Don Sikora II

You might want to try a different browser. I couldn't see the pictures in Safari, but it worked fine in Chrome.

Laughed out loud at the Bronco.

I'm strongly in the "it depends" camp. I do have some old kits I've left sealed, but if I really want to look at a kit I'll open it. If the wrap is nice, or I want to preserve something like an old price tag, I'll just cut the wrap along the edges of the box bottom and leave it on the lid. Maybe I'm lucky, but I don't think I've ever had a box with as much crushing from shrinking shrink wrap as your Vegas T-Bird. I'd probably open it, especially if I was worried about the parts getting damaged.

Bob, I think you're right that the Street Rods kit didn't have the skirts. The SMP '59 Corvette kits also have different custom parts than the '60s. Pretty sure the '59 hardtop kit included a few additional custom pieces that weren't in the '59 convertible too. I have unbuilt SMP '59 and '60 Vette kits and can post pictures of the parts if anybody is interested. The SMP/AMT kit isn't great, but I have to admit I like it quite a bit. Like some of the early AMT Trophy Series kits it has a definite charm to it and I've collected some cool old customs that were built from these kits.

Yes, that's built from an original SMP '60 Corvette hardtop kit. The rear fender lines have been built up with putty or something, but the skirts, side pipes, and wire-wheel overlays are from the kit. Pretty sure the RC2-era reissues of this basic kit, which were NUMEROUS, included the skirts and side pipes.

Cool build!

Nope, Monogram never offered a stock or 4-in-1 version of the '29 Model A pickup. The timeline posted by RatRod is correct, this kit started out as the Blue Beetle.

Yes, the Riptide car is the old SMP/AMT kit.

Casey, yes it seems they are talking about the same kit in that old thread.

Nope, the old vinyl seats were custom "race" buckets. Mark said the custom buckets are included in this new kit but molded in styrene instead. The '80s reissue is the same way, basically a '68 interior with a '70 dashboard.

Even though the box says AMT, this is the last reissue of the MPC '60 Corvette kit from about a decade ago. If I remember correctly, it does come with a up top and a removable hardtop. If it's in an 10 or so year old AMT box with a red built-up model, that's the old SMP/AMT kit which is a completely different kit. AMT reissued kits in a zillion different boxes at that time, so it can get very confusing what kit is in what box.

Heller made the kit originally. Pretty sure this is the original issue.

Mark, what does it have for stock tires?

Pretty sure the MPC '60 Corvette has the interior from the '57 kit.

A beautiful red Ferrari F12, in traffic on I-94. Also saw an original 1970s Dodge custom van, complete with fender flares and really wide rubber in back.

Who makes that resin kit?

Pretty sure Round 2 has already reissued the Ford stake truck with original box art. Was the Stevens' issue the Ford tractor with the tandem trailers? Maybe with US Mail decals? Pretty sure I have one of those from the RC2 era.....it's getting hard to keep all the different special issues straight! The Hemi-Shere is the circa-1964 AMT Garlitis kit. I'd like to see the AMT '78-'79 Bronco reissued again too.

The AMT Torino was a reboxed Jo-Han kit. The Model King Torino was a reissue of the MPC Bobby Issac kit.

I've built two of the Heller Moto GP bikes. They really are nice little kits with surprisingly good decals.

I've used old model paint on a few builds. I also have some of those small thin bottles described above, and most of mine are still good too. Those were made by Pactra. This AMT '60 Ford F-100 was painted with really, really old Pactra gloss navy blue in the larger round glass bottles. I thinned with Model Master thinner and sprayed it. The AMT '60 Falcon is Pactra Hot Rod primer. It was in the plastic kinda diamond cut looking bottles from the '70s. Again thinned with Model Master and sprayed. Think I put Model Master satin clear over it so it wouldn't get scuffed. Used the old bottle of Testors in the picture on this original-issue (1959) AMT Deuce roadster.

Man, those window openings look scary. Looks like a ton of work to straighten that out, it might be easier to just start with a Vanagon.

Oh man. Who made that?

Good score. Really tough to find that kit in the States...sure wish Fujimi would reissue it.

MPC's '67 Charger annual was also issued by Airfix. I don't have an MPC annual, but I assume the parts are exactly the same. The box says the kit was "moulded" in the USA, and it includes the MPC decal sheet. Note the Brits decided to call it 1/24 scale.

Didn't Craft House reissue a few of them? Think they were in multi-packs of two or more in a box. Would have been around the same time they reissued some of the 1/32 Lindberg cars like the Buick Century. Maybe early 90s?