Casey

Can anybody identify these wheels/wheel covers? Both are Chevrolet, and my guess is the first wheel (first two images) is from an MPC '73 Caprice based on the ugly brown plastic color. The second wheel appears to be a four-slot steel wheel with a poverty cap. Second wheel also has a metal axle mount stub on the backside.

Thanks, Mark, and I have seen ML's on eBay, Steve. I have a lone/single wheel, so I'm just curious where else these might be found.

Box art may not exactly have been Ertl's strength, but they sure knew how to put those powder blue polystyrene pellets to good use. Here's a look inside the '83 reissue of the 1/25 AMT '58 Chevy Impala Coupe kit: http://modelkitreviews.proboards.com/thread/116/25-amt-58-chevy-impala

A peek at what's inside the stock 1/25 AMT '57 Chrysler 300C kit here: http://modelkitreviews.proboards.com/thread/609/25-amt-57-chrysler-300c

Maybe...no idea, honestly. I'm trying to recall if the kit I have which I purchased on ebay was sealed, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

Was the JO-HAN '70 AMC Rebel Machine kit the only kit which included the "The Machine" wheels, like so?

Yes, it is. I found the intake manifold which is plated, too. The Pink Poison box does call out the "chrome plated parts", though.

They appear to be the same ol' solid Monogram Goodyear Tracker AT tires with smoothed sidewalls, correct? I also edited a few of my above posts to correct some misinformation about chrome plated parts. The Pink Poison version DID NOT include any chrome plated parts, but I added an image of the bumpers and grille from my kit in one of the corrected posts. Again, no parts were chromed in any of the Jeep J-series kits. At any rate, nice to see the vintage late '70s/early '80s Wisconsin license plates getting some love on the decal sheet.

*edit*, yes.

Was there a separate, wrap-around piece of "glass" included to build the roadster version?

Just be aware the stock stripe decals have the thin area in white, and are not transparent, so they won't allow the body color to show through.

Roadster?

Because they are already on the '75 kit's decal sheet.

I'm betting they will. It appears only RC2 went the "close enough" route and reissued it with a grille decal containing 1/3 the correct number of holes.

Perfect, thanks, Scott.

Giving this a second thought, it does seem possible, though I wouldn't limit it to only the Chevy parts. Maybe Round2 has crated an "all-new" (as in, copied the old parts, but contained them within an all-new sprue) from the '57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop, 57 Ford Fairlane 500 Hardtop, and '57 Thunderbird kits? Add in a few trophies, display stands/lights, a set of custom wheels, and you've got a new Parts Pack.

Did this ever happen?

Yes, same kits, different packaging. The stock MPC version has been reissued twice within the last eight years or so, and both will have much better decals and tires than the '90s AMT release.

Or maybe this?:

True, but I was assuming Round2 is going to use retro box art as seen in Neil's post above. Not sure if that image is official or not, but it works for me. Maybe Caterpillar wasn't interested in licensing to Round2, period? I mean what do they get out of a reissued model kit of a 1970-ish bulldozer? I doubt that will ever happen. Not sure how the part is positioned in the mold, but I'm not even sure it would be worth the time and effort. I mean, it'd look far better with actual holes versus a decal, but would most buyers care either way? I wouldn't bet against the "Universal Construction" decals being included.

Here's a pretty good look at what to expect via Sean Svendsen's built model of the Model King reissue: http://www.svensworldofwheels.com/KLcougar_2.html

I made a bit more progress last might, opening up the engine case opening and thinning out the edges: I also did some pre-fitting of the gas tank and the support brace for the steering pivot (pitman arm? Not sure what it's called on a snowmobile), and it became clear very quickly that the kit supplied part wasn't going to cut it. Not sure why it was made so narrow, nor why it fully rests on the gas tank(!), but looking at the real sled, it's clear the support brace is wider and is welded with the pan, so I'll have to scratchbuild that part: Not sure how I'm going to pull off the blow-molded plastic tank look, though. Never have been able to get that to look realistic on any washer fluid reservoirs, either.

He means forum member "theboss": http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/profile/2719-theboss/ ...whose birthday is listed as: Birthday12/19/1919