ZTony8

No, it's not just you. I, too, prefer something I can hold in my glue encrusted hands. I'm glad I have my back issue stash of Model Cars, Car Modeler, SAE, and Car Model magazines.

Hmmm, I don't see the car in the race.

We do have plans to open up the model display area but we will lose a few vendor tables doing that. Not to worry, less than ten tables.

The only knock on this kit, for me, is the oversized tail lights.

A LHS has a January clearance every year so today I picked up a Tamiya Miata( the latest version), A Tamiya Skyline 2000, an Italeri Escort rally car , and the AMT Piranha drag car.

With that tall sidewall they look a lot like the rear tires for the AMT Watson roadster Indy car( Parnelli Jones/ J.C. Agajanian "Calhoun" #98). Repurposed, perhaps?

I remember being impressed at how well everything fit and worked when I built my original ERTL issue 4070A. Glad to see it back and hope it goes together as well as the first issue.

My grail, and the only old kit for which I would probably open my wallet wide, is the AMT '62 Buick Special station wagon. I messed it up badly as an 8 year old and I want to atone for it. I have a built-up that I obtained a few years ago but I really want a complete kit. My more modern grail is the Beemax Brabham BT-52.

Hands down the worst kit I ever built was the 1/8 scale Testor / Pocher Ferrari Testarossa. You know you're in trouble when, on the first page of the instructions, it says that " certain design economies have been taken". They weren't lying. The paint on the doors didn't match the rest of the body and the screws that attached the suspension pieces stripped as soon as you tried to tighten them. I did finish the build but I don't ever try to move the model as things will fall off if I try that.

Cool photo! I think I want to build that truck. That dealership is still there. I worked there for a short time several years ago. The address on the truck is for what was the truck sales building that was two blocks east of the main dealership building. The photo was taken in front of the main building, now updated to the corporate Chevrolet dealer appearance.

The Tamiya 300ZX kit has a clear hood.

That would be the '67 Fairlane kit.

Could have been the forerunner of the XLR. Yes, the green one DOES look like a Matchbox or Hot Wheels toy.

Yes, the Tamiya thin cement works well. But I only use it to combine unpainted parts. I learned the hard way about it seeping out and ruining the finish on painted parts.

I was at Hobby Lobby today and saw that they are carrying GSI Creos Mr. Surfacer 1000 so I used my coupon and bought it.

The reason for the similarity of the PT Cruiser and the HHR is that they were styled by the same guy,

Tongue firmly planted in cheek, Greg?

I see the problem as evaluating an old tool through current standards. I, like many of us, thought those kits were fine back then. We had nothing else. But through the years of incremental improvements ( and experiencing Tamiya kits)we acclimated to a higher standard of quality. Now many of those old tools seem impossibly crude.

Fish eye is usually caused by a contaminant on the surface. That needs to be eliminated so the best bet is to strip, clean, and recoat.

Your front end treatment is coincidentally very reminiscent of a 71-73 Opel Manta.

I heard from a reliable source that the reuse of JoHan molds was unlikely because their tooling was so different than that of the other model companies. Anyone know about this possibility?

Perhaps the upcoming release of the Chinese kit has stalled the CMA offering?

Nicely done model. The real cars used lousy steel in the bodies and were champion rusters. At the first Buick dealer I worked at one of the mechanics had a '73 Regal with the more formal style roof than John's model. It was a good thing that the Buick had a vinyl top on it as that was the only thing holding the roof panel to the quarter panel! On the later cars the rear bumpers used to rust and fall off of the reinforcement bar. A wood plank was an often seen substitute.

Revell already does the '68 Firebird so for them a dashboard change and a new windshield with vent glass would be needed along with a new body to include the vent window posts, the different front valance and lower front fender, and the elimination of the rear marker lights. I don't believe the '67 Firebirds had the mono leaf rear springs that came on a Camaro so the '68 kit rear springs would be fine.

Since Revell corrected the mistake that now makes the original, wrong, decal sheet rare and worth a lot of money, right??