pack rat

Absolutely correct. One thing "our herd" doesn't realize is the fact that we are a relatively small portion of the market. There are a bunch of model buyers out there who don't know the history of the kits, don't subscribe to modeling mags, don't know these message boards exist etc etc. Yes...hard to believe, but it's true. If they buy a kit and are disappointed, they may complain to the Michaels/Hobby Lobby folks....the same folks the manufacturers hope will be receptive when they're deciding which kits they want to bring to market....this includes any $$$ that has to be spent to make an old tool production-ready. And I'm 99% certain the '72 GMC Stepside tool isn't just sitting in a corner somewhere in pristine condition.

Before you get too upset with FCA/Chrysler re licensing issues....the '71 Demon episode had nothing to do with licensing (nor is the lack of a '71 Road Runner reissue). Just another case of someone who heard a rumor/speculation from someone who heard it from someone else....then it winds up on the internet, where everything is irrefutably true.

I concur with Snake's original suggestion; the AMT/Ertl '67 would be my first choice, followed by the Revell '68. My personal favorites are the original AMT 67/68 annuals, but you won't be tripping over one of those at you local LHS. The tooling was altered into the '68 Shelby GT500; variations of the Shelby are readily available out there. It's not perfect, but I kinda like it. Note...if you are considering the AMT '68 Shelby, be advised that the Round2 release with the lime gold built-up on the box only contains stock parts. The earlier Ertl releases contain a lot of optional parts from the good old days.

I stand corrected. Funny thing is, I recently acquired a first-issue 56/57 kit and never bothered to check. Sure enough, the wheel openings are identical to my Great Street Machines kit. I also checked a 90's-issue flip nose '57; they're even bigger on that one.

Exactly; those headlights just kill it. And those headlight bezels are a pain to foil on ANY 70-73 Camaro kit.

Now that we've veered off-topic a bit in the direction of AMT vs MPC annuals...some pics of the AMT (yellow) and MPC (copper) '70's. As mentioned, the MPC body looks narrow....to me, it's the AMT that looks a little too chunky. I've always preferred the MPC kit; the front end especially looks much better. The builder of this AMT kit made no attempt to detail the chrome headlight bezels, but it wouldn't have made much of an improvement. Yours truly built the MPC kit; the wheels and tires came from an AMT '72 Nova

West Gallogly Jr was the guy behind the Wes Craft boat. There doesn't seem to be any reference out there on the boat. I have a copy of the flyer mentioned above, but can't seem to locate it right now. I think the flyer refers to the boat as a Glass Slipper, but if you Google Glass Slipper you'll see a totally different boat. According to an ex-AMT staffer, he only recalled seeing a couple of them, one being the prototype.

AMT/Ertl reissued a stock version of the MPC '57 in the 80's/90's as part of a set. My memory is a little hazy, but I believe the only deviation from the original was the too-large rear wheel openings that had been opened up for slicks back in the gasser days and never corrected.

Great idea re the different parts for the T, Greg. Last year I converted a recent-issue Monogram '32 to a Little Deuce using the parts I saved from my original. The only non-authentic Little Deuce part is the etched window glass (the original was too far gone to use). Sorry for the not-so-clear parts pic, but you can see how easy it could be for Revell to make a few changes here and there to give us the Deuce again.

Oohh,,,,I love this one! Here's it's cousin...built in the early '70's from the AMT-boxed issue (originally had different mags though; I added these ones a couple of years ago)

Top piece looks like the custom front pan from the '65 Galaxie, fourth one down is a '63 Imperial rear bumper. The piece on the bottom isn't a bumper or a grille; it's part of the '64 Grand Prix custom full-length console. It comes in two pieces, front and rear-your piece is the rear half.

Been there, done that. Novus #2 and a Q-tip works for me

I wouldn't condemn the label based on one example. Yes, some of the MPC kits are based on old tooling that has seen better days, but some are better than others. I would suggest consulting this board's review/workbench/under glass sections to get other's opinions on a particular kit before you take the plunge. If you don't see what you're looking for...ask. There are lots of helpful people here.

The Bat Machine has SS emblems on the front fenders and a console. The built-up I have has non-stock pleated bucket seats; I don't know if stock buckets were also in the box.

Thanks, Steve. I did that many years ago , and at the time I figured I would probably never get my hands on a decent '60 Dart. It was a tribute to my dad's favorite car that he got new in the same color combo. It was so long ago I don't remember exactly how I did the upholstery; I believe I used the body color as a base (maybe tinted with another color for contrast), dullcoated all or part of it, hand-painted the dark vertical stripes, then carefully scraped the paint away from the piping. BTW...I think yours looks better.

Now I'm confused re the brake fluid thing. This '64 Vette had (I think) AMT lacquer on the body and the windows. Brake fluid was the only thing I could find at the time to remove it. The windows didn't frost at all. Also...to keep the thread on track, another before/after. This one was almost too far gone.

Yes, those Vettes are gorgeous. I too have a pile of C2 Vettes waiting in the wings (and a pile of re-issued '63's for parts).

And now for something completely different....

Oooh that's nice....I gotta get me one.

Now THAT'S a nutty idea. I like it. How about a Manx chassis?

Looking at the pics of my 59 has me salivating to build/restore a '60.......too bad I haven't scored one yet.

Found some more. Thanks to John at Round2 for including the convertible boot in the recent Corvair reissue. Pics are showing up out of order but I think you can distinguish between the "befores" and "afters".

Love this thread. I wish I had more "before" pics of some of mine

That was the plan all along. When word got out that they were had a '71 Demon in the works it was assumed by many that they were just going to reissue the MPC kit, Round2 never mentioned an MPC '71 Demon reissue.

Don't know how rare it is, but the AMT '70 Mustang has been on my hit-list for years