64Comet404

Replicas and Miniatures used to do tunnelled taillights for the Merc, as well as a dedicated set of window cranks.

It is. Apparently the only parts left from the original tool were the bodyshell and the fender skirts, which is one of the reasons why ERTL cut a new tool.

I remember reading that the 'one other kit' body still existed in the tooling bank into the ERTL days. I wonder if it's still there...

The Cougar top is the same as the Mustang coupe top in 1:1. I have seen some conversions, and owned a resin one from the Detroit guys, and there's something a bit off when the two are melded (I think the Mustang may be a bit undersized). A new resin or 3D print based off the Revell body would be welcome!

The car was a bit of a problem, because it really wasn't sized to fit the actors. Even when it was the women driving the car, there were a number of embarrassing moments involving short skirts and climbing over the door sills. I have the paperbacks in storage, and remember that the agents always complained when they were required to use the spy car (ostensibly to 'test' out the operation of the gadgets...)

Has anyone tried to cross-kit the SMP-AMT 59 Imperial with the customized 4 door? The 4 door is still current. I'd take a couple of Bluesmobiles. You could even convert it to a two-door, or some of the other C-Body barges that Chrysler was selling back then.

One of the issues (I think it was the Model King) had the chassis from the MPC Southern Stocker series of kits, which had been shortened to the 110" wheelbase. The Wood Brothers kit was repaired to the correct wheelbase, IIRC.

The body was used to make a stock '32 sedan, using the running gear from the '32 Phaeton kit. Only issued back in the mid-1970's. Who knows where the rest of it went after the body tooling was removed.

Does anyone remember what the original paint colours were for the car when bought by Popular Hot Rodding in 1965? The B&W pics show a two-tone, but that's all I can tell.

It will be good to have the Bond Bug back, but it will really hurt to pay the same for a new kit as I did for the shipping for an original bagged kit...

Looks fantastic! I have one on order, hoping it arrives soon.

I will take a 135, and possibly some of the other kits as well. I would be really happy if they get rid of the vinyl tree, and mould it in styrene.

Salvino's is keeping the more modern releases (anything 1981 and newer) at 1:24, as it is the scale popularized by Monogram's kits. Any of the 115" cars are in 1:25, as they are the same size as the MPC, AMT and JoHan offerings. Jim Rogers (the 'JR' in Salvino's JR) 3D-printed one of the 1981 LeMans bodies in 1:25, in order to show the difference between the 115" and 110" cars. It is surprising to see how much smaller one of the later cars is compared to the older racers.

For 1:48 biplane kits, it's hard to beat some of the latest Eduard releases. Their earlier kits were short-run mouldings, but more recent kits have good tooling and quality. I would also check out some of the pages like Hyperscale for build reviews. I like some of Roden's kits, but they can be fiddly. Decals also leave a lot to be desired. Hope this helps.

Nice to have this one back, but I hope a decal company will release a sheet with the gold leaf markings. I remember trying to brush-paint these on the Model King reissue with mixed results.

I'm going to play a bit of Devil's Advocate here, because I think Revell may have replicated the 1:1 wheelwell accurately, just not the ones found on the original car when manufactured. Just hear me out on this. You have to remember R-M was based in the Chicago area, which was known for heavy salt use in the winter months. Combine this with the nonexistence of replacement quarter panels and wheelwells, and you can see how many older cars were rebuilt with quarters which were close to, but not exactly like, the originals. The Comet wagon you see as my avatar is a case in point. It lived the majority of its life in the Ottawa, Ontario region, which used a lot of salt on the roads. When the second owner took it in for bodywork in the early 1980's, the repair shop rebuilt the quarters and rockers with shaped metal and a lot of brazing rod. It looked like an original 1964 Comet wagon, until you looked at a picture of an original car. Does that mean that Revell did a poor job on replication? Possibly. I think they should have found other vehicles to compare their prototype with, even if it would have added some travel time to the budget. As always, YMMV.

The Jefferies logos were also on the Fonzie Dream Rod issue, but you had to find a full length top and the Monkee licence plate.

I have that one, but I would like a retooled version with recessed panel lines and some state of the art engraving.

Good looking build, Pat. I keep hoping Italeri or some other mfr. will make a new tool kit of the Boxcar.

They need to add the camper conversion interior to that one! I don't know if there was one, but it looks the part. I'm not going to consider getting the highroof version until I finally get the regular kit in my hands. Hopefully it shows up in the mail this week...

Lindberg 1:32 kits were my first builds. A 1976 Ford Granada and a 1934 Ford 'Tub', bought on the same day at the local Woolworths. Long, long gone but I have built replacement versions for the display case.

Scale Finishes makes a Chevy engine orange. If you can't order it, you can always buy a spray can of Chevy Orange engine enamel from your local auto parts store. Hope this helps.

The way I always understood it was: Johnson: parts that weren't up to Evinrude standards Mariner: parts what weren't up to Mercury standards Force: They're not up to Mariner standards, but the engine will run until 1 second past the warranty expiration! There were a pile of store-brand outboards made by OMC which contained pieces of older Evinrude and Johnson design work. There were some badge engineered Mercs, but not as many as compared to OMC. Then there were the Chryslers...

I always loved the Darlington announcer describing "The young rookie, Dick Petty..." ?

I'm surprised there hasn't been any 1:24-1:25 models of any SAAB cars. With all the interest in rally kits, I hope we can finally get a GT850 or a 99/900 series in plastic.