Mark

I believe the Black & Decker brand is being phased out; it was bought out along with several other brands, and the new owner already owns a couple of other tool brands. I have been seeing other B&D branded items (spray paint, sandpaper) at closeout stores.

All of the glass in the 1:1 Willys is flat. No side glass is included, you have to cut that anyway, so why not do all of it? Headlight lenses can be scrounged from another kit. The old opening-doors Revell Willys kit never included molded glass; clear stock was included and had to be cut using templates printed on the instruction sheet, and the headlamp lens detail was on the plated bezels.

Really, they're both about the same as both are based on the same kit design. Both have interiors with the seats molded as a unit, both have chassis with the exhaust detail molded in. One being better than the other might boil down to which one has the better grille detail, and that will be the one made by the company that had the promo deal that year.

There's plenty here to mix and match with the newer '29 roadster and '30 coupe kits. Even if you build this one out of the box, you'll have an extra cab left over (you will have to either make a couple of hinge pieces for the doors, or attach them to the second body).

The currently available '72 pickup is largely based on this kit, but with the interior from the MPC kit and more recently tooled small-block engine and chassis from the rear of the cab back. The grille and bumpers are retooled also.

That kit was issued again later in 1969. The annual kit has a Y-prefix stock number, this one is T-330. Same parts, same decal sheet, same "blueprint" instruction sheet. The camper is the same one as was included in a 1968 reissue of the '63 Ford pickup.

That's the first issue of the (then) new tool. AMT tooled the '67 pickup kit, which somehow went to MPC for '68 (along with the Barracuda). AMT tooled another Chevy pickup for '69--this is it. The "first" tool had a single exhaust chassis and a small-block engine, this one had duals and a big-block. Both have the same (incorrect) inner front fenders (they should resemble the ones in the Blazer/Jimmy kit). AMT converted theirs to a GMC for '71-'72.

Another T-57 '57 Thunderbird kit. I'm a sucker for these...I've had several, as of now I have four unbuilt (two mint, two-including today's-have one split corner on the box lid but are unbuilt and complete). T-57 is the first run, in the smaller of the two boxes AMT used for 3-in-1 kits in 1962. Though a trophy is included, nowhere on the box is this one called a Trophy Series kit. That came with the next issue, around 1965-66. It's in the smaller box despite its $2.00 retail price suffix. Every other $2 kit I can think of came in the larger box. The smaller box was for the $1.49 retail kits. Later production runs of this kit were put in the larger box, with box art similar to this, and a new product number (T-2257). Not looking at the 1962 catalog where this kit was announced, I think it shows the T-57 style box. Same parts content in both, same $2 retail price. I've got one mint T-2257 just for comparison, also a few in lesser condition for building. Neither version of this original issue T-Bird kit has the stock hardtop. That was added for the second issue.

Old car/truck owner's manuals often include instructions on how to change bulbs and fuses. New vehicle owner's manuals instruct you to not drink antifreeze. Just sayin'...

George Toteff seems to be the main guy who championed the Styline concept. Budd Anderson was on the other side of the fence; he went in for things like the chopped top piece for the '36 Ford (because when you chopped the top on one, there was basically one way it would look when finished). He didn’t care for the Styline extensions because they predetermined the styling of the front or rear. I remember reading about a bet between Anderson and Toteff regarding the '49 versus '50 Ford kits which hit store shelves at the same time. Budd won that one, but in part because the '49 coupe had a racing version and was half a buck cheaper to boot. Anyway, Toteff left AMT during '63 to start up MPC with Dick Branstner, so there probably wasn't anyone else picking up the Styline/Advanced Custom flag. AMT did do some more, heavier custom stuff anyway, including the '65 Impala annual kits which went even beyond the Styline concept (the advanced version required the front clip being cut off and replaced). Back to the Merc...hobby show coverage of the day suggested that Ertl might have been preparing to tool some new parts for the late Eighties Customizing Series issue, including maybe a front end extension. In the end, that issue was a straight reissue of the two or three previous ones, with Ertl adding a few parts in the issue after the Customizing Series one.

Are the cast items the wrong type, or not accurate enough?

X2 on keeping CA away from anything clear. I do use CA on some parts. I prefer Loctite's product, not so much for the glue as for the bottle. Its cap seals quite well, stretching the life of the glue once opened. As you use it, though, there's more air taking the space of the already used glue, accelerating the demise of the unused portion. Some guys just buy the small/cheap one-time-use CA tubes and throw away what's left at the end of a building session.

If you are going to seek out better wheels, think about searching for a set with tires included. Then you won't have to worry about saving the kit tires.

Same parts other than the red "glass" in the Mazmanian version. The SWC kit is the black one only, the blue one is of course the 1963 vintage kit with the Oldsmobile engine and opening everything. The newer kit has only one seat, illegal for NHRA Gas class. But these cars were frequently match raced, and in those instances the rule book got tossed out the window.

It'd be ironic if something STILL got crushed in there. Maybe Revell hired a package designer who previously worked for a high-end candy maker, or a cosmetics company...

"I meant to do that"...

The one pictured is '67 only, full size car. I've never seen that one in scale.

The clearance items have yellow price stickers on them. The 40% off every other week does not apply to those items.

The Torino Cobra kit may have the piece to extend the front end, but won't have the Talladega grille/bumper unit. If you had both kits to compare, you'd see that the bumper for each kit occupies the same space on the plated tree. The Talladega had a different engine from the Cobra, as well as a bench front seat and no console.

Nope, the Biarritz is 1/24 (and maybe on the large side of that) with the Brougham being 1/25.

Man, I wish that that Imex Biarritz was 1/25 scale. I'd love to piece the back end of that onto the Revell/Atlantis Eldo Brougham...

Hasbro bought out Kenner awhile back, mainly to get the Star Wars product licensing they held. With Disney's ongoing mishandling of that franchise, and Monopoly soon to enter public domain, Hasbro is now circling the drain...

A recent eBay find is one of the original Stude funny cars, built. As I suspected, the pivot point for the body is too far forward, so much on mine that the builder left the rear bumper off. No pictures right now, as both front wheels and one rear were broken off (that's how it was listed), and the original builder swapped the plastic slicks for a pair of way-too-narrow early Trophy Series units. I've got to reattach the wheels (fortunately the king pins on the front axle aren't busted off) and get a pair of wider slicks back on the thing. I've also got to cut down a set of headers from the 3-in-1 Stude and put them on (the original builder didn't get around to that). The paint job on it ain't bad, and the builder did a decent job on chopping the top with the kit-supplied parts.

The "chassis" of the shelf version of the Monogram slot car. Also, pieces of two of the easily breakable front axle of the shelf version...the main culprit in the disappearance of front tire/wheel units from this kit.

You don't, or at least shouldn't, use water to thin two-part putty. If you do, it will shrink drastically as the water evaporates. If you need to make the putty more pliable as you are applying it, just "roll" it really fast between your hands as you are blending it. The warmer it is, the more pliable it will be when you are positioning it. Water can of course be used to smooth it after it is applied, to reduce the amount of sanding needed later.