Mark

Limited quantity probably got bought up, like concert tix that sell out in the first minute of availability. You'll have to go to a reseller, or wait for the next version...

'68 through '70 annuals had stock/custom/funny car versions in one box. '71 on had no custom parts and were issued as two kits each year: stock or Pro Stock, and funny car only. The latter had the promo style body with hood molded shut. '68 annual, '69 annual, '70 annual, '70 Donohue TA, two '71 annuals plus AMT Donohue TA, two '72 annuals, AMT '74 annual. I'm not aware of a specific '73 kit, though some of the Jo-Han kits with the '72 on the box have '73-'74 kits inside. There is also the '73-'74 snap kit, all I have seen have Hurst mag wheels. Also the George Follmer/Roy Woods TA racer. All of those that I have seen have '73-'74 bodies, but the earliest of those might be '72s. I think that covers the Javelins and Jav/AMX kits.

Jo-Han did a bunch of Sixties AMC products as promotional models only...no kits. Mainly station wagons and four-door sedans, which flat-out did not sell well as kits back when they were new. They did all three years of the two-seater AMX as kits. But all were sold in AMT packaging back then. The first one Jo-Han sold in its own box was the original issue Shirley Shahan Super Stocker, in 1971. They did screw up a couple of times. They did the Hornet as a promotional model for '70, '71, '73, and '74. They did kits those years plus '72, but as funny cars only. No stock kits. Insult added to injury, nobody ever ran a Hornet bodied funny car (though the '73 hatchback would have made a nice looking FC body). They could have at least run off the hatchback as a snap kit instead of the Javelin AMX, but nope. MPC only did the Pacer because the promo contract paid for the tooling to an extent. They even updated the hood and grille to '78 spec on their own dime, but stopped there. AMC dropped the car after a couple thousand 1980 Pacers were built, but MPC didn't bother after '78. Just as well, most of the later ones were wagons anyway. The MPC 1/20 scale AMX originated as a stock-only 1968 kit sold at AMC dealers and by mail. The '69 added some optional parts. MPC did the '70 update on their own, to wring another year out of it. Not quite as good as the earlier ones, but any AMC stuff is welcome IMO.

They seem to get big shipments. Next to nothing one visit, fully stocked next time. They may have had them on sale last week, if so that triggers a run on the stuff.

The Matador was produced first as the '74 Penske NASCAR version, then alternated between that and showroom versions '75 through '77. After that came the custom-only version which had a stock body but not the hood or bumpers. Lesney AMT later detrimmed the body and made some other alterations to create the Allison Sportsman. The body isn't stock any more. The Gremlin was one of AMC's better selling cars of the Seventies, even then AMT first offered it as a funny car with no corresponding stock version until mid-'74. '70 through mid-'72 were six cylinder only which might be what prevented AMT from doing a stock one right off the bat. AMT guessed that the Pacer wagon might be the next big thing, they did that kit without a promo contract. From what I have heard over the years, it didn't do too well when it was new. Neither AMT nor MPC did much AMC stuff back then because Jo-Han had most of the AMC promo business locked up. They probably didn't want to split what would have been a pretty small pie back then.

It's based on the MPC Toronado kit ('67-'68 only), but it is very similar to the Jo-Han kit. Engine and chassis are very similar, main difference there is that Jo-Han had inner front fenders, firewall, and radiator bulkhead were separate parts while MPC had all of those as a single piece. The MPC chassis is modified, shortened behind the rear wheels. Otherwise, it should be workable for what you want to do.

Those custom T-Bird roofs were a one-year-only deal. AMT usually changed things up every year with customizing parts. The items being changed out probably weren't kept, unfortunately.

Early promos had metal bumpers. They were phased out in favor of plated plastic ones before AMT and SMP produced annual car kits.

It will stick to a point, but only as well as the paint is sticking...

Chassis could certainly be adapted, rest is a gamble, with glass being the least likely to fit. Totally different kits, with measuring and design taking place forty years apart.

Jo-Han '62 Larks are closer to 1/23 scale than 1/25. They're big, the built ones are large on the shelf compared to other compact cars of the day, or even the '53 Studebaker. Remember the Lark is basically a reskinned '53 sedan (shorter wheelbase than the coupe). Studebaker reworked the sedan into a compact because it was "too small" to be a full-size car by that point, and tacking extra length onto the front and rear sections wasn't getting them anywhere by then. I'm not sure about the size of the Jo-Han '59/'60 Lark promos (not sure if there was a '61). There was no Jo-Han Lark kit prior to the '62, and those promos were all molded in that warping/shrinking acetate plastic. The Premier Lark (the early one, anyway) is somewhere between 1/25 and 1/32 scale, closer to 1/25 but still small. I'm not sure about their '62 as I haven't got one of those. The Hawk '62s are 1/32 scale, and pretty decent as I recall.

I'd use catalyzed (two-part) glazing putty. There is a Bondo product that is sold at auto parts chain stores like Auto Zone. Eleven or twelve bucks last time I looked. Look for the one with a small tube in the package behind the big one. Rough up the area where it is going, mix the filler and apply it, file and sand after it (quickly) cures. One-part putties cure by evaporation. Hard to tell just when it has stopped evaporating (and shrinking), it could be after you have done finish paint and assembly. Automotive spot putty is in its essence extremely unthinned lacquer primer. Applying lacquer primer over it in heavy coats can soften it. I never went in for baking soda, that stuff absorbs moisture. The soda/super glue combo often ends up harder than the surrounding plastic, making sanding problematic. Leave that stuff in the kitchen where it belongs. I used to be big on "sprue filler". But it too cures by evaporation. I have since abandoned it in favor of a two-part epoxy filler that sands and works the same as the surrounding plastic.

Yes...same underbody (not sure if the altered Dodge and Plymouths had different wheelbases...pretty sure the stock ones differed a bit). I'd bet that the altered wheelbase Dodge and Plymouth kits will use the same underbody, same suspension parts, same engine, same wheels, same clear parts...they will only differ in regards to bodies and related parts. If they were much more different from one another, the added expense might have prevented Moebius from doing the Dodge, unless they had also done a stock one first. I really need to get back to my own Dodge conversion, as all the parts are already bought and paid for.

Might be a good sign that the Dodge is coming next...

In the last few weeks, I found and bought both the reissued '55 Chevy and the new '71 4-4-2 at HL. The ones I bought were the only examples of each that I have seen to date, which means that either they haven't gotten any more in, or both are selling like crazy. The Chevy isn't really "worth" forty bucks plus tax, even with the 40% off it is borderline. But they did a great job on the packaging, decals, and presentation, and there are times when that wins out.

I used to make a vacuform piece to replace the molded-in floor on the AMT '40 chassis (it also fit the '36 frame). I sold hundreds of them. The individual floor sections on the frame could be trimmed out by scoring along the edges with the back side of an X-Acto blade, exhaust filed off, muffler hole filled in, then reattach the modified parts to the frame. Those who wanted dual exhaust detail usually just used the optional parts in the kit to add the second muffler and pipe.

Maybe Moebius is doing another production run. The first was small, with a lot of them going to members of the Commandos. They'd sell them at gatherings, and autograph the boxes if the buyer so desired.

'73 Cougar has underbody parts and engines carried over from the MPC (1969) Dyno Don Super Cat kit. 428 CJ and Boss 429, the 428 may have been used in 1970 but definitely not after that. The Boss never made it into any Cougar on an assembly line.

The solvent in the top coat is starting to dissolve, and break into, the coats previously applied.

Most resin bodies need to be cleaned up (flashing removed from window areas, feed tags removed). JF bodies are no exception. So there is time involved there. As far as custom work or extensive repairs go, you learn in large part by doing. You won't succeed if you don't try. You could consider doing the chop yourself on the kit body, with purchasing a resin one as "plan B".

Either saw should work. Rather than cut along both cut lines in any of the pillars, cut between them, then remove material from each half to get to the amount you want to remove. Getting everything level can be difficult, getting things to line up can be tough also. The puttying and sanding are just the finish steps, spend your time on the steps leading up to that. Perfect paint and putty won't cover misaligned parts!

I remember seeing a selection of the Auto-Kits in Auto World catalogs in the late Sixties. Those were costly in their time as I recall. Being all metal, your paint choices are wider than those for plastic kits, as long as the paint sticks to the metal. Cleaning the metal, and applying primer, would be the rule with that kit. Being different and more complicated than typical car kits, building it will require more "bench time". The Highway Pioneer kits are from the Fifties. I don't think instruction sheets were included; the guy who designed them said he'd make them easy enough to figure out without one.

They won't be able to do "partial replacements" for customers, but somehow they will be able to do that for cars they take in trade, so that they can be resold. It's a miracle!

Looks great! The Short Cuts sprays aren't like typical "big can" Krylon sprays, they are more like Testors and Pactra used to be, straight hobby enamels.

Previous ones (after the first generation) were styled TO stick out. First generation looked like their gasoline equivalent, the Echo, which you didn't see a lot of either, at least around here. Now that they are mainstream (with full electrics out there now, some would say the Prius is now "behind the curve") they can now blend in with the pack.