Chuck Most

Thought of another one- not a great kit, but an easy build. You'll likely spend more time waiting on paint to dry than actual assembly. Even when I correct all the accuracy hiccups in the body and detail out the engine bay and interior, I rarely have more than 12 hours in an Ertl Scout II build.

Yep, they got me too- Still, love to see a kit of it, but I am NOT holding my breath.

That reminds me- Revell's Model A's- the '31 Tudor and the '29 pickup. Those kits are almost as old as plastic kits themselves (what are they, early '60's vintage?). Sure they're loaded with delicate, intricate parts, and they have molded headlamp lenses, but all things considered- as far as detail and accuracy goes, they rival the best of today's kits. I wonder if Revell could tool up a modern Model A and have it come close to those two golden oldies. When you consider that- its like the hobby has come full circle- they made amazingly detailed kits pretty much at the dawn of the hobby, went in to the bleaker years, when everything was molded together and detail was a bit lackadasical, and now we arrive at today, when most kits have more parts in just the engine than the total parts count in a typical annual kit of the '60's.

Most recent reissue (Goodguys logo) it did- as far as I know it's been with the kit since the beginning. (Every issue of it I'd owned has it.) It would be completely idiotic for them to remove ANY part from that kit, if you ask me.

They did release at least two of the Datsun/Nissan engines in a parts pack, too. The engines were pretty much lifted straight from the car kits.

Which brings up another subject- early trucks. When Revell brought out its new Nova kit, everybody pretty much forgot all about the old AMT kit. I really do think if Revell tooled up a '67/'68 C-10, it would sell. Not even a Chevy guy, but I'd buy 'em. I'd be happy with a few reissues of the long-lost ones, like that F-100 unibody.

Everything will be the same regarding the chassis/body. The stock car will have a different grille, wheels, and other parts, but the chassis and body are the same as the '53.

I'd like to see the Revell 1:16 street rod series make a comeback, and I'm working on getting a few of the recent Minicraft Model A Ford reissues. So, yeah, I think I'd be up for a little 1:16 scale revolution.

Sad part is? I think that kit could have cleaned house, if Trumpeter hadn't messed it up in such an epic way. The only reason I haven't bought that kit is... well, just look at one built up and you'll have my answer. It's almost like they had twenty different people designing the different subassemblies, and none of those twenty people communicated or acknowledged one another in any way during the entire process. I do plan on getting a couple of the Falcons when I can find them for a price I think is more in line with what I'm getting, but I will say I'm glad Trumpeter isn't as prolific as Revell when it comes to automotive releases. I really can't see Trumpeter doing much in the automotive arena after the last of the Falcons and Rancheros are out.

None that I'm aware of with the short conventional nose. Modelhaus does sell the more commonly seen medium cab conversion. http://www.discoverautomobiles.com/trucks/details.php?MID=15455 I know I remember seeing one built years ago in SAE, not sure if the guy ever had it cast or anything, though.

I do have quite a few very nice diecasts (ssssshhhhhh.... don't tell), but I'd still love to have a '39 Ford Convertible, '37 Studebaker Coupe Express, or a '70 Mustang without a pig-nose grille in plastic kit form, even though I have all three as built diecast models. I can't speak for everybody, but just having one in my collection as a diecast doesn't rule it out for a kit.

That green one with the Miller logos on the doors has the cab from the '37 puller kit. The chassis is going to end up on another resin International pickup, reworked to a '66 model. Well, that's the plan right now, anyway.

Droptop new tool '57! Another no-brainer if you ask this apathetic-to-Tri-Five-Chevy guy. I'd love to see Revell do a closed cab pickup street rod from their existing Deuce tooling... pattern it after the Brookville street rod body and the fuel tank location becomes a moot point. And like I've said- from where I sit there's never been a better time than now to look forward to such kits.

That's what made me chuckle. "Wow. These guys must love having a stack of spare bodies laying around." I do like the AMT Model A Woody/Pickup, though- seems I always have enough spare Model A parts on hand to make a complete model with the spare body. Ditto the Revell Model A pickup that comes with a closed and roadster cab. But that's just me.

The diecast people largely overlook modern pickups as well(though they are a bit better than plastic kits, selection wise), but I've spent quite a bit of money I could have spent on a theoretical modern pickup kit or two on some high end diecast- The trucks pictured here actually belong to my father, but I have all four of these (and more), just haven't taken them out of the shipping containers in a while.

Well, you do have the Shelby versions and such, but I do see what you're getting at! And where are these guys saying a '57 Nomad would be a bad idea. Again, not a fan of Tri-Fives or '57s in particular, but such a kit seems like a no-brainer even coming from my viewpoint.

I do see your point on the Chevelle, but really- the 150/Black Widow? Can't imagine that one being a big seller for Walmart, '57 or no. And I can imagine quite a bit. Here's a bit more to chew on- can you see the big box store people wanting to stock a Hudson Hornet? Or a '50 Olds? A cheapo die cast, maybe, but a full-detail kit? Doubt it. I can guarantee no big box retailer would have carried Model King or Dirt Track Racecars dual-branded kits (among others). Sheesh, Dave Burket pretty much makes a living by catering specifically to the 'enthusiast market'. No, those mostly terrible 'Fast And Furious', 'Rides Magazine', and 'American Hot Rod' releases are what the big retailers wanted to have on hand.

Cool seeing another rig rod go together- I've been working on one myself.

You mention utilizing existing tooling, and I'm a big proponent of that. While I confess that I'm not a huge fan of Tri-Five Chevys, Revell/Monogram has gotten a lot of mileage out of that original Monogram '55 tool. Odds are better now more than ever that modelers will finally get that GOOD '57 Nomad kit they've always wanted. Or what about a '57 Bonneville? The 1:1 automakers used common parts among several different lines and years, and I think it's well past the time that the kit manufacurers followed suit. And if, say, the hardtop version of Kit X includes a different set of custom wheels and engine hop up parts than the Kit X sedan variant, so much the better. The days are over when merely refreshing the box art and throwing in a new set of decals is enough to tart up an existing kit, and I'm glad to see that. I remember when Revell started bringing out variants on the Deuce kit, and a small but very vocal group kept asking why they didn't just include the new bodies in with an existing kit. I did get a chuckle out of that. For one thing, could you go into a Ford dealer in 1932 and buy a Tudor sedan, and a spare Roadster body to go with it? Of course not. And there's that bottom line everyone keeps refering back to- if you want the Tudor kit, Revell wants you to buy the Tudor kit. To me those kits are a great example of expanding on a base kit- from the initial Roadster, Three-Window, and Speedwagon (what ever happened to that one?) the line has grown to include a five window and Tudor, and not only new bodies- that Tudor has some very nice wire wheels and a full-dress Flattie, and the Hemi and those hairpin radius rods from the Five Window are tasty indeed. Some might see that as trying to 'pull one over' on the customers, I see it as a great thing.

The Blues Brothers might be why there are some very vocal souls requesting a Monaco. I'd be happy whith any Town Car or Crown Vic besides the '97 Lindberg kit (not knocking that one, just saying). I wouldn't mind any of the above, simply being a fan of good old American land barges.

Wasn't going to post my 'OLD old' pickups, but a lot of guys are, so why not... Again, this is all we have to WORK WITH, people!

We can post what we have to work with, though. See that diecast F-250 of mine? I'd have 20 of those things if they were full-detail styrene, or heck, even decent curbside (gasp) snap kits! Pfffffffffffft.... car washes are immensely overrated.

You and me both. Wait, do you mean that in a good or bad way? But on a serious note, the fact that a '50 Olds was even considered to be kitted is uplifting to me, not even considering the fact it is actually going into production at some point.

Uh... okay... Explain to me the sucess of the 150/Black Widow kit. Or the '65 Z-11 Chevelle? These aren't the kinds of vehicles that big-box-store department managers want in their inventory.These were kits that were wanted by the real, finely-threaded car nuts. The core of the scale modeling business in other words. Oh, sure, there were always a slew of '57 Chevy kits, but you'd have never seen one that could be built out of box as the Utility Sedan or a 'close enough to get the message across' Black Widow replica? (Imagine how 'Mr. Disappointed this Impala is stock-only would feel once he cracked open that '57 and saw it had no back seat...)And something obscure like a Z-11 Chevelle? A Chevelle SS would be a no-branier, but only the diehards would have wanted a Z-11. I think every SAE 'most wanted' list had a Z-11 Chevelle on it until Revell came out with theirs. And there's proof everywhere that the model companies are listening- for years we've wanted better accuracy and detail, and for the most part, the manufacturers are delivering on that. Moebius? I defy anyone to say those guys aren't listening to us loud and clear! The Hornet and Chrysler were both on many hardcore modeler's wants lists speaks to that. And be honest, who here ever thought they'd see a kit of those two, much less the International Lonestar? I'm crossing my fingers for them to bring out a bulletnose Stude one of these days, and I don't care what anybody says! I'd hazard a guess and say if the model companies were NOT listening to us, the quailty of kits never would have progressed much past the mid 1980's or so.

I'd buy more Olds kits if it had the inline six, but....