Moebius 61 Pontiac Catalina

[Rob Hall]

Got a couple of the new Moebius '61 Catalinas from Tower Hobbies this afternoon. Plans for at least two, one stock and one 2dr sedan using the Missing Link conversion I have. I didn't realize it would have any optional parts, there is a set of 5 spoke mags. And the tires are whitewall on one side, black on the other (box art only shows blackwalls). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by Rob Hall

[Classicgas]

Looks great. I do think narrow sidewalls would be more accurate.

[Art Anderson]

Looks great. I do think narrow sidewalls would be more accurate.

"Stripewalls", even narrow whitewalls, were a couple of years in the future, in 1961.  I was there, as a teenager, so I remember those days very well.

Art

 

[bbowser]

I love the looks of this kit.  What are the differences between the Catalina and the Ventura?  To my untrained eye they look pretty much alike.

[modelercarl]

Looks great. I do think narrow sidewalls would be more accurate.

One of these (a white one) was my first car after getting out of the army in August 1964 and it had these whitewalls on it.... remember scrubbing them with Brillo pads to get them white.  I don't remember when "skinny" whitewalls came on the scene but it was a few years later.

[Rob Hall]

I love the looks of this kit.  What are the differences between the Catalina and the Ventura?  To my untrained eye they look pretty much alike.

side trim, upholstery patterns, hubcaps and optional wheels.  They also corrected the grille w the Pontiac badge that was missing from the Ventura kit. 

[High octane]

I love the looks of this kit.  What are the differences between the Catalina and the Ventura?  To my untrained eye they look pretty much alike.

The Ventura is an "upgraded" Catalina as I owned a '60 Ventura as my first car.

[Ron Hamilton]

I can't wait!!!!

[tim boyd]

"Wide whites" were still factory equipment in the 1961 model year.  The switch to thin whitewalls occurred industry-wide at the start of the 1962 model year....   

[pack rat]

The thin whitewalls were standard equipment on the 1961 Impala SS (a mid-year introduction).

It's the only pre-1962 application I'm aware of, but there may have been other rare examples.     

Edited November 15, 2017 by pack rat

[Ron Hamilton]

he thin whitewalls were standard equipment on the 1961 Impala SS (a mid-year introduction).

It's the only pre-1962 application I'm aware of, but there may have been other rare examples.     

the 1961 Thunderbird also got the thin whitewalls mid-year.

[kelson]

I plan to get a couple,does this kit have the window fitting issue a well?.

Edited November 15, 2017 by kelson

[unclescott58]

I keep being impressed with the knowledge of people on this site. The situation with the width of white side walls for example. The guys above were all correct on the history of the change over. Basically '62 with a few exceptions. I'm very impressed.

[Daniel Lynch]

Look as another very nice kit from Moebius! 

[espo]

I'll have to get a couple of these. I have built the Ventura and really enjoyed how those turned out.  Ya the white wall thing really started in late '61 in the after market tires and the '62 models started to offer a narrower white wall tires and there started to be some of the black sidewall showing between the wheel and the white wall. It seemed that every year the white wall would get narrower and narrower until around '66 when they became a white stripe. With the arrival of the 70 series tires around '67 they really got skinny and red stripes and Good Year Blue Streaks  started to become more popular. That is when the raised white letter tire became the fashion statement on anything that was considered a performance car especially when the 60 series tires came out.

[bbowser]

I'll have to get a couple of these. I have built the Ventura and really enjoyed how those turned out.  Ya the white wall thing really started in late '61 in the after market tires and the '62 models started to offer a narrower white wall tires and there started to be some of the black sidewall showing between the wheel and the white wall. It seemed that every year the white wall would get narrower and narrower until around '66 when they became a white stripe. With the arrival of the 70 series tires around '67 they really got skinny and red stripes and Good Year Blue Streaks  started to become more popular. That is when the raised white letter tire became the fashion statement on anything that was considered a performance car especially when the 60 series tires came out.

Remember when L60-15s on Cragars was the hot ticket!?

[espo]

Remember when L60-15s on Cragars was the hot ticket!?

I'm really more of an American five spoke man my self. I like Cragars on a cruiser or else a MoPar since they just always looks right on those. There is a lot to be said for the Pontiac 8 lugs on a high output car with a 4-speed.

[Motor City]

Remember when L60-15s on Cragars was the hot ticket!?

Yes, those were the days, Bruce, but they didn't last too long!  Then it became all about emissions, gas mileage, 5 mph. bumpers.  Now we have cars that don't even have trunks anymore, and people are buying them. 

[Classicgas]

"Wide whites" were still factory equipment in the 1961 model year.  The switch to thin whitewalls occurred industry-wide at the start of the 1962 model year....   

thanks for the correction. I was close, lol.

[Ron Hamilton]

On ‎11‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 6:56 PM, Rob Hall said:

Got a couple of the new Moebius '61 Catalinas from Tower Hobbies this afternoon. Plans for at least two, one stock and one 2dr sedan using the Missing Link conversion I have. I didn't realize it would have any optional parts, there is a set of 5 spoke mags. And the tires are whitewall on one side, black on the other (box art only shows blackwalls). 

While I have yet to build my Ventura, the Catalina Looks Very nice also, and I am glad that the grille is corrected with the Pontiac Script. I also picked up a Missing Link '61 Pontiac Catalina Post Sedan which I plan to do a Super Duty 2 door post sedan with.

[Rob Hall]

Just now, Ron Hamilton said:

While I have yet to build my Ventura, the Catalina Looks Very nice also, and I am glad that the grille is corrected with the Pontiac Script. I also picked up a Missing Link '61 Pontiac Catalina Post Sedan which I plan to do a Super Duty 2 door post sedan with.

They also made the front turn signals visible (they weren't really on the Ventura kit).    I know there was the stock car version, I wonder if they will do a Super Duty drag version w/ a hood scoop. 

[Ron Hamilton]

19 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

They also made the front turn signals visible (they weren't really on the Ventura kit).    I know there was the stock car version, I wonder if they will do a Super Duty drag version w/ a hood scoop. 

I went to our model club meeting, and a friend picked up the Catalina Stock Car. I noticed your comments concerning the parking lamps, and I agree with you, but there are a few other foibles to attend to in the kit, but I will deal with them when I build one. I am in the planning stage for now. I have gathered the parts I need for the build, which I hope will commence next year.

[Mark]

Moebius added the script to the grille, but the bumper (like the AMT annual kits) has obvious parting lines, and the side areas of the bumper have a roughness to them that shouldn't be there.  This is true of the Weatherly NASCAR version also.  I haven't checked the earlier Ventura kit to see if they are the same in this respect, or if this has crept in over time.  I'll probably clean up one bumper and make castings without the parting lines or roughness on the sides.  

[espo]

I finally was able to get the Catalina kit this week. Something I didn't know was the wheel options. They have the plan steel wheel with the small "dog  dish" hub caps, they eight lug wheels are in there and a nice set of 5 spoke mag wheels in chrome. The engine has the option of the 3-2's and 2-4's which again I wasn't aware of. Without checking any references the interior look perfect for the base Catalina. I'm one happy camper about this and can't wait to get into it.     

[Luc Janssens]

10 hours ago, Mark said:

Moebius added the script to the grille, but the bumper (like the AMT annual kits) has obvious parting lines, and the side areas of the bumper have a roughness to them that shouldn't be there.  This is true of the Weatherly NASCAR version also.  I haven't checked the earlier Ventura kit to see if they are the same in this respect, or if this has crept in over time.  I'll probably clean up one bumper and make castings without the parting lines or roughness on the sides.  

Strange that they didn't altered the shape a bit, to avoid that parting line. I'm sure mods like that, will be less noticeable then the big "60s promo way" of molding things...

Maybe next time Dave could send some test shots over to me, for evaluations, hint, hint, cuz an outsider has a more fresh look