Casey

There was a resin Corvair Rampside pickup on eBay which just ended, and judging by the cast-in date (2000), I'm going to guess www.corvairmodels.com is no longer producing this kit:

No, at least not with the qualifier/comparison to '90s "Mueller era" AMT kits added. MPC effectively ended as an independent company in 1988 or so, when the company was purchased by Ertl, which also owned AMT. I believe the final new, from-scratch kit was the 1/25 '69 Olds Cutlass kit, both in 442 and Hurst/Olds versions. Any MPC-branded kit released after 1988 is a reissue of an older kit.

It does have the same (or very, very close to the same) wheels as those last seen in the '88(?) reissue of the AMT '53 Starliner. Pics here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/97003-reissue-of-warren-topes-73-trans-am-mustang/?do=findComment&comment=1362759

I think they're just over an inch wide, and are from MPC kits, but may have been included in some AMT kits, too. I want to say the dirt modified kits included them, but not 100% sure on that. Let me see if I have a complete set, and if I do I will send them out to you.

Something like these?

I would guess hinged in the middle, with some short tire up front, hidden under the tub on top of which the driver and passenger sit.

I think so. I see no "driver" controls at all, and the rear half of the vehicle appears to be completely sealed up with a dummy engine.

Le Mans is a city in France. This car was purely a design study and show car, having no relation to the annual Le Mans 24 hour race.

You were the first person who came to mind when I saw this, Lee. I don't want to the the "outside-the-box" cliche, so I won't, but somehow he made the transition from fantasy to drivable vehicle. I'm not really even sure how to describe it.

I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like this, and the design still looks futuristic today. Stunning. http://www.carscoops.com/2011/01/ebay-find-luigi-colanis-1970.html

Ha-ha, no, this came from eBay. Just lots of parts from there.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/92877-moebius-65-mercury-comet-cyclone-news/?do=findComment&comment=1529288

It was just over a year ago: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/51736-lindbergs-64-plymouth-lawman/?do=findComment&comment=1512379

Round2 seems to be doing just fine releasing a wacky show rod or two per year, and if one can't understand the need for product diversity, well... Oh, the irony.

Thanks for the help.

If anyone can identify which kits these parts belong to, chime in, please: 1) 2) 3) 4) Top might be '68-9 Barracuda custom grille/headlight?

It's due before the end of the year according to the last date I saw.

Buyer beware if you decide to go that route...:http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/63604-don-loomis-plug-for-a-honest-resin-caster/?do=findComment&comment=818997 I contacted Round2 a year or so ago and asked if it was possible to include the turbine engine, or if the insert(?) still existed, and I did get a reply back from John G that if it was possible to add the turbine engine back into the kit for the next reissue, they would definitely consider doing that. It's been five years since the Chevy Titan was reissued, so it wouldn't hurt for others to e-mail Round2 and let them know the demand for the turbine engine is still there: info@round2models.com

I heard some (semi) specifics regarding a particular mid-'60s MPC body which still exists, and possibly pairing that body with another company's modern Super Stock underpinnings...things could be very interesting in the next year or two.

Lied to by...Round2, who didn't even own the rights to Lindberg anything in 2009? Check out the topic dedicatd to the Lindebrg Lawman kit here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/51736-lindbergs-64-plymouth-lawman/?page=4 ...and send Round2 an e-mail and ask them about the kit's status. They're always more then happy to provide information when possible: info@round2models.com

Mike (the post above yours) builds the box art models for Round2, so what you see above is what you'll see on and in the box. It's a better kit than I had previously believed, as I recently got my hands on the '80s, molded-in-yellow, Lesney-era kit and was surprised to find separately molded exhaust, etc. I still think it's best to build this one as a convertible, as to my knowledge (and if I'm interpreting Mike's comment above correctly) the kit still includes a separate hardtop roof panel which you must glue to the convertible body. Not exactly ideal, but there really is no other game in town unless you find an original MPC body.

The 1/25 AMT '39 Wagon Rod kit has possibly the most modern street rid suspension, with a full Art Morrison frame. IIRC the rear suspension is an air ride type, but it might be another option for the front suspension.

The late '80s issue of the '53 Starliner is hit and miss as far as finding four good Minilite wheels is concerned. All four wheels in the kit I acquired were poor at best, suffering from either multiple sink marks, out-of-round wheel lips, or both. The Minilites in the AMT Warren Tope Mustang kit should be much nicer, and you can probably find a set on eBay from and older issue of the Mustang kit, too. They are not as deep as the '53 Stude's wheels, though they also lack the huge centercaps found on the Stude's wheels, too.