Casey

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Has Mr. Scruggs shared any updates on what the facility he posted the image of is producing?

Just noticed two things on the orignal issue IMC Dodge L-700 Tilt Cab's box art: 1) Are three seats included? Hard to tell, but it looks like there are three separate seats. 2) Looks like the front wheels are six-spokes, not the five spoke Dayton wheels included with the kit. I would guess the box art is based on a factory ad or photo, so not too surprising the wheels don't match up.

After looking over pics of the AMT '64 El Camino kit's contents... ...it looks to me like the areas of the mold containing the Westcraft boat and inline six-cylinder engine block parts was taken up by the camper and/or topper in the '65 El Caminos: That said, IF the areas containing the boat and I6 were originally a separate insert, and were replaced by another insert-- first the slide-in camper, then the topper-- it's possible that original insert still exists. If that area was milled away and the slide-in camper was the first insert, I'd say the boat and I6 are gone for good. Round2 did find or have the Soap Box Derby car mold section/insert, and we'll have to wait and see on the forthcoming go-kart (I want to say it is vintage, and not a recreation), but maybe there's hope for the Westcraft boat. There are far better options for inline six-cylinder engines (AMT '50 and '60 Chevy Pickups) if you want a Stovebolt I-6, but maybe nostalgia is driving the want for some

Here's a visual look back at the AMT '64 Chevelle El Camino, kit #8734, relying upon found images on eBay. if anyone has this kit and is willing to take and share images, please do. The inline six-cylinder engine and Westcraft boat were only available in this kit, and I don't think the custom body pieces (hood, grille, roll pan, etc.) were ever used again, either. Good look at the decal sheet below:

Thanks, Mike, and, not surprised. Oh boy. I did find one additional different box from the RC2 era, but the image is blurry. Not sure if the contents are any different than other RC2 era issues or not, though. Maybe I should be asking if any are the same at this point.

I did see your posts in the WDYGT topic, and I think this was also discussed in the Campers, Toppers, etc. topic, so I figured this would be the most appropriate topic to drop it all in, and hopefully set the record straight for proper reference. I have never seen nor heard of #2, so if anyone has a pic or parts breakdown, please post it. I grabbed one image of kit number 31741's contents, but the topper roof is not pictured (or maybe I'm not seeing it) and the rear wall section for the slide-in camper is present. Here's the best content image I could find for kit #31741: I see the front, rear, left, and right side walls for the topper, as well as the rear wall (with the hinged door) for the slide-in camper, but no topper roof piece. Comparing it to the layout of the parts in the current Gear Hustler reissue, I can now see the rear slide-in camper wall in the image above is not attached to the same runners, but I still don't see the topper roof piece. At this point, I'm going to assume the above contents are not as they were from the factory, and hope to find a better image showing the parts from the RC2 era reissues in untouched condition. I received the below slide-in camper parts from Dr. Kerry, so they must be from one of the Ertl or RC2 era reissues, being molded in that lovely taupe-grey plastic: Here are the current Gear Hustler topper parts, courtesy of an eBay listing:

Not sure of it has been mentioned here or anywhere in or on either the AMT '59 or '65 El Camino boxes who the manufacturer of the larger, slide-in camper was in the real world, but I stumbled upon this image and it sure looks much the same, save for the 'quilted' siding:

Looking back at previous issues of AMT's '65 El Camino kit, which kits contain which of the two types of camper? 1) The original issue, kit number 8735, contains the larger, slide-in camper, prominently featured on the box top: 2) AMT (kit number unknown) with the black border, includes the slide-in style camper: 3) AMT T 268, with no black border, includes the slide-in camper: 4) The AMT/Ertl Buyer's Choice reissue from 1996, kit number 6062, includes the slide-in camper: 5) The 'Street Rods' series kit, number T 250, includes the smaller, topper style shell: 6) The 'Countdown' series kit, number 2703, includes the smaller, topper style shell: 7) AMT/Ertl number 6507 includes the smaller, topper style shell: 8) The RC2 era AMT/Ertl reissue, kit number 31741, includes the smaller, topper style shell: 9) The AMT #38112 reissue in the 'Checkerboard' style box includes the smaller, topper style shell:

An SMP "Assembly and Customizing Kit" instruction sheet, which appears to show a '58 GM convertible...: ....and on the last page of the same instruction sheet, this address for Aluminum Model Toys:

Were the left and right frame halves the only two parts included with the AMT S-722 '62 Chevy Impala kit? I would guess the kickstand was included, too?: Scan of the AMT '62 T-bird HT's relevant instruction sheet page:

That particular John is with Round2. Good to hear some (Ed Sexton, perhaps?) of the former Revell employees are still in the loop, so to speak.

That's still your best option, IMO. Sometimes you have to pay more, and this is one of those cases, plus, you can always sell the balance of the JO-HAN parts which you don't use. I don't think the Oval track Racer version of the JO-HAN '69 Road Runner is all that crazy expensive yet, is it? Last time I saw a few they were around $50 each or so.

The below image shows the yellow-to-bronze paint color fade at the bottom of the body shell, and I think we all have an extra AMT Ford C-series flatbed kit in the stash, right?: That's interesting:

Missed it.

On the real car, there's a kink/bend/corner where the section along the roof transitions into the rear quarter window opening's edge. On the AMT model, that transition is a nice, smooth arc, with no kink nor bend to it: Ironically, the new box art drawing seems to show the upper corner with a proper kink.

One or two places have this listed as a September or October release, so 4th quarter of 2018 or so.

Very soon, actually. Septebmer or October-ish.

Same for the Westcraft boat from the same (and only) kit. I would guess that a full view of both the '64 and the first '65 El Camino kits' parts laid out might help determine why things changed between the two releases. Maybe with the addition of the slide-in camper, the boat and I6 engine parts were removed? Was the same Chevy I6 used in another kit, such as the AMT '62 Chevy II Wagon kit, maybe?

Not nitromethane?

Thanks, Mark. I figured John specifically mentioned those three together for a reason.