BEAUTY FROM THE PAST: 1:25 SCALE 1963 STUDEBAKER AVANTI FROM AMT

MAT IRVINE:
A 3-in-1 AMT Trophy kit from the 1960s, the Studebaker Avanti has been reissued several times, but this is the first time it has returned to the original box design, albeit a box that’s slightly bigger than the first time round.


The Avanti was first released in the AMT ‘Trophy’ series, kits with generally more parts than usual, in this case a component-count approaching 150, including extra parts that allow you to build a stock version, a generic Bonneville racer (below) or a mild custom.

Round or square?
The custom version is distinguished mainly by having square headlamp surrounds, instead of the stock round design. Intriguingly, Studebaker’s 1964 Avanti differed from the 1963 model mainly in having square headlamp surrounds, similar to those designed for the AMT kit by US car customiser, Gene Winfield. Rumour has it that the people at Studebaker saw Winfield’s work for AMT, were impressed by his square lights, and scaled the design up to use in the real thing!

Repack the box
As is now becoming standard practice with AMT (and MPC) reissues from Round 2 LLC, the kit is issued virtually as it was originally. The only major difference here is that the box (above, listing optional parts) is larger than the original, perhaps to combat the urban myth that once you’d taken the parts out of an AMT box, you could never quite pack them all in again. I can confirm that once a stuffed-tight AMT kit of this era was unpacked, it was indeed very difficult to get the components back inside - and expect to fit the top back on as well!

New booklet
So this box is bigger, but the artwork is the same. You also get the same generic decal sheet for the Bonneville racer option as per the first issue, but there is a brand-new 16-page colour booklet (above left) to celebrate the Avanti’s 50th Anniversary, produced in conjunction with the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana. I'll be talking about this museum in a separate article, due shortly.

Inside the box
Here I can echo the AMT feature list:
* Molded in white, clear, chrome.
* All original parts restored.
* Build Stock, Custom or Salt Flats racer.
* Retooled optional Halibrand factory mag wheels.
* Four wheel options.
* Steerable front wheels.
* Opening doors.
* Expanded original decal sheet.
* Vintage box-art packaging.
When assembled, the finished 1:25 scale AMT Studebaker Avanti measures some 190mm (7.5in) long.

Engines and tyres
The kit offers two engine options, the R-2 or what looks like the hugely powerful dual-supercharged R-5. For a 1960s kit, the chassis is well produced, complete with dual exhausts, springs and other details. Two tyre options are included, whitewall and Stock Car Specials, and assorted wheels and hubcap options - very nice too.

Performance parts
The interior can be built as stocker or racer, of which the performance option is probably most interesting, as it includes a roll cage, tachometer, race-issue shoulder harnesses, and custom shifter. Assorted extras include a drag-race parachute, grille filter, bumpers, antenna and much more - very nice too.

About the real thing
The Avanti concept resulted from sketches doodled by Studebaker president, Sherwood Egbert. The actual design to clay model stage was carried out by a team working under industrial designer Raymond Loewy, on a crash-priority schedule of just 40 days. The fibreglass body was mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark sedan, and the production car was fitted with front disc brakes, a first for a US production car.

Race or road?
The Avanti Salt Flat racer (above) looks really cool, especially with those blacked-out eyes upfront, so would make a neat project, using the kit as a basis. The standard version in the brochure (below) looks pretty good too, so your choice might have to be to make one of each.

Summation
A desirable 1:25 scale kit of an unusually-styled automobile that differed in looks from the mainstream Detroit competition. Well worth it for 1960s car fans, but be warned, the kit is not really for beginners, as you’ll have to carry out some tweaks to get the best out of it.

AMT model kits here.

More Studebaker models here.

Review kit courtesy Round 2 LLC. Finished car by Brian Soderstrum.

PONY CAR REVIVAL: 1:25 SCALE AMT 1966 FORD MUSTANG FROM ROUND 2

MAT IRVINE WEEKENDER:
This 1:25 scale kit reissue from Round 2 Models originates from the time when AMT was producing its range of ‘Annual’ car kits, matching the output of the ‘full-size’ Detroit car companies.


The kit is reasonably straightforward to assemble, as were most models of this era, the box containing just over 90 parts moulded in white plastic, plus transparent components for the window glass and custom front lamps, with clear red for the tail lights.

Steel or plastic?

It can be built in the one of the classic ‘3 in 1’ ways - stock, drag or as a mild custom. It is an ‘old style’ AMT kit as you have metal axles on which the wheels rotate. This is somewhat non-scale, as it involves a hole in the sump/oil pan to allow the front axle to pass through, but it does mean that you have much stronger axles. These were replaced with plastic versions in later kits, but in this Round 2 reissue, metal axles have been reintroduced, though the plastic ones are still the box.

Seats and engine
There is a simplified one-piece chassis, so no separate axles or driveshaft, and a ‘tub’ interior, with the sides moulded in one with the floor. However, the front seats are separate, and you get two sets - stock and buckets - and the engine can be hopped-up with twin carbs and straight-through drag headers.

Slicks or stock?
You get ten tyres in all - four stock and four ‘Polyglas GT’ in two sizes for the front and rear, plus a pair of rear slicks if you are going the racing route.

Destination: bits box
There are a number of components that cannot be used with the kit - they are for convertible and fastback versions - but such parts make good additions to the bits-and-pieces box.

When assembled, the Round 2 AMT 1966 Ford Mustang measures some 180mm (7in) long.

Round 2 AMT Mustangs available here.

ONE FOR ALL - GENERIC PRINTED BOXES FOR AMT ANNUALS KITS

MAT IRVINE WEEKENDER:
The ‘Annual’ car kits (sometimes called ‘Yearly’) produced by AMT have been mentioned a few times before in SMN. The Annuals featured the latest cars released by full-size auto companies which AMT, Jo-Han and MPC, and to a certain extent Revell, then matched in model-kit form.

AMT started producing Annual kits in the late 1950s, though originally they were all packed in generic design one-for-all boxes, where the only indication of what kit lay inside was a label, sticker, or a small insert panel on the box-ends. Otherwise, the boxes looked identical.

Generic to individual
This generic approach stayed until 1963, and by then, although the box-top remained the same, at least each box-end was dedicated to a particular car. Then in 1964, individual box-art came in, although an overall style or theme for the particular year was retained.

Confused and bewildered?
Here’s just an indication of the confusing box designs of early AMT Annual kits, shown by six examples, dating from 1959-1964. The boxes in the pic (below) start with 1959 at top left.

1959 - Kit identified only by a written name on the white stripe on the box-end, in this case a Lincoln Continental.
1960 - From the box art, this could be a Ford Thunderbird, but no, it’s a Chevrolet Corvette. A small printed sticker can just be seen on the lower edge of the box-end panel, gives away the identity.
1961 - Similar treatment, though the sticker (which also acts to seal the box), has been torn away. This is a Mercury Hardtop.
1962 - Has a small curved panel printed in black on the box-end and top. The model inside is a Ford Galaxie Convertible.
1963 - Here the box-end has a panel clearly depicting what’s inside, a Buick Riviera Hardtop.
1964 - Only now is the whole of each box dedicated to a particular car, in this case a Lincoln Continental Convertible.

Plenty of AMT car kits here.

IT’S A SMALL WORLD - THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MODEL KIT

TINY VIEW BY MAT IRVINE

You may have noticed some of Round 2’s AMT and MPC kit releases that also include a miniature version of the kit's own 'big box.' A new idea? Not exactly, as AMT/MPC’s previous owner, RC-2, had produced a range of small diecast cars in its Johnny Lightning ‘Classic Plastic’ series.

Unique mini-models

These mini-models were probably unique in the annals of diecasts, as they were miniature versions of what were already miniatures - plus you got a mini-reproduction of the kit box as well. The only difference is that the Classic Plastic mini-boxes came ready-assembled, the recent versions come flat, and you have to cut them out and make them up yourself. 

Anniversary Corvette

There were several Classic Plastic series, and I keep an eye out for the odd ones I’m missing. Although I have only a passing interest in anything ‘ready-built’, the interest is of course to get all the ones I have kits of - or alternatively, to find the kits for the ones already in diecast form. One of my recent finds was a 1978 Corvette, as issued in a 25th Anniversary box by MPC. I’ve had the MPC kit for years, but only recently found the Classic Plastic version. 

Mystery releases

Exactly how many there are of these is a slight mystery. There has been no set pattern to the releases - some have appeared as part of a set of four, some in six, and at least one series as a set of nine. To date, I have details of about two dozen. Most feature AMT or MPC car kits, but there a couple of Jo-Han items, and at least one each of Aurora and Pyro subjects. 

AMT Royal Rail 

Here is an example of the current style ‘miniature kit box’, demonstrated with AMT’s reissue of its Royal Rail show rod. The box is shown as you find it in the kit - flat - plus a completed example.

Mini-AMT Blazer

The AMT Chevy Blazer follows the same format as the 25th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette, and comes complete with its Classic Plastic equivalent. 

AMT Surf Rod - or is it a Woody?

Here I show a builtup AMT Surf Woody, compared with the Surf Rod box and Classic Plastic version. The Surf Rod was a reissue of the original Surf Woody kit, that you could build either as in Woody form, or as the ‘Surf Hearse’. The Classic Plastic version combined elements of both designs.

MPC kits available here.

AMT kits here.

NEW FOR 2012 - ‘MAN IN SPACE’ ROCKET FAMILY FROM AMT

Mat Irvine reports:

AMT originally became the best-known producer of model car kits, but in the mid-1960s, the company was also known for issuing the first Star Trek kits. And, as an adjunct to the science-fiction, AMT also moved to science fact, producing the first - and to date the only - kit of all five US manned space launchers prior to the Space Shuttle. And now, here they are back again.

Small scale

In chronological order, the first five launchers were the Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas, Gemini-Titan II, Saturn 1B and Saturn V. Although the 1:200 scale chosen by AMT was smaller than the classic 1:144 Saturn kits from Airfix and Monogram, AMT made up for this in the first issue with a spectacular cardboard diorama setting that not only featured the sweep of the Kennedy Space Center, but also the launch tower assembly for the Saturn V.

AMT Pro Shop range

First released in 1969, the kit was reissued in 1999 in AMT’s short-lived Pro Shop range, but was missing one vital element - that excellent card diorama was not included. Instead, the five rockets sat on a fairly bland rectangular moulding that had started life as the base for AMT model car display cases!

Stronger box

But now space modellers can breath a sigh of relief, as Round 2 LLC - AMT’s new owner - has reissued the kit as it was way back in 1969, and in some ways, it’s even better than the original. For a start, the box is a lot stronger, and there is a printed sheet for the base, which gives more details. The decals have been improved, and of course the splendid card diorama has returned - and even seems to have been printed on slightly heavier card stock. 

Service Module error

One slight problem for purists is that the two Saturn rockets still have incorrect Apollo Service Modules, depicting the unmanned Block I version. However, this has been a problem with all kits of the Saturn V, and still remains with most, although Airfix recently updated its kit correctly. But in 1:200 scale the markings are not that noticeable, and you can always paint on the correct pattern.

Summation

Overall you get almost 150 parts, moulded in white, and when assembled, the whole structure approaches a height of some 500 mm (20 in). This is an excellent return of the original that’s even better than before.

Thanks to Tony James at Comet Miniatures for the sample kit.

AMT sci-fi stuff here.

NEW KITS AND ‘KATCH THE KAT’ FROM ROUND 2 MODELS

Mat Irvine reports:

Since its inception, Round 2 has reissued kits that haven’t seen the light of day for many years. But they aren’t all straight down-the-line reissues. Many of the new kits supply more parts than originally, often by combining parts from several versions that you didn’t get first time around. Also, some parts are supplied in varied colours - for example, plain transparent parts in the early kits are now supplied with three other transparent shades, so you can mix and match if you wish.

Dune Buggy diorama

One such up-and-coming reissue is the classic Mayers Manx Dune Buggy, which features a return of the original cardboard diorama background - Wiktor Hamburgers - that hasn’t been seen since the first issue. There will also be body options available in transparent metalflake plastic, though you’ll be lucky to get one, as the model is part of the ‘Katch the Kat’ scheme. 

Katch the Kat

‘Katch the Kat’ is a collector-chase idea in which one of every dozen kits will be moulded in a special colour. The ‘Katch’ is that the box gives no clue as to what’s inside. AMT Brand Manager, John Greczula, explains: “The only way to know you've found a ‘Kat Kit’ is by opening the box! This gives everyone a fair chance to find one of the special Kat Kit models.”

Drag-U-La

The first Katch the Kat model will be Grandpa Munster’s Drag-U-La, from the iconic 1960s TV show ‘The Munsters.’ Standard production shade for the coffin-shaped hot rod will be black, but the special Kat version will be in a: “dazzling translucent metallic gold plastic.” The Meyers Manx dune buggy will follow on, in brilliant metallic red, instead of plain white.

Caring for collectors

However, Round 2 are going to look after the serious collector, by releasing a premium-priced limited run of Kat models via the online Auto World store, with boxes clearly stickered to say what’s inside. Incidentally, the ‘Kat’ name and logo is based on one of AMT’s first custom advisors, Budd ‘The Kat’ Anderson, who died a few years ago.

Card dioramas return

The card dioramas in kits that AMT pioneered,  were a spin-off to the card shop displays popular in the 1960s (themselves very collectible) and have now been applied to kits that never had them in the first place. Card displays have now been added to the Drag-U-La and Munster Koach kits. Even better, the two bases can be butted together to create a larger scene.

AMTronic future car

One of the most famous AMT kits was the AMTronic, the company’s own design for a futuristic car. It was two cars in one - a high-speed intercity transport, able to cruise the Interstates using magnetic levitation. Then, when reaching a city, the front section could split away to become a three-wheeled runabout. Technically, that’s four wheels, but the front pair were close-coupled. The kit did get reissued in AMT Millennium series, but much to everyone’s dismay, it came without the card diorama back. The latest issue restores this - and also the original box-art.  

Reproduction box art

Another new approach for Round 2 is in supplying reproduction original box artwork. It’s supplied flat, so the box is much larger than standard. The first of these will be the 1976 American Motors Gremlin.

Chevrolet Vantasy

And there’s more. The name ‘Vantasy’ reappears, but this time there's a twist, as it's on a different vehicle. Initially, it was a camper version of the Dodge Deora custom pickup (SMN link below). Now the name has been applied to a Chevrolet 20 van that will come with a multitude of graphic decals to create your own ‘fantasy vantasy’.

I’ll be looking at the Round 2 science-fiction line very soon - so keep an eye on SMN for that!

SMN Dodge Deora article here.

Munsters Koach and Drag-U-La are also available in a different edition, coming as a double-kit, packed in a handsome collector's tin, but without the diorama display here.

More AMT stuff here.

Visit Auto World here.

Last but not least, here's a corner of Round-2’s stand at October's Chicago iHobby Expo, showing the classic AMT and MPC logos.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER? ANOTHER BATMOBILE COMING SOON - THIS TIME FOR KIT BUILDERS

Mat Irvine reports

It’s one of the mysteries of the modelling universe - why has there never been a conventional injection-moulded styrene kit the Batmobile in traditional 1:25 scale? Well, now there is.

Batmobile on a tight schedule

The vehicle in question is the Batmobile, as built for the 1960s television series, starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin. The series was less ‘dark’, more ‘comic book capers’, than the more recent movies, and in keeping with the action-adventure rhythm, the TV studio decided it needed a ‘star car’ in just three weeks. The well known car customizer Dean Jefferies started work on adapting a Cadillac, but had to turn the job down as being too impracticable in the time available. However, another Los Angeles customizer took up the challenge - mainly because he had the raw material parked outside his workshop.

George Barris and the Lincoln Futura

The man in question was ‘King of the Kustomizers’ (his spelling) George Barris, and the car in question was the Lincoln Futura. This styling exercise, produced by the Ford Motor Company in the mid-1950s was a real looker, with a twin bubble canopy, was built by Ghia in Italy, painted a pearlescent white (which invariably looked slightly greenish) and which had toured the Car Shows to much acclaim.

Star car for Debbie Reynolds

The Futura was already a star car - it has been used in the 1959 movie It Started With a Kiss starring Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds, in which it was painted red, a colour that looked better onscreen than white. After that appearance, Barris obtained the car for himself - the actual details are a murky automotive urban myth, though the cost was supposedly just a single dollar. And it was because the Futura was ready in his yard that Barris could turn the design around in the allotted time. 

Many Batmobile kits

The 1960s were a big time for TV and movie star cars, and many were made as kits by the likes of AMT and MPC, plus a few by Revell and Monogram. But not the Batmobile, at least not in 1:25 scale. Instead, Aurora made it in 1:32 scale, and for decades this was really the only example generally available, although there were a few Japanese copies. There were resin versions for the specialist modeller, some based on the 1:25 scale Revell Futura kit, and of course many of the later movie cars, but no conventional kit in 1:25. 

The Polar Lights 1:25 scale Batmobile

But now, even if it is a mere 47 years late, we are due for a 1:25 scale injection-moulded kit of the Barris Batmobile, this time from one of the ‘New Aurora’ companies, Polar Lights. There will be three versions of the kit: a snap version, a conventional glue version, plus - and this sounds really mouthwatering - a super-detail De Luxe Edition with photo-etch parts. The release date is still uncertain, but hopefully we’ll see it by mid-2011.

The pictures show, top to bottom:

1  From left, Batmobiles in a collectible tin, and original-style Aurora box, plus a Batcycle and Batboat.

2  One of the original Batmobiles built by George Barris, now on display at the Volo Auto Museum, Illinois. Just exactly how many Batmobiles there are is another urban myth, but the usually quoted number is four. The first one came from the Futura, then three more were made in glass-fibre from a mould pulled from the first body. These last three cars used Ford Thunderbird running gear. Actually, there was a ‘Barris Number Five’ - this wasn’t built by George, but he later acquired it. 

3  Boxes for the conventional glue (left) and Snap-Together versions.

4  Deluxe Edition Batmobile. This will have photo-etch parts and a pinstripe paint mask.

For information on the history of the TV Batmobile visit here.   

Visit the online home of the ‘King of the Kustomizers’ here.

View a whole colony of Batmobiles here.

And tour the Volo Auto Museum here.

UNBOXING THE NEW SUPER-VALUE ‘BATMAN AUTOMOBILIA’ PARTWORK

SMN report

We’re using ‘unboxing’ in its widest sense here, as most of this new product is actually flat printed paper. Still, who’s quibbling - what we have is the first in ‘the definitive collection of Batman vehicles’, and this starter for what could be a l-o-o-n-g partwork series makes a terrific package, and as is usually the case with partworks, it’s offered as a knockdown price to lure you in as a faithful subscriber.

Excellent package

Well, suckers we’re not, and this looks like one of the better offerings around. For just £2.99 GBP ($4.84 USD) you get a big 477 x 326 mm (18.75 x 12.8 in) double-sided backer board, on which is mounted a 12-page magazine, an eight-page series intro, three free-offer sheets and a Questionnaire Survey. This last asks far too many personal questions for this good ol’ boy, but those less sensitive about their private lives may well fill it in for the chance to win one of 10 Batman DVDs.

Diecast Batmobile

And now to the prime component of the package: a diecast 1:43 scale Batmobile. The black and beautiful 1989 movie-special is mounted on an oval base, with a quite excellent scale Batman figure, plus a couple of oil drums, all items being set on a diorama base that slots into a clear oval case. A nitpick is the rather obvious moulding seam on each lightly-weathered drum, but these are not bad enough to spoil the general flavour. Eaglemoss Collections, the publisher behind the venture, claims the curving picture backing inside the case is a ‘3D Lenticular’ which is true enough, though you have to squint closely to appreciate it. But the important thing is that the Batmobile looks terrific inside that oval dome, where it will also remain pristine and free of dust.

Excellent presentation

As you can see from the pix, we have here a decent miniature, set off very well by the presentation. The extra pictures show a couple of other Batmobiles parked at SMN Towers. The white one is the SMN ‘Special’, a white AMT 1:25 scale kit, presented as a semi-retired Batmobile in weekend-racer colours. And lo and behold, a search through the SMN Cellar of Secrets turned up the rather handsome bath-gel Batmobile from a few years ago, scale unknown but it looks about the same as the AMT model.

SMN Score

At the price, you just have to have this 1:43 scale Batmobile, which is available in the UK from most newsagents and bigger supermarkets. The big question is whether it’ll be worth carrying on with the series, and that’s down to the depth of your pocket and Bat-enthusiasm rating. The next few issues look good though, even if the price will more than double - there’s the 1966 Lincoln Futura-based Batmobile, the 2005 Tumbler, and an intriguing streamliner from the 2009 Batman & Robin comic book. 

The Eaglemoss Batmobiles website is primarily for subscriptions, but has a page-turning section where you can have a look inside the bi-weekly magazine shown in our pictures above. Access the Eaglemoss Batmobiles site here.

And view some Batmobiles here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:

1-4  Various parts of the splendid - and well priced - Number One issue.

5-7  The 1:43 Batmobile, and a decent effort it is, too.

8-9  The Batmobile with bigger brothers: in white, the AMT 1:25 kit, finished in post-Batman racer markings, and in black, a neat bath gel product, with jet exhaust doubling as fluid dispenser.