Chuck Kourouklis

Really? Well that blows! Yup, the GT350 came after the Bullitt, and it improved notably on the former's slightly humpbacked greenhouse profile, and the wheel arches in the fenders which honestly looked reversed between front and rear in both versions of the diecast '68. I'd long been considering horning some ProModeler '69 Charger tires over some MPC '69 GT wheels, but the American Dreams version saved me that headache. AMT's front track problem ain't too difficult to fix, either; they're just a little over-generous with the brake disc mounting bosses - particularly on the driver-side upright - and once you file 'em down, even the AMT Firestones tuck under much better. Yeah, we're looking well-covered in the new Challenger. I'm keen on when they're gonna do the factory '10 Camaro...

You remember the full-detail squad car kit mentioned when the Testors Chargers were first announced, but never produced - my bet is that the tooling is finally seeing the light of day under the Lindberg label (woops - like Luc said above). I'd also love to see the 'Vette in plastic, and the Firebird would probably be the best ever of that vintage, if Revell could get around the "Trans Am" licensing issue. But even though I'll snap 'em up soon as I see 'em, I ain't overwhelmed by the '68 'Stangs - there were a few mild proportioning problems, and Revell itself tacitly acknowledged this by correcting them in the '67 GT350 diecast. But they'll certainly make my AMT conversion easier. So dude - where are you getting your intel on the GT40? **EDIT: never mind! Found the thread!**

Am I missin' somethin' here, boys? 'Cause it's Revell what's in the C6 game, right? And I cain't find me no pics of the Revell kiosk yet in Greg's li'l album...

It's not obvious? Don't think it got past Ken. He was immediately on the wavelength or something close to it. You drop hints harking back to either the bullet-nose Stude or the '49 Olds AMT unceremoniously dumped from their catalogue in '01. Then Ed drops by, grousing about the fact that he's still waiting for those kits. And then Jairus has a belly laugh immediately afterward. And I'm just wondering if that's because he knows the same thing you apparently do. You see, "to get to the other side" is supposed to be a funny reason for the chicken, because it's an anticlim - eh, never mind.

Hmm... so, #24 + #37 = ^...?

Fwiw, I had a look at one on the LHS shelf last weekend. Boxcover shots seem to indicate the Italeri 348 - I believe Revell's also recently re-boxed the Italeri 288GTO.

No $#!+. I'll always love Tamiya 'n all - but while Fujimi's also omitting some engraved detail lately to sell you separate photoetch, at least they have the grace not to charge sixty bucks just to remind you what you're missing in the instruction sheet. Sheesh.

So I missed part one - wawazat, the whole Plastichrome thing?

I'll never discourage anyone from hoping against hope, but guys, I'll just about guarantee you sight unseen that these Shelby kits are using the same tires as the GT kits. And I'm a little worried about the looks of that front end; Revell seems to have designed separate clips now, and it looks as if that design change may have compromised the headlight proportions a little. Doubtless by now you all have Revell's ads for the Shelby Super Snake due later in the year. That one has the new wheels with elliptical spokes, and it looks as if it's going to use the same tires the Revell Magnum - the ones that first saw use as the rear tires in the SSR kit, a bit oversized for 1/25 in this application. I've long thought the Jada kit might make a cool Super Snake, and it appears Revell's giving us just the parts donor we need for it...

WERD from LG, tha Big Homie! Too soon to know for sure, but I gotta say - I think Fujimi's gonna have the overall look of the new GT-R dialed in a bit closer than Tamiya will! And that GTO looks like manna from heaven. I want it SO ba-a-ad...

True dat, Gasman, but there are factors present with the GTI that don't apply to the R8: the Golf in general is a subject with mainstream appeal, the current Golf hasn't already been done by Revell AG, and the previous Golf WAS done by Tamiya - so there might be a bit of one-upmanship going between those two manufacturers. Some online modelers have speculated about Tamiya designers defecting to Fujimi, and while there's no way to verify that apocryphal tidbit, it wouldn't surprise me - that's how much more consistent and competitive Fujimi is these days (SuperAmericas notwithstanding). Still, point well taken. There's nothing to guarantee Tamiya won't do an R8, and the odds go up considerably if you consider all the Japanese manufacturers. But I don't think I'll hold my breath.

Isn't it funny how all the various Nippophile modelers serve up identically the same ###### to Revell that the Revell partisans give AMT! Ah well, smugness makes the world go 'round. I'm for the abolishment of 1/25, myself, though I have to concede that I find Revell's results quite livable, particularly at a third to a quarter of the cost. And I rather like this (1/24) kit! I'll be saying how much I like it quite publicly in the coming months, and beyond that, I won't get more specific in this polite company. Good to see some new Audis out, and I'd have to echo the sentiments that toolmakers from the rising sun aren't near as likely to jump all over this subject as a properly nationalistic German manufacturer is. So the Revell kit is it, and no, you won't have to re-engineer it from the ground up to get a good result, headlight problems notwithstanding - thanks for the heads-up, in fact. I'll be having a good, close look at that area. Revell AG tends to go with rough estimates of parts before it releases a kit, and evidently Revell USA didn't update this figure when they designed the American box. It's actually 106 parts, if that's of interest to anyone.

Len, are you kidding us?? Dude. Any little goof about a cancellation is more than offset (for REVELL, much less any show-goers with sand in their panties) by the wonderful preview you and Bill orchestrated for the '69 Nova. I for one am now doubly happy to hear the '57 is still on the schedule, along with a possible cousin. And I can't be the only one. So don' worry 'bouddit!

Thanks Luc! That's the very one.

'Round about January, there was a link to a Trumpeter Catalog page with a picture of a Black Ford GT40 and a caption underneath about it being offered as a 1/12 scale kit. That link is now broken. If you check Trumpeter-China.com, you'll see an "other scale" listing under 1:25 and 1:24 in the "refinement car" directory, but nothing is listed under "other scale". The notion of a 1/12 Trumpeter GT40 did gather enough weight that if you check out "Trumpeter 1:12" at ebay, you'll see a photo cd for a GT40. But beyond that, we ain't got nothin' right now. 'Salright. I'll just cry in my boxes of Fujimi 250 GTO's and Hasegawa 250 TR's in the meantime...

Yup, what everybody said. Very nice, Bill. And thanks for posting it all, Len!

'Bout ta say, I been on that FujimiMonkey site all over, and I was finding everything BUT the 250 GTO. Hmm. Interesting. Only slight letdown for me so far is that it looks like they're going with one-piece Borranis. I'da loved to see some three-pieces like the ones from the Daytonas in this kit. But hey, an engine! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Now if we can just have a good, accurate body, Fujimi will justify a new choice over those older, mostly out-of-production kits. Some have come pretty close, but nobody's really bulls-eyed a mainstream plastic 250 GTO yet...

Roger that! That's HOT, guys! Thanks for posting it. Can't wait for Bill's commentary.

SWEET. Wheels also from the Talladega?

Talk about a mainstream plastic kit 50 years overdue (at this rate, maybe we'll get our McLaren F1 in 2044)! Here's hoping Hasegawa has many more 250 variants up its sleeve - and we could still use a really good GTO. Absolutely the baddest international release in plastic this year. The only thing I can see knocking it off its perch is Tamiya coming out of the blue with the new Nissan GTR (and not a 350Z-style half-a$$, thank you very much)...

Yo, Ron - if you check out the R/M '69 Talladega, you can have a 428 CJ in 1/24. Might still need the Revell valve covers, though...

Yezindeed! And what's more, based on my emails with one particular company exec at the time, AMT did this on purpose; they made it a point to reissue the '63 within months of releasing the '60, with an eye very specifically towards enterprising kitbashers who'd been looking for updated undercarriages and drivetrains.

Oh Bill, just shut up, man. You're like Juha Airio. Your stuff doesn't count any more. It's not fair! I mean please, a little pity for us mortals, huh?

Kool idea! Gotta check them Cragars out. And yeah, a plain-jane sportsroof is MANDATORY for at least one build of this kit. I was kinda hoping for a worthy change-up from the Magnums, myself - but hell, since they're hubcaps anyway, maybe I'll hog out the middle of the Magnums, or some other Monogram 15" wheel, and actually use these new wheels as "hubcaps"... :ph34r:

Yup, hubcaps they are! Here's a picture from that auction: And here' a link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-71-Mus...3QQcmdZViewItem Didn't the 71-'73 have something like these?