tim boyd

1) Front grille area 2) Rear bumper/tailamp layout 3) Exterior ornamentation (e.g. badging configuration and location of same; GTX ribbed rocker panel molding vs. none (IIRC) on 1972 Satellite....) A few Google images should clearly show the differences, which are all minor but still noticeable even in 1/24th-1/25th scale... Good luck with your project! TIM

Those are the interior pieces from the Revell Highboy Roadster kit, correct? They sure seem to fit nicely (either that, or you did a ton of work to make them look that way, right?!!!!). Thanks for the idea....TIM

Did not know that about the Gotti wheels....cool info. Have you ever been to his slot car racing museum in LA? I have not, but I hear it is a highly impressive setup.....TIM

Yeah!!!! That's certainly the way I should have done the original. Cheers....TIM

No, the trailer was an incomplete offering (just the the basic frame, suspension, fenders); I added the tool box, boards and the board rack which itself was adapted from the the AMT Barris "Grandpa Munster" rail dragster kit. The trailer was not in the in the original nor the pre-paint issues, only in one of the follow-up street rod version issues which differed only in the kit number on the lower corner of the box end. The assumption was that the RC/Ertl crowd made a mistake in allowing that production run to go through with the partially completed trailer runners opened up.... Best, TIM

The latest, all-new "Classic Kits" column has just been posted at the FineScale website "Extras" section Rediscover the Heller 1/24 scale Lotus 49 Formula One race car | FineScale Modeler Magazine Unlike much of their website automotive coverage, this content can be accessed free by all, not just Fine Scale Modeler subscribers. As mentioned in my earlier post above, this info is provided assuming the Board Moderators are OK with this info and link (and they are welcome to delete it if this is no longer the case). Best regards....TIM

Bill, and with apologies to Dennis and others on this thread, here is three color images of that model, placed alongside the current Revell '29A Roadster Highboy kit.... Now, back to our regularly scheduled program here! Best....TB

Andy....you are exactly correct. Only one production run of the Street Rod Woodie kit had these parts, however. I can't recall the exact story, but it was intended to be a utility trailer. It was to be an added feature for a future run of the kit, but it got killed partly through the tooling process. Memory is very vague on this, so I am probably recalling some of the details incorrectly. Good news is Round 2 is aware of the tooling. There is a possibility it might reappear at some point, although if so, not clear if it would remain in the partially completed form or be finished. In any case, this is probably quite some time in the future given everything else they have on their plate right now. Best....TIM

Replicas and Miniatures Co. of Maryland offers a package of surfboards (#P-90), recapping about 12 of the best boards that have appeared in various kits over the last 70 years or so. Highly recommended....TIM PS = some of the boards shown here are, IIRC, from the R&M Co of Md. package....TB

Interesting insights here...thanks Alan. If any of you know (or knew) Rich Rothermel....he had some first hand experiences with George that left him very disillusioned. One the other hand, Barris was heavily involved in the model kit world (much more so than most people realize) from the very early 1960's through the 1970's; his contributions definitely enhanced our hobby. Years ago I was commissioned by Brett Barris (George's son) to write a chapter for the tabletop art book "The Art of George Barris". Once I started researching, I was pretty amazed at how involved he was. Beyond kit development ideas and topics at AMT (and later, MPC and several of the others), he was heavily involved in writing about model cars and how to modify them during the early 1960's. The mag shown above in one of the posts was just one of several such pubs, and of course he contributed to the mainstream magazines too. A complex man, for sure, for all the good and not so good (as accurately detailed in other posts here in this thread) that entails. TIM

My source at Round 2 believes the kit is now just weeks away from being in the store. Like many of you, can't wait on this one! TIM

David....as a Car and Driver subscriber since the mid 1970's, I am utterly appalled at what they have done to OUR magazine. The current editor had no qualifications that I could find in her past work that would justify her being placed in charge of the single most authoritative new car magazine of our lifetime, and the changes since she took over (whether directed by her or those above her) are, well, I can't come up with a word to describe my reaction. The only things good that have happened are that the Letters section remains, and that Elena Scherr was picked up as a columnist (though I would have preferred John Phillips and the others to have stayed instead). And now they have slyly changed the publication schedule to ten issues a year vs. the 12 a year we paid for. Meanwhile, Rich Ceppos (who has a decades long history with the mag, and is a deeply respected professional who also had direct auto industry OEM experience (Ford SVT/Campbell Marketing, and later on, working for Bob Lutz at GM)), is back at C&D in an online role. He would have been a terrific choice to become Editor. TIM

Rex....I used the Testors Color Shift myself on an Altered Dragster model a couple of years ago; I too was happy with how it turned out. If I am remembering correctly (it was 25 years ago this month IIRC) when we launched the real SVT Mystic Cobra at the 1996 Chicago Auto Show, our talking points suggested multiple (rather than just two) color shifts. The paint was super-expensive to purchase from the supplier and used the same type of pigments as were imprinted in currency at the time. It was also nearly impossible to photograph accurately so our SVT dealers knew what they were ordering. Only those who actually bought an SVT Mystic Cobra were allowed to buy paint for touchups and collision repair. I am sure such restrictions are now long gone.... This Testor Color Shift paint does a really good job of approximating the real thing, at a realistic price point for serious model car hobbyists. Thanks for the reply....TIM 9

Phil....OK, thanks for the follow-up note. Very disappointing news. I may bring it up with the Models Brand Editor next time we converse....TIM

Heh Rex....sharp work on that Mystic SVT Cobra.....what did you use for the paint? Cheers....TIM

Misha....that Tall T Coupe looks really interesting.....keep it out there on your desk, just in case you decide to do some more on it! Cheers....TIM

AJ is correct. And there was some other difference I can't recall exactly....maybe that it did not copy the contents to my hard drive meaning that I had to dig out the DVD each time I wanted to use it??? Not entirely clear on the above discussion, but they did produce the 5 year update as I bought a copy for myself. I would be very surprised if it is not available somewhere on the Kalmbach website.....TIM

They did issue a follow-up DVD with the next five years on it. I'm sure you can find it on the Kalmbach website.... TIM

Yes, you are certainly sure where it uncertainly came from (always room for some humor in this hobby, right?) :) TIM

Here are a few images illustrating the suggestion in the post directly above about the radius rod brackets and shock mounts being cut apart from their molded assemblies and mounted to the frame, prior to painting.... And here's the above frame, with the brackets molded in place and painted.....never mind the other frame in the image (anybody know what it is....???) TB

Kit - great tutorial and step by step photography! That Revell '29a Roadster Z'ed Model A frame is a mini-jewel in itself; kudos to you for building awareness with your project and your coverage here. Jumping ahead now: for anyone building the Revelll'29A Roadster Z'ed frame, for added authenticity don't forget to cut away the front shock mounts from the shocks and glue the mounts m to the frame before painting; same with the split radius rod bracket/mounts and gluing them to the frame side rails before painting. Recently took pictures of this (though not to the level of detail Kit shows above); I'll try to find them and post them here. Can't wait to see Kit's - and the others in this thread - as construction continues! TIM

Here are a few pictures of the original MPC Switchers '25T kit, built box stock shortly after it first came out around 1972.....body paint was AMT Silver lacquer, running gear was Tempo 1972/3 Mopar Basin St. Blue, interior was Humbrol German Purple in the paint tin. Decals are from the kit, as referenced in Craig's message immediately above. The only non-kit addition was red flocking to simulate carpet in the interior....Cheers.....TIM

On finescale.com's auto modeling forum, Kalmbach Modeling Content Editor Tim Kidwell has posted a couple of updates on their special "Muscle Cars/Resto-Mods/Pro-Touring" special issue due in April. The updates, in part, do address some of the questions and comments posed earlier in this thread. I'm not copying the entire message here (you can find it yourself if you are interested), but one sentence in particular bears repeating here.... "... there have been some questions floating around about how much of the material is repurposed from old issues of Scale Auto magazine. The answer: None. All of the content is completely new". Again, there's more info in his posts, but the above is the most relevant to the questions posed here earlier. Best....TIM

I agree, hands down! Onward with all these great builds! TIM

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