Casey

Currently on eBay for a starting bid of $100...not mine, just what appears to be a complete, unstarted 1/25 MPC Pontiac Grand Prix kit, molded in...brown plastic??: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MPC-1970-PONTIAC-GRAND-PRIX-MODEL-CAR-KIT/333847969125

The panic is on! ? I saw one ebay seller offereing them for pre-sale, and they moved 250-ish kits, so no surprise the next two to list them on eBay sold out. I'm sure Round2 planned ahead and made plenty, knowing this kit would sell briskly.

Not sure what specifically you men by "has it" (the "look"?), but I see tunneled and frenched headlights, a peaked and louvered hood, a recessed grill opening, rolled front pan, etc-- all traditional kustom modifications. Not surprising the bodysides would look flatter due to the sectioning. Short of recontouring the entire body side to create an all-new curve in profile and section, I don't see why that's viewed as a "fault", but again, it's all in the beholder's eye. Personally, while I think the stock '49 Mercury body has some wonderful, beautiful details, the side-by-side images above and Dan's stock bodied version show just how plump and bulbous the stock body appears. While it has good proportions, elongating the body, thinning the mid-section, and lowering the roof all create a sleeker, more flowing look, which is pretty much the goal for most people building a kustom, regardless of scale. Anything which can help that bulging trunk edge is an improvement, too, in my eye, so while we can agree to disagree about why Revell chose to create a body shell with pre-tunneled and extended headlight housings, etc., it can never be wrong. No one person decides what's correct for a one-off kustom, someone else's vision of what something should be. As for the Caddy sombrero wheel covers, I will agree, they don't quite look correct, but again, are they supposed to be 100% factory replicas of the Cadillac wheel covers? I would think so, as that was a very popular kustom mod back in the day. I realize tastes are varied and specific, but I feel this kit is very underrated considering how many heavy modifications it has right out of the box. It's like the designer decided to make step 13 of a '60s era AMT Customizing Series kit the starting point for this kit, getting all of the difficult, build-killing work out of the way and thus increasing the chances of a successful build exponentially. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea as it comes, but there's always the AMT kit if you want to start from scratch. I see so many pre-existing mods on this body which people here are always asking how to preform (How do I make accurate scale louvers?, etc.), and while I'm all for people taking the initiative to learn how to do things themselves, I also see the value in something which offers the vast majority of kustom builders a greater chance for reaching the completed model phase, which ultimately means success. While that could be fodder for another topic entirely (and probably has been here), I think we tend to have a bit of a 'sink or swim' mentality at times, and I get the feeling Revell took a leap of faith to appeal to some of those builders who may have tried to build a radical kustom previously, failed, and gave up building. Perhaps they knew more than we do, and had the market research to back it up, hence why this kit was designed the way it was.

While the engine is offset to the right side and the right framerail offset more than the left, the upper control arms in the AMT Chevy van kits are of equal length, so they could be used: The 1/24 Monogram Chevy van front suspension can only be installed one way-- I recall that from doing it incorrectly years ago. I can't recall if the L&R upper control arms are different lengths or not, but I want to say they are. I would also suggest using the '64-'66 Revell Chevy C-series pickup kit's 2WD front suspension. Here are the lower crossmember, anti-sway bar, and LCAs from the Revell '64 Fleetside: No idea which is more correct, through...

Correct. Looks like the part from the Monogram '92 Mustang GT Convertible:

Got these in a trade with mikemodeler. ? Thanks again, Mike.

You dirty scoundrel! No wonder I keep getting outbid!! I think I was specifically hoping they were 4-lug, not 5-lug, but I'll still keep my eyes peeled for some. Thanks for the confirmation.

I realize people like Rex are into these cars way beyond what most of us are, so I understand his passion. I just don't see the goal in pointing out an incorrect, separately molded exhaust system when the basic chassis/unibody is so horribly designed and outdated. Everyone has their limits, and we all have to decide what's acceptable to each of us, based upon those limits and preferences. We all knew Round2 was only going to make small changes/improvements, hence my use of both lipstick and pig emojis, so while they end result might be disappointing to some, it wasn't realistic to expect much more IMHO. Now I'm not going to suggest we all have blind faith that Revell is going to absolutely nail their all-new, forthcoming '71 Mustang kit, but it HAS to be better than ether the existing MPC or AMT offerings. Even if people wait for it, then end up disappointed, you still have the AMT and MPC kits to fall back on. That's probably the best option, but, for most of us enthusiasts, not an ideal option.

Understood. Did you see this reply?: '67 or '68 MPC Firebird hoods should fit, as Mark mentioned above, so if Jack is offering one, you should definitely take him up on his offer.

AMT '49 Ford Coupe - Trophy Series: AMT '49 Mercury - Trophy Series:

If the presence of rounded and lack of oval mufflers are the worst thing you see in this group of parts, I have no further words for you: There is not a single separate front suspension piece. NOT ONE. And this is not even a promo style chassis. ? ?

Short comings compared to what? All of those bullet points, on their own, are simply design choices. As you said, Revell created the kit to allow people to build a radical custom right out of the box. The optional bumper, grilles, tail light treatments, etc. are pretty much step-for-step what AMT included in their '60 Customizing/Trophy Series kits, but Revell decided to skip the '60s kitsch and keep it classy-- not surprising considering the target builder has largely outgrown the gimmcky stuffed animals, garish wheel covers, and tacky customizing suggestions. I'm not sure it's even a good idea to compare this kit to any other, as it's a custom pure and simple, one company's idea of what this particular car should be. Are the bodysides to flat compared to an original '49 Mercury? If so, okay, but again, its a custom, so it can be one of a kind. The grille opening is peaked, as is the hood, and the grilles which match. The lack of interior door latch releases is a bot odd, that I will agree, but they could be solenoid activated, hidden latches, with hidden release buttons/switches. too. Not unheard of for a custom builder to hide all of that stuff out of sight. As for the one-piece windshield and rear window, I think most would consider that an upgrade over the two-piece parts, and in the looks department. As Harry used to say, it's art. It's neither good nor bad. You can love it, hate it, or anything in between, but it's someone's vision of what they wanted something to look like, and it doesn't need to be compared to anything else. Somewhat ironically, I just acquired this kit and tooks tons of pics of the contents, and I came away impressed. It's still a bit surprising Revell created an all-new radical custom, but considering how popular the 1:1 car is in the kustom world, maybe not so much. If you're building a chopped '49 Merc with this specific roof height, it's almost impossible not to start with this kit. How many radical top chop projects were abandoned when the builder couldn't see all the splicing, cutting, trimming and sanding through to the end? How many AMT '49 Mercs were poorly built and hastily finished because the builder didn't have the necessary customizing skills to do it properly? I guess I just see this kit as providing an out-of-the-box subject of a very popular custom with the most difficult customizing step already completed, thus, greatly increasing the chance for the model to be completed.

It's an error on the instruction sheet. There is only one rearend assembly.

Or, Red Baron maltese crosses:

The bottom, along with the decal sheet, inserts, flyers, etc.

It's the first topic that comes up using the exact search I suggested, six posts in:

Alternatively, try using a woven fabric tape such as this, then apply flat paint and drybrushing techniques for a worn and weathered look. Easier on a flat bench seat or door panel, but could be made to work for an older style headliner, too.

The AMT '23 T roadster was reissued in 2019, the coupe (closed body) in 2020. Here's Chris/hpiguy's review of the Roadster from 2019:

Use your post title with this, and the answer will be found:

?

Beautiful workmanship.

It's going to ne very difficult to replicate the molding, due to the recessed area, but for the basic shape, see here: You could create the molding with multiple pieces, spacing them properly as you adhere each piece to the body shell, but that recessed area might be too small in 1/25 scale to bother with, too.

Keep your eyes peeled on eBay, Mark. There are always people parting out original kits.

No, the most recent issue, with the red, snokel hood-scooped car on the box top, includes nothing but stock tires, presumably the same 14" Firestone skinnies which have always been included. I'm not even sure Round has an era-appropriate narrow slick which they could include, other than the M&H slicks included in the Grumpy's Toy version, but those are very small, and I don't recall seeing them in any other AMT nor MPC kits?: The slicks look like someone used a generic lettering stencil to add the "Racemaster" name to the sidewalls, so, yeah, not great looking. I'm presuming the rear wheel tubs are too small and narrow to fit any wider slicks, and they also need to fit the included wheels, too, so maybe Round2's hands are tied in that regard. I took some pics of the Grumpy Jenkins version, which can be viewed here: https://modelkitreviews.proboards.com/thread/1540/amt-1966-chevrolet-nova-grumpys ...but wanted to add that it appears there is an increasing amount of flash on the parts, so maybe something to keep an eye one if you pick up the current release.