Snake45

Maybe she could be holding something else, like a whip? Surely I can't be the only one who thinks she looks like Julie Newmar, the original Catwoman.

That issue of the '63 roadster was out shortly before the Presitige. It wasn't uncommon to see both kits on same shelf at the hobby shop. As mentioned, the non-Prestige didn't have the stock wheel covers (just the optional knock-off wheels), or the FI emblems, or the hard top, or one piece of the fuel injection system. I built one back in the day, and the coupe at the same time. Still have them both. (And a lot more, now....) And yes, I think that issue of the roadster has the optional HT glass in it, but not the top itself. I have several of them and will be using them on various restos. Modelhaus used to offer the hard top in resin. I bought one five or six years ago. But when I went to place my final order in July '16, they no longer had that part listed--and I checked for every year. Pity. At the moment, I'm working on bringing back a glue-bomb '65 roadster that, under all the paint, has the cleanest, most pristine '65 body in the Snakepit--EXCEPT the hard top is glued on SOLID. If there were any way to pry or cut it off, I would have, but it's not budging. I could have saved either the top or the body, but not both, so I left it in place and am working around it. Original builder used so much glue that it actually deformed the windshield frame on one side. I had to grind that out, build the area back up with putty, and carefully shape, file, and sand the whole mess back to the contours of the windshield frame, top, and top border molding. These pics don't do the carnage justice. I was several evenings of carefully filing and sanding with every tool in my box, but it's starting to look okay now. I'd removed the windshield before those pics were taken--surprisingly, it came right out. The back glass came out too, later. The windshield was almost as glue-boogered as the back glass, but, almost unbelievably, I was able to sand and polish it out to where I can use it again. Doesn't look like I can save the back glass--the damage is too deep. Lucky for the "spares" in that later kit issue. On a rebuild like this, I try to use as many original parts as possible, but sometimes you gotta go to a parts kit.

Somebody did/does a resin Falcon SD body. I know, 'cause I have one. It might be Jimmy Flintstone. I'm planning on using it someday.

Interesting. If the Prestige issue has a new-tooled body, they sure didn't get much use out of it. Has the roadster been reissued since? I have a couple of Prestiges, though I've never built one, plus a couple of unbuilt non-Prestige issues from about the same time (it was a semi-big deal that the Prestige issue had the FI emblems engraved on the fenders--interestingly, I believe all the Coupe resissues since then have had the FI emblem, too, but I'll have to doublecheck that), and good examples of all the annual bodies. I'll have to try to take a good look at all of them. One good area for study will be the front valence area and front parking lights. AFAIK, AMT has NEVER gotten the molds to align well in that area, going back to the original issues, and it always requires a bunch of extra cleanup work.

Unless you had a million bucks hanging out of your pocket, she wouldn't even notice you. She's on the phone with somebody more "important."

Very very cool!

Very interesting, and great pics. The original '63 roadster kit had rotating headlights, which made only one reappearance, in the circa-1967 THE Cat issue. I happen to have original roadster bodies from '63 to '67, plus the Prestige issue and several of the pre-Prestige reissues. I'll have to take a look and see if that windshield frame looks different on mine. I'd seen the difference in the tops, but have never noticed any difference in the windshield frame.

Yes. They're all from the same basic molds that go back to 1962.

David Letterman's sister? Madonna's mom?

The "smell test" is a good indicator. Two week would be a MINIMUM and I'd rather wait a month. That's assuming you sprayed it out of the can. If you cut it with lacquer thinner and airbrushed it, one week should be plenty. I've clear-coated such as soon as 48 hours.

The hardtop wasn't "fixed." It was removable, but I'm pretty sure it couldn't be carried on-board. I do believe you could, if you wanted, have the soft top folded up in its well, and then have the hard top installed too. I'm a big fan of the '63-'67 hard tops. I like them even better than the coupes. AMT started putting the hard top in the '65 annual roadster kit, which they kept up through '67, but it hasn't been seen again except the '80s-'90s Prestige issue of the resurrected '63. Come to think of it, the '63 roadster hasn't been reissued in a long, long time (was the Prestige the last issue of it?). I'd love it if Round 2 would reissue the roadster with ALL the tops it came with over the years--soft up-top, hard top, clear hard top, custom fastback, and '67 panel wagon. And while you're at it, R2, how about the '66-only slot car tonneau cover with driver figure, too? I have a bunch of original annual roadster projects in the Snakepile to restore/rebuild, but I'd still buy a couple more reissues if they included ALL the candy.

Nothing on sale at my HL. Same stuff I've been looking at all summer.

Yah, $4.98 seems more like a '60s price for that than '70s. The airfield shots looked more '60s than '70s, too.

I could be wrong, but I believe the Sting Rays came with one top--your choice if ordering--at no additional cost, and the other one was optional at extra cost if you wanted both. I hadn't noticed the AC vents in the Revell snapper dash. Thanks for the detail!

Overall, very nice, but I'm a little unclear on the concept of those side windows. What's up with that?

Two of them with cellphones? No thanks. Too much of that in 3D world. I'm kinda diggin' the one with the gun, though.

The roadsters are just as good and just as fun. Here are the stock and "custom" issues. Again, no paint, just polished plastic. Windshield frames are Silver Sharpie. My only complaint when these kits is that they don't come with the removable hardtop, or even an up-softtop.

Oh, you're gonna get hooked on that, too. Sometime around season 3 or 4 or 5, the zombies become little more than an annoyance of modern life, like bad traffic or poor cellphone reception--just something you have to deal with in the course of your day. The REAL problems are all the Other People. Yes, it's kind of a soap opera, but a good one. IMHO, it just keeps getting better and better and better. Oh, and don't get too attached to ANYBODY.

Cool tip! Looks like it works great. You can also do the same thing by putting a pencil (or a scriber, XActo knife, razor saw, whatever) in the pages of a thick book.

Like my Daddy always says, "You learn something new every day if you're not careful." Thanks!

I remember that color on '67 Chevies. I think it was called Royal Plum in Chevy World? It was fairly rare--I don't recall seeing too many of them though I do seem to recall at least a few Chevelles. I've thought of doing a '67 Camaro in that color just for my ROY G. BIV Camaro collection. I believe it's the only chance to build a factory-stock purple Camaro until 1992's Purple Haze.

The AMT (and nearly identical in shape MPC) Sting Rays do have a very eye-pleasing shape, and one that we're all used to, as we've been building them for 50 years, but they're just a slight bit "sharper" or "crisper" than the real cars. I still like them, and have collected a full range of glue-bombs to rebuild/restore, but the Revell '63 snappers and their '67 Coupe have the most accurately shaped bodies. (The Revell '67 roadster is a mess, and so is the Monogram 1/24 '64.) Just my opinion, of course, worth exactly what you paid for it.

Rockers are different. Nameplates are different. All emblems are different. Interior upholstery is different. Wheels are different. And then there are all the mechanical differences. A nice full-detail '63 SW is definitely do-able. It's just a matter of how many other kits you want to sacrifice to do it.

The window trim on both of those is Silver Sharpie. The hood inserts are kitchen foil with Micro Metal Foil Adhesive.

Yah, I know. But it was still a great idea.