off in the tool. It should not be in any General Lee kit, as it occupies the same space on the parts tree as the regular Charger bumper that belongs in a General Lee kit.

Worn out. Ertl combined the GMC, the interior from the MPC Chevy, and some new tooling to create the current Chevy Fleetside kit.

It's the Nineties AMT kit. The MPC is now the '75 convertible.

AMT Ford van kits have them also, but only the Vantom and Surfing Van issues.

Ollie's themselves bumping the prices up seems to have killed off a lot of the buyers "for resale". Sure, you pay a couple bucks more, but there’s still a selection when you go back after changing your mind about something a couple of days later.

Ah, the food truck. Eat just like a worker on a construction site...

The terrible Seventies kit was a three-window coupe. This is the newer one, apparently the rod version.

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.