Mark

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...

Don't blow your own wiper motor...

The people running the golf course can tell you what you can do on property that belongs to you? That's a new one on me...

One other thing...if the donor kit had separate windshield wipers, door handles, things like that...if those aren't included, potential buyers ought to be made aware of that. Some might not mind, others will want those parts. I have been on both sides of deals like this, having parted out a few kits and selling the bodies, and buying the leftover parts from slot car builders who used the body from a kit.

If you won't be using any of the interior parts, may as well package them with the corresponding body when you sell it.

I wouldn't premix the paint/thinner if at all possible. Sometimes you absolutely have to, when you do that it should definitely be stored in a bottle with a previously unused cap. Even then, I'd strain it before spraying it. Cleaning the airbrush is a must too. Disassemble if at all possible, otherwise spray thinner or cleaner through it until it sprays clean, with no color in the spray. Cleanliness is the main thing. Shoot for "perfect", most of the time you come up a bit short but still very good.

Might as well mention, if you are ever near South Bend you owe it to yourself to check out the Studebaker Museum. The displays do cycle in/out, when I was there they had the Brooks Stevens prototype 1967 Sceptre coupe, the Packard Predictor, the last Stude built in South Bend, and the last one built in Hamilton. The horse drawn stuff is neat too. They've got President Lincoln's carraige (not built by Studebaker), the ironwork on it is really neat. They also had items manufactured by other South Bend companies. It's definitely worth your time if you are in the area.

Loewy's people included four-doors in their workups when he was pushing for Avanti styling to be adapted to the rest of the Studebaker line. One non-running mockup was done with two-door styling on one side, four-door on the other as other manufacturers often did.

That's why I got rid of one.

That Stude is WAY too big, even for 1/24. Closer to 1/21 or 1/22 scale. Those weren't big cars.

Ertl never even started on the bullet nose Stude. It, and the '49 or '50 Olds, only got as far as pasted-together mockup boxes that were displayed at a hobby industry show. Neither drummed up enough interest, so neither got any further than that as far as Ertl was concerned.

The dragster body panels are from the AMT Double Dragster kit. The plated straight six is from the AMT '62 Falcon. When I see one of those in a parts bag, that usually becomes an excuse to buy the bag.

Hardtop has a 396. Foose version has all stock parts.

If they were convertibles to start with, they would have to be either '70 or '71.

The square bezels would denote a '64, but they were optional. Not all '64s had them. The car itself, out of the box, would be a '63 as it has the "long skinny" battery similar to those used by Buick back then. The '64 cars had a more conventional rectangular battery. As for headlight bezels, the square ones were made specifically for the Avanti, but the round ones were leftovers from either the pickup or the early Lark (I forget which), installed sideways compared to the original application. Raymond Loewy wanted quad lamps, and many of the styling workups had quads.

Camaro sales have been in the dumper since the last restyle. Why waste effort building cars few people want? Even prior to all of this, the current generation car was likely to be the last. Unless GM reinvents it as electric, that is still likely true.