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[ea0863]

37 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

I have one very similar to that in the stash. But, it has different decals. 

As of tonight, I have purchased 15 kits directly as a result of Hot Rod Magazine and our discussions (including the AMT/X Matador I just ordered). The problem is I'm only up to 1978 and have 44 years to go!  

[Richard Bartrop]

11 minutes ago, ea0863 said:

Richard, I would really enjoy that Stutz Bearcat. But, what's 3/4" scale?

It means that 3/4 of an inch on the model is one foot on the original, so it's 1/16 scale

1/2 " scale is 1/24, and 1" scale is 1/12.

I think Aurora redid some of them in plastic, including the Stutz.

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by Richard Bartrop

[Can-Con]

11 hours ago, Plowboy said:

I have one very similar to that in the stash. But, it has different decals. 

Is it the MPC kit, Roger?

I don't think the AMT one was ever reissued with the IMSA bodywork.

[Plowboy]

3 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Is it the MPC kit, Roger?

I don't think the AMT one was ever reissued with the IMSA bodywork.

It probably is the MPC kit. It may have been the Spyder Monza. I'd have to check to make sure. 

[ea0863]

47 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

It probably is the MPC kit. It may have been the Spyder Monza. I'd have to check to make sure. 

Oooh, also tasty!

[Richard Bartrop]

There's something you don't see every day, a hot rod based on a 1916 Chalmers.  From the July '52 issue

Edited December 3, 2022 by Richard Bartrop

[ea0863]

Being that I'm going through the 1970's HRM magazines, it is making me remember some models I built that I'm now going to have to rediscover. Along those lines, I have a very vague recollection of a model I built that had a somewhat translucent body with glitter or paint flecks in the blue molded body. Does anyone remember such a model?

[Richard Bartrop]

2 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Being that I'm going through the 1970's HRM magazines, it is making me remember some models I built that I'm now going to have to rediscover. Along those lines, I have a very vague recollection of a model I built that had a somewhat translucent body with glitter or paint flecks in the blue molded body. Does anyone remember such a model?

That sounds like a 1/32 scale '67-'69 Barracuda snap kit I got in my very early days of modeling.

[Can-Con]

13 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Being that I'm going through the 1970's HRM magazines, it is making me remember some models I built that I'm now going to have to rediscover. Along those lines, I have a very vague recollection of a model I built that had a somewhat translucent body with glitter or paint flecks in the blue molded body. Does anyone remember such a model?

Possibly? There was a series of these kits.

[ea0863]

6 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

Possibly? There was a series of these kits.

That's it! Oh my gosh, what a blast from the past. Thank you!

[Can-Con]

1 minute ago, ea0863 said:

That's it! Oh my gosh, what a blast from the past. Thank you!

[Richard Bartrop]

From the August '52 issue.  This may have been brought up before, but I wanted to point out how "most ready shaped" is a selling point.  Worth noting when you think about some of the things we gripe about in modern kits.

[ea0863]

On 11/29/2022 at 5:57 PM, ea0863 said:

I noticed a small photo in a Motorama ad from HRM July 1975 that caught my eye. 

An online search yielded three things about this vehicle: 1) There have been a lot of cars named "Invader"  

2) This one was in my opinion the most beautiful! Check out https://speedrevolutions.com/throwback/invader-show-rods-of-the-1960s/ for many more photos and background on this show car.

And 3) There was at least one model made of it, albeit I'm sure very rare...

I bought one of these online, and it arrived today. When I opened the box, I noted the parts bags were all still sealed. One of them had the four tires with a small tube of glue, and the fumes must have somehow migrated out of the tube because the tires were pretty much mush. Not that any of this is a monster problem for a 50 year old model, but it does beg the question - should I open my sealed boxes of vintage models to mitigate any further damage that might be brewing inside? Likewise, when I buy a new model like my recently purchased Revell Model A Roadster, should I immediately open that as well? (In this case I opened it only to find the engine missing. I contacted Revell and they mailed me replacement parts - which I would not have caught had I not opened the package). 

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

HRM January 1978 opened with a great article and artwork on the Shirley Muldowney top fuel dragster

[ea0863]

HRM February 1978 had an article on the build for a Ford Fiesta "hot hatch". I wish the Fiesta I drove back then had looked as good as this one, although it was a fun little bugger to drive!

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

Wild and crazy ride called the "Vanturian". HRM February 1978

[ea0863]

The Pete Chapouris "California Kid" '34 three window coupe. HRM March 1978

 

Reading this article was definitely a blast from the past. I had totally forgotten about the movie featuring this car. I'm looking forward to watching it again, and it's apparently available for free online. 

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

The "Hot Rod Gallery" segment was featuring some really cool cars with beautiful paintjobs. A lot of them appealed to me, such as these;

'55 Chevy with stunning two tone paintwork. HRM April 1978

Classic '51 Mercury. HRM May 1978

'67 Olds 442 called "Desiderata". HRM June 1978

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

Then there were these;

Anglia gasser "Thames" panel truck. HRM July 1978

Or how about this '53 Studebaker Bonneville racer? HRM March 1979

And finally, a '67 Camaro pro stock with great graphics. HRM June 1979

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

And as usual, I was drawn to a small photo in an obscure place;

HRM May 1978 said it was a '69 Mustang with a "92" (whatever that means) fitted with "six twos" (I'm assuming referring to six twin carbs). What drew my attention though was it didn't quite look like a Mustang, and it had an Audi emblem on the grille. Based on the builder's name listed as Len Legere of Lynn, Massachusetts, I did a bit of searching - and the result was fascinating!

It turns out the vehicle was a '71 AMC Javelin which was customized by Legere, and sold by his son in 2020 for $32,000. (At least I believe this was the car since the Audi emblem was no longer extant, and it seemed to have gone through some changes over the years. What do you all think; same car or no?)

In any event, the photos of the auction at the online address below indicate this was a beautifully done car.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-amc-javelin-8/

 

Edited December 25, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

An ad from HRM August 1978 showed a new kit car called the "Cimbria SS". 

Turns out this was a pretty good looking design in its own right. I know some kit cars made it to becoming a scale model, but I'm not sure if the Cimbria was one of those. 

To my eyes, it almost has the vibe of the Bricklin SV-1 which was built as a complete car in 1974 and 1975. Obviously, the "safety features" are much more dialed down in the Cimbria.

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

Going off in a different direction, I really liked this 1979 El Camino "Royal Knight" which obviously was trying to tap into the "Smokey and the Bandit" Trans-Am craze.

HRM September 1978

[ea0863]

One thing I had noticed in issues from the 50's and 60's was that a car featured in HRM would sometimes wind up in the "for sale" section months or years later. My guess was that builders came to the realization that their car was worth a premium since it had been shown in such a prominent magazine, and decided to sell. However, in the 70's issues, this became so commonplace that I have to assume fabricators were now building cars expressly to show in HRM and immediately offer it for sale thereafter. This is only a guess on my part, but was certainly hard to ignore.

Just one example was this funky kool creation called the Greg Fleury Flyer. It appeared in HRM December 1978. 

In the same issue was this ad offering it for sale...

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

On the two-part cover of HRM December 1979 were two really good looking cars I would enjoy building in scale.

 

In this issue, there was one article called "How to Build a Street Rod", and showed how the red '32 Ford was built. It was a particularly good article, with lots of photos and showcasing updated technology for that day.

 

A second article was called "How to Build a Street Machine", and again did a good job of showing how the '69 Camaro on the cover was built.

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

And that wrapped it up for the 1970's. HRM had started the decade at 50 cents per issue, and ended it at 2 dollars per. It had also gone through a lot of changes, showing more in certain areas and less in others. It was definitely showing less in terms of boats, off-roading, and salt flats racing (perhaps owing to specialized magazines that were cropping up for these niche segments?). It was showing much more in terms of imports, Japanese motorcycles, and kit cars (which was obviously becoming a burgeoning industry unto itself). 

Funny enough, it was also showing a lot more hairy chested male models with Tom Selleck mustaches in its ads, along with a lot of skin from its female counterparts. This became quite a point of discussion which came up regularly in editorials, however none so hilariously as this one (you've got to read it to the end ) ; 

Now, of course this last part had nothing to do with scale models, but I just had to share!  

Edited December 8, 2022 by ea0863