stavanzer

I an waiting for the Dual Rear Wheels, and the Stake Bed. Sunoco Decals are nice, but won't move the needle. Very Nice Artwork, however! I wonder if they'll throw in any other "Goodies" to sweeten the deal? This kit is common enough that it will take something special to push it into the "Must Buy" column.

Thanks, for the Candid Answer Tim. I'll leave it lay for now.

Thanks, Tim. (Opens big Can of Worms).....Since you know many of the players in the Industry, any Idea who tooled the Tonka kits? Any chance the are tools still around? Could Atlantis, or Moebius, or Somebody "rescue" them? Would it even be worth the trouble to do so? Cheers, Alan

I do miss Bill's lengthy (and entertaining) back stories. I read somewhere that Bill is an English Teacher. I can believe it. I will disagree with you about one thing. You are approaching the Nash/Borgen Threshold, with great speed! Model On!

Superb! Sure you name isn't Bill Borgen. This looks Exactly something he or Gary Nash would have done.

I was gonna say, has to be Africa or the Middle East. Then I saw the Swahili. Great Job!

This Hurts. I really liked Chet. I'll have to did out the DVD's on my day off tomorrow, and watch some episodes. R.I.P. Tim!

I suspect they will go real fast from Stateside Importers. Get 'Em while you can.

What is the story on the taillights, Tim? You hinted about that in the first pic of the clear parts.

Thanks, Guys. I knew I had seen it somewhere on here. I remember Tim's article too, But I have discarded all of my old Magazines, so I cannot reference Tim's work anymore. Mods, if you want to combine this thread with the older thread, please do. Alan

I'd like to see Revell Tool Up a NAPCO or other 4x4 Drivetrain for their 64-66 Chevy Trucks and Suburbans. A 6 Cylinder engine would be nice too, but we can kitbash that. I just wonder what (if any) other surprises might be lurking in the tooling for these kits.

Steven, Those trucks were covered by the "Mints" (Danbury-Franklin) Back in the 90's and Aughts. If Diecast is not your thing, I suspect you'll be waiting a long to time to see any tooling money spent on plastic kits. I agree with you about how nice it would be to perhaps have them in plastic, but I don't see the sales justifying the tooling costs. My Wants would be Satisfied by a Dodge Powerwagon 1946-1953 or so.

I was just looking at pics of the Tonka Diorama Kits with the Model T Fords, both the touring and the Fire Truck. I know somebody posted some photos years ago of the contents of the kits, but I have had no luck Finding them. My Google searches got many hits, but none from here, and almost all pics are repeats of older pics. The same photos seem to cycle over and over in the search engines. I am just wondering, how they compare to the new(ish) ICM Brass Era Model T kits. It would be nice to be able to do some side by side parts comparisons. I remember reading that the Tonka kits were Okay, but no better than Okay. I don't even recall if the Tonka kits were Curbside or had complete engines. One Final Gripe. I wish Kit makers would look at a "modern' Restored Model T Ford, before they tooled things. Almost all "stock" T's you see being driven use a VW Distributor instead of the Ford Timer and Coil box. Cheaper, Easier, and much more reliable, just about every T in the Club I belonged to used this trick, including cars that had been restored in the 1970's. I would say that most 'stock' Model T engines today have run a VW Bug (or other style) 4 cyl distributor, longer than they every ran the old factory timing/ignition system. Another thing. Every stock T engine in every 'stock' T kit, includes the flimsy sheet metal stamping the Ford used on the mouth of the sidedraft carb, curving up to the rear of the exhaust manifold. In the real car world, only a handful of cars still have them, although you do see them some times in engine pics. That small sheet metal piece was thrown away by original T owners by the tens on thousands. Why? It blocks the carb throat when you are busy Priming, Choking, and Fiddling to get your T started. A good T will run well when you learn it, but I always had to mess with the carb a bit on every start. Those Carb Heater pieces were discarded in such numbers that find a good one was hard for many years, if you wanted a "Show Quality" T restoration. So, can we get rid of it on the kits, please? The way it is usually tooled on the AMT "T" Engine, the upper edged is blended into the exhaust manifold in such a way as to make removing it a pain. Anyway, just thoughts from a former Model T Speedster Owner.

That is a Clean, Sharp Build! It really showcases the old Monogram tool. My hat is off to whoever built it. It makes a Half-Century Old kit, look like a million bucks. Of Course, not as detailed as a modern kit, but this build showcases the charm inherent in this kit. Bravo! I hope you sell all you can get, Justin.

A Cool 'Mainstreamer', as Tim Boyd was calling them. It was a Trend I liked, and I wished it had caught on more strongly. I had always wanted to try to build a "Mainstreamer: 70 1/2 Camaro, using the 1990's AMT Kit.

I Thought that was "dairy-aire"

It is very NIce. The Red really stands out.

After spending some Quality Time drooling over Tim's photos, I have to say that if this kit does not please you, very little from Round2 will. I understand that certain subject matter builders (Supercars, JDM Fans, ect.) may not like it, but American Iron Builders of all kinds should be buying this kit in case-lots if only for the extra goodies. There is a essentially complete Diorama in each box. Just add time and paint. Add the new Mooneyes Dragster, or Revell Slingster, or even the Revell Kurtis Midget and everything will make a magnificent display. Next year, will see some jaw dropping builds of this kit, I predict.

I Thought it was great. Too bad most of the kits you mentioned are "Un-obtainium" now. I have only the Super Bird Nosed (MPC)Satellite? with the yellow car on the box top. The rest were far beyond my means. Seeing what is left of the Ventura in the Squad Rod Nova is what got my brain working on the idea that they might have been issued together, as sometimes MPC would "twin" the chassis, ect. of kits, just changing the bodies to get more mileage out of the tooling. Anyway, Great Article as I said and a great kit of Both 1/1 and kit archaeology.

I got my replacement tags from a Vendor at the March Meets several years ago. He had a Vietnam Era Tag Embosser and made 1970s style tags. He traveled up and down the West Coast going to Car Shows, and Swap meets (not just Car Swap Meets, but all kinds) selling tags. He always had a line waiting for tags. I know this doesn't help you much, but there are folks out there doing it.

I still think a back date of the tooling to the Ventura, could squeeze out some significant sales. Tim mentioned this kit in an article in the Late 'Scale Auto Mag' about 74-75 Almost Muscle cars, as shown by tooling, decal, and box art illustrations that showed cars that made it to kit form, but never in real life. It was a great article. I wish Tim could share it here!

Pup'n'Taco? I want Naugles! Back on Topic, these "Funny", Funny Car kits may sell well to the same folks who built them years ago as first kits. They will probably sell well to kit bashers and folks who like the looks of the kits. As long Atlantis keeps up the "This is old (restored) Revell tooling" disclaimers/notifications there should not be too much, "What a Blah-Blah piece of trash!" griping either. I think Atlantis is making great choices on what kits to release. Kind of Quirky. but driven by both tooling and financial realities that none of us here can know about. I hope it continues to work for them.

I am truly fascinated by the so called "Dirty Bits" of modeling as I get older. The work needed to craft the metal that produces our plastic amusements is incredible.

This kit plus either the Mooneyes Dragster or the little Monogram Dragster that Atlantis has announced will all look great together. This is going to be an awesome seller. Thanks for your dedicated and detailed review, Tim.

I Think that a Gasser is a perfect choice. I do like your thinking so far. I'd keep the running boards, they keep the flavor of the OBS.