Carmak

I am so glad to hear there are other Dajiban fans here! I was chatting with Steve G. back in March of 2023 about the potential of a Dajiban version of the current Dodge van kit.

In general, I agree with Alan’s post about the rise of “modern” (mid 70’s and newer) collector cars” and the decline of pre-60’s cars. I would add some interesting observations: * From the 50’s to the mid 70’s there was a general belief that each year’s new car would be better than the year before (planned obsolescence) so it was uncommon to intentionally preserve a late model or new car. In the mid 70’s this belief flipped with the thinking that each new year’s new car would be worse than the year before. This caused some people to intentionally preserve late model and new cars. Although the beliefs about new cars being better or worse has become more nuanced the trend of intentionally preserving late model and new cars has grown and helped increase the pool of cars to collect. * My children are car aware and in their mid to upper 20’s. They do not have the problem with 4dr sedans and wagons that my generation (age in the 50’s-60’s) does. They often endearingly refer to 4dr sedans as “crew cabs”. Round2 – Young people like 4drs and wagons!! ? * The term “muscle car” means nothing. It has gone from a term to define a very specific class of car (the performance model or package of a mid-size car built from 64-72) to a descriptive like “sleek”, “flashy”, “muscle car”. I have seen everything from 50’s 4dr sedans to 80’s 307 powered Cutlass Supremes referred to as Muscle Cars. Auction houses are often guilty of lumping all sorts of cars into the Muscle Car category.

Were all of the 61-63 issues molded in the dark burgundy color?

Good box art grabs your attention and acts on emotions to invoke inspiration, imagination, nostalgia and more. As shown in this post, its “value” differs greatly from builder to builder. I am rarely persuaded or dissuaded by box art when I buy a modern model kit (I typically know what is inside before I buy), however I have a decent number of vintage boxes I have collected specifically for their box art. My wife makes a calendar for me each year with vintage box art on it.

It is great to hear the clone kits are doing good in the marketplace! It is possible that a larger than normal percentage of the initial clone kit sales were pre-order internet sales to the more "connected" model builder/collector. The current retro clone box art on most of the clone kits is aimed at the more connected model builder/collector. Once the connected model builder/collector market is saturated it is box art that sells kits. Additionally, the Walmart thing did not help the hobby shops. They fit the market for some clone kits before the hobby shops got them. I suspect we will start to see current clone kits in the future boxed in less authentic retro box art, themed box art (think "Dirty Donnie" or "Coke"), boxed with modern wheels/tires (current resto-mod style wheels) or some form of "easy builder" box art for the Craftsman clone kits.

I love C-body Mopars. I have been the caretaker of this wonderful 66 Newport since 2001. I put a couple hundred miles on her last weekend. I am actively looking for a 66 Chrysler wagon.

That bed will look great on the new Ford! It's funny how the fire truck bed looks nothing like the MPC tow truck bed Humor aside I would love to see picks of the fire truck unique pieces like the hose real and the straight sections of fire hose.

I have a crazy thought. One thing that jumped out to me about these tires is that the “tiger paw” is all lower case. I wonder if “TIGER PAW” was only trademarked in all caps? It could be possible this was a service station house brand. Take a look at your tire and see if it has any other branding on it.

For 212 - Johan and the later X-el made promos of the 55/56 Desoto 4dr sedan. Keep your eyes open for a busted or badly warped one (you just need the roof and side window frames). Combine that roof section with a Moebius 55/56 Chrysler and you will have what you need to start.

Mark's answer is spot on. I would add that some larger dealers would order zero-option slant 6 Chargers simply for advertising "The new 68 Charger starting at the low low price of $xxx)" Also - Mopar would build almost anything if you ordered enough of them. I remember an article in a Mopar mag years ago about a fleet buyer that ordered a batch of Slant 6/auto Chargers with column shift and front bench seats.

212 looks like a 55-56 Chrysler or Desoto. Lucky 13 looks like a 75-77 Cutlass.

You are just down the road from Benton, IL. Love the Garage Museum!

I appreciate that there was a significant design change between the 61-63 Tempest an the 64-65 Tempest/GTO. This includes the engine halves as the 63 326 engine does not include a transmission (rope drive with transaxle) VS the 64 326/389 engine that has a Muncie molded to it. I remember some of the engine parts looked like they could be from the same tooling or at a minimum the same tooling design. I will take a closer look tonight at my 63 Tempest kit and my 64/65 LeMans/GTO kits.

IF (and this is a big if) the Tempest AWB body tool section is still part of the original 63 Tempest kit tooling (everything else except the body) then it could be cost effective to restore or re-tool the body to a stock wheelbase. This is what happened with the 64 Cutlass kit. If the Tempest AWB body tool section has been separated from the rest of the original 63 Tempest kit tooling, then the next best option would be to straight up clone a 63 Tempest promo to yield a curbside. I have very casually compared some of the engine parts from a 63 Tempest with engine parts from the AMT 65 GTO and they COULD be from the same tooling. If they are then I would suspect the 63 Tempest AWB body was separated from the rest of the 63 Tempest tooling and some of that 63 Tempest tooling was used in the 64/65 Tempest/GTO kits.

The IPMS National Convention is in Madison, WI. I am heading there tomorrow

I have been with a small medical device company for over 30 years. Our end customers are doctors. Every doctor thinks their need for a new product is universally shared by all doctors in their field. Sometimes they are correct and sometimes they are wrong. Often the most insistent doctors have the most individual need. All of this is fairly similar to the model car hobby. My company spends a great deal of time determining what products to release. I would consider the totality of methods we use to be a trade secret. I suspect the same is true for all model kit companies.

Very nice clean build! What method did you use for the tail light bezel chrome?

Random thoughts on why the FE was not available in light duty F series trucks in the early 60’s. Twist: The 57-60 F series and 61-64 F series trucks used a similar frame design that is prone to twist. The failure of the Uni-cab in the marketplace was partially the result of frames twisting enough under the stiff cab-box units that the front cab mounts would tear out. The FE series of engines are not necessarily known for their HP but they are known for their torque. It is POSSIBLE that Ford felt the high torque FE series was a bad match in a vehicle with a frame that was prone to twist. Supply: It is POSSIBLE Ford could sell all the FE’s it could make in high profit margin cars like Galaxies. The F series trucks were a good way to get more use out of the Y-block tooling.

Nice looking builds! Get those cars behind some glass. Hot rods are the hardest to dust.

How would you define what a "best kit" is? There are multiple 70 Challenger kits out there and each has strengths and weaknesses. Are you looking for most detailed engine, most detailed chassis, body with best proportions, kit that builds most easily out of the box? Also does it matter which body style or version of 70 Challenger it is?

Nice build! The color has a good MOPAR vibe - great choice. Nice stance, good wheels and tires. Like the custom intake. Overall, very nice!

Very cool custom van!! The "vibe" is right on man!

Have you had a chance to see how the Black Widow air brush worked?

Very nice conversion! A few years back my son bought a 62 GMC half ton long box the still had the original 305 V6 and 4spd trans. He then bought a 62 Chevy half ton as a parts truck only to discover how different the two trucks are. He ended up putting both trucks back on the road and then selling them to get a really nice first gen Cummins 12 valve. As part of working on them we discovered the modern (5+ years ago) Dodge Durango V8 radiators are tall and narrow and fit perfectly in the trucks. The hose arrangement is perfect for a SBC. An aluminum radiator for $30 .

I really like the look of the tail lights/trunk trim panel. Really makes the car.