Mark

The original version was all wrong; it had the Logghe chassis which the Ramchargers never used. Their Darts had chassis built in-house, the Challengers had the narrow "digger" style chassis. The original kit had a stock body, essentially a promo model body. Thumb through a stack of period CAR MODEL magazines and you'll find builders back then griping about how wrong everything was. Now, of course, most everyone would love to see a stock '71 Challenger body!

The previous Ed Roth issue, and the 1998 issue before it, are both pretty clean. I'd suspect that Atlantis takes a little bit more care with their products, maybe running their molding operation a bit more slowly and carefully than a bigger operation like Revell. The only question is, did Atlantis tool new clear parts for this one as for a few other kits? The fit of the rear glass is questionable. If Atlantis tooled new parts, hopefully they'll offer them separately as with the other ones they have done.

What body changes should be expected?

With the '66, I'd give the nod to MPC. More chassis detail by 1966 standards, plus little things like separate door handles. I have part of a plated tree from one, the GT wheels look pretty good too. '67-'70, definitely AMT. MPC '67-'68 grilles are flat with no depth, bodies aren't quite as nice. MPC '69-'70 bodies are undersize. AMT made a couple of mistakes on their '70, neither '69 nor '70 are 100% stock but at least they are the right size. Revell's old coupe/convertible kits aren't worth bothering with unless you absolutely have to have those body styles.

The chassis and basic engine from this kit were used by MPC through 1973. The '71 Mustang kit now sold as an AMT item has those parts, the chassis has been lengthened however. The body was modified years ago to create the '67 Malco Gasser body. The original version of that kit still had the '66 front end, the Round 2 reissue has a new '67 front end. MPC could make their kit with more chassis parts and separate door handles because they didn't make the promo model.

The problem with the Bronco II was that, with the split front axle, one side of it was about a hundred pounds heavier than the other, which messed up the handling. One of the news "magazine" shows ripped into the Jeep CJ-5. But it was due to a film supplied by AMC which showed one front wheel lifting in a tight turn. The thing was built to carry troops on a battlefield, not to change lanes at 70 miles per hour. I wouldn't buy one and expect to drive it like a Corvette, but I guess other people have different expectations.

They saved about three cents apiece using cladded lug nuts. The savings didn't go towards lowering the price of the car though...

Removing the panel lines and filling in the grille and taillight areas brought the body closer to what it's supposed to represent.

I wouldn't expect any massive retooling such as a new engine.

The new tool Kart was designed by the group of old guard engineers at AMT, some of whom had started there under the original ownership, and lasted through the Lesney and Ertl eras. Someone had the brainstorm to let them all go in the middle of this and a couple other projects, which is probably what led to the mistakes that were made in the final product. Had the engine been sized correctly and the cowl/upper hood curvature been done properly, the new kit would arguably be better than the original. Still not perfect (wheels aren't quite right IMO) but everyone has an opinion. According to the Rodders' Journal article, Richard Peters had the Dodge engine left over from boat racing. The valve covers had been replated several times during the boat racing period, which left the stamped in lettering a bit washed out due to many layers of copper plating on them. Those were kept in the restoration, rather than being replaced as they are original to the car.

Both the old and new kits have issues, neither is perfect. Between the two, especially with the reissue being likely to have a much improved decal sheet, the "perfect" Ala Kart build will be closer than ever before.

The AMT '67 had that lower grille surround molded as a separate piece. When the tool somehow went "across town" to MPC, they changed the body to incorporate that piece. I'm pretty sure the "one piece" body has gaps at the lower outside corners of the grille openings, probably to enable the removal of the molded body from the mold core.

How does the height of the Badman version windshield compare to that of the 1963 separate-hardtop kit? Might be a simple proportion issue from that kit, that just carried over into the modified reissue.

A compromise would be to get one of the inexpensive "hobby" sets, and, when (inevitably) one or two of the "more often used" sizes breaks, pick up a pack of ten "industrial" bits as replacements. The "most often used" sizes ought to have dedicated pin vises or mandrels; that is, have one that is used only with that size bit. The "hobby" pin vises are usually made of aluminum, if the opening has "crushed" around a larger bit, then it will have some "slop" when used with a smaller bit later on.

This body is no longer "stock". Panel line detail has been removed, grille and taillight areas smoothed over. Hood isn't entirely flat either, it is the R/T two scoop hood that has been smoothed over. Drip rails have been removed also.

I found it at Advance Auto Parts. Auto Zone and Pep Boys in my area didn't have it, though both do carry Duplicolor sprays. I'd guess both will eventually get it.

The original pre-JJ version (Heavy Hugger) had only the Ford engine. The JJ version added the Chrysler.

Well, they were doing the promos. So, once MPC's designers and planners knew what the car looked like, they could work out things like decals and optional parts.

Not all "annual" kits had the year on the plate...but nearly all of them with promo model origins did. MPC wiped that info from reissues, often replacing it with model info ("Cougar", "Mustang", etc) or license plate detail. AMT annual reissues usually kept the dated plate area the first couple of times, in the Seventies they started getting rid of it. A few here and there never got messed with though.

That's what I said...just wondering if any were produced with '75 bodies. Other than that plate detail, the two Vega kits would have had the same plastic in the box, just different paper...

Weird too, the '74 USA-1 Vega is still in the '75 catalog alongside the '75 fictional American Spirit. Other than decals, the only difference is the molded-in license plate. I have two original USA-1 kits, both are 1974...maybe some were made with 1975 bodies?

The original Firefighter had that low profile Grumpy Lump style scoop, with the low slot in front. Outdated by '74 for Pro Stock, still used in Modified Eliminator though. That scoop was also in the '74 and '75 annual kits. The snorkel scoop was added for the '75 Dyno Don kit, and retained for the '76-'78 annual kits along with the V8 engine. The first pro street issue or two also had the snorkel, later issues had a hole in the hood and no scoop. The most recent issue (Nostalgia Series Firefighter) again has the Grumpy Lump style scoop. The hood opening in that issue was rebuilt back to the '74 only shape, with the wider header panel at the front. Note too, on the Dyno Don kit, the box art is doctored to add windshield wipers.

Late '74, it is a '75. It has the larger '75 hood. The Firefighter was first, it is a '74.

Someone around here has a '50 or '51 full size Nash, commonly called a "bathtub", with the small wheel openings front and rear. I see it every so often when I go to the neighborhood restaurant for breakfast on Saturdays. Those cars are from a way different time, when manufacturers weren't afraid to take a different approach. Unit body (rare here at the time), Uniscope (gauge cluster built onto the steering column, unfortunately they ran the wiring through the skinny column!), seats that folded to form a bed...most of those features available only in a Nash...

MPC used to flip back and forth between versions back then. With most car kits, they liked to get two versions out of one body in any given year. They did that with the Mustang II kits, if you have the stock versions the quarter panels get lumpier around the rear wheel openings every year. After the last stock annual ('78) they seem to have went with the competition version on a permanent basis. Round 2 won't change back to the stock version, as they can issue the AMT kit if they see the need for a stock one.