Chuck Most

A few years back in Hot Rod Deluxe, they ran photos of the abandoned car plants which still stand in and around Detroit. There were also some shown on the History series "Life After People." Sad thing is? When that show aired, they used actual current footage from Detroit to show how buildings will deteriorate unattended in the future. It is good to see some of the old factories being repurposed, though.

I DID get the T-Bird! Oh, and here's the picture- There is a large card depicting the boxtop artwork, and here you see the die cut bumper and flasher base, the amber sprue from the big rig kits, and the Texaco specific decal sheet. Other than that, it's the previous stock version of the kit, molded in white.

Roger... you didn't like those Revell tire decals? (Though I will confess to buying a '55 'Street Burners' (?) reissue just for the Dzus fastener decals!)I'd like to see a few of the modern drag vehicles kitted too, though, now that you bring it up. And yes, I realize it would be fairly difficult to kit an AWB car, just because no two were modified in exactly the same manner. It's not like a rail or a flip top funny car, where one chassis/engine combo can support two or three different bodies in a kit. But I'd be willing for a 'general' AWB here. Think about it- the recent Chevy 210 was heavily hyped as the "Black Widow" version, even though you could not build a totally accurate Sedco Black Widow out of box from the kit. But, few complained. At least, few complained loudly and veheminently enough for me to remember it! I think if they got the basic details right on a new tool AWB, most modelers interested in such material would be satisfied.

No, two... one for the buildup, and another for the completed model! And I'd buy both. And not complain about only one model being covered in two issues.

You might be onto something- the Badger can did seem to 'pack more punch' than the Testors. I did try the second time at room temp, same thing happened. The Badger label suggested loosening the knob that screws onto the can to reduce pressure if needed, and I got the same result no matter what.

Okay... so Revell just brought out two all new 'glass bodied flopper kits (The Mongoose and Hawaiian cars), and they've been treating us to various reissues of other '60's/'70's funny cars as well. Nostalgic drag racing subjects from early Willys gas coupes to modern flip top rocketships in scale kit form are hot. So I'm wondering... am I the only guy who'd love to see an altered wheelbase door slammer kit, done in new, modern tooling? About the only choices (besides rolling your own, of course), are the ancient, crude old AMT kits, the Falcons, Mustangs, Comets, and Chevy IIs most recently reissued by Model King. Well, the Mustangs, Falcons, and the King's Comet, anyway! There are so many choices with the flip top cars and earlier 'gasser' candidates, but even then, much of the subject matter is from the '60's! In the case of AWB cars, I don't think there's been any activity in that segment of the hobby in almost 50 years! Think about it- the new(er) tool Revell SWC/Big John '41 Willys can be built into all manner of late '50's/early '60's drag coupes, or donate parts to other vehicles for the same purposes. The new Revell Mopar floppers can be built, modified, or parted likewise. What about the era in the middle? Imagine... an all new tool kit of the Daddy Warbucks Falcon, or Chevy II Much, or the downright frightening "Honker" '65 Dodge? I'd love to see them! Please tell me I'm not the only guy dreaming of such things!

I'd love to see Revell do a GOOD '56 F-100, to replace the blob-like existing kit. I wouldn't even mind if the engine and chassis carried over, just get rid of that terrible body!

I'll have to see it now. You had me at '61 Plymouth!

I have a cheapo, propellant airbrush by Testors. Basically I use it to spray colors which aren't readily available in spray cans, so I don't need to wait until the day I get a proper airbrush. As I said, the brush is Testors, and until recently I used the cans of Testors propellant. I've been doing this for a couple of years, and have never had a problem. But recently Testors propellant has been difficult to come by in my area, so I substituted a can of Badger propellent. I hooked it up to the brush hose, and it sprayed perfectly for a couple of seconds. Then all of a sudden, it started spraying an icy mist. No paint, just a fog of ice! I had the can in a bucket of hot (not boiling) water as I have with my Testors cans. Everything was the same as in the past, aside from the propellant. I thought maybe the Badger stuff was CO2, but it didn't say so on the label. After this happened, I managed to locate a can of the Testors propellant, and everything is working just fine now. Hooked up the Badger can again, same thing- ice vapor! Any ideas on what went on?

You know... there are enough similarities between the 760 and Celebrity, especially in the roof and side profile- wonder how close those are to a Celebrity, dimensions-wise?

A Chevy Celebrity police car???? Not the best choice for a high speed persuit against... well, anything but another Celebrity!

I'll see about getting some pics up later- the new parts are die cut plastic- the flasher base, push bumper, and it's brackets, and the amber sprue from the AMT big rig kits is supplied for the flasher dome. Just got the kit today, might go back later for the T-Bird.

Just saw a Maisto Grand Cherokee (new body style) kit at the shop, but it's a die cast...

I'd agree with a new pickup kit- Dodge, Ram, or what have you. The semi-tractor kit biz has been on quite a resurgence lately, light trucks cant' be too far behind. My local shop sold out of the Linberg Dakota reissues in a week, so at least in the Central MI area (and any other part of the country which resembles the central MI area), they should do well indeed.

What have you done? I'd say you've paved the way for a fun filled summer at the workbench!

That is perfectly acceptable, at least as far as I am concerned. I'm talking about when somebody quotes all five or six photos. Somebody mentioned people quoting all the pics and not saying anything at all... yeah, what's up with THAT????

Now... people who 'quote' pics...

Duplicolor offers Wimbledon white too, in spray and touch up pens.

The other thing that's seemed to happen a few times is this- the kit manufacturer looks at what modelers are saying, looks at what original versions of a particular kit are selling for in the collector's market, and reissues the kit... only tho have the reissue be a monumental flop (AMT/Ertl Beverly Hillbillies kit comes to mind on that one). Granted, there are always exceptions- I was glad to see the Scout II kit in AMT/Ertl's catalog for a few years last decade, that kit had not been available since the late '70's, aside from the resin repop from Hendrix. I don't know how well that kit did in the marketplace, but here in central MI, they sold out rather quickly- I even know of a couple non-modelers who bought some. And those reissues are starting to go up in price, as opposed to the BH kit, I bought a few of those for five bucks a pop on clearance! I'd love to see those farm tractor kits reissued, but I am NOT holding my breath! I'm convinced it's a cost thing, the majority of the time, as opposed to a lack of interest, keeping certain kits from being reissued. There are all car subjects we'd love to see in scale kit form, question remains, is it worth the trouble of the manufacturer to spend the effort and money? That doesn't just apply to new tooling, but it applies to existing tooling as well. Some kits aren't reissued because the tooling is junk, and beyond repair. The tooling to some kits is still workable, but needs some attention, and the company has to weigh the cost of fixing the molds against how well the kit would sell. Sure some manufacturers (cough, cough, RC2 and JoHan) would reissue them no matter how worn out the tooling was, but I think those days are over. Kit manufacturers these days aren't into producing unbuildable junk. Do I belive there are pretty-much ready to reissue tools of much wanted kits in the manufacturers vaults? Of course I do. But along comes that cost/sales thing. I might want to see that particular kit back on the shelves, and you might too, but we might be the only two guys who want it back...

Hey, I'm still waiting for an '06 Dodge Ram 2500 Power Wagon...

I never build box-stock, but if I had to do so, my rule of thumb would be- Paint, adhesives, and foil... EVERYTHING ELSE comes out of the kit box. Not sure how well I would do at such a show, but I think I'd pretty much fit into any show's 'box stock' rules if I stuck with that. I often wonder if the judges even know what 'box stock' is, I can't tell you how many times I've seen a model at a show presented as 'box stock', and it's (for instance) a '60 Ford Starliner with the wheels and tires from a '62 Catalina kit. Box stock means SAME BOX, guys! Yeah, I know that not every judge can be an expert on what comes in every kit, but you'd think SOMEBODY would have said something...

I seem to remember it vaugely. I CLEARLY remember the episode with Mr. Wongburger...

Nobody... but I won't let that stop bugging me one bit!

Wonder if Meatwad had gotten to keep Carl's car, would he have built it to look like your model?

More times than I care to recall...