Mr. Metallic

I don't believe the stock parts ever left these kits ( Monogram 30 Coupe, Cabriolet).The last reissue of the coupe was ONLY stock parts. I don't believe the Cabriolet has been released since the 70's, but that last issue was all stock as well. Someone would simply have to look at the box for the cabriolet to see where it was molded. Since the Coupe was last done about 20 years ago (I think) as part of the R/M SSP limited release series there's a chance it was produced in the US, and could now be in Atlantis hands. But that's just conjecture Last release of the Coupe (that I can recall) Last release of the cabriolet I can recall

It's not just a story, it's a fact. I work for a company with some parts production in China. Once your tooling is there, it's there FOREVER. Hence my companies investment in insourcing plastic molding over the last 5-7 years, and a shift to more domestic sourcing of other parts Yes Luc, countries can bring production back to their own countries, but would have to recreate all existing tooling if it is within China's borders

I do if you need them. But the hood won't match your plastic color if that matters

duplicate post

Like others have said, i usually use mine about 1 1/2 years before i feel the need to change it out. But, you're not wrong, over time (or volume) it does lose it's strength. But the reason it does is if you don't remove the contaminates (paint/chrome/undercoat/etc) the formula continues to attack that stuff. If you strain it after each session it should last much longer. I have used a painters filter in the past (the kind automotive painters strain paint through before painting) The mesh is very fine and should catch most of your solids.

I believe that is by Anthony Hazelaar (corrected spelling, sorry Anthony)

You are correct that the LINDBERG versions of this kit did not include dual rear wheels. However, a couple of the AMT versions did actual have a dual wheel setup. @Dave Darby can probably fill in the details

Sadly, Atlantis has said that the Bantam can not be released because the tooling was destroyed ? This is speculation on my part, but perhaps if the others sell well enough they could invest in recreating the Bantam tooling if it makes financial sense.

Sorry, apparently there's two different threads with the same question

That orange is a great color. Nice build

I received this a couple months ago but kept forgetting to snap pics. It a very nice set. As you can see, very smooth, blemish free castings that maintain scale fidelity. Comes with chrome plated parts and red tinted taillights. I did not expect the shortened frame to be included, so even less work to do.

I believe it's AMT. The paint that was used on it badly etched all surfaces. It's taking a lot of sanding to get back to even usable condition. At least the chrome was present since Modelhaus is no longer an option ☹️

Here's another glue bomb rescue. For full details follow the link Before: (sorry, no assembled pic, but these parts were all together at one time) After:

For those of you interested in the buildup's of these flights of fancy i have started posting them in the finished section. here's the first, the Red Beetle. More to come in the weeks to follow

In case you missed it, this is part of a set of models I built based on the 4 classic Monogram Hot Rod kits from the early 60's portraying phantom plastic colors not offered by Monogram for these kits. This particular one is the Red Beetle, based on the Blue Beetle kit. Many people would think that I would have cut corners and used the more widely available recreation Revell/Monogram released a few years ago of this kit , the Blue Bandito. That's not the case. To many collectors chagrin I sacrificed not only an actual Blue Beetle builtup, but also TWO rare Boss-A-Bone's to get all the red plastic parts. Oh, the horror. Over the last couple years I added two Boss-A-Bone builtups to my group of restoration candidates. One complete one, and one mostly complete one I didn't grab pics of the partial one before I took it apart, but he can see the post-deconstruction pic below. You can also see the first mockup of the Red Beetle. Both of these builtups suffered from several issues, so I had to triage the best parts to use for this because I always intended to build it in bare plastic. The second builtup seen here was also disassembled to harvest the best set of red plastic parts. Sadly, both cabs exhibited severe glue rash where the builders had used copious amounts of glue to install the interior. So much so that the 2nd cab now sits in several pieces on my bench because it imploded. (Thankfully my friend Les Gibbons has come to my aid with a replacement BAB for a future restoration) The eventual winning cab has stress marks that could be hidden by strategic placement of the kits multiple aquatic themed accessories. So, I set about the restoration of parts to make them solid and presentable. First up was the axle. It had the ends broken off at some point. So, I needed to create secure mounting points for the brake/wheel assemblies. I simply drilled a hole and inserted a brass pin in place. A similar procedure was used to secure the seats to the floor pan. I also took the opportunity at this time to lower the rear suspension slightly by hollowing out the rear crossmember for the spring to slide into. After the repairs were completed I then moved on to polishing the red kit plastic and then straight into assembly. The great thing about this series of kits is that the assemble so easily. I added minimal flat black paint accents, and a bit of Molotow chrome ink along the way. To borrow a phrase from a popular Marvel TV show and comic series, What If... Monogram had released a third version of this kit before they changed the tooling? This is what it could have looked like. For more pics, follow the link, and thanks for looking https://public.fotki.com/crstan/finished_models_by_me/survivors/life-cereal-faux-vi/

I can see all the pics.

I guess i forgot to update this thread like I did the other posts I made around social media. The story is a figment of my imagination. it was just meant as a little bit of fun, hopefully it was received that way. I'll be sharing each of this individual builds over the next few weeks for those of you interested in the construction of these faux-vivors

Bob, you are welcome. Glad I could pay it forward after receiving lots of help from fellow builders in the past

@krassandbernie Ed, I know you're not here often but maybe you'll get an email if I tag you?

I'm no expert, but I like to help fellow builders when I can. I also try to point things out to someone as they are building a model, not after it is completed. I'm not a fan of publicly calling things out on someone's completed build especially when it is often so difficult to fix the issue without causing damage to other aspects of the build. Bringing things up during construction is the perfect time. Following along intently.

First off, Latham blown Ardun, very cool (and extremely expensive in current 1:1) The exit point for airflow of that type of blower is all the way at the back of the unit. So you may want to shorten your extension to the pulley and slide the whole assembly forward 2-3 MM (roughly 2-3 scale inches). @Ace-Garageguy could probably confirm. This pic shows how the entire unit is moved forward so the exit lines up with the center inlet on the intake of this engine. This one is set up for the charged air to exit on the sides instead of out the bottom, but this helps illustrate that the charged air exits out the rear of the unit.

It's obviously your call based on your own experiences, but I don't know that I would judge all MPC products based on one kit. Especially a kit like a Switchers kit. I'm sure other builders will come of with a plethora of good MPC kit examples

Thanks for the info. I thought it was safe to compare what I thought was apples to apples. Kit A hits Europe in June, then hits NA 3 months later. Kit B hits Europe in October, so kit B hits NA??? Either way, I'm just glad to have the kit back and already have 2 on pre-order.

Is it reasonable to assume that Revell releases coming to North America are running about 3 months behind Europe (due to backed up ports, Covid, etc)? Since earlier in this thread shops in Europe had this kit back in June and are just now hitting shelves in the USA, I can maybe expect the 30 coupe that appears to be hitting shelves in Europe starting last month, in the US in January?

For the rest of the story, follow the link https://public.fotki.com/crstan/finished_models_by_me/survivors/life-cereal-faux-vi/the-con/1633718949312.html