Mark

The bigger Lincolns (like those pictured) were designed with hideaway headlamps (retractable doors in front of them) but were changed at the last minute. The headlamps remained in their original locations but the "tunnel" trim pieces were added. The smaller Lincolns used Mercury bodies with a longer chassis and front clip. The wheelbase difference between those Lincolns and corresponding Mercuries is all ahead of the firewall.

The wheels are supposed to represent Ansen Sprints, same wheel that Revell put in the early issue Anglia and Thames kits. Those wheels did have larger center caps, and didn't look as good as other wheels of that era so they didn't sell that well. The Anglia/Thames had the best version of that wheel; the J/Austin/Willys pickup, '69 Mustang coupe, and '53/'54 Chevy kits all had what looked like crude copies of the same wheel.

If it indeed involved the interior, I wonder why Ertl didn't reissue the sedan before the phaeton, as it (the sedan) would have been the closer of the two to being ready.

Those custom fenders fit higher up on the sedan body in the double kit. There were locating nubs on the body, which were removed for the Street Rods series issue.

Old wives' tale. Gas wasn't rationed based on what vehicle you had, so you wouldn't be allocated more gasoline just because you had a truck instead of a car. Farmers often converted older cars to trucks to save money, the older car still had some life left in it. They'd get a new tractor before buying a new truck. Gasoline was rationed on a coupon basis, most people got "A" coupons, some professionals like doctors got other class coupons (more gas) so they could make house calls, and so on. Having a pickup bed on your car wouldn't have gotten you allocated additional gasoline. The "more gas for a truck instead of a car" thing is one of those things that won't die.

Dennis Doty said, and wrote, more than once that the cost of labor to weld those blockages in the tool to remove parts was way higher than the amount of plastic saved by doing that.

The original '63 engine IS now in the '64. Some "opening up" of tooling (revealing long-blocked off parts) is taking place under Round 2. Their '64 hardtop reissue now has the fuel injection intake manifold, while the short injector stacks that go with it are in the '63 hardtop reissue.

The spare tire cover was not included in early issues of the coupe, as it was created for the cabriolet kit. The 1:1 cabriolet would have had a rumble seat, necessitating the spare be outside, while the coupe would have it located in the trunk.

That's the exhaust header collector sticking through the hole in the fender.

AMT '69 Cougar kit uses that same chassis. I'd just make them unless I had a partial '69 kit laying around to swipe them from.

The larger tools (those that aren't made for hobby use) like large files for example, can be picked up at flea markets, garage sales, or automotive swap meets. The boomers that used those items in their day jobs are retired or retiring, and if they are fairly well off they will hire people to do remodeling or major home repair projects instead of doing it themselves. Using a large flat file to get a true edge on a piece of sheet plastic isn't working the tool nearly as much as it can handle. As for the supplies like sheet/rod/tube/strip styrene, maybe just buy one or two packs every time you buy a kit. The stockpile will build up soon enough.

If you need several sets of them, make one really good one, get it as perfect as you can make it, then make a mold and do some resin casting. Small items like this are perfect starter projects for casting.

Someone probably got, or will soon get, a bonus, raise, or promotion because the trucks transporting everything around are all closer to capacity.

CJ-5. MPC never made a CJ-7.

With tubing or rod (bar) stock, sometimes you can't necessarily get the exact scale size that you want. Sometimes the scale size falls between two readily available sizes. When that happens, I'll take the smaller size, my thinking is that whatever paint is applied will be thicker than scale, especially if applied with a brush. Sometimes details or scratchbuilt items end up looking "overbuilt": oversize plug wires, too-large exhaust and header tubing, and "sheet aluminum" that's nearly as thick as the 1:1 item it's supposed to represent. A lot of things can't be done in exact scale (parts would end up being too weak to handle) but I'll try to use the smallest/thinnest material that can be easily handled and has enough strength to support the finished model when necessary.

Styrene, got tons of the stuff. Sheet material bought off the scrap pile at a (now closed) plastics company, $.75/lb. Thicknesses range from .040" to about 1/8". Sheets are huge, much bigger than the packaged hobby stuff. I bought a couple of 4' x 8' sheets of .020" and cut them into sheets sized to fit my vacuum forming machine. Also have a pile of .020" scraps (cutoffs from when I had some parts vacuformed in volume). I also save the odd packaging insert, if it is styrene and the shape(s) look interesting. For other thicknesses, I buy as needed, and have leftover from that. For rod, tube, and strip, I bit the bullet and bought a bunch of packages rather than chase to the LHS ten or twelve miles away every time I decide I need something. To start, decide what you want to build, scale it down, and get the needed materials in those sizes. Your roll cages will probably be one diameter, frame rails will be whatever (whether round tube, or rectangular). Then get additional materials as needed. You'll build a stockpile soon enough. You don't want to spend a ton of money on stuff you will never use. But, if an assortment of materials turns up second-hand (toy show, IPMS meet, estate sale, flea market, whatever) and you can pick that stuff up for pennies on the dollar compared to original price, go for it.

Good thing I've got the Cox shelf version then! It's cleanly assembled, just don't have the heart to tear into it. Too bad Monogram didn't do one, they might have reissued it as an SSP item.

The early Roadrunner would be neat too. One of my cousins put together a '68 from a theft recovery car. It was only about a year old. Whoever stole it burned the interior and that wrecked the roof. He also got a wrecked GTX for the roof and interior. Just the base, as advertised Runner, with the 383/four speed combo would be neat.

The Cougar bumper/grille does look like MPC. The GMC bumper/grille is from an AMT pickup. The Jimmy has two separate parts, plus clear headlamp lenses.

Prepping resin always includes cleaning it. This you do BEFORE anything else. If you sand not yet cleaned resin, you are likely grinding mold release into the part. Sanding will vary depending of course on the quality of the part. The best items will only need as much cleanup as regular kit parts. Resin will take any paint that the plastic can, often the plastic parts will need more treatment to take some lacquers than the resin will. I would prep/prime everything in the same way, to lessen the likelihood of a color mismatch. Regular plastic cement won't work on resin. You're left with CA and epoxy.

Two-seater AMX, preferably a '70. I looked at a couple in the early Eighties, those particular ones were on the rough side (floor pan rust) so I passed. A guy I knew back then (now deceased) owned an AMC dealership, he told me certain trim pieces were impossible to find even then. One occasionally comes up, but I've got my Fairlane and really don't want to own three vehicles again. I would consider breaking that rule if the right AMC Spirit GT or Spirit AMX came along, though...

The vent panes in the AMT '67 are molded as units, frame and glass together, in clear plastic.

Disparity exists in other areas, too...there is only a stairway to heaven, but a highway to hell...

I'll stick to Modelhaus (maybe something no longer made). The whitewall inserts look like castings, and the uniformity between the fronts and rears would lead me to believe all are from one source. The Revell Rat Rod tires look more like radials to me (these square-shouldered tires are bias-ply), and I recall the Revell inserts being deeper, and "stepped" around the center hole.

What happened to "neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night, shall keep us from our appointed rounds..."?