Casey

AMT review: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=38697&hl=challenger&fromsearch=1 Bob Downie also provided some insight regarding the Revell kit, especially regarding the fit of the front bumper cover and the mini spoilers, so maybe try a search for his posts.

It will have the silver "Car Show" logo at the upper left on the box top, as well as the "12+", "Skill 3", etc.

That's a later version of, and not the original Bigfoot, so if that kit is complete, it looks like the minibike was no longer included at that point. There are quite a few. Scale Auto did a bike kit history in their Harley/bike themed issue with Willie G Davidson on the cover in the mid-'90s.

Look again, it's not an exact match. The "F" sprue flap is missing, as well as the other sprue flap in the diagonally opposite corner. I think yours is from a later kit. I did see a Bigfoot kit on eBay last night which shows all the parts, so maybe check that one against your blue parts.

Easy Off oven cleaner in the yellow can will remove the aluminum plating in under five minutes, then you leave it immersed for another 24 hours to remove all of the yellowish undercoating. You can get a huge can of it from Home Depot in the cleaning products aisle for $5.00 or so.

I don't think anybody casts one in resin, but the MPC '74 Dodge Van annual kit included a Yamaha 250DT1 dirtbike. The MPC '76 Dodge pickup kit also included the same Yahama dirtbike, as well as an additional Suzuki dirtbike. Looks like it may be the same Yamaha included with the Dodge kits: In addition to the Datsun custom 4x4 pickup kit Jeff posted above, Revell also included dirtbikes with their "Quicksand" and "Mean Mudder" Chevy custom 4x4 van kits: ...as well as the Snap Kit Chevy 4x4.

Are the seven bodies on eBay bodies which Ryan cast?

Interesting. Maybe Antonio or someone else who is a member of the Lay It Low forum knows who made a resin body once before, though I'm not sure these are the same or even related.

Be careful goin' through the 'sippi hole.

Only if they had leftover stock when AM's remaining assets were liquidated, and then only if Revell purchased the leftovers.

The two AM versions are available on eBay regularly from $15.00-$30.00, so I don't see any reason to rush out and pick one of the Revell re-boxed kits up ASAP. These didn't sell that well for AM, and I doubt we will be seeing them selling $50+ per kit in the near future, as there's just not that much demand for them.

Scans from a late '70s issue of Hot Rod magazine:

I think you'd be better off buying an unbuilt, complete kit to be honest. I've looked over the AMT kit and it looked slightly better to me, containing a few more parts.

You'd need a built in step plate on the front hubs to even have a chance of climbing in through the front doors. The Crew Cab is really cool.

It looks horrible, only slightly better than a slush-cast TKM body.

See post #40 on page two: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54496&st=20

This person?: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-24-1-25-scale-BIG-RIG-SLEEPER-INTERIOR-WALL-3-D-CUSHION-APPLIQUE-/310359482195?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4842dddf53#ht_1271wt_1154

See post #4.

This'll get you close. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-1996-Resin-Cadillac-Fleetwood-Big-Body-Model-Car-1-24-Scale-/260991001446?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc446a366#ht_500wt_936

It was probably an OHSA-approved mask you read about. A good quality respirator is a must when working around fumes and airborne particles, regardless if they are from paint, wood, acid, etc. You can get a good quality half-face 3M respirator for about $40, and it'll have replaceable pre-filters and separate charcoal filters, which can be changed when they are "full" so to speak. I use a full face respirator which is closer to $100, but a half-face respirator will work fine.

Love it, and the box appears to be in good nick, too. Actually, I'd prefer to have the box more than the contents, but it is very cool kit which we won't ever see again.

Which engines did what come with? You owned a Yenko 427 Nova and you didn't get Don Yenko's first name correct? The other dealership is Nickey Chevrolet. I think you need to do a lot more research.

Plus, the boots you pictured are not one consistent thickness from end to end, something most of us would be hard pressed to replicate with a single piece of any material, except for maybe some heat shrink tubing.

45 years old or not, it's not a well made kit, IMHO. Opinions will vary with every kit from every time period, but to use the excuse of "it was done xxxx years ago" is a bit of a cop out. There are some great kits from the '60s which still hold up well today (all of Monogram's "Big" 1/8 scale kits, for instance), so I don't why other, lesser quality kits should be given a pass. The last of the MPC kits ('69 Olds 4-4-2, C1500 pickup annuals, etc.) were good kits, and probably MPC's best fitting, best engineered kits, to paraphrase what Chuck said above. Yes, there are kits far worse than what MPC offered, but there are also kits which are far better.

Three-wheeler seem hard to pull off, for whatever reason. Maybe because we're so used to four-wheeled vehicles here in the U.S., we have plenty of room, and there's no tax based on engine displacement. Here's one of the only three wheelers I really liked, the late Ed Roth's Globe Hopper '34 Ford: