Carmak

This is a really interesting and well done build! I daily drove a 72 Valiant with the leaning tower of power back in my youth. It might be too late, but this kit has an issue many AMT kits designed in this era have, the wheel stick out too far and they sit a little nose up. The front to rear stager (the front track is wider than the rear track) is correct but both of the tracks are too wide. Last year I completed an AMT 67 Mustang which has this same issue. I significantly narrowed the front and rear track and slightly lowered the front stance to get the tires to sit inside the wheel openings. The tires are vintage mid 60's MPC units.

Nice looking rig. Really like the V-6 and the line for the hydraulic clutch.

Many Round2 kits were originally released on the first golden era of model kits (late 50’s-mid 70’s). Over the years some of these kit have been modified many time with small change and/or major changes. The kit you have started out is a 70 Chevelle in 1970, then a 71 in 1971 and 72 in 1972. Thru the rest of the 70’s it was sold as the Red Alert Chevelle and in the 80’s it was sold as a 72 Street Machine. In 94 it was changed back into a 70 Chevelle, in 02 it was modified so the mold could be easily changed back and forth from a 72 into a 70 and back, the model kit could not be changed back and forth, the mold could be change so the same mold could make two different versions. You have this version of the 72. Lastly the 70 version of this kit was revised this last year to make it more accurate. I don’t know if this is the end of the 72 or not. Extra parts from previous versions are pretty common on a model that dates back to 1970 and has been changed a half a dozen times.

Below are pictures of the AMT 71 Chevelle (red) and the MPC 71 Chevelle (green). The AMT is correct and the MPC is really not correct. The MPC does have nice separate grille inserts.

Mr. Mike, Here are some pics I took a while back to detail the differences between the 71 and 72. The 71 and 72 use the same fender extension, the 72 grille and headlight bezels are positioned further forward than the 71 grille and headlight bezels. If you separate the grille and headlight bezels from the bumper and slide it back under the hood it will help to look more like a 71. Cool project. Looking forward to your progress.

I have also noticed more 60 F-100 builds than 63 F100 builds. I have three thoughts: * With the separate bed the 60 allows more flexibility with builds. * The 60 is the only version of the 57-60 F100 generation available. Moebius got to the market first with their 65 & 66's to represent the 61-66 F100 generation. * The 60 is available at Hobby Lobby

My first car about 40 years ago was a 62 T-bird. I have owned a half dozen drivers and a couple dozen parts car 61-66 T-birds. I was daily driving a 63 when I dated my wife (35 years ago). I think the biggest thing holding them back value wise is that they just don't work well with the performance or sporty performance look. You can put mags on a 63 Rambler 4dr and get a sporty performance look. T-birds really look better as luxo sleds. T-birds also have some quirky mechanical and design issues (some are Ford things, and some are T-bird unique). My favorite issues include: hydraulic wipers, exhaust manifold leaks, exhaust manifolds very very close to the inner fenders, due to packaging engine swaps more challenging, crappy Ford wiring bullet connectors, dash that must pealed like an onion rather than removed as a unit, very heavy for it's size, sections of galvanized exterior steel that resist being painted, no room for dual reservoir master cylinder, shackle mounts that really rust, and lastly you need to know the exact day your car was built since Ford loved changing things mid-year. I have a loft full of T-bird buckets and back seats (the wrap around ones) but currently no drivers.

A couple years ago I found a really nice lightly started 68 Coronet convertible and then days later the new 68 Coronet convertible was announced. I just found a really nice lightly started 67 Galaxie so I expect the new 67 Galaxie to be announced any day If anybody has the extra 67/68 suspension bits from the current 69 Galaxie kit they would like to part with please let me know.

An advantage to the long bed trucks is the ability to easily make commercial versions (utility box, tow trucks, campers and such). If you have been to a 1:1 car show recently you will notice the increased interest in these types of trucks (specifically utility boxes) in the last few years.

12" on center I joists with 1x4s attached to the bottoms of the I-joists. May of the kits fit snug in between the joists. Some Revell and Monogram boxes are just a little oversize and don't fit.

If you are looking for a level of detail that involves a better chassis I would start with a 60 Desoto re-issue so you get the opening hood. As Mark mentioned the 60 Desoto used a sub-frame style chassis. A marginally better Mopar sub-frame is in the MPC 65-66 Dodge B-body kits.

I have a built model display and an unbuilt kit storage solution that is also a display of sorts. For built kits I really like display cabinets to keep the models as dust free as possible.

Roadkill introduced a whole generation to the concept of working on old cars yourself and driving them. I have a son in his mid 20’s and Roadkill is probably the single biggest reason he got into cars. He has a whole group of friends into cars and Roadkill is the reason. I know the Roadkill guys will continue but there are other people out there to carry the torch and introduce the next generation to cars.

I am particularly impressed with the arc of the roofline. No wonky transitions just a nice gentle arc from the windshield to the rear window. Very nice!

Got these locally (Iowa City, IA) from a family friend of the original owner of these models. I got a large collection of built kit (58-63 era) from this same person last year. These had been misplaced until recently. MIB: AMT 64 Chevelle wagon, AMT 64 Elcamino and Monogram 55 BelAir (blue). Lightly started: AMT 64 Impala convertible, Monogram 55 BelAir (red) and Monogram 34 Ford (original issue). The rest are empty boxes for built kits I had gotten last year.

So happy to see the Barracuda and the 60 Chevy wagon! Thank you Steve!!

Super nice build. I thought HotWheels the moment I saw it. Great execution and very nice job repairing the taillight bezel and blending the custom front end!

Very nice full Kustom! Really like the Riv roof swap!

Hopefully Round2 continues its practice of opening all of the formerly blocked runners and the stock styled wheels (or possibly a set to deep dish slots) will return. We may also end up with some or all of the Python parts and some of the GT road race parts.

I will say that to my eye the AMT 66 Mustang 2+2 body looks better than the Monogram/Revell body (this kit was originally designed by Monogram and has been re-branded as a Revell).

To add to what Mark said: The 66 is a clone body of a promo-based kit originally designed in 65-66. It has a tub interior, metal axles, all suspension and exhaust molded to the chassis. The 67 was an all-new kit when designed in the 90's. It has a platform interior, detailed suspension and separate exhaust. If the plan is to kit-bash the chassis of the 67 under the 66 that could/should work. If doing this be aware the modern 67 kit tends to sit high in the front and the front track is a bit wide. I built one recently and spent a fair bit of time getting it to sit the way I wanted it to. The pics show my result. I intentionally did not cut down the tie rod to show how much I moved in the spindles.

I worked with Chris on the Chevelle history project. Both the AMT and MPC Chevelles are derived from promos, and both are still using the same tooling the same basic tooling from when first made (AMT 70 and MPC 71). It's nice to see the MPC Chevelle is coming back.

I completely agree with your tastes!! *The MPC full size Pontiacs were revised every year from 66-70. We have the end of the line 70. *The MPC 65-66 full size Dodges were heavily revised into a custom car. Probably gone *We have the 66 Wildcat (which still has the 65 dash in it) and the 66 Skylark was modified into a stock car which we still have. *We have the end of the line 65 Lincoln (would love to see a sedan version). The end of the line 69 is probably gone (I would be happy to be wrong). The 64 Cutlass was an interesting case as the tooling for everything except the stock body, bumpers and glass was intact. It was a great clone project as only a few components were needed to result in a complete kit. (I bought a ton of each version and I love building them)

Notice the cast wheels the aim sideways built into the rear bumper. Once he gets the front up, he locks one rear brake and gets that thing spinning.

One of my wife's co-workers builds Gundam and Warhammer. He modifies, kit bashes, fabricates, uses aftermarket components, paints, details and weathers his builds. The one I have seen is very impressive. He has a small group of friends that I believe are of similar skill level and they basically show each other their builds and no-one else. I mentioned a show in his area (he does not live in my area) and he has no interest in contests or shows. I am involved with the shows put on by three local IMPS chapters and I attended the IMPS national this summer and I agree with you Steve that Gundam looks to be underrepresented at "all scale model type" shows.