Don Sikora II

I remember when that store was still Garman's hobby shop.

I built the only mint MPC Buick Skyhawk I had, but I remember comparing it to an early Monza and I thought the Buick had to have come first. it didn't include as many optional parts as the Monza and those areas on the trees were just empty...no runners, no number tabs, nothing. it's like they hadn't been tooled yet, or if they were cut the runners weren't cut in so there was no way to mold them. The Super Hawk box in my collection has two built ups in it, so i can't compare it to the Monza trees. This picture shows my MPC H-Body kits. The left column is the "Super Hawk" Buick, '75 Monza annual, '76 Monza annual, and '77 Monza annual. Left column is the "Street Spyder" (based on the '78), "Black Max" '79 annual, "Long Shot" '81 annual, and the Pro Street reissue from 1984. I'm missing the '78 annual and the '80 annual "Hot Streak." The "Black Max" is molded in black, "Long Shot" is orange, and "Hot Streak" and the "Pro Street" kits are yellow. The Buick and remaining Monzas were molded in white. The Street Spyder was the first MPC Monza I had as a kid. Built this one several years ago for NNL Milwaukee when the theme was "That '70s NNL." The front spoiler is from the Pro Street version. Here's the not-quite finished Street Spyder with my built Skyhawk.

Dave's right about the engine, it was in the Early Iron version too. The Monogram Sand Shark that was in SSP also had a similar Pontiac motor. It's not exactly the same, but it should be a decent start.

The Big Deuce kit came out in 1963.

I agree the Revell Snap-Tites like the '57 Chevy would be a good place to start. There are a lot of different ones to look at...'63 Corvette, Ferrari Enzo, '69 Camaro, recent Mustang, etc. so he should be able to pick out something than interests him. If you want to go glue, it's tough to beat "classic" Monogram for a beginner. Maybe the '78 Firebird, the full-fendered '32 Ford roadster, or something from Tom Daniel.

Here's a picture of the new slicks. They're really nice.

I bought the '75 Gremlin at Model Empire earlier this week.

My little sister and I grew up in the Seventies and watched all that stuff in reruns...I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, The Munsters, The Brady Bunch, Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy, Hogan's Heroes, McHale's Navy, My Three Sons, Gilligan's Island, etc. We didn't worry about black and white shows because the only TV in our house into the early 80s was my grandparent's old b&w Zenith console.

Picked up the AMT '75 Gremlin X kit today along with two cans of Tamiya spray paint and some #11 X-Acto blades.

Yeah, I have a 1958 or '59 GMC box truck that's 1/36th scale. Pretty sure it is a First Gear.

At an event I attended for work last summer I was able to spend a few minutes behind the wheel of a Euro-spec Focus with the 1.0-liter EcoBoost. It wasn't for very long, but it was pretty promising. The blog post I wrote about the experience is at the link. http://cgdailydrive.com/a-quick-spin-in-a-euro-spec-ford-focus-with-a-1-0-liter-3-cylinder-ecoboost/

I've never seen that before either! Looks pretty nice.

I actually have one of those Faller The Bridge on the River Kwai kits. It always makes me think of Higgins from Magnum PI. I'm guessing the kit is from the late 1950s. The lighter color "wood" pieces in my kit are molded with darker swirls in the plastic that makes for a surprisingly decent woodgrain effect.

It does. There was another version before this one with a "stock" Beetle nose too.

The kit includes the two-ear knock offs that are meant to be used with the "stock" wire wheels. The new kit includes three sets of wheels: The wire wheels, the so-so 5-spokes that have been in all the recent issues, and the "Avanti" Halibrands. I have an original issue of the King Cobra. It didn't have the kidney-beans from the first issue Cobra either. It had two sets of wheels: The so-so 5-spokes and a set of deep-offset 10-spoke Shelby mags similar to those seen on the 1:1 green Shelby Mustang shown elsewhere in this thread. I haven't seen the 10-spokes in any other kits, but I don't have every issue of the AMT Cobra. To answer the other question, the "Avanti" Halibrands do not have engraved lug nut details.

I bought one of the reissues today. It does NOT include Kidney Bean Halibrands as shown in this picture. It does include the different style of Halibrands that AMT retooled for the recent reissue of the Studebaker Avanti kit. Sorry, I'm not sure of the proper name for those wheels. They are also similar to the wheels in the Revell Rat Rod '31 Model A sedan kit. The reissue also includes a set of eight turned metal tall injector stacks for the drag version and some really nice new Goodyear Bluestreak slicks with tampo lettering and blue stripes.

That's neat, haven't seen that kit it before.

The AMT glue '53 Vette was first released sometime in the mid-to-late 1970s.

Yeah, these are the only true "promo kits" that come to mind. They were simplified like a promo (molded shut hood, no engine, simple chassis, etc.) but required assembly.

Yeah, I think that's the one. I remember the scene, and it is a Messerschmitt 109. Think it was a Revell 1/32-scale kit. He has lots of problems with it, and he's trying to build it to "relax." Isn't Joe Peschi in the scene too?

No, this Hurst Olds kit is the second version of the 1969 Olds 442 W-30 kit that was originally released by MPC/Ertl around 1988. The Hurst Olds kit was first released by AMT/Ertl in 1989. These kits use completely different tooling than the Jo-Han kit.

Roger Harney of Revell told me at Toledo that these two kits are being reworked to have plastic bodies.

I really enjoyed the recent A&E series Longmire. The show is about a Wyoming sheriff and is based on a series of mysteries by Craig Johnson. I'm not much of a mystery reader, but I picked up the first book in the series The Cold Dish and found it even better than the show. I've also read Death Without Company and just picked up Kindness Goes Unpunished. Monte: King of Atom-Age Monster Decals! by Bill Shelby was recommended by a former co-worker. That one is a great read too!

Yes, the top two are the same basic kit. They are based on the Bel Air convertible kit. The Hot Rod kit is a reissue of the Sixties-era Revell kit with opening doors etc. The Hot Rod kits were first released around 1986.

Say what you will about Wal-Mart, but it would be good for this hobby if all their stores start carrying kits again. I live in the middle of one of the largest metro areas in the country and it is way too hard to find a kit in a store. In Kenosha (city of about 100,000 between Chicago and Milwaukee) there are two places, an old-school hobby shop where the owner is retiring and selling down his stock and Hobby Lobby. I'm sure that's a better situation than many other places in this country. I know where to find any kit I want online, but you need kits (and Testors paint) in stores for kids and casual builders to see. Yeah, some might buy the occasional kit online, but being able to "window" shop and compare in a Wal-Mart is much better.