Casey

• Factory pad-printed Goodyear Polyglas GT Tires

Head over to eBay, where there's always someone selling or parting out the newest kits:

It's hard to tell how well this model was assembled, so without more (or better) pictures, I would assume the worst-- the builder used too much glue, misaligned many of the parts, and it's going to be a labor of love to make the model look good. I would pass on this one based on the A-pillar damage alone, but some people don't mind attempting the repair and all of the finesse work which goes along with it. You will have to decide what it's worth to you, but in my opinion, it's not rare, nor is it very valuable in its current condition. In mint original condition it would bring $200+ easily, but this model is far from mint. I suspect many of the drivetrain, engine, and suspension parts could be scavenged from '67-'70 kits, too, if your plan is to restore it. If you are looking to make some money on it by flipping it, don't pay more than $15.00

The Testors Hobby Shop Only reissues don't appear to have any dates on the packaging nor instruction sheets, but according to a few eBay listings were released in 1997 and 1998. The later Testors boxed (well, at least the Comet Pro Street kit with the dragon decals) reissue was marked "Made in U.S.A." on the outside of the box as well as a 1999 date. Is it possible these ex-JO-HAN molds are at (or near) the molding facility in Kalkaska, MI where a few of the semi-recent Lindberg kits (or at least the 2014 throwback box-reissued LRW) were molded? I want to say the 2014-reissue of the 1/20 MPC HI-Jacker Ford Van was molded in the U.S., too, and presumably at the same location, but not sure if that's accurate. Was 1999 the last time any of the four ex-JO-HAN kits were reissued?

Thanks, Dennis. Is a "Street Rods" sticker included, by chance?

No, it cannot be built stock out of the box.

It was created in late '90s-early '00s, so it's rather fresh in terms of design and age. It's a very nice kit, with good proportions, nice detailing all over, and contains stock big block Chevy exhaust manifolds, too. IMHO, it's the nicest stock 454 BBC done to date, and would be my #1 choice for a BBC donor in 1/25 scale. Here's a look at a partial kit and a close-up of those x-mans:

The Mercury Comet and '70 Olds 442 among those?

That never even crossed my mind as I was thinking (hoping!) about an all-new kit, but considering Moebius purchased the '59 Rambler tooling, it makes sense. Kind of disappointing in a selfish way (for me), though.

I'd rather see a '68 or '69 Javelin, followed by a '70, than any AMX. The 1/20 MPC AMX is easily found, and the JO-HAN '69 is also fairly easy to find, and not all the expensive, either. Moebius could offer '68, '69, and '70 Javelins as separate kits, much like they've done with the recent Ford trucks or previous Hudson Hornets. They could always release a '68-'70 AMX later based on the design for the Javelin, too. If Moebius did release an AMX first and it's done accurately, the engine and suspension bit alone would provide plenty of donor fodder for existing AMC kits. There truly is no good late AMC V8 engine available, and no kit has ever included a detailed trunnion style front suspension, either.

Sorry, being honest here, the texture of the printed media is still very clearly visible on the spokes and the wheel "hoop." If this is the best currently possible printing resolution, it still falls short of a wheel molded in a polished mold, where no texture is visible where it shouldn't be. There is still a ways to go before the price is affordable to the average consumer and the printing resolution is fine enough that anyone with 20/20 vision can no loner see any surface texture on the part. Sincerely, Debbie Downer

The instruction sheet from the AMT T1-757 Trophy Series kit is viewable HERE I'm not sure if this is the original issue or not, but both the A and B stylizing options are shown. The instruction sheet from the later, de-contented AMT 6563 issue of the same kit can be viewed HERE I will try to get some images of the parts from both partial kits taken and posted in the near future.

Review of the modern-era AMT '57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop kit here, too: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/amt-1957-chevy-bel-air-two-door-hardtop/

I think the 1/25 Chevy Rally wheel center caps look a bit oversized for 1/25, but honestly, I've never actually measured them. I suspect they would look right at home on a 1/24 scale build, though. Are you using the Goodyear Rally GT big 'n' little tires on your Quicksilver build?

Since real wheel diameter is measured where the tires sits on the wheel, you will need to account for that on the scale wheel. Measure the actual diameter of the scale wheel, multiply by the scale, then subtract 1" to get the true 1:1 diameter. Also, if the Chevy Rally wheels have trim rings, they will add to the overall diameter, too, since they overlap the 1:1 wheel's lip a bit. The van's wheels are all new, and not copies of the 1/25 '69 Camaro Z/28 kit's wheels. The design/details are different, too. IIRC, the 1/24 Revell Chevy van includes the old Monogram Goodyear GT Radial tires which are 14" diameter tires.

The parts pack wheels Round2 has created are what I would describe as a "self-contained" mini sprue, and not part of a larger sprue containing other parts for a specific kit. Compare any newly created Round2 wheel parts pack to say, the Rat Roaster's wheels, and we see the Revell wheels were never designed to be sold separately. Are you advocating Revell to do what Round2 has done and create an independent, mini-sprue for each new wheel set they design for every kit? Or only a few? If so, which ones? Round2 has the luxury of a small, manageable lineup of automotive kits to work with, and the fact that they have almost no money invested in new kit tooling is factor in their ability to offer these parts packs. They aren't creating any all new kits to go with these parts pack wheels, just inserting the new wheels into re-issued kits, so the Round2 parts packs are all generic wheels, and are not specifically designed to replicate wheels used on a particular vehicle such as the Rat Roaster. Have you considered how many Rat Roaster kits would've had the independent mini-sprue containing just the wheel parts lost during the chrome plating process or during packaging? Is the time and cost of extra design work, manufacturing, packaging, and sales effort going to result in enough profit to justify the investment? Again, I don't have the numbers to say for sure either way, but like Gerry stated above, I have also been told the Revell Parts packs were poor sellers, and Revell is not interested in parts packs, period.

?

Moebius has ten automotive kits in their lineup, none of which can realistically be reissued within the next few years, so they releasing tires sets separately gives them more items to sell. Round2 releases roughly a dozen automotive kits each year, and to their credit, they have created many new tires and parts (injector stacks for one) with the intention of releasing them in Parts Pack form in addition to including the new parts with complete kits. Revell has over 150 automotive kits in their active catalog, so a $13.99 tire set will need to sell twice as many units as a $26.95 complete kit to make it worth their while. Is there enough consumer demand for each person to buy two tires sets for each kit they purchase? Yes, all three companies produce and sell model kits, but they are all very different companies, despite the superficial similarities.

I'll second this technique. It's easier to add a tiny bit of gloss than to remove some, so start with a flat white and add polish, oil, etc. until you reach the desired level of shine or sheen.

Re-send it. John G at Round2 has always been quick to respond to all of my inquiries. Sometimes e-mail gets lost, too, so don't give up. Model King did a special run of the Mack DM-600 kit a few years ago, and now Round2 released it themselves this spring. Stevens International did a special run of the Mack Cruise Liner in 2008, and I bet we will see Round2 reissue it themselves within the next year or so. Ditto for the Autocar, Double Header trailer set, and the Ford C-900 tractor. If these kit have been reissued in the last decade or so, you can bet they are at the storage facility in China, making it easy for the kit to be produced again. I would bet on seeing all of the big truck stuff again from Round2, provided they have it and it's in good condition.

Well, there is a fair amount of design effort put into it, so that's worth something, and from what I see, it looks to be well thought out for a curbside kit. Plus, considering this is probably the only option, you gotta pay to play.

Hmmm. $362.84 for the complete kit in the frosted ultra detail medium. At least it's 1/25 scale, while the Premier kit is reported to be around 1/30-ish scale.

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Looks like it to me:

Perhaps that was wishful thinking on the caster's part. 1000 copies seems to be exaggerated by a factor of ten IMHO.