Really cool pair of models. They have held up very well. If you haven't mentioned when you built them I would have thought they were recent builds. I have many fond childhood memories of San Antonio Hobby Shop. My grandparents live in Palo Alto so when my parents took the family to visit my grandparents I also visited San Antonio Hobby. Too bad they closed in December of 2005.
I visit the Hobby Lobby in Morgan Hill about every two months. They usually have the same stuff. I went about two weeks ago and found that their model car section bare and several kits on clearance. I hoping that they are going to get some new inventory. I'll check back in about a month.
The Jimmy Flintstone 1961 Impala 2-door wagon body is a phantom model because Chevy didn't offer an Impala wagon or a 2-door full size wagon in 1961. The top of the line full size Chevy wagon in 1961 is the Nomad followed by the Parkwood and Brookwood. The Impala wagon wasn't offered until 1962.
Too bad it closed. It was one of the best Hobbytowns I have been to. This is the fourth Hobbytown that closed in the south bay in the last 15 years. Last fall a new Hobbytown opened up in Sunnyvale. It is small but well stocked with model car kits and the staff is very friendly. Hopefully they can make it.
I recently ordered a couple of items directly from Jimmy for the first time. The transaction went pretty smooth. I got my stuff a week and a half after ordering online.
The instructions call to use the chrome dropped front axle but there is a non-plated front axle right next to the rear differential half on the parts tree that is not mentioned in the instructions. Revell definitely needs to replace those lame 1980's wheels.
Bought the latest reissue a few weeks ago. Looks like a good kit. There are extra suspension and engine parts not mentioned in the instructions though.
I am hoping to build it similar to a Willys pickup I saw at a Goodguys show a couple of years back.
I made throttle return springs by taking the wire out of an electric motor from a broken VCR and wrapping it around a small diameter drill bit and painting it the color I wanted.