tim boyd

Thanks James! TB

This is Norm Veber's latest addition to his product catalog. It is a set of fully molded wide five wheels from the AMT 1936 Ford Trophy Series kit. But wait a second....there's more to the story here. When originally introduced in 1961, the AMT kit included the factory stock "wide five" wheels, correctly molded to include the small, half round holes arrayed around the outer edge of the wheel rim. However, given the limits of tooling and molding technology, most of the wheels in the actual kits had holes that were inconsistent...some correct, some half-filled, and some not filled at all. Look at any of the first round (usually molded in gray) AMT 1936 kits and you'll see. At some point early on, AMT gave up and retooled the wheels to totally eliminate those holes. That's what you'll see in the vast majority of 1936 Ford kits from AMT. However, the "Wide Five" wheels have become very popular these days with the "traditional hot rod" movement in 1/1 scale, thus leading to a need for accurately molded 1/25th scale equivalents. Fortunately, I was able to find one fully and correctly molded wheel in one of the vintage kits from the collection of the late Chuck Helppie. Norm has taken that wheel, refined it for his master, and is now offering a set of four as product #P-196, at $6.25 per set plus shipping. The label says "thanks Tim", but ii should really say "thanks Norm!". See a closeup of the wheels in the next image. Here is a closeup of Norm's latest product, the set of four 1935-39 Ford factory stock "Wide Five" wheels. Note the correctly formed half moon vents along the outer edge of all four of the wheels. I would guestimate that about 98% of the AMT 1936 Ford kits out there have either a partly or completely incorrectly molded set, or the later "smoothed over" (and no longer factory correct) wheels. This is your chance to get a complete set of correct, real thing in 1/25th scale. It's a must if your a builder. like me, of scale "traditional" hot rod models. Thanks for checking it out...TB

I have now posted additional photos at the NNL Motor City New Product News album, starting with image #40. This includes the latest from Atomic City/Jo-Han, Few Sprues Loose LLC, and Missing Link. And while Norm Veber wasn't at the show, I've also added in the very latest addition to his Replicas and Miniatures product catalog at the end of this album. Be sure to read the captions for each picture to get all the new news. And as always, thanks for looking....TB Here's the linky....

You're welcome, Claude! Best...TB

Click here for full coverage... The 2024 NNL Motor City showed some interesting trends this year. Just as in the 1/1 scale world where they are top sellers, model trucks are occupying more and more of the table space at this show. We are also seeing more varied modeling subjects, with (from my POV) some really innovative pickup and Class 6-8 trucks and semis on the show. Even new 1/25th scale motorcycle and unlimited hydro boat models And, of course, the ever-growing presence of 3D modeling in our hobby. As has been the case in the past, when ever possible I photographed the name of the builder after showing his or her models, so that the creators of these miniature masterpieces are properly recognized for their creativity and modeling expertise. Enjoy your tabletop trip through some of the highlights of the 2024 NNL Moor City! Cheers.... ***** Here's a taste....two new builds from Steve Perry using his new multi-media Calnaga Castings Triumph Show Bikes offering, inspired by the original Revell Parts Pack Triumph Show Bike Parts Pack.... and yes, that's a dual engine Triumph drag bike in 1/25th!

Both of these projects have been under consideration for a long, long time; very exciting to see them now in transition to future products we can actually buy and build!...TB

You can see 34 images from the show at this link.... Here's the latest from Round 2 as revealed at the 2024 NNL Motor City. The new 1964 1/2 Barracuda and 1960 Chevy Wagon kits revealed at this show will be curbsides, but are well detailed and show the capability to contain builder added/kitbashed powertrains during the assembly process. As is the case with other recent Round 2 new products, these two all-new tools are based on the original AMT annual kits, but with numerous detail, quality, and assembly enhancements. While no additional variations of these two tools are planned at the moment, as was the case with the series of Round 2 AMT 1963 Chevy II Nova wagon kits, these are designed in such a way that more detailed underbody content could be added during future kit runs if the market demands it (another words, buy the curbsides if you want to give Round 2 management team a business case to justify additional, more detailed kit variations at some point down the road...) Also included is photography of several other upcoming Round 2 kits. I will be adding some additional info shortly including a look at the new Jo-Han and Atomic City booth, and a new 3D designer and printer doing replica stock parts. Thanks for looking...TB

Conversely, I think it's terrific. But to each, our own view! Thanks for the response and comment! Best....TIM

This is the truck transporting the nation's Christmas Tree from Alaska to DC this month....how cool is this? What a great looking truck! Cheers....TB

Any of you guys and gals know the real story behind the "Streaker" nomenclature in this kit? Smile....TB

Stef....they have literally hundreds of tools that they have yet to inventory and check out. Atlantis is a very small shop, and they just don't have the headcount to do a full inventory all at once..and even if they did, I doubt that they would want to share that level of detail in a public forum like this one. Having said that, I just did a one page "Classic Kits" feature on the olds aetotech kit in one of the more general model hobby mags. I agree with you...it's a fascinating kit and like you I would love to see it have another chance in today's sophisticated adult car modeling hobby. Best....TB

Hakan is spot-on here: "All information on Scalemates are not accurate all the time unfortunately, and some timelines are not correct and they miss some kits based on the same tooling that should be there." My experiences are that Scalemates is often a helpful starting point for kit research, but info seen there requires further confirming research before being taken as fact, as there often seems to be significant accuracy issues with info posted there....TB.

To me it appears to be the original Harley parts pack chopper c. 1963, reissued once in 1982. A "Kit" that sold for as much as $150 or more, at least until this news broke a few days ago. Here's mine, built a few years back from the 1982 "Grease" reissue....TB Really great to have this one back! TB

Yep....it's the Parts Pack Harley....up until today (;) those were going for $150 or more...no longer. Great choice....Somewhere along the line I was told that the tool for the Harley also included the Honda....so presumably they will have welded off the Honda runners....here's one built from the original parts pack.... TB

I've never pulled out the parts trees to compare, but my understanding is that the white/brown kit was an entirely new tool sharing nothing (expect perhaps tires) with the California Hauler....tB

Great to see the Polyglas GT F60/L60-15 tire set parts back! Word to the wise....grab a whole bunch of these when they become available again...and kudos to Round 2 and Goodyear for working out the Polyglas licensing issues! Well done! TB

Thanks Harvey! TB

None that I know of. A couple of publishers I have worked with previously expressed a bit of interest in a book compilation, but nothing came of it. Concerns included very low potential demand (regrettably, books sell poorly these days due to the internet) and tracking down/securing intellectual property rights.... TB

Dave,,,,in case you missed my earlier post above, I built the original Otaki (?) 1/16 Mustang II Mach 1 fastback kit that I presume came from this same tooling set. AMT commissioned me to assemble and paint the model to show their sales reps at their upcoming annual sales meeting so that they would better understand what AMT's coming lineup of 1/26th scale kits (Bel Air, TB, Mustang, et al) would look like size and feature wise. I recall it being a surprisingly good kit except that the wheels and tires were woefully undersized. Then again, this was nearly 50 years ago so I shouldn't trust my memory to remember things exactly as they were! TB

Bob...yeah I bought the Cars magazine story issue at the time it came out, but if the timing recollection is correct, that story appeared about six months after I ordered the car and about four months after I had taken delivery. My own spec decisions were mostly driven by some of the very early press previews of the new E58 that appeared around 9/73, plus my knowledge from my Dad's Dodge and Chrysler wagons that the big block wedges were heavy and gas users, while the 340 in my Duster (traded in for the RR) had (even with lowered compression) relatively good mileage and very responsive driving attributes. I had always liked pure black cars with tasteful chrome and mag wheels, so that drove the color decision. Interesting you mention the rocker molding....that was not RR factory content but I bought the rockers and a Satellite Sebring Plus bright molding that went above the grille from the dealer parts department (along with the decklid luggage rack, too) and added them to the car over the first couple years of ownership. I too shared your view on those rockers! Cheers...TB

Thx John...never can remember the correct nomenclature for that non-functional (!) feature...best....TB (My Monroney/window sticker below used a spec sheet nomenclature of "Strato Ventilation"...)

Interesting discussion here as my first new cars were a 1973 Duster 340, followed by a factory ordered 1974 Road Runner E58 360 HiPo. I liked the Duster layout with the flip windows as I could reach behind me and flip open the window for ventilation as described above. My '74 RR did not have the flip feature,, so I added the Astro Ventilation to my order, which was supposed to route added air from the floor level vents to the top two center IP outlets otherwise used for A/C (I couldn't afford AC and did not want to deal with the maintenance issued down the road). That turned out to be a total bust as the only air that ever came out of those vents was hot air, even when it was cold outside. Years later, as some of you here pointed out, Mother Mopar eliminated the vent holes toward the rear of the hood for '74 B-bodies....probably explaining why the astro vent option was now worthless. I knew the RR had the fixed rear quarter windows when I ordered it, but after delivery I was surprised to see there was no B0Pillar. The RR was essentially a two door hardtop body style with the rear quarter windows being fixed in place instead of operating. I also learned, years later, that 1974 RRs ordered with Power Windows (again a cost I did not want to incur, plus my father had had ongoing problems with the power windows in his Mopar wagons over the years), all four windows worked and lowered and the car was then a true hardtop. Sure wish I had known that when I ordered the car....TB

Thx Trevor and Jim... BTW for those not familiar with this issue, authoritative sources say that with 2K paints you really need to use a respirator with a separate fresh air supply, typically only found in a 1/1 scale automotive body shop environment, as well as other precautions. Lots of varying points of view on the above and the overall health risks of 2K paints, particularly as it relates to hobby usage, so I won't belabor the points here. My only comment is to make sure you are educated and read about the topic from authoritative outside sources (i.e., don't rely on hobby message board discussions), so that you are fully aware of the issues, and then decide on your own course of action accordingly...TB

I did not know that. My '79 Chia 5.0 TRX notchback was ordered in early August 1978 and delivered (IIRC) early October. It was one of the first ones off the line Do not recall ever having an issue with the trunk lid. Cool info anyway...thx for posting Rob. TB PS - scroll down through this blank space just below to see two photos...

Justin., are they claiming the 2K clear is also non-toxic (as mentioned in the display stand graphics)? Asking because as we all know, the existing 2K is anything but non-toxid....TB