Art Anderson

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By the time this sort of Landrover came into being, such larger SUV's were already migrating from the back roads of the 3rd World to become status symbols for higher income individuals, both in the UK, and here in the US. That camo was pretty much decorative, rather than functional.

True, but also consider that the toolmakers of those days used a 3-dimensional pantograph (3 axis) which could be adjusted to reduce the size of the tooling cavities to whatever final scale that was wanted. Today, of course, it's even easier, as tooling mockups for model car kits are almost always done to the same scale as the production model kit will be (certainly if 1/25, as 1mm is very minutely smaller than .040", so minute as to be pretty much invisible to the naked eye for the vast majority of us). The reason for model companies having used tooling mockups that were many times larger than the scale of the finished kit was pretty simple: Until the advent of computer-aided design and machining CAD/CAM, and certainly the advent of 3D printing, all model kit mastering was carved and/or shaped by hand, out of wood by master pattern-makers, and some parts, notably wheels and tires were mastered in the same larger scale by machining. It just happened that if one were mastering a model to be produced in 1/25 scale, such hand-carved and machined mastering was far easier if a simple multiple of the desired scale model kit was used. The same principle applied to such as 1/24, 1/18, 1/20 and so on and so forth.

It would be a major project, as Cadillac used the GM "C-body, which was physically larger than the bodies used by Oldsmobile. Revell's 50 Olds 88 Coupe correctly represents the smaller series Oldsmobile of that model year, which was built around GM's A-body, which both Chevrolet and Pontiac used, Oldsmobile on their less-expensive 88 series. Art

Actually, 1/25 scale came about here in the US due to the ease of scaling down: 1" in 1/25 scale is exactly .040". which incidently is within the split whisker of a gnat as well. It's also a fairly common (or was) engineering and architectural scale. Art

Yes, and in addition, the cowling was made even shorter, front to rear, which makes conversion with any of the other Monogram 1/24 scale Model A kits a bit difficult. I've not tried it yet, but I suspect that adding a correct cowling (from the A-pillar forward to the firewall) from either the coupe or phaeton would do the job, but that's just pure speculation on my part. Art

Hobby Lobby, as with most all "mass retailers", generally doesn't take on new products immediately upon their release, but rather uses a "Store Re-Set" pattern--I believe in HL's case, 4 times per year. In short, their plastic model kit assortment was "set" for this quarter of the year, way last summer. They'll sell through the majority (or they sure hope so) by Christmas, and then very soon afterward, will do a new "reset" and stock up with newly available product at that time. This is all due to HL's being very highly seasonal in their main business, which is crafts and home decor--their plastic model department being a very small part of their very large stores. Art

This one was kitted in early 1978--when AMT Corporation was beginning to slide into oblivion, and was done as a political joke--a poke if you will, at then-President Jimmy Carter. It's right out of the same era (and almost simultaneously with Revell's "Billy Carter's Pickup" (which unfortunately didn't have a scale case of "Billy Carter Beer" (anyone remember those days?). It's hard to believe (now or then) that as late as 1976, AMT Corporation reported over $100 Million in sales (I have that Annual Report to Stockholders from back then, stashed away somewhere), but an awful lot of that was from industrial plastic molding they were doing, for any and all comers (still remember seeing pallets of unsold faux window shutter trim they were about to grind up for recycling into model car kits after the mobile home mfr they'd molded them for went belly up). By the mid-70's, all the US model companies, save for Monogram, were on the skids to some extent or another. The youngest of the Boomer Generation were reaching their teens and abandoning model kits for the real thing, older Boomers were trying to get established, and those of us who were born during WW-II were dealing with marriages, young families, careers and mortgage payments. On the other side of the deck of cards, "consumerism" (fostered by Ralph Nader and his "Raiders") were everywhere. The "stars" of the plastic model kit industry were no longer the model car manufacturers--but those companies who made successful steps into the world of military model kits (even AMT tried to break into that market with a series of 1/48 scale aircraft kits). Within 18 months after "The Quarter Mile Smile", AMT Corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy, when Lesney, the maker of Matchbox Toys stepped in to buy them out--but even that went for naught by early 1982, when Lesney filed for Bankruptcy liquidation, Revell (after the passing of both the founders of that company) had passed away) into the French toymaker CEJI, Hawk and IMC's model kit lines were acquired by the Testor Corporation, Aurora had closed and liquidated (Monogram bought their tooling, wound up scrapping much of it for the very valuable alloy that Aurora used, "Beryllium Copper", in order to raise cash in late 1981 to save that company from bankruptcy. MPC was, by then, a subsidiary of a subsidiary of General Mills, "Fundimensions". It was not a fun time, certainly not optimistic, for the US plastic model kit industry, nor for that matter, many of us who'd been building models (particularly model cars) for 2-3 decades. Art

Talk about taking a "Sow's Ear" and making a "Silk Purse" out of it! Ishmael, this one is turning out great! Art

Jeez, and all these past nearly 60 years, I've been using a Paasche H, and before that, a Binks Wren. Hmmmmm! Art

In Purdue University's Young Hall (where I work), there is an entire lab (part of the School of Technology & Leadership), that has several 3D printers. One night, a couple of weeks ago, I had a lot of fun watching their smallest 3D printer, happily working away. Whatever it was printing was small (less than the size of a 1/25 scale pickup cab), and an incredibly detailed subject (whatever it was). A couple of nights after that, it had a finished object still on it's table, this time, looking very much like a steam-fitting coupling. This one was done in red, so it was easy to see just how fine a "resolution" it could do--I estimate the layers as being no more than .015", which would be great for model car work--very little in the way of surface prep would be needed, if it can print in at least, ABS. I'm seriously thinking of seeing if I can make a connection with the professor or professors in charge of this--to see if a student might be interested in doing a model part or two, as a project for grades. This could be interesting, indeed. Art

That "texture" you mention happened when the factory forgot to "polish" the tooling, after it had been approved for production, the grainy look being due to the electo-discharge milling (removal of bits of steel by a minute electrical arc, operating in a tank of oil. That process results in a dull, finely grained texture not at all unlike fine sandblasting. Your kit comes from that very first production run of the kit--Dave Metzner made very certain that the factory understood that molds are to be polished before being placed into production--subsequent production runs of this version, as well as all other versions of this kit are from polished tooling. The texturing is quite fine, and does disappear with a good paintjob. Art

Testors enamels "dry" to the touch fairly quickly, but they do take a long time to fully cure out hard. To speed up the drying/curing time, I use an Oster food dehydrator that I bought back in 2010. It will cure out Testors paintwork in about 2-3 hours or so, to "chipping" hard. Art

Ellen, I have no idea who might have one for sale or trade. IIRC, RC2's production run of that diecast assortment (open stock of each model was NOT available) was only about 12,000 units, and virtually all of the assortments went to the likes of Walmart and/Toys R Us in the summer of 2005. To the best of my knowledge, no more were produced after that. I've seen them at model car swap meets in the years since, but only rarely. Art

The Ertl Bantam Delivery IS 1/22 scale, folks! Now, before anyone gets up in arms, this subject is so small in real life, and so dissimilar to anything most of us build, the scale difference (22nd to 24th) that it's not noticeable. I was the one who brought this diecast to the ordinary retail market back in 2004. as part of a series of 1/24 scale Coca-Cola diecast miniatures. That series of larger scale Johnny Lightning diecasts was in development when Tom Lowe (now owner of Round2) sold Playing Mantis (think Johnny Lightning and Polar Lights model kits--both were product lines done by Playing Mantis, for whom I was in product development, which short career spanned the changeover. It was at the suggestion of my new bosses from RC2 that I hook up with their Racing Champions Ertl Division, and seek out potential subjects for the then-developing line of larger scale Coca-Cola branded vehicles. Most may be unaware, but Ertl did a second version of this Bantam, that being the closed cab pickup. The pickup has never been sold (to my knowledge) through regular retail channels, but was always a "Collectible" diecast model, done in special runs as advertising items, and mail order collectlbles, the JL Bantam Sedan Delivery in Coca-Cola livery having been the first (and I believe only) time that model was ever sold in retail stores. They do crop up on eBay from time to time, and I've seen them on occasion at model car shows & swap meets. Art

The brightest white paint I have ever seen is what is called "Refrigerator White" or "Appliance White". That shade of white spray paint used to be widely available, may still be (even though the current rage for kitchen appliances is now brushed stainless steel). You might try a regular (say such as Sherwin Williams0 paint store if you have one near you, Art

Walgreen's and CVS both sell zip-lock plastic bags about that size--for placing toiletries in, for air travel. Art

Except that food coloring issn't stable. It tends to fade over time. Art

Trouble is, with only perhaps half a dozen exceptions subject wise, most modelers tend to consider a 4dr as being 2 doors too many. Art

Had Ford engineers thought to include an "X" crossmember to the frame, the Unibody would have been just fine. Consider that the Unibody structure resulted in a body structure that was at least as twisty as a convertible body shell. Art

"Stripewalls", even narrow whitewalls, were a couple of years in the future, in 1961. I was there, as a teenager, so I remember those days very well. Art

Tim, you mean like this? I did this stock '27 T Tudor Sedan back in 2001, using the AMT '27 Touring for everything below and in front of the body. The only puttywork on the body was the cowling, as the Buttera kit was of a car on which the fairly thick "hood shelves" were omitted, making a stock hood on a stock fender unit from AMT fit about 1/32" too high.

Not to mention that Sharpie Black tends to fade out, to a brown, over time. The more exposure to light, the faster it fades. Art

Easily fixed, I think: Just add a tad of Stoplight Red to the too-yellow Turn Signal Amber. If you remember your colors, red and yellow when mixed together, make orange. Art

Actually, the funny part of this idea is: The very first "sell sheet" from AMT Corporation, in late 1963, for their then upcoming '27 T 3 in One Trophy Series kit showed not the touring car that was kitted, but a ROADSTER! Art