Project X Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Alright there, just a bit of fun i thought, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being rarest), what would you score each of these AMT kits as? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I'd put the Red Alert at about 3, the Vega wagon and Aquarod at about 6-7, and the Strip 'n Surf Van at about 9. The Red Alert was a K-Mart shelf staple for several years; though it's difficult to find an untouched one, the likelihood of doing so is greater because so many were made. The Vega wagons don't seem to be that tough to find even now (I bought a '73 as pictured not long ago) but if you want a specific year, you'll have to do some digging. (If you just want one period, there were seven years to choose from.) The Aquarod was in the catalog for a couple of years, while the Strip 'N Surf van was a one-year-only item, and has a lot of parts that aren't in the later issues. The body in that kit has a separate hood and separate insert pieces for the window areas; watch for warpage and/or breakage in the cowl area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I picked one of those AquaRod kits for about $25 a couple of years ago... Either that's not so rare or then mine was just very cheap. It was complete, only some chassis parts were painted and glued together. Now I just need to build that. I've never seen that Strip & Surf Van anywhere. I'd love to have one of those Vegas on my stash but finding them is not easy... Those Red Alerts are not common either, but I've seen one or two pop up for sale sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 The van does nothing for me, though if the set with the boat were available today at a reasonable price, I'd buy one just for the boat and trailer. Is the Vega wagon only a funny car? If so, no interest, but if it can be built stock or stock-ish, I'd like to have one. I WISH the '72 Red Alert kit were available again--I'd buy two or three. It's much superior to the MPC-based version available lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project X Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Mark said: I'd put the Red Alert at about 3, the Vega wagon and Aquarod at about 6-7, and the Strip 'n Surf Van at about 9. The Red Alert was a K-Mart shelf staple for several years; though it's difficult to find an untouched one, the likelihood of doing so is greater because so many were made. The Vega wagons don't seem to be that tough to find even now (I bought a '73 as pictured not long ago) but if you want a specific year, you'll have to do some digging. (If you just want one period, there were seven years to choose from.) The Aquarod was in the catalog for a couple of years, while the Strip 'N Surf van was a one-year-only item, and has a lot of parts that aren't in the later issues. The body in that kit has a separate hood and separate insert pieces for the window areas; watch for warpage and/or breakage in the cowl area. Excellent knowledge there Mark thanx, i had a feeling the Strip 'n Surf van was rare, i've never seen one for sale, the only closest kit i have would be MPC's Krazy Van which is fairly common. I'll keep my eyes open for a Vega wagon then, but the other problem i have is that i live in England, and so we never did have an abundance of certain things, and with many items on US Ebay, sellers won't ship to England. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 hours ago, Snake45 said: The van does nothing for me, though if the set with the boat were available today at a reasonable price, I'd buy one just for the boat and trailer. Is the Vega wagon only a funny car? If so, no interest, but if it can be built stock or stock-ish, I'd like to have one. I WISH the '72 Red Alert kit were available again--I'd buy two or three. It's much superior to the MPC-based version available lately. The Vega is "funny car only". Truth be told, the body is "blocky" compared to the 1:1. Had it been more accurate, maybe AMT would have converted it to a stock version at some point, as they did with the Gremlin. The boat and trailer were offered most recently by Model King (with the MPC '70 Bonneville convertible), but I'd suspect Round 2 will offer the Aquarod set at some point. The MPC '72 Chevelle hasn't been available in about thirty years. The most recent '72 is the AMT, which was backdated to a '70 but apparently can be issued as a lousy '72 also. The parts tooled for the most recent issue of the '72 are not very well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project X Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 16 hours ago, Mark said: The Vega is "funny car only". Truth be told, the body is "blocky" compared to the 1:1. Had it been more accurate, maybe AMT would have converted it to a stock version at some point, as they did with the Gremlin. The boat and trailer were offered most recently by Model King (with the MPC '70 Bonneville convertible), but I'd suspect Round 2 will offer the Aquarod set at some point. The MPC '72 Chevelle hasn't been available in about thirty years. The most recent '72 is the AMT, which was backdated to a '70 but apparently can be issued as a lousy '72 also. The parts tooled for the most recent issue of the '72 are not very well done. Hi Mark, I've noticed quite often that the quality of AMT plastic can be substandard, even the AMT Peterbuilt Wrecker truck i started on last year has parts that have extra thin layers hanging off pieces and the sprue. Some parts are almost too small to sand down because of it, actually now i think about it, the instruction sheet for said truck was a bit hard to understand when it came to building the chassis, i had to bring up images online. AMT has one of the best line-up of kits, but kits can lack quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyfink Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 I have one of those Vega Funny Cars and the body is not that great. I compared it to the MPC Vega and it would not make a good stock candidate. I have a mint Red Alert and I would like to find one to build. But, I ended up using a Jack Reacher Chevelle and still have not finished it. The Strip and Surf van would be cool just for the collection. I have never seen one in person. The Aqua Van and Boat would be a cool set to get back. I have seen them, but the prices are a bit much. The Strip and Surf van would get my nod for the rarest of the lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 The Strip and Surf also the Aqua Rod Race Team would be my choices. I have so many Chevelles built I would pass on the RedAlert Chevelle.. The Vega wagon is not a something I would want to build but would be cool to have... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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