Dave Darby

It's a cheap acrylic from Walmart.

Looks great! The Scale Survivors crew is gonna love it.

It is very odd. Ertl announced they were going to reissue it as a Richard Petty NASCAR racer (I think around 1996), then ended up canceling the release because they couldn't find the tool. The irony (and why at the time I thought they'd cancelled it) is that they had to restore it back to stock for the 1987 reissue. In 87, AMT/MPC/Ertl were still producing stateside in Dyersville, Iowa, so it seems odd to me they could lose the tool. But, my sources tell me that like a number of others that were run as recently as 2009, it is MIA.

That is awesome. It's like a 49 Thunderbird.

I love it, and am looking forward to your Faux-vivor Friday post. What did you paint the body with? Love the color!

Looking good Alan! Hope to see it Faux-vivor Friday.

No, separate tool. It was most recently reissued by MPC/Ertl in 1987, then the tool mysteriously went MIA after that.

Tim always does a beautiful job on the layout work. The Vintage Workbench returns this issue with sort of a "Part 2" of the AMT 25 T kit history, featuring some handy building tips and ideas.

I agree with you. The grille is short and squat. But the 70s AMT 3 window has a similar problem, plus oddly shaped side windows. I've picked up the AMTs at swap meets, opened the box, looked at it, then put them back down in the past. The Aurora 34s aren't ideal, but they aren't as bad. I have some plans for the newer tool AMT kit. Stay tuned.

I've had a few in my collection. See below. They weren't as good as the current tool AMT kit, but I the think 70s AMT 3 window was definitely worse. Didn't it (like Revell) share the 23 T chassis and running gear?

When Monogram bought out Aurora the order was given to scrap any tools that were deemed as duplications of existing Monogram subjects, or not viable from a marketing standpoint. I doubt the 34 tool still exists, but it sure would be cool if it did. And yes, as I recall AMT/Ertl did utilize an Aurora 34 body on the the original box art model.

Yep, that's the original. It was widely panned because the body was too boxy (resembling an oversized British Model Y). A few years later, they created the new five window coupe body mastered off the real one in John Mueller's garage. Here's John's finished project. Obviously he chopped the top after they measured it.

Only the RC2 Nostalgia Series issue was a two in one.

I hate to disparage another modeler's work, but having built a few of these, I know for a fact that the grille/bumper fit isn't *that* bad. The ProShop pre-paint in a previous post bears that out. It does appear that you ground away a significant amount of the body that surrounds the grill. I built my first one when I was 12 or 13 and had zero fit issues. The newer issues fit together just as well. At this point I'd leave the assembly off and make it a gasser.

I think I missed this one the first time around. I have few to toss in the mix... Only one of these has the body painted.

That is the coolest Johan F85 build I've ever seen. Super nice.

The level of detail plays only slightly into today's prices. The real culprit is the shrinking sales base. In 1971, there was hardly a store that didn't carry model car kits. Drug stores, grocery stores, department stores, you name it. The kit runs were larger, which reduced the cost per unit. The prices jumped way up when Walmart stopped carrying kits. Today, it's a rare store that does carry kits, and even they dont have a full selection. It costs money to create new box art and decals, and fire those tools up for a production run. So even reissues have to carry that weight. The profit margin is slim, and today's model companies are nowhere near the size of Mattel. They are not getting rich, that's for sure.

By the way, for anyone wondering, The Vintage Workbench column took a break in issue 220 to allow more room for the GSL coverage. We will return for issue 221.

A stepping point, and a great vintage speed parts resource.

This build clicks all the right buttons. Superb!

I took it to mean Gregg's excellent coverage of the event. He really did a great job. Regarding the event, I hope somebody will pick up the torch and keep the flame alive.

Gregg sent me a replacement copy. Mahalo Nui loa Gregg!

The 64 Elky would also be welcome.

From the box side, it appears the custom headlight bezels may have returned. I'd love to see the rest of the Stylizing parts cloned. My guess is the originals were obliterated for the Here Comes the Judge version.

I'm not surprised some parts interchange, but the body for the 67 Comet annual ended up as an altered wheelbase "funny car". It was most recently reissued about 4 years ago. No parts are shared between the two.