pack rat

Thanks, Snake. I know those old C2 Vettes turn your crank too. Next on my hit list is an AMT '67 roadster, then I'll be done. I have the remains of a T.H.E. Cat, but that doesn't count.

From Sunday's Motor City NNL: A built-up AMT '65 Vette coupe. An easy restoration under that flat red brush paint, and a nice box containing most of the unused parts, missing only the Halibrand mags, slicks and decals. An MPC '65 Vette. Mint, but the decals are toast. An AMT '65 Corvair. Missing a set of optional baby moon-like hubcaps and decals, otherwise mint. I've wanted one of these for quite awhile due to fond memories of the '65 Monza my sister bought new. A Johan '66 Toronado. The body has been painted/stripped, the roof is slightly warped, and an A-pillar is missing. The rest of the kit is mint. It was cheap, and I have a straight '67 body in the stash in case I have to perform some surgery. Finally, an MPC Cuda Super Stocker. I'm a sucker for short-track stockers, and I figured my odds of finding a cheap one again are pretty low, and I wouldn't pay the going rate for a MIB example. I'll have some fun with this one. Now if I could find a cheap Trickle Mustang....

Here's a built-up MPC '73 annual I picked up recently. It looks a bit odd with a Z/28 nameplate engraved on the trunklid, yet there is no rear spoiler. One would assume the spoiler would be standard equipment on the Z/28, but at least one source I checked shows the F/R spoilers as optional in '73.

A big plus re the Lancer; it came equipped with the "Hyperpack" slant six. Note...the intake manifold was missing on this one. I carved a facsimile out of scrap plastic. The wheels/tires and taillights aren't original kit pieces either.

I would assume the hood was changed to the cowl induction-style to match the 1:1 pace car. That is the convertible instruction sheet in blue ink. The date, kit number etc are identical, and there is no change to the "69'"

Here's the Pace Car version from '69.

Just like Steve stated above, unless I'm doing a white or black interior I usually use metallics. If the look is a little too shiny, I'll apply a light coat or two of Testors dullcoat out of the can. On this '68 Camaro I used Testors Nassau Blue lacquer. I'm not sure how accurate it is when compared to the factory color; I was aiming for something that harmonized with the body color. Most of the Testors lacquers dry to a semi-flat finish that doesn't require any top coat.

FYI the brown car I posted above has no trunk vents. I also have a '71 kit with the rub strips, trunk vents etc matching the promo. The box art is identical to the '72s pictured with the exception of the kit number (C114-200)

Yes....and I'm still confused.

Some other bikes from the stash. A Hallmark Keepsake Harley-Davidson Christmas ornament....roughly 1/24 scale, a little toy-like but they might be acceptable depending on how fussy you are. Entex also marketed a line of 1/25 scale bike kits in the late 70's/early 80's era (?). I've never built one, but judging by these two box art pics some looked OK, others not so much.

Here's one of the IXO bikes-a Honda CB750

Looks like a 60 or 61 Falcon kit with a '60 T-Bird interior bucket, but I could be wrong.

Yup. I'm pretty sure every custom piece I used on this build is in the '64 coupe kit.

Yup....beautiful.

An early 60's-era custom Vette inspired by a built-up '64 custom I acquired years ago. I borrowed the hood and Terra-thrust mags from the old kit and did my own version using a partially complete '63 I had on the pile. A pretty simple build; emblems shaved, rear window "split" removed, added taillights; typical mods from when these cars were new. Paint is Tamiya TS-54 light metallic blue with a lavender pearl-tinted clearcoat. An interesting contrast to the over-the-top '70's-era custom I did long ago.

According to an old issue of Collectible Automobile, it was originally a Coronet 500 that the factory hired the A-brothers to modify for the '68 Detroit Auto show to promote the Super Bee. There's no explanation in the article for choosing a ragtop though (?).

And I bet you have a stack of re-issued '63s for parts, right? I need a '65 coupe and a '67 roadster to complete my set (although I have a "THE Cat" '67 in the beater pile).

BTW : There was no such an animal as a Super Bee convertible , in any year . Maybe Dodge was planning to produce one , but cancelled it last minute . Road Runner convertible ? Absolutely ! 1969-1970 . There was ONE '68 Super Bee ragtop; a show car modified by the Alexander Brothers. It was obviously the inspiration for the MPC box art. The kit was trimmed as an R/T and contained basically the same parts as the hardtop, with the addition of a set of lakes pipes similar to the A-brothers car and an extra decal sheet with the Super Bee stripe.

I picked up this restoration candidate pretty cheap a few years ago. The original chrome pieces were missing, but inside the box was a complete chrome tree from a USA Oldies Suburban wagon. The windshield was also MIA. I substituted a windshield from a junk-box '60 DeSoto and had to modify the Suburban rear bumper to the correct non-wagon configuration. I figured the rear bumper mods would be the toughest part of this resto...no such luck. The body had been coated/waxed with something (why??) that was tough to wash off before I could prime it properly. The rear window glass that was included isn't the original kit piece, and doesn't fit 100%, but its better than the one I tried to fabricate with clear sheet plastic. Paint is Testors Mythical Maroon, the closest thing to Plum Red Poly that I had on hand. Yes, the flake is heavy, but I can live with it.

Thanks for posting a pic of this one, Tom. I remember seeing it years ago on the Spotlight board. It's good to see someone preserving these old builds. I can envision some kid having a lot of fun putting this thing together on a kitchen table many years ago.

Beautiful job. Love the upholstery.

Here's a pic of the '23 T parts (minus the stock oil pan). Sorry that it's a little fuzzy. NOTE-This is the vintage '70's-era kit, the pic is not from Round2

The '70 AMT Camaro annual came with the vinyl top, the MPC kit didn't.

Two finished....so far. The Imperial is an original SMP annual, the Dodge is an enhanced X-cel promo. I have an X-cel Chrysler and Desoto, and an original Johan Fury kit waiting on the to-do pile.

I think the gluebomb/survivor definition differs depending on who you're asking. From my own stash....a red/white gluebomb and a black survivor.