Dave Van

I don't come here claiming to 'know all'. And at times I my be incorrect or get things crossed up. But I have worked with MANY of the major players in the plastic model field. Many have been to my home. And thus I have a lot of time to find the answers to many of the myths and tales of tooling past. It also has given me a lot of insight into the inner workings of the plastic biz. I'd like to spill all the beans and tell it all.......but then I'd never work in the biz again. Maybe some day. BTW....there was a train wreck that did affect Aurora molds.....but a minor issue in what was kept and what was not. These old school nickel steel molds are worth LOTS of money today.....so their value may be higher as scrap than fixing and running them. We have more good stuff today than the size of the market allows. Be happy....build something.

A Hudson model has been on the wanted list for years. Maybe not at the top of every list....but on it. The other factor in the Hudson being viable is that it appealed to the non model car crowd. I have attended a number of the HET National conventions (Hudson Essex Terraplane) as a semi official Moebius rep. The real car Hudson enthusiast is a die hard hobbyist. They buy about anything that is well done with a Hudson badge. I displayed Moebius Hudson build ups at their shows.....and these guys could not wait to buy multiple copies of the kit themselves. This is the kind of market a kit needs today. I doubt the molds for the Aurora 1/16 drag kits are still around. Many of the Aurora molds that Monogram bought are gone or were damaged behond use. They were great kits but even back in the day they got blown out at discount stores. I paid $5 for my garage set.

I provided Revell with my mint Dragon Wagon so it could be cloned to create the reissue 'Circus Wagon'. After that project was complete I was asked for other mint Tom Daniel mint kits. I had hopped we would see some of these kits but not yet. Maybe a late 2014 surprise???? Cop Out is a cop out. I bought a few of them when Wal Mart had them for $5....and TON of them out there today....nice box....but I'll pass. I saw Paddy reissue at a hobby shop and a MSRP of $35 again.....I'll pass. Hope they do well or TD kits will be labelled as flops.

My buddy built this one in 2012....a bear but with work....NICE!!!! He built it so well it's owned by a famous car collector now......

I will not name names.....but two that we wanted only needed cash to sign on......after that I didn't want them on the sheet.

100% true! We, Sean and I, had other markings on the sheet.......but I knew many would get shot down before it went to print....so we had generic art to replace the 'real' stuff. We like to give folks the most for their cash.....but if we had all the real police markings licensing would have made it a $100 kit!!! I don't like the term.....but 'it's not our fault!!!'..... I did some of the research on the Motorola radio and the roof beacon. We went to one of the experts that runs a vintage police car parts company and he gave us the info and photos of equipment. On a subject like this that I have no personal info we rely on others for help.

I need to pull them out and document the contents......I am about to go on a long trip so it will not happen now.....but maybe a quick shot if I can.....when I get back I'll do a full on of all the trees etc.

It's about 85% a Bird......headlights are way off and the grille is big and shaped wrong.....I owned a 1/1 '77 and the kit.....kit was way off. My Bird......kit headlights scaled up would be 9 inches thick!! Grille way wrong!

Possibly the best kit never issued!!! Also the best kit with the worse timing ever!!! I have a number of the kits....tooling was down to very minor tweaks. But the market for NASCAR dumped and AM was in trouble already.......bad combination...... Then AM II in Concord NC had the Cobras and roadster GS Vette announced and a few others in development that never even made it past good idea stage.

Saw a Mustang II coupe running around Charleston WV last WE......looked good....I'd buy one if I found a decent one.

In the pre internet days I dealt with Alex a bunch. We bought maybe 150 of his generic Monogram Thunderbird NASCAR kits and he carried our decals. I always stopped by at Toledo to talk a bit....but not been to Toledo in 3 years now......

Don't let the door hit ya on the way out!!

1. Sanoma '07...easy to look up....if I explain I'm a hater for telling the facts. 2. Yes it did. 1983 Before all this Chase junk. 3. I say this as so many 'experts' have followed the sport since 1998! I'm just showing my credentials in the sport....and inside info not available to all.

EXACTLY!! And the reason is 'it affects' the Chase.....but with teams making or not making the Chase by a SINGLE piont....things done at Daytona last Spring affect the Chase.....

So when multiple cars for a single team are caught cheating but it is over looked somehow does not relate to this situation??? (Sanoma '07) It's still the death penalty for stealing a apple. I gotta stop looking at this thread...it's just going to get me in trouble. Just one note.....When asked about what he thought about this entire mess....a now retired but known Cup racer replied...'In the 70's I was paid to spin out in the name of 'excitement' or making the race better.' This is nothing new....the hypocrisy around the entire incident is what angers me......everyone I talk to that has worked in the sport understands.....no one outside does. I'll just have to live with that.

NASCAR CLAIMS MWR planned to spin out the #15 car to cause a caution to help their team car get into the Chase. Unlike many 'cheating' incidents in the past (moving trunk lid) NASCAR did not have a rule covering this alleged act. MWR out smarting NASCAR brass made them mad as heck and thus the huge fine, points deduction and media spin by NASCAR. My issue with the entire situation is NASCAR has not made a huge issue out of blatant cheating in the past, cheating covered by written rules in a book, but CHOSE to blow this issue out of the water......which has become a tar baby that many folks on the inside wish had never happened.......NASCAR wants to become as relevant as the stick and ball guys (IE money wise) and they hoped this would be a step.......NOT. Just IMHO....but I worked in the sport for 25 years....and still do to an extent.

True stock cars??? Then the last time you were interested in NASCAR was the 1950's!! NASCAR stock cars from 1960-1971 contained SOME street parts.....but not a lot. By 1972 they were dedicated race cars using some modified factory parts......but under the skin.....pure race car. If they ran 'stock cars' today the entire field would be Chargers and 300's.......nothing else.

Very nice work....I have a few Fisher models to build....wish I had that one!

Also interesting how NAPA is now looking at title sponsorship of the now 'Nationwide' series.....the day after breaking with MWR.....you couldn't write a story with that good of timing!!!!

Why the uproar now??? What was the trigger that caused it??? Why cheating much more against the written rules, not the Spirit rules junk, was OK and just passed over??? I'm not a MWR fan.....just do not understand the discrimination towards one team??? Any other sport would be called out for actions like this.

Why then does a certain Chevy team get repeated fines and penalties for flagrant cheating get a pass??? A hydraulic operated trunk lid is MUCH MUCH worse than a alleged spin w/o any proof. This device took much more planing and intent than the MWR incident. ADD to it during my 20 years working in the sport MUCH worse things were done......don't try and tell me NASCAR history.....1980 or 2013. Also see Hondagate...... I stand by my statement. MWR is being used as a scapegoat for an incident NASCAR thought would move them into the stick and ball sports arena but became a media tar baby.

NAPA wanted to move on...this was an excuse. This one strike your out rule should be applied to politicians and corporate executives first.......LOTS of turnover then!!!!!

Great job! I really miss those kits!!

All a great score....but that pile of Evergreen.......drool......

As a 73 Javelin owner.....Pretty nice!!! My only suggestion is the shape or size of the rear side window......somethings off...not sure what....it's so close to correct it's hard to pick out. EDIT: maybe the window is too long.....it's so close I'd almost go with it!