Don Sikora II

They are the same basic MPC '67 Charger kit. Neither has stock wheels/tires or a stock exhaust system. Not sure if any other stock parts are missing.

AMT added the engine, opened the hood, and revised the chassis at some point in the 1970s. Yes, the original annual, and the 1961 Styline issue, were both curbsides.

Maybe something from Revell that Monogram originally made in the 1970s would be a good place to start. The 1978 Firebird (1/24 scale 3in1, not the Smokey and the Bandit 1/25 kit) or the GMC pickup with snow plow are a couple examples.

The Matchbox Escort shown above is the Revell kit. Revell-Germany used that black box art design for Matchbox kits sometime around 1990.

Saw the white and gray Tamiya primers at the HL in Racine, Wisconsin, a few days ago. It was on the bottom shelf to the left of the Testor's rack. They've been resetting the model aisle at the Racine and Kenosha stores the past couple of weeks and I seem to notice something new on each visit. Found one of the AMT tire packs the week before.

I've been going to Don's in Kenosha since I was a little kid in the mid-1970s. He's been winding down and selling off his inventory for probably a couple years and is only open three days a week now. He doesn't get any new items, but he rents space to another local guy who does get some new stuff. Gary's in Racine is gone now too. There's a new hobby shop in downtown Kenosha called Friend's that I think is operated by a guy who used to have a store in Waukegan, IL. Too bad about Venture. I started going there in the late 1980s, but it has been on a downhill trajectory for sometime. If you're in that area, the Hobbytown USA on Waukegan Road by the Edens Spur is really a pretty good shop that's worth checking out. Think it's in Northbrook, but it might be Deerfield.

Pretty sure all the reissues of this basic kit since the Convoy Chaser first came out haven't had the stock exhaust at all. Would be surprised if it isn't in this issue though.

Gunze Sangyo made a 1/24-scale 928/928S kit hat had full engine detail too. The doors and hatch open on it too. It also came in a Testors box at one point.

1) Yes. 2) My mom 3) Mostly cars, but planes and ships too. Can't remember for sure the very first one, but the early ones included the Mini Lindy Vega, boattail Riviera, and Gremlin, an AMT'64 Ford Modified Stocker, a Palmer '70 or '71 T-Bird, a some of the inexpensive Hawk kits like the Messerschmitt ME-163, ME-109, Chaparral 2, and LST. 4) Housewife and mother 5) Three or four. For sure I remember having the Mini Lindys and 64 Ford Mod Stocker at our first house, and we moved a few months after my fourth birthday. 6) 1972 or '73

The late Chuck Jordan, former head of GM design, was a model car collector. I remember seeing him at three different swap meets. Jay Leno was at one of the Strictly 43rd shows in Chicago .

Those are great finds!

Everybody, thanks for all the advice. I was able to contact someone at the Stickley Museum who was able to help with some information. He said the style is called "Quaint American" and the bed was made in the 1925-1935 era. He thinks the finish is original. He said there isn't much of a collector market and value is "discretionary." Now we need to find somebody local to look at it.

And this seemingly polar opposite twin pack: The twin pack was a K-Mart special...one of several different two packs made for K-Mart over a period of two or three years. The Chevy truck has the same basic decals as the Hot Rod issue, but they were printed in green rather than red. I don't think they were used in any other issues of the kit. The parts were molded in metallic green...the same color used for the Revell 1992 Grand Prix GTP and Monogram Callaway Corvette Speedster.

I hear you Harry. I've watched enough of Antiques Roadshow to know the Stickley label could be a very good thing.

We've been asked to sell this old bed for a relative. She bought it second hand in Seattle, probably in the 1960s. It's painted a blue/turquoise color and has floral designs on the headboard and footboard. A shipping label from Stickley Bros. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is tacked on the inside of one of the side rails. It looks like the paint is original, and while worn a bit in spots (mostly on edges) I'd say it is in pretty good condition. I've tried google but haven't had much luck. Anybody have any idea how old it might be? What Stickley called this style? What it might be worth?

That's the SSP-series reissue from about 1993 or 1994. It was made with the "chrome" tree unplated on purpose, but the instructions weren't updated to reflect that.

Like any good model builder in Wisconsin, I built a Green Bay Packers van when this kit was first released. Think I still have the rest of the decal sheet someplace.

Very nice.

Interesting that the box doesn't call it an SS.

How do the decals look? Are they nice?

I think the Casper Phone Booth kit came after the Stroker Tall T kit. Haven't had them, but assume they are related. MPC had several Stroker McGurk kits in the early days of the company. I have parts from two or three of the Ghost of the Red Baron kits....a hot rodded Fokker Tri-Plane turned into a Bonneville racer. Didn't know about the Super Zingers. It's amazing how much stuff MPC did in a relatively short period of time.

Were the Super Zingers ever issued? Can't say I've seen either of these, but remember having a kit that MPC called the "CB Freak." It was similar to the "Fired Up" kit shown but had a trucker talking on a CB sticking out of the cab instead of the engine. Would guess it was from the late 1970s.

It might be close to 15 years ago now, but Revell offered a ProFinish pre-decorated version of the Snap-Tite New Beetle. Not sure if it matters, but the New Beetle was built in Mexico, not Germany.

Pretty sure Modeler's offered pink primer back in the late '80s or early '90s. Their paint was great but was really, really expensive in the states.

it's a reissue, and the one in my collection is in the "Matchbox" box too. The box might have been used overseas as well, but I remember both boxes being on the shelves at my local hobby shop.