garagepunk66

Glad to see this idea getting traction Dave. I have been advocating it for a while now.

The windshield header area needs a lot of improvement too. The drip rail moulding does not dip down at the front as it transitions into the header moulding, just like the other 66-67 GM A-Bodies. The kit/Craftsman body dips down making the windshield header moulding is too low

Absolutely spot on with the Hasegawa kits. Round 2 could do a much better job. All of the guys pining for reissues of IMC tooling we haven't seen in 50 years or more need to become a little more aware of what tooling still exists, what doesn't, and what Lindberg actually had before Round 2 bought them. All of the IMC VW related releases are not a possibility because the VW tooling went to Union in Japan and vanished when they went belly up. Hard to say if the Avenger GT-12 body inserts were included. IIRC, Union got all of the GT-40, Ford J-Car, Ford Mk IV, and Lola T-70 Can Am Spyder tooling as well. It's likely long lost along with the rest of the Union-owned ex-IMC tooling. I would say with confidence that whatever IMC tooling that was in Lindberg's possession pre-Round 2 was really only a smattering, which was left at George Toteff's tool and die shop for repairs around 1979, and never got picked up. If any of the potentially good selling IMC car kits existed, we would have seen Lindberg release them. The IMC VW tooling probably would not warrant cloning either. It is neither a particularly accurate VW kit or a drag car. Same goes for the GT-40's, etc. way too fiddly and not that accurate either

I am no Aussie, but that's a XR Falcon. The XY roof definitely has sail panel extensions for a slight tunneling effect

Probably less than the 2 inches of difference in the windshield. Different roof sheet metal for sure to accommodate the B pillar and the taller windshield. And yes the slope is more upright on the sedan roof You could still build it as a quasi-phantom special order COPO "Chief's Car. GM pretty much let municipalities run wild with options

No, it would not be correct. Actually the windshield is at least 2" taller on a sedan and the side DLO profile is higher This aspect contributes to some of the proportional accuracy issues of some of the resin 65-70 wagon conversions out there. Once you add window frames to the Hardtop body, the resulting DLO will be far too low. Hardtop body styles are almost always "chopped", to some extent, from the factory

We need a full-on K-code Highway Patrol option 4 door version of this kit now that the Hardtop is out. If my count is correct, I think a grand total of 4 new parts would be needed to be tooled up for -new body -new rear glass -new interior side panels -new front seat I can think of about 4 or 5 candidates of 60's cars in their tooling bank that would benefit from an expansion to include a 4 door police cruiser version Since the Ambulance version of the Ghostbusters Ecto 1 seems to be selling well, this shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.

You articulated my point better than I was able to. Well said sir.

Apparently the tooling package came with some large degree of intellectual property such as artwork, instruction illustrations, etc. One such example of box art images that were recycled from the Revell release was the Allison Prop Jet Kit. The B-24, B-25 & B-36 kits are another. I thought I saw one post from Atlantis on Facebook that was a kit proposal design that did not make it to production, so it can be presumed that they also received much of the engineering documentation as well.

It's never really been discussed here on the topic of the Parts Pack frames, or the Atlantis dragster kits, but some wonderful period-correct possibilities exist with the Oldsmobile 394 engine included in the various permutations of the Revell Orange Crate kit. The front-mounted Potvin blower drive was still very popular in the era of these frames. The 4-speed Hydramatic transmission would not be correct, however, nor would the length of the engine/transmission be easily accommodated in these rather short frames. The direct-drive in & out box found in the Revell Cadillac parts pack, the Revell Tony Nancy dragsters, or even IIRC, one of the AMT engine Parts Packs would be the typical setup. Incidentally, as an aside, the 2 piece seat from the Orange Crate is much more typical of the seating typically used in the Kent Fuller or Chassis Research type frames than the fiberglass bucket type seat that Revell included in the original Scarlet Screamer If Hilborn stack-injection is more your style for 394 Oldsmobile power, the engine from the Revell Anglia or Thames Panel kit would be a good choice. If a 394 Olds with a top-mounted GMC blower is what you would prefer, then you could use engine from the Revell Stone Woods & Cook Swindler II kit.

That box art proposal is AWFUL. I can't help but think that it is holding kit sales back on the Keeler's Kustoms subject matter, and Atlantis might have done well with their initial strategy of utilizing slightly revised original Revell artwork as they did with their aircraft/military/space kits a few years back. Use the portrait of the Scarlet Screamer, retouch the image a digital program to reflect the Pontiac engine they are using, and let the rest of the box art be reminiscent of the 1963 double kit.

Maybe not so fiddly after all, using the leading sections the hood, and front fenders from the AMT kit. Fit up, brace, and glue both hoods in place securely (temporarily) in the engine bay on each body, saw away & trim up the donor & recipient at the engraved seam for the bezel housing, cut the hood free, and viola!

1st 700 Quad, Fabrux, '57 and '58 share the same hoods, lower valance, and round park lamps. The leading edge of the '57-'58 hood is flatter (sans the "snout") and more laid back than the '59-'60 hoods. I owned a 1 to 1 scale 1958 from 1985-1987. '57 and '58 also have a different front bumper than the '59-'60

It was mentioned earlier in the thread, but has anyone mocked up the AMT 75 or 76 Nova grille on the current MPC kit to see what needs to be done to the surround & hood to make it work? The proportions of the MPC kit are just so much better than the AMT. I've never been too keen on this body style before, but suddenly I have the urge to build one with this release. I'm just not feeling the square headlight look of the 77-78's

Also of interest, for those wanting to make decals... More here also, with large .PNG files. https://1000logos.net/bell-system-logo/

Just FYI, I found this 3D printable file on Cults 3D, of a 1/24 scale phone booth that's pretty similar in style to the one originally included in the kit, for those wishing to complete a service truck diorama https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/architecture/telephone-booth-3d-printable-in-various-scales Doozy also makes this neat little resin-cast retro payphone kiosk. https://rcworld.us/doozy-1-24-pay-phone-resin-model-kit-dz011/

You know, I understand that he's under time constraints to build those kits in a timely fashion, but DAMN. Taking 45 minutes to go over various parts with a sharp X-Acto knife, and some files/sandpaper to remove the flash for this build would probably better served Round 2 in promoting the kit. Holy Smokes.

The whole body is off in multiple respects. #1. The real car had much lower rear wheel arches, not radiused up high into the quarter panel like the kit's #2. The top chop is wrong in the kit. The real car didn't have the a-pillars leaned back like the kit. The roof itself on the real car was lengthened to accommodate the chop. The kit's roof also seems to be raked downward at the front. The real car appears to have a dead-level chop. #3. The real car had headlamps. The kit's are blanked off. And that's just kind of a start. It's too bad MPC didn't put more effort into making accurate replicas with some of their race car kits

I've advocated this since the cloning program began. From an ROI viewpoint, it certainly makes sense.

Steve G, this needs to happen on the next planned re-issue after this first run! Maybe we could also get the Triumph motorcycle re-tooled that came in the '63 C-10 and issue it with the Mueller-era '60 Chevy Fleetside

Stavanzer is correct. Round 2/AMT recreated the lost tooling for the telephone company service truck ladder rack, ladder, and some Ding-A-Ling parts IIRC. The phone booth will be cardboard in this release however. The "Frisco Sleeper" canopy panels I presume also are cardboard like the original (IIRC anyway, the last time I saw the original kit contents was in 1982 when I made a trade of my mint-in-box unbuilt kit to another hobbyist).

Tim Boyd, any chance we will get one of your comprehensive sneak peeks at the newly reissued Touch Tone Terror kit? Not that I'm complaining, but I feel like with all the hubbub over the AMT cloned '60 & '63 Fords, there hasn't been as much attention paid to this release as it might ordinarily warrant.

I believe that is because the roof profile arc above the quarter window is too gradual. A couple more things I noticed... The headlights need to be prouder in the shape of the bezels (more bug-eyed). Also, the front bumper is too thick and the radius of the leading edge is too large towards the outboard areas.

Personally, I think there is a very large market for a LOT of recreated and expanded tooling for mid-60's GM product nearly across the board, and I say this as primarily as a Ford fan. I think expanded tooling projects like cloning the 65 Wildcat body/chrome/specific parts, and making a proper 66 Wildcat interior do make sense for ROI as two versions can subsequently be released and improvements on the 66 kit would be greatly welcomed. I'd love to see an expanded tooling project based on the AMT 65 2 + 2, where a Catalina 2-door post sedan body, bench seat interior, and chrome gets tooled up for it. So much of the model car industry is still geared to catering to flagship-type cars, and I think there exists a genuine need for some "strippers". Maybe a sister kit of a 1965 Catalina 4 door "Enforcer" police package (pictured) would be a possibility, and would share some tooling. A cloned Craftsman 64 Corvair Monza Spyder is sorely needed, as is the 62 Buick Special Wagon The 66 Bonneville, as previously stated is also a natural for a cloning project.

I would be down for this. I much prefer this to the 71-72 GTO. On another note, I would love to see a LeMans conversion for the AMT Craftsman Plus 68 GTO as well. I have a real itch to build one with the OHC Sprint 6 from the 69 Firebird kit