Mark

I have been thinking about this same body style, as my family had one from 1970-77. You've got your work cut out for you. The AMT Torino Cobra is a 1969, totally different body though much of the chassis and suspension are similar. The Revell '70 GT is the best starting point, though you will also need a '70 Cobra and an MPC Cyclone stock car. GT has the grille, Cobra has the hood and taillights, Cyclone has the upper body (roof and deck lid area). Hood will still need a hole filled, grille and taillight panel will need work also. And that's not getting into the interior!

The Dyno Don kit is the '75 MPC issue. The Firefighter was done first, after the '74 annual.

Apparently you haven't seen pre-1955 Chrysler products, or the '53-'54 Studebaker sedans that they tried to make look like the coupes at the last minute...

MPC probably had to plan for that kit alongside the '74 annual, before they knew for certain that anyone would actually run a Mustang II. So they went with a fictional car. MPC was generally a year behind with their drag cars. The first pro stock series (1972) included the Bill Jenkins Camaro, when he was running the Vega. The '73 series included the Motown Missile Barracuda when it was no longer the "factory" car, having been replaced by the Mopar Missile Duster. Someone at MPC must have liked that "Firefighter" name, they later used it on a custom Dodge pickup and a Corvette funny car.

The Cyclone with the overhead cam engine is the A/FX car. The B/FX is pretty much the same except for the 289 engine. Moebius has not issued a B/FX version yet, but it was probably designed into the kit from the start.

A '49 Ford kit I picked up at a show years ago included an attempt at the fastback body. Unfortunately it's just the Ford body with a Mercury roof stubbed in. The bodies taper differently in the middle (Ford is wider towards the front) leaving the roof a poor fit. The Merc's stock height roof looks chopped compared to the Ford's, and the rear window is a different shape from that prototype also (but looks better). That body isn't really fixable (roof swap is a hack job) but it might be interesting to try it again.

The Ford (corporation) shifted a lot of things around for 1949, with some body styles getting lost in the process. Initially a smaller economy Ford was included in the lineup, that car got built in France instead. What finally appeared as the Mercury was originally intended to be the Ford, the smaller Lincoln was originally intended to be the Mercury. Everything got moved up one notch, and the Ford was started fairly late in the game due to the change in plans.

The reason those Ramblers look a bit "old" compared to other 1960 cars, is that the design dates back to 1950. They were built from 1950-55, dropped, then brought back in mid-1958. I'm not aware of any other US manufacturer ever dropping a car for two and a half years, and then bringing it back. Nameplates yes, but not the same actual car. AMC did make some changes, like replacing the die cast grille with a stamped one (cheaper to make), opening up the wheel openings, and installing the taillights upside down to make them look different. But, it was pretty much the 1950-55 car. The '61-'63 American is again the same car, reskinned, but with the same inner body. I'm not positive about these cars, but some of the early Unibody Nash/AMC cars couldn't be put on a chassis lift. The brakes had to be done one wheel at a time.

I'd like to see how the trunk lid is hinged on the Ford fastback.

AMT '65 Galaxie. Only the first two issues, later ones do not have those parts.

The truck is the same one that was released separately a few years ago. In the original release, this version had a promo style engine insert instead of the complete OHC 6 engine, also the clear canopy that covered the load area was not included. The Round 2 issue may however be different.

Even after the new kit touches down, mint originals will still sell for decent money to kit collectors, or people owning 1:1 Mustangs who want everything they can get their hands on. The projects, partial kits, and builtups will come down to some extent (but still not completely, as some people will still want originals even if the new one is better).

Ala Kart never had hub caps, kit or 1:1.

I got fooled too, with a Camaro body. I pieced a couple of parts box bodies together (Revell Heavy Hugger front clip on MPC stock body) thinking the front end was extended a bit (it is, on the Revell body). So the pieced together body ended up a little bit longer than stock. Fitting the body to an MPC chassis, the front overhang wound up longer than needed for the car I'm working on, and didn't look right with the aftermarket decal sheet that was designed to fit some long-gone resin body. I wound up cutting the front end back down to pretty much stock length. NHRA maximum wheelbase for funny cars back then was 115". The subcompact bodies had to be stretched to fit the usual chassis (most were 115") but the Chargers, Satellites, Camaros, Barracudas, Mustangs, and Challengers only needed the front wheel openings shifted forward. They were usually reduced in size to get better aero and tighten the opening up around the smaller than stock front tires. If you are modeling a specific car, give the 1:1 body a good look over. Some of the later Challengers that were built used Barracuda bodies with Challenger grille and taillight detail airbrushed on. I'd guess the 'Cuda body was a bit cleaner.

Revell Ed Roth Outlaw. The kit only includes two, for the rear wheels.

Putting the police lights on the Duster would essentially be COPying Daniels' idea, I'm pretty sure the original Cop Out was the first non-stock car kit with police equipment (other than the various paddy wagon kits out there, and TD designed one of those). Round 2 probably still has Tom McEwen licensing so Revell might be locked out of doing the Duster as the original Mongoose version. With the two best remembered versions off the table, Revell has to do something else with the kit in order to issue it...no more, no less.

The Challengers and Barracudas weren't stretched, the front wheel openings were moved forward and made smaller which makes the front end look longer than stock. The Jo-Han Gene Snow Challenger has a stock length body also, that kit is generally accepted as being accurate.

When was the last time anyone posting here bought an AMT '63 Corvette kit? Yet, if you walk into a Hobby Lobby store and check out the model kit aisle, there it is, one of the first items Round 2 reissued...and still in the same box...

eBay sales tell manufacturers next to nothing about what would make a good reissue. It only tells you that a couple of fanatics will beat each others' brains out to get a particular kit for their collection. That's not to say the item is automatically disqualified, but they need more than an eBay sale or two to make a decision about whether or not to sink six figures into the development of a kit. The surveys only figure out what the percentage of modelers participating in online forums, or other more "into it" builders like club members want. The bigger numbers of people buying kits at craft stores, and building them at the kitchen table, aren't being figured in.

Make a copy of the decal sheet on plain paper (make sure the copy is exactly the same size as the original), cut up the copy, and try it for fit.

I once wound up behind a minivan that was dragging one of the rear tires because the suspension mounting points on one side had rotted through, causing the wheel to fall back against the back of the inner wheel well. I changed lanes quickly. The van went about half a mile (after I first saw it) before pulling into a parking lot.

For complicated/goofy shapes, I have used cheap aluminum foil. After the paint dries, I suppose it might even be reusable, but I've never tried that.

Humbrol still calls theirs "flesh". I bought a tin of it a couple of weeks ago, to do a couple of Deal's Wheels figures...

442 is an AMT or MPC kit, depending on whether it is a Hurst or W30. The funny car parts and decals are Jo-Han, the 442 body should actually be a decent fit should you wish to go that route. The GTO body is MPC '69, from the Beswick Super Judge funny car. No reason it couldn't be built stock, providing an interior could be found.

Depends on the ethnicity! Seriously, check out military colors, there you should find flesh colors for all regions of the world among the military color portfolio...