1/25 AMT '62 Pontiac Catalina Polyglas Gasser II

[Mr Stock]

On 08/01/2018 at 2:31 PM, Erik Smith said:

AMT seems to have “lost” a few things in the late 60s. The 1962 Galaxy was reissued late in the decade and disappeared as well as the Bonnie. Neither were converted to next year models or, like many 60’s era models, converted to some form of race or drag car. So...maybe, just maybe, the tooling still survives someplace...

To be honest I think most of those old tools that were last seen in 1969 will never be released again, they may still exist in some form but I would imagine they are damaged beyond repair ....rust on the mold surfaces, missing inserts etc.

However you never know......

[Dave Darby]

11 hours ago, Mr Stock said:

To be honest I think most of those old tools that were last seen in 1969 will never be released again, they may still exist in some form but I would imagine they are damaged beyond repair ....rust on the mold surfaces, missing inserts etc.

However you never know......

Many of the old AMT tools were scrapped around 1973-74 under Tom Gannon's management. Very likely that was one of them. He did the same thing for Monogram with most of the old Aurora tools.

[Ron Hamilton]

Funny thing, the last '62 I built was a derelict '62 Bonneville Convertible, to which I added a roof from a MCW '62 Catalina to make a hardtop. I bought them before AMT marketed its current ;62 kit, which I have several, and one under construction as a convertible. A new tool of the '62 Bonneville would have been great. Another Catalina/Ventura does nothing for me.

[Casey]

2 hours ago, Ron Hamilton said:

Another Catalina/Ventura does nothing for me.

It's a good parts donor if nothing else, and the previous Custom version is in the early '90s price range ($10-$13) all day long on eBay. Great Pontiac V8 with a dual quad intake, nice rearend which, after removing the control arm mounts, etc., can be used under just about any dragstrip duty Chevy for a stouter, more realistic rearend, separate frame and floorpan, poseable front spindles/knuckles, and the steel wheels were decent, too.

[hpiguy]

This should answer a lot of the questions and speculations.
 

 

[Dave Darby]

On 2/8/2018 at 9:40 AM, hpiguy said:

This should answer a lot of the questions and speculations.
 

 

Nice review. I'd like to offer a couple of corrections tho. Those white wall tires are not for the stock version. They only fit the chrome reversed wheels. Previous versions of this kit came with a pair of skinny Firestone tires for the front and a pair of drag slicks for the rear to be used with the stock steel wheels and poverty caps. As far as the burnouts knocking those poverty caps off, I kinda doubt it. If they were full wheel covers yes. Let's just say he popped them off to run at the strip and left them off.

[Casey]

On 1/23/2018 at 11:15 PM, Dave Darby said:

These look like the old MPC tires.

They do look like the Goodyear Polyglas GT tires Round2 included in the '67 Dodge Charger reissue, only now with pad printed redlines on the outer sidewall:

[Bob Ellis]

On 1/24/2018 at 9:22 AM, Mr Stock said:

To be honest I think most of those old tools that were last seen in 1969 will never be released again, they may still exist in some form but I would imagine they are damaged beyond repair ....rust on the mold surfaces, missing inserts etc.

However you never know......

If Model King helped defray the cost again, more lost kits may emerge.

[CapSat 6]

On ‎2‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 1:33 PM, Casey said:

They do look like the Goodyear Polyglas GT tires Round2 included in the '67 Dodge Charger reissue, only now with pad printed redlines on the outer sidewall:

Casey, do you have the same refrigerator that I have in my basement?

[Bob Ellis]

On 1/24/2018 at 8:28 PM, Dave Darby said:

Many of the old AMT tools were scrapped around 1973-74 under Tom Gannon's management. Very likely that was one of them. He did the same thing for Monogram with most of the old Aurora tools.

I believe this.They were in survival mode. Besides , they had to pay taxes on non-performing inventory. Better to scrap what costs money than what pays you money. 

[Luc Janssens]

On 19-2-2018 at 4:57 PM, Bob Ellis said:

I believe this.They were in survival mode. Besides , they had to pay taxes on non-performing inventory. Better to scrap what costs money than what pays you money. 

Very plausible explanation, too many (me included) look at this from a modelers standpoint, instead of cold hard business. 

Edited February 20, 2018 by Luc Janssens

[Peavus]

I just picked up the Polyglass gasser 2 and did a comparison with the annual amt Bonnie and the annual body wheelbase and overall length is longer. 1961 Catalina was a shorter wheelbase but in 62 a Catalina was the longer wheelbase and the same as a Bonneville. A 62 Catalina was a separate trim package on the long wheelbase. Since the Polyglass gasser is a shorter body I suspect that they just used the 61 Ventura chassis. So this body is not correct for a 62 and no scripts on the body. I am disappointed in another incorrect kit from amt but because of all the inaccuracies makes the kit a gasser

[Force]

As many here has allready said, this is not all new kit and it's not based on any annual or even the old Polyglass Gasser kit, the kit is the same as the pre RC2 and Round 2 late 90's then all new tooling 62 Pontiac 421 SD and Custom kits combined to a 2 'n 1 kit, so what's new from those issues are the box, decals and tires, everything else is the same as the late 90's kits.

Edited April 11, 2018 by Force

[pack rat]

7 hours ago, Peavus said:

1961 Catalina was a shorter wheelbase but in 62 a Catalina was the longer wheelbase and the same as a Bonneville.  I am disappointed in another incorrect kit from amt but because of all the inaccuracies makes the kit a gasser

The '62 Catalina and Bonneville were on the same wheelbase?  News to me.  

[AC Norton]

2 hours ago, Force said:

As many here has allready said, this is not all new kit and it's not based on any annual or even the old Polyglass Gasser kit, the kit is the same as the pre RC2 and Round 2 late 90's then all new tooling 62 Pontiac 421 SD and Custom kits combined to a 2 'n 1 kit, so what's new from those issues are the box, decals and tires, everything else is the same as the late 90's kits.

Yeah, and it really is a big disappointment, and the box and decals really don't justify buying one, IMO.....I have a tendency to think that Round2 is 'reaching' on reissues like this trying to capture something very exciting from the long ago, and it just does not cut it....just my 2 cents....the Ace....

[Rob Hall]

27 minutes ago, pack rat said:

The '62 Catalina and Bonneville were on the same wheelbase?  News to me.  

No, the Catalina was on the shorter wheelbase, the Bonneville was on the longer wheelbase.    

[Rob Hall]

9 hours ago, Peavus said:

I just picked up the Polyglass gasser 2 and did a comparison with the annual amt Bonnie and the annual body wheelbase and overall length is longer. 1961 Catalina was a shorter wheelbase but in 62 a Catalina was the longer wheelbase and the same as a Bonneville. A 62 Catalina was a separate trim package on the long wheelbase. Since the Polyglass gasser is a shorter body I suspect that they just used the 61 Ventura chassis. So this body is not correct for a 62 and no scripts on the body. I am disappointed in another incorrect kit from amt but because of all the inaccuracies makes the kit a gasser

  The Catalina was the shorter wheelbase Pontiac, the Bonneville the longer wheelbase....those are well known facts.   The body is correct for a '62 Catalina---it's the '90s AMT tooling.  It's well known what this kit is---a repackaging of the '90s AMT done as a tribute to a past kit--new tires and new box art.    Not sure why any of this would be a surprise to anyone at this point...also, the '61 Ventura was a Moebius kit!!!!   Get your facts straight... 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Rob Hall

[Peavus]

Wheelbase for a 61 Catalina was 119 inch.     Wheelbase for a 62 Catalina was 120 inch.     AMT got it wrong again but who would care, right? Just make a 62 body fit a 61 Ventura chassis, throw some extra tires in and some retro box art and make some money. There are too many inaccurate kits on the market and unless “we the people” demand better, it will only get continue. They did the same thing with the 68,69 Plymouth GTX, road runner kits. 

[Peavus]

Well I have a ruler and it’s not correct. I am not wasting my time building a kit that doesn’t look right after finishing

[Peavus]

Bonneville was 123 inch wheelbase

[hpiguy]

Making all this fuss over .04 inch difference in a plastic car model?

Really?

 

[Rob Hall]

28 minutes ago, Peavus said:

Wheelbase for a 61 Catalina was 119 inch.     Wheelbase for a 62 Catalina was 120 inch.     AMT got it wrong again but who would care, right? Just make a 62 body fit a 61 Ventura chassis, throw some extra tires in and some retro box art and make some money. There are too many inaccurate kits on the market and unless “we the people” demand better, it will only get continue. They did the same thing with the 68,69 Plymouth GTX, road runner kits. 

AMT doesn't make a '61 Ventura kit.    What are you going on about????   This is the modern tool AMT '62 Catalina kit with retro box art, that's all....  

Edited April 11, 2018 by Rob Hall

[Peavus]

Well squeeze some glue

[pack rat]

My 2 cents on this kit.

As most of us know, this was one of the so-called "Mueller-era" kits that was first issued by Ertl in the '90's, with a level of detail that was light years ahead of the old Bonneville annual.  It wasn't engineered to fit any sort of existing '61 chassis, Ventura or otherwise (?). 

I built a display model for Round2  back when the Beswick kit was released.  Of all the "new-tool" AMT kits I've built in the last few years this one was my favorite; I was really impressed with the level of detail (this thing even has "T3" engraving on the headlight lenses!),  ease of assembly (the slicks are a tight fit though),  and finished appearance.  I have to confess, I never broke out a ruler to see if it looked right.....I just looked at it.

Yes, the PG2 is the same kit in a new package, and some may not like it......to each his own.

Yes I know, Beswick fans....the color is way off.        

 

Edited April 12, 2018 by pack rat

[hpiguy]

That's a REALLY nice build.