Dave Darby

I fully agree. In fact, they look more accurate for a gen 1 Falcon than they do for the 66-up. I suggested the Moebius kit for those who cant handle molded in suspension.

New release? Hopefully with the Styline parts gates reopened.

I've always liked that box art. Glad to see the Avanti back. I need to get one.

I agree. Scalemates is completely unreliable.

https://youtu.be/me6Uz_6LzOM

I remember that build and article well. Very clean and near period neutral build style. It's a very well done conversion to a body style that is overdue (along with a 29 A Coupe, and a 30-31 A Roadster). Love it! BTW, you have a PM from me. Regards Dave

Besides the necessity of raising the windshield and backlight heights, another huge mistake on the part of AMT/Ertl (and most builders) is the body colored A Pillar. The whole thing is covered with a stainless trim piece.

Streaker Vette I slightly modified back in 1977 when I was 16. Wheel flares are made from plastic record album dividers from when the local drug store quit selling records. That rear spoiler is the chin spoiler from the Revell "Jungle Jim" Vega funny car.

Pretty neat survivor. Judging by the wheels and tires, that is the Gen 1 Night Stalker issue that immediately followed the Streaker Vette. Out of the MPC mid-year Corvettes, only the 65-67 annuals, had the working springs. The Streaker Vette returned to the 1964 style front suspension.

I do have to agree with you there. As poor as the rest of the kit is, the shock towers and braces are really really good. I wish the rest of the car was that nice.

That is one gorgeous, fantastic build. Your cover feature is well deserved.

I think it's the same chassis, with the working suspension front clip stubbed in. You can see the joint line just ahead of the center crossmenber on all of the versions after 1965. Another couple of changes include the return of the 1964 interior tub (the annuals had the correct door trim) and corrected front fender louvers. The 67 annual had them straight up and down.

Superb! The extra detail work you put into it paid off in spades.

Well on the other hand, the original has a lot of great features, such as a nice blown 409, Keystone mags, chrome reversed wheels, and more. More importantly, the old tool 57 has consistently been a much better seller than the new tool 57. And sales are what keeps the lights on. As long as they keep cranking both out, I'm good. As far as the new tool Ala Kart goes, I don't recall it ever being that hot of a seller, (I could be wrong) and I practically couldn't give my extras away on eBay. I do like the front tires though...

Except, in the case of the 57, the new tool *is* more accurate. Just saddled with some undersized looking rolling stock. The new tool Ala Kart suffered from poor execution due RC laying off their best designers mid project. The only thing that could salvage that one would be (at minimum) tooling up a new cab, hood, nose piece and grille. The wheels are terrible too. That and the stucco pattern in the dash guages. It's a hot mess. We would have been far better served with a restoration of the original tool.

I've never seen photos with the Injecta tops, but the R&C "burn" photos show the Strombergs with the conventional bell top filters. https://public.fotki.com/DWDarby/ala_kart/

Yes. While they have been known to pull out some surprises here and there, most of what you havent seen in the 20 years is gone.

The 59 and 60 Buicks had different tools, as did the Lincolns. That said, the tools on that list were scrapped in the early 1970s.

While it fits well, the Gen 1 Fairlane shares absolutely zero structural compoments with the Gen 1 Falcon / Comet. In fact, they don't even really look similar. If accuracy is your goal, the Moebius 65 Comet should be your first choice, followed by the AMT 67 Mustang / Shelby for a "chassis" donor. Gen 1 Falcon Note the Horizontal A Frame bolts that utilize shims for camber adjustment. Gen 1 Fairlanes have vertical bolts that allow the A frame to slide back and forth. Gen 1 Fairlane Gen 1 Fairlanes have vertical bolts (accessed through the slots - you can see the fron slot in the photo) that allow the A frame to slide back and forth. The bottom of the underbody is just as dissimilar. I can tell you this, because I've owned several of each, and did all my own work, including suspension repair and engine swaps.

I found the Mod Rod reissue, a great source of parts for both restoration of originals, but a great source of vintage speed parts, with the bonus of a really nicely done 29 Model A Roadster. Like Craig said, there are a few parts in the new tool kit that are useful as well. I used the front tires on my Dusty Rose Pearl 29 Model A roadster. I wrote a history of the Ala Kart, and a review of the new tool for Bonediggers about 20 years ago. For those interested: https://www.bonediggers.com/2-3/alakart/alakart.html

That's correct. The 64 and 65 had mag wheels only. The 66 and 67 annuals also had the stock "Turbine"? Knockoff style wheels. The 65-67 annuals all had the working spring front suspension (as did the Cosma Ray show car kit based off of the Corvette annuals. When the 67 came back as the Streaker Vette in 1973 or 74, the old 1964 annual style suspension (and interior tub) returned. And no stock wheels.

The rub is that it's much less expensive and complicated for us to do the kit bashing than it is for Round2 to modify tools, and that is weighed against ROI. I dont have a problem with the old promo style chassis, nor with kit bashing to get the extra detail. That's what separates the builders from the assemblers. I almost never build a kit box stock. Even when it's a replica stock.

Makes sense to me. And if they don't weld too many gates closed that will leave options open for a standard fastback as well.

It appears the last reissue of the Ranchero was in 1995, with made in USA on the box. My guess is Atlantis likely has it, along with the "60" (really a 59) Corvette.

We were speaking of Atlantis, however. Not Revell. I don't foresee any totally new automobile tools from Atlantis anytime soon. They have a big tool purchase to amortize. Unchopping the existing Ranchero, with its simple 2 piece tool would be much less expensive than an all new tool.