SOME CURRENT ROUND 2 INFO TODAY...

[Snake45]

AMT's '66 Cyclone kit, like their Park Lane, had an option of the Wrist Twist steering. I don't if there was a real Cyclone with the feature or not. But I wouldn't be surprised. The Wrist Twist was a feature Ford Motor Company was seriously contemplating of offering was a factory option in the mid-60's. Why it never made to market, I don't know? It may have had something to do with new steering wheel safety standards coming in about that time? Ford did build a few test cars with the Wrist Twist in the mid-60's. Watching Ford's video from the time, I'm not sure if I would have wanted feature. It didn't look all that convenient to use to me.

This might be the car I was thinking of. If so, it was a Barris joint, not Alexander Brothers. But somewhere I have an original 1966 car rag with BW pics of this car (or the one I'm thinking of), showing the wrist twist steering. It was the first time I'd ever seen or heard of that.

https://www.favcars.com/mercury-comet-cyclone-x-roadster-barris-kustom-1966-images-353786.htm

[W-409]

That '40 Ford Sedan is great news! I'll need at least one of them as the older versions of this kit aren't so easily available anymore. It's great that AMT has lately included all of those old optional Custom parts in their new kits, so I'm really looking forward to this one...

[keyser]

That is actually a Ford commissioned show car. FoMoCo did tons of evolutionary show cars. Most famous is the 66-67 Mach I showcar, the Mustang II of 63-64. 

They did wild stuff. 3 64-66 Merc showcars had wrist twist in them at various times IIRC. 

Here's a great reference page. Russian but safe, used it for decades. 

http://www.carstyling.ru/en/manufacturer/Mercury/

http://www.carstyling.ru/ru/manufacturer/Ford/

[Richard Bartrop]

If you're worries about safety, It would seem that bar between the sterring knobs would be an ieal place to put some padding, or in later years, and air bag, though those thumb holes are just asking for trouble. 

I suspect the biggest problem is what happens if for some reason you lose power steering, and you suddenly have to aim two tons of Mercury Park Lane with a couple of slightly oversized bathroom faucets..

[Snake45]

.....and you suddenly have to aim two tons of Mercury Park Lane with a couple of slightly oversized bathroom faucets..

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Robberbaron]

A few more coming in 2018:

AMT-1088 '40 Ford Sedan

AMT -1097 1/25 1970 Chevy Corvette Coupe

AMT-1098 1/25 1966 Mercury Hardtop

AMT-1105 1/25 1969 Olds W30 442

AMT PP119 Firestone Double Pinstripe Tire Pack 

PLL-MKA30  1/25 Coca-Cola Graphics Decals

I also agree it's about time we saw the '40 sedan again.  Also agree that I hope it's not an overpriced "Original Art" version.

Wonder what they'll do for the '66 Mercury reissue.  Could do new art work, but I suspect it will be a retro version of one of these:

 

They each have their charms.  I have a half-built version of the "no name" box art issue that I purchased before the RC2 reissue.  Both of the above versions had a very nice set of Hurst mags that would be great to have again (I believe the last RC2 reissue had American Racing Vectors?)

I suspect that even if they do one of these two versions, they may just swap in some of their recently tooled Torq-Thrust or Cragar-style wheel sets instead, and slightly alter the box art.  I believe they did something like that with the recent "Retro Deluxe" ''69 Barracuda.

Edited November 23, 2017 by Robberbaron

[250 Testa Rossa]

Or bring back the ORIGINAL 1965 Corvair Corsa annual. I would buy 10 of those. 

[MrObsessive]

I might be interested in the '66 Mercury if it's sold in one of the original box art versions shown above. I already have one, but one of the things that's stopped me from building it is the chassis. I don't care for the molded in stuff at all, and I'm not sure of a reasonable replacement to give it more detail.

'66 Mercurys have a very clean and straightforward design. After that, they started to get rather bloated and clumsy looking, but that's my own perspective.

I'd get another '69 Olds kit for the simple reason that they make for EXCELLENT chassis donors for those obscure GM Colonnade coupes I'd like to build someday!

The double stripe whitewall tires?? Hmmm...............very interesting!

[TarheelRick]

This might be the car I was thinking of. If so, it was a Barris joint, not Alexander Brothers. But somewhere I have an original 1966 car rag with BW pics of this car (or the one I'm thinking of), showing the wrist twist steering. It was the first time I'd ever seen or heard of that.

https://www.favcars.com/mercury-comet-cyclone-x-roadster-barris-kustom-1966-images-353786.htm

That has to be one of the ugliest customs I have ever seen.  The cut-down windshield treatment is pretty cool, but that Beluga whale tooth grille is more than I can handle.

[Mark]

I might be interested in the '66 Mercury if it's sold in one of the original box art versions shown above. I already have one, but one of the things that's stopped me from building it is the chassis. I don't care for the molded in stuff at all, and I'm not sure of a reasonable replacement to give it more detail.

'66 Mercurys have a very clean and straightforward design. After that, they started to get rather bloated and clumsy looking, but that's my own perspective.

I'd get another '69 Olds kit for the simple reason that they make for EXCELLENT chassis donors for those obscure GM Colonnade coupes I'd like to build someday!

The double stripe whitewall tires?? Hmmm...............very interesting!

Check the '65 Galaxie.  I'm not sure if there is a wheelbase difference, but the frame and suspension are very similar, probably the same on both 1:1 cars.  The '65 has a steering front end, nice separate rear suspension, and gas tank (and trunk floor) but has molded-in exhaust detail.  The '66 Galaxie has separate exhaust but the suspension detail isn't as good as the '65.  So, if you combine the two...

[Casey]

 a very nice set of Hurst mags that would be great to have again (I believe the last RC2 reissue had American Racing Vectors?)

Looks like it had the Kelsey-Hayes "Stripper" wheels leftover(?) from the Countdown series issue, the same optional wheels as found in the reissued '53 Corvette.

[MrObsessive]

Check the '65 Galaxie.  I'm not sure if there is a wheelbase difference, but the frame and suspension are very similar, probably the same on both 1:1 cars.  The '65 has a steering front end, nice separate rear suspension, and gas tank (and trunk floor) but has molded-in exhaust detail.  The '66 Galaxie has separate exhaust but the suspension detail isn't as good as the '65.  So, if you combine the two...

Mark, thanks for the info! I never had either the '65 Ford or the '66 kit, but in 1:1 they would be similar if not identical as far as running gear. I do believe the Merc would be a tad longer in 1:1 but for me in our modeling world, that's no big deal.

[Casey]

That was unexpected:

AMT-PP18    1/25 1957 Fantasy Parts Pack

[Can-Con]

On 23/11/2017 at 2:54 PM, MrObsessive said:

Mark, thanks for the info! I never had either the '65 Ford or the '66 kit, but in 1:1 they would be similar if not identical as far as running gear. I do believe the Merc would be a tad longer in 1:1 but for me in our modeling world, that's no big deal.

I used the '65 chassis under this one.

The Merc wheelbase is only 1 inch longer so I was able to fudge it by simply moving the rear axle back slightly.

[Matt T.]

17 hours ago, Casey said:

That was unexpected:

AMT-PP18    1/25 1957 Fantasy Parts Pack

‘57 Chevy Styline Parts retooled? 

[Casey]

52 minutes ago, Matt T. said:

‘57 Chevy Styline Parts retooled? 

Or maybe this?:

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, Casey said:

Or maybe this?:

Dernit, that's probably it. And we know those molds still exist because they were reissued not that long ago--Blueprinter special, or maybe one of those big sets with the roadster frame, Allison, and so on. 

[Robberbaron]

21 hours ago, Casey said:

That was unexpected:

AMT-PP18    1/25 1957 Fantasy Parts Pack

 

3 hours ago, Casey said:

Or maybe this?:

 

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Dernit, that's probably it. And we know those molds still exist because they were reissued not that long ago--Blueprinter special, or maybe one of those big sets with the roadster frame, Allison, and so on. 

That's the only thing I could think of, as well.  Snake is correct - it was reissued via the Blueprinter, along with unplated versions of the engine parts packs (although "not that long ago" is a relative term - I think it was probably early 1990s, definitely over 20 years ago)

Only problem with this theory is that there's a bunch of stuff in this parts pack that obviously post-dates 1957 (1960 Merc grille, 1962 Chrysler 300 grille, etc.)

Edited December 22, 2017 by Robberbaron

[Casey]

15 hours ago, Matt T. said:

‘57 Chevy Styline Parts retooled? 

Giving this a second thought, it does seem possible, though I wouldn't limit it to only the Chevy parts. Maybe Round2 has crated an "all-new" (as in, copied the old parts, but contained them within an all-new sprue) from the '57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop, 57 Ford Fairlane 500 Hardtop, and '57 Thunderbird kits? Add in a few trophies, display stands/lights, a set of custom wheels, and you've got a new Parts Pack.

[stavanzer]

I shall be very curious to see exactly what is in this kit.

[Robberbaron]

On 11/22/2017 at 8:21 PM, Robberbaron said:

I also agree it's about time we saw the '40 sedan again.  Also agree that I hope it's not an overpriced "Original Art" version.

Wonder what they'll do for the '66 Mercury reissue.  Could do new art work, but I suspect it will be a retro version of one of these:

 

They each have their charms.  I have a half-built version of the "no name" box art issue that I purchased before the RC2 reissue.  Both of the above versions had a very nice set of Hurst mags that would be great to have again (I believe the last RC2 reissue had American Racing Vectors?)

I suspect that even if they do one of these two versions, they may just swap in some of their recently tooled Torq-Thrust or Cragar-style wheel sets instead, and slightly alter the box art.  I believe they did something like that with the recent "Retro Deluxe" ''69 Barracuda.

In a different post, Luc Janssens posted this pic:

Looks like it'll be the "no name" box art for the '66 Mercury.  Which begs the question: will the Hurst mags be back?

[Casey]

What is that Python kit at the lower right, with its back to the Gear Hustler '65 El Camino? 

[Can-Con]

5 minutes ago, Casey said:

What is that Python kit at the lower right, with its back to the Gear Hustler '65 El Camino? 

Looks like it's the MPC "Tiger Shark" showcar. 

Hotwheels did a version and called it the "Python". I think that's what it is.

[Casey]

37 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

Looks like it's the MPC "Tiger Shark" showcar. 

Hotwheels did a version and called it the "Python". I think that's what it is.

Thanks, Steve. Some info I found Googling:

  Another member of the "First Sixteen" group of 1968 Hot Wheels cars, the Python - originally
called the "Cheetah" - was based on a car built in 1963 by Bill Cushenberry for Car Craft magazine.
The Car Craft "Dream Rod" was designed by the staff of the magazine in 1961.  Cushenberry
built the car using parts from a '60 Pontiac and a '61 Corvair, and powered it with a small block
Ford engine.  After a few years on the car show circuit, the Dream Rod was re-styled into a
car called the "Tiger Shark" which was much closer to Mattel's Python in it's appearance."

 

Another RC2 era kit reissued.  I see a few parts to be used as donor material, but asymmetrical never seems to be very popular with the masses.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Casey

[Richard Bartrop]

According to https://kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Car_Craft_Dream_Rod 

the Dream Rod was restyled into the Tiger Shark in 1966, before the Hot Wheels.

I have the 2006 issue of the kit, and it looks like there are a couple of headrests and a headlight pod left over from when it was the Dream Rod.