Jim Gibbons

I have to add another question to you knowledgeable folks; I've been studying the movie pictures, and the bumper "pads" if that's what they were, seem to be missing on the movie car. Does anyone know if they were an option or not? I suspect that the car used for the movie got a quick "restoration" to the point that if the pads were dry rotted and removed, foil or a quick refinish was used to cover things. I've never seen a 540K pic with featureless bumpers. I guess I'm going to have to do some serious sanding if I want to replicate the movie car.

After posting this topic, I had to dredge up my Renwal 540K. Yes, Renwal 1/48 models qualify as those kits you love to hate. I love them. Here's some pics: I wish some of them were still available.

I have a few Mercedes Benz 540K models in the queue. One of them is the Testors/Italeri Cabriolet B. It's actually my favorite body style of the 540Ks; not so flamboyant as the other versions. It's the "practical" 540K. I'm considering building it as the one that is in the movie "Sound of Music." Laugh if you must, but I like old musicals. The movie car is a bit boring colorwise (black all around,) but it'll make a neat kit, and I'll include the appropriate 1938-39 Austrian license plates. My question to you knowledgeable classic car folks, is do you know what happened to that particular car, and does it appear now as it did 46 years ago? You might have access to old auction files, etc. I did numerous web searches and came up empty. It's not a deal killer; if I can't find pics of that particular car, I'll "fudge" the actual dash finish, etc. There's a few pics of it, and I can always get the movie to narrow down a few particulars. Here's a few pics of the movie car. Thanks in advance for any info I might receive. As an aside, I've had a nearly lifelong thing going for Charmian Carr, who played Liesl. Sigh. May she forever be 16 going on 17. The least I can do is to build a model of the car she rode in!

Oh, I was a bit confused. I thought that the "Free Cigars" was a platform statement referencing a man named "Cigars" who was wrongly incarcerated for political reasons. If it's the tobacco, I'm in, too!

I had a blast watching that; got my vote! You need to add that you're a "model" citizen!

Everyone has pretty much said it all; patience is the keyword, and maybe rigging some "jigs" to align the panels. I built this in my teens when it was re-released in the mid '70s, and recall using some tape and jars of Testor's paint to hold things up while I did the body. I really liked the kit; I built a couple more when they were issued in the "Skips" Drive In series. (Love those Olds spinner hubcaps!) The only thing that bugged me was the non-prototypical rear deck hinge and cutouts, and if I ever build another, I'd probably try to fix that. I was used to multi-piece bodies on old Revell and Aurora kits, so I never even thought about it. It's a challenge, but Revell engineered it quite well to put the seam locations in logical places. The thing that impressed me about it was that the working roof DID work! Today, I'd likely drill and use pins on some of the roof actuator arms, as the "press/friction" fit "nubs" can wear out over time, especially at the front folding portion of the hardtop.

I remember my father taking us to the Long Island Automotive Museum in Southhampton when I was a kid back in the mid '60s. The two things I remember the most about that museum was the Pierce Silver Arrow in the collection, and the vintage firetruck that would give rides to kids. I can visualize that Silver Arrow to this day, and remember my father telling me that it was a really special car. I thought it was one of the most beautiful cars I had ever seen, and was amazed how big it seemed. (It was big!) Dad had to pick me up so I could see the interior of it, as the door handles were eye level. Since dad had a '63 SAAB 96 at the time, pretty much everything seemed huge in comparison, especially my neighbor's '58 Buick that I had ridden in from time to time. Sadly, that museum closed in 1980 (the man who had it is written up in the current issue of Hemming's Classic Car magazine,) but I will never forget that Silver Arrow. I regret not getting the Franklin Mint diecast of that car.

It's too bad Monogram didn't have the Auburn in their classic series. It would have made a nice Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg set.

That I don't know. Pyro also had one, so it is likely the Pyro mold from Lindberg. I really doubt Lindberg would have attempted to reissue a '49 as bad as the Palmer kit. I have a couple of old Pyro kits of '52 Chevies; one is the fastback, the other, a wagon. Despite having no chrome, and poorly shaped (injection molded on the parts tree) tires, they are magnificent compared to that Palmer '49 Ford. However, for all I know, Palmer might have contracted to have Pyro mold a bunch of the '49s for them, too. If I recall, Palmer was in Brooklyn at the time, and Pyro across the Hudson in NJ. Maybe some of the forum members here might know more about that. Either way, if you get a Lindberg '49, be sure to get it very cheaply, and evaluate it that way. Here's a pic I Googled; the one I had did not have chrome parts, or an open grille. The grille supplied was the flat piece in the middle of the photo sitting at an angle. Mine was also molded in a revolting shade of greenish brown; years later, I saw the same shade while changing diapers. I guess Palmer bought their plastic pellets at the cheapest price they could find them at, regardless of the color. I wouldn't expect the Lindberg/Pyro to be significantly better, if it is indeed a different kit, and is also a multi-piece body. In retrospect, they were sort of designed to also be used as slot car bodies, so I can't be too hard on them. Still, a simply awful kit!

I'll second that. I built it in the late '70s when I had a 1:1 '69, as it was the only game in town. The same person who tooled this must have done the '56 Chevy, too, and yet I've built a number of them. Mark's Palmers have to win the prize, though; I remember building a 1/32 '49 Ford from them in the early '70s, and when it was finished, vowed never again to spend my hard earned allowance and job money on a Palmer kit. Saturday Night Live of the era should have had a Dan Ackroyd sketch as Leonard Pinth Carnell doing "Bad Models!" :)

You can get Herb Deeks wheels on Ebay, and he adds info on using them for dragsters: http://cgi.ebay.com/Wire-Wheel-trans-kit-1-25-24-1-32-photo-etch-Borrani-/400147732745?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d2aa9d909

Two unusual ones; a 1/24 Dauphine Alfa Romeo (Alfa built the Renault Dauphine under license from '59-'64,) and a 1/43 SAAB 95. The SAAB is actually in resin by NEO, so technically not diecast, but neat and offbeat. I doubt I'll ever see this era SAAB as a plastic model in my lifetime.

Any of the old Aurora 1/32 or so scale sports cars; some are better than others. The Porsche 356 isn't too bad. This T-Bird I have to restore that I built eons ago is one of the worst. I still love 'em! My other candidates are the old 1/48 Renwall models. Some aren't too bad, though, but the tires, wire wheels, and often very thin chrome plating leave a lot to be desired. I have a couple to restore, a '57 T-Bird, a Mercedes 540K (also have an unbuilt original,) and a Bugatti. I still have these '48 Continentals.

Thanks for the decal information, folks; I think I'll order the 917 set.

Looking good! I wish I had those tire stencils when I built mine; the press type lettering supplied with Tamiya kits always gave me fits!

Clear coating the decals will help seal them, but from my experience, it was an issue of very poor adhesive. As I mentioned before, I'd suggest applying some thinned white glue to the areas that will have decals. I'm sure that some of your decals are printed in white, so scanning/printing won't help you. You might start a thread on old decal suggestions, especially when it comes to adhesion. I'm far from an expert in the matter.

Very cool, Steve. I'll have to do a search on that. If you have the vendor's Ebay info, I'd appreciate it. The Auto Union is not much of an issue; heck, with some careful cutting on a red decal sheet, good results could be had. The 917 is another story.

Sorry, but I can't part with mine. It shouldn't be too hard to find one; Revell Germany purchased some of the old Matchbox molds, and issued the Auto Union again several years ago. From what I understand, the Herb Deeks photoetched wire wheels work well with this kit.

That's a really nice build! I have one of those in storage when they were molded in silver, but it sat on a shelf unopened for several years. When I did open it, it was missing an entire parts tree. By then, it was too late to get replacement parts from Monogram. It is a neat kit; I also have an Italeri 540K to build along side of this one.

Well, Mike, you said it all. I've learned a lot myself, and have gotten some great reference material, etc., from folks via email or forum links. This is an awesome group with a seemingly limitless resource of talent and knowledge. I have to add my thanks to all the folks here.

I am one happy camper! I was able to get this MB 540K on Ebay for $9.95 as the only bidder. Yes, classic cars don't appeal to a lot of folks, but I expected some interest. It's an original issue molded in red. The main reason I bid on this kit was that it was my tenth birthday gift back in '69. I plan to build it much the same way I did back then, but detail it a little better, and not have the glue smears (which were not all that bad for a kid with my skills at the time.) I'm not even going to paint the body (I can hear folks gasping and screaming ) Monogram did a great job of polishing the body molds, so all I'll do is sand the minimal mold parting lines, then follow up with a polishing kit. I hope to finish this as a birthday present to myself on May 7th. I want to relive this kit and have as much fun with it as I did 42 years ago. There was a small extra in this kit that I got a kick out of. An old set of decals from a Pyro model. I have a feeling that had the person built this kit, it would have ended up with these decals. I'm lucky that they didn't get any further than fitting one whitewall insert!

I haven't built this particular kit, but I did build (partially) their 1/32 Porsche 917 CanAm model, and have an Auto Union Type C in the stash. These are neat kits, but with 1/32 being a bit of an oddball scale-wise, I don't think they're ever going to get big $ as a collectible. I say build it and enjoy it. The only thing that's keeping me from finishing the 917 is the decals. They are of the L&M sponsored car. I built quite a number of Matchbox aircraft kits in the '70s, and the decals on every one of those planes eventually lifted or flaked off. I had even gone as far as brushing on Microscale gloss to seal them (big mistake; the formula from the '70s yellows faster than a nicotine addicts teeth!) and even that didn't help. When I do apply the decals on the 917, I may brush some diluted white glue where the decals go to improve adhesion. Another possibility is that I'll scan them, then print new ones on decal paper. You might consider that as a backup.

Thanks, Skip, that's the color!

You're right Darin; this is an exceptional kit that would be right up there tooling wise with today's kits. Yes, a few fit issues that can be dealt with, but as you said, test fitting and careful assembly will fix that. I'm going to build mine stock with the standard wheels and hubcaps. If anyone needs or wants the Rudge wheels, I'd be happy to send them. A few years ago, I saw a 300SL roadster in dark grey with a red interior. It's a bit of a rare color for the 300SL, but looks good. I did have a picture saved on a now defunct computer of a Gullwing in that scheme. That's what I'm planning for it. I figure Tamiya German Grey with gloss will work. Rick, I REALLY like your vintage racing version. I do timing and scoring with the SCCA at vintage racing events, and it's a passion of mine. Back in the late 90's, I saw a silver Gullwing run just like yours. Nothing pleases me more than seeing a vintage sports car being driven the way it was meant to. Trailer Queens need not apply!

Very nice. I also have this in my stash. It is one of AMT's finest kits of the era. I can remember seeing it when it first came out in the '60s, drooling over it, and realizing that my modeling skills at the time, and my allowance, would not have it in my possession. In the mid 70's, it was re-issued, and I finally was able to build it. I was able to get one some years back for "pocket change" and need to build it. Skip, they did include the Rudge knock-offs, but I can't remember if they were were correctly molded without lugnuts. I'm pretty sure they are, but looking at the Drastic Plastic instruction sheet, they show lugs, likely to save the graphic artist drawing new wheels. Mine is in storage, so can't access it to verify.