Mark

I haven't had mine out of the box in awhile, but that looks like a Jimmy Flintstone kit of the James Dean car (can't remember which model he had off the top of my head).

The MPC USA-1 and American Spirit Vega pro stock kits. Originals only; the reissue USA-1 does not include them. Bruce Larson ran those front wheels on his '73 pro stock Vega. When he updated the car with a '74 nose, he changed the front wheels also.

The basic engine is a small-block Chevy with parts added to resemble the Ford engine in the 1:1 show car. The chassis in that kit originated in the King T, which had a Chevy engine. The Switchers T engine is also a small-block Chevy...both of these engines have a rear sump oil pan and oil filter location characteristic of small-block Chevys.

It may have ended. Manufacturers using licensing agreements get a "sell off" period. When the agreement ends, they can't make licensed items but do get a set period to sell off items made under the agreement. That way, they can't build a stockpile that would last several years after the agreement ends.

You're looking for the Revell '55 Chevy. Not the newer one, but the old opening-doors one.

The 1966 annual was updated and issued yearly through 1969. The '69 still exists but has not yet been reissued by Round 2. The existing 1966 kit is a different one, tooled in the late Nineties.

The pro stock kits were produced from the same tool as the annuals. The body of a car kit is an expensive part to tool. MPC liked to get a second use out of each year's annual kit bodies. Why else would the pro stockers have windshield wipers? Too, take a good look at the quarter panels on the stock MPC Mustang II kits...they get lumpier by the year, as they were modified back and forth. The V8 engine and snorkel hood scoop from the '75 Dyno Don pro stock turned up in the '76-'78 annuals.

The reason the Maverick kit is different from the 1:1 car is that the kit was finished first, with the actual car deviating from the original design over the course of its construction. That happened with two other kits earlier (XR-6 and Deora) making the kits slightly "off".

Different chassis in the Jolly Roger kit (notice the engine setback).

I had some of the Plastruct wire-core plastic tube. I recall the wire being tough to bend and even tougher to cut. It's been a long time; maybe it has changed, but I wouldn't commit to buying any great quantity of it before checking a piece for myself.

The kit came with a V8 but the 1:1 '63 Novas were only available with a four or six. The '62 and '63 convertible kits had the boot only, no raised top.

Those front tires date back to about 1968 with MPC. Pretty much every MPC funny car kit from then on had them, as well as Round 2 reissues of same. Round 2 has included them in their reissues of the '33 and '40 Willys as well as the '56 Ford. I haven't bought the most recent reissue funny cars, but I understand that this tire has been retooled and now has smooth sidewalls.

I would seriously doubt it, as that kit was reissued only the one time (and didn't sell well, which is why it never got issued again). On top of that, the 1:1 car did have a tinted bubble (if anything, the kit piece may not be tinted enough). The original mid-Sixties issue may have had a clear bubble. But again, it didn’t sell well first time around either. And back then, Revell had a nasty habit of bagging clear and/or red clear parts together with tires. And their tires were the worst of the bunch back then when they came into contact with plastic.

A lot of people got caught up in the "collectable" hype, not anticipating that later on, people would only care about who won last week's race and not ones from ten years prior.

AMT/Ertl just dived in too late. Monogram had already established 1/24 as the go-to scale for post-1980 NASCAR kits: aftermarket parts and decal makers based all of their offerings on the Monogram kits leaving it tough for Ertl's 1/25 scale kits to secure a foothold in the marketplace.

One early Seventies issue of the coupe included a pair of finned aluminum cylinder heads. (Street Rods/25th Anniversary series, maroon car on box). No other parts, no intake or other carburetors. But it wouldn't be a big deal to use parts from other kits on the '40 block. As long as you've got cylinder heads with the correct number of studs, they'll work, even if the radiator hose location is towards the front instead of in the center as on the '40. I wouldn't sweat a set of headers, as from what I have gathered the exhaust passages in the block are so messed up that headers don't do much. The dragster and Bonneville salt flats guys fill the block with material to solidify it, then fix the exhaust problems. The street-driven cars can't go as far as that, they have to live with things as they are in most cases.

If paint adhesion is part of the problem, then stripping the bad paint shouldn't take as much effort as normal.

I haven't tried it, but pearl white (often mixed 50/50 with gloss clear) seems to be popular.

"Supply issues" could mean they were slow in paying for previous shipments. A guy I know has collected offbeat movies on VHS and DVD for many years. He noticed a pattern with all of the video stores that went out of business over the years. When he asked about ordering something, and the store wasn't able to get it, it usually meant that the store was no longer doing business with that company because they were cut off due to slow or non-payment. Not long after that, the store chain involved often went under.

I wouldn't soak resin in anything to remove paint. Instead, use the 91% rubbing alcohol and wipe it on instead if soaking. If you intend to repaint with Tamiya spray, AND a color change isn't involved, AND it isn't cleared over yet, I'd sand out whatever problems exist in the current paint job, give the rest a slight scuff, and respray.

The paint stripping "IPA" is isopropyl alcohol. Never waste beer trying to remove paint!

The other company was Superior; their conversions don't resemble the Jo-Han kits.

Both kits are authentic conversions. Most Cadillac hearse and ambulances were converted by one of two companies; the Jo-Han kits are accurate versions of one company's offerings (name of the company escapes me at the moment). Someone in my area has a 1:1 '66 hearse that matches the kit exactly.

I'm in the middle of one right now. '61 Galaxie convertible...looked like a clean build, but boy, did this guy love his cement. I've never seen an AMT annual kit build with the bumpers glued to the chassis mounting posts (the tabs on the back side of the bumper ALWAYS snap into place, NO exceptions). Interior was glued ALL the way around, then the lock rings were glued onto the posts. Front fender ornaments were heavily glued from underneath, and I'll have to grind the body on the inside to break the taillight trim panel free. I'll also have to dunk the body to see if the stripping agent will soften up the glue enough that I can get the windshield out. There's no visible glue on it though. And, thankfully, no fender skirts or other junk on the body. The hood was glued to the radiator bulkhead though, and I'll probably fix it shut on the rebuild.

Molded in red, or white?