Casey

If you make the dump bed out of brass, the melted solder will do a pretty good job of looking like a fully welded joint in 1/25 scale, and you could use clamps to hold everything until it's square and ready to be soldered.

There are at least two styles of Moon tank brackets I've seen, and other aftermarket brands, including the brackets which do not wrap fully around the tank and use the springs to retain the tank, like so. Easier to make, but you need to source the springs and clear tubing to wrap them, too:

Firestone slicks have been included inside some recent AMT reissues, like the "Gasman" '49 Ford Coupe: Start here:

Just bring this handy certificate down to your local Ford dealer after Mr. Peabody dials the WABAC machine to 1960:

Found a pic of a '46 Chevy 1.5 ton truck, showing the frame rails a little better, though his truck appears to have an aftermarket tilt/flatbed added, so who knows what's been changed:

They're easy to turn on a lathe. It's the brackets which are much more time consuming, and challenging, to make. Those tank mounting brackets are way too thick to be anywhere close to realistic. Not sure why Detail Master or the above have a huge ring in the center or the tank, either? Stepped down ends are good, and the specs and images are available online easily, so why not try to get close to the real thing?: The center weld bead is not going to be easy, but maybe with Archer weld bead decals: http://www.archertransfers.com/AR88005.html Photeteched brackets, or making your own out of metal is ideal, as the real brackets are cast aluminum, with a simple piece of black rubber tubing to allow for a snug fit around the stepped down end of the tanks:

I whittled away at the top edge of the firewall so it would conform to the shape of the new top edge, but I have a little more work to do until the fit is just right. I still need to make something on the back/underside where the two pieces meet so they can be permanently, and neatly joined. I also worked on the '57 150 Utility Sedan interior door and quarter panel pieces, shortening them a bit and re-contouring the upper edge a bit to match the AMT body. I still need to integrate the narrower AMT Bel Air dashboard, but I may end up replacing it with the Revell '55 dash if necessary. After test fitting both, it looks like the AMT Sedan windshield and rear window will play nicely with the Revell '57 interior parts, but they are a bit on the thick side. The Revell '57 Sedan windshield and rear window may be substituted and new rear quarter windows made, or I'll thin down the AMT pieces a bit...TBD.

Thanks, all. Mysteries solved.

*Not from the original issue*

Thanks, Don. Here's the long side showing the wheels...with lug nuts.

The tank in your image looks like the Moon 2 gallon tank?: I've only ever seen the 3.5 gallon style in aluminum from Detail Master, part number #3003, but I'm sure others have made them. Parts by Parks or Machined Aluminum Specialties, maybe?

I think whatever is left of both is a bit of a hot mess of sorts. Chris put together a nice history of both the AMT and MPC '67-'72 GM pickups a few years ago:

It looks like MPC didn't even chrome plate those parts the last time around:

I asked Round2 about doing just that after I posted this, and it sounds like it will eventually be released on its own:

Monogram only made the '70 GTX, and the 2'n'1 versions if that kit contained two hoods, both with holes in them. The Air Grabber hood can be filled in easily with the Air Grabber "closed" scoop piece and made into a standard hood. I have a Monogram '70 GTX Air Grabber (not the street machine hood for use with the tunnel ram intake setup) hood, but no filler/"closed" scoop piece for it. You can make it out of a piece of styrene, though-- not too difficult. Here's the hood I have, followed by an image of a '70 GTX with the scoop closed:

Good idea. I am fully behind a stand-alone vintage cement mixer to (ideally) be used with AMT's early '70s tractor kits. I think it would be closer to $25-$30 retail, but that's probably not a huge deterrent to big truck builders. The AMT Ford LN-series truck has been outfitted four ways (tractor, cargo box/delivery, ramp truck, and dump bed/plow), the Ford C-600/800 a few ways (tractor, cargo box/delivery, flatbed), so I think it would make a lot of sense.

I think they (they being previous owners Ertl and/or Racing Champions/TOMY) only sent to China what they knew would be ready to use, so I suspect there were still molds in the warehouse in Dyersville, IA. Not sure if they have/had a molding machine in that building or not (maybe Mike Wherry, Art Anderson or Dave Darby know?), but I would guess whatever Round2 acquired in the purchase of the AMT/MPC assets needed to be moved to their Indiana location, regardless of whether they knew exactly what everything was or not. The AMT Customizing 3'n1 Boat kit was produced in Mexico and reissued in 1996, then Round2 reissued it again in 2017, but it had the "Made in the USA" sticker on it, so was it produced at the same facility in Kalkaska, MI where many of the Lindberg kits are/were, or elsewhere? Not sure, but it's one example of a kit which seems to have never left North America. I wouldn't put this '67-'72 Chevy C-series mold under the "log lost" category, as the Cooter's Tow Truck kit was last out in 1981, but if it was unlabeled as of 2018, I'm sure there are others to be discovered in a similar state.

Please swap the two front tires side to side so the tread is going the other direction. Great idea to use the Slant Six here. I've always like the Lindberg engine and it's fairly well detailed right out of the box, but as you've shown, really comes alive with updates and modifications.

Chop that top a proportionate amount.

True. Round2 mentioned the top one was unlabeled, and I'm assuming the bottom mold is older and it's clearly smaller, so who knows what it is. It does appear that this image was taken at Round2's warehouse in Indiana, as you can see the orange/red pallet racks and a few Meyers Manx kits on the shelf, same as we see in Chad's monthly release videos. Good to see Round2 is at least still interested in seeing what else they have and what condition it's in.

My go to kit for a Cadillac V8 engine, and they're cheap, too. Always good when you're planning to part a kit out. Hmmm, is this the same basic engine as in the AMT '70 Monte Carlo kit? I don't think I've ever seen close-up pics of the BBC from this kit, but if anybody has some they'd care to share, I would appreciate seeing them. I second this. I mean, it's two kits for the price of one. Easy decision.

Now I'm curious what the bottom mold on the pallet is...clearly the AMT '60 Chevy Wagon Craftsman kit.

Round2 already has a few parts pack style decal sheets available, but nothing drag specific...yet. I hope they release a drag specific sheet, as some of their kit sheets ('56 Ford Victoria for one) are excellent, with many vintage speed equipment logos, all crisp and well-registered, unlike many vintage decal sheets:

Thanks, Bill. I will probably find and use one from the Revell kits and see how far I want to go with it.