Can-Con

Kurt, the grille you used on your truck was a direct resin copy of the MPC grille. Nice job on that, BTW.

No doubt it was MPC but remember that Racing Champions or RC2 was in control of the company back then and several "mistakes" were made on the boxes. As I understand it. they didn't allow enough turnaround time to properly build a model for the box art and some of the builders would just send in whatever they had on their shelf that was close enough to pass as the kit in the box. Also, RC2/Racing Champions only bought Ertl to get their hands on the NASCAR licensing Ertl was holding and for the diecast end of the business. They didn't have any interest in model cars and did their bare minimum to produce them.

Looks like the BNL grille is cast from an original AMT '70 Blazer part. I had access to one a few years ago and cast a couple for myself then found out that the Blazer parts are slightly wider than the pickup parts. BUT, mine shrank a bit over the years and now fit 1/2 decent. So, be careful when mixing parts from the Blazer and pickup. The difference in width is small but noticeable. But then again, maybe not enough to bother some builders.

Sorry, no. The black '77 is a completely different tooling from the turbo birds. When the '70 came out it was even stated in the kit review in SA that it was a modified tool based on the turbo bird.

The AMT and MPC kits were completely separate and different kits Gareth. I don't think those vans were permanently changed to anything else and maybe they still can be reissued in "Sunrunner" form. My bet is though if the MPC van is reissued, it will be in 4X4 form.

Sweet !! I really like the color combo.

Looks good Keith. I think your problem with the back end is the parts were supposed to go on from the inside of the body. Great color with the gold stripes. Too bad about your post getting hijacked so bad though.?

It's just how the kit's made.

Correct. It's under glass now.

I think they came in different colors over the years. I have one of those VWs somewhere that's molded in red and black ,IIRC and I've also seen them in yellow. So, I think it's quite possible.

No, That was the first one I checked.

Quick question, what Eagle kit was molded in green? I've only seen white ones. I'm not saying it didn't happen, just I've never seen one.

You nailed that one Nigel !! Perfect. ??? Just how that generation Vette should look.

I'm not sure about the timeline on that Chris but I do know the NASCAR version was in the AMT catalogue as early as '74 when that bodystyle started. The stock kit was available at the same time so?? According to the catalogue, the race version was out in March '74 and the stock version wasn't available until August.

2 pieces Carl.

Was thinking red-orange but decided on Grabber blue. I had some but couldn't find it si I bought a can of Tamiya French blue last week. It seemed a bit darker than I wanted so I mixed in some Duplicolor white lacquer to lighten it up a bit. Not exactly as I pictured it but close enough. These are the wheels and tires I'm using and it's sitting about right. Maybe a bit higher in the back when finished.

My mechanic friend who does the annual MVIs on my cars used to work at a Peugeot dealer. He pronounces it "pig-let". ?

Here, in my part of Canada it's always been Ness-lee's ?

The big and little 8 hole wheels with the exposed lugs is from the AMT late '80s/early '90s Chevy pickups. The red wheels could be from an MPC '82 Z-28. It has those and was molded in that red. I still have one unopened.

I actually built this truck about 5 or 6 years ago, thought I'd repost it for some of the newer members to see. ? Built from the more common AMT/MPC "Little Red Truck" kit with the suspension from the '80s GMC 4X4. Wheels are an original set that are the only thing left from my original Warlock kit from back in '78. Decals are copies of the original kit decals reprinted from Gooche. Brush bar and spare tire mount were made from styrene tubing , mirrors are from a '90s Ford pickup kit and the various lighting is from the parts box.

Go Snake Go !! I'm just giving the bodywork on mine the final go-over before I start putting color on it. Got the Revell chassis to play nice with the AMT front clip. Took some grinding on the front inner fenders and at the back to clear the rear pan but it's good to go.

Maybe the figure is supposed to be Sam Barris. IIRC, George just did the promotion and paperwork for the shop at that time, I may be mistaken though. Sam was the one with all the talent, George IMHO, wasn't talented enough to light his brother's torches. Anyway, looks like a really good piece of resin.

I have a few of their planes. Excellent kits. http://www.roden.eu/HTML/815.html

Nice to see someone using the BIN. I've been using it for almost 30 years now. Glad to see you back on this one Bill. I know it was giving you headaches in the past.