Beyond the obvious appeal of revisiting something that brought you much fun and joy at an earlier part of your life, the reasons for having an interest in model car kits are many.
First and right up front, next to the real cars themselves, model car kits comprise a very complete historical record of any given muscle car. They’re highly detailed, three-dimensional representations of the real thing. Sure, looking at pictures in an old brochure, and reading about your favorites in a book, magazine, or website is interesting, but this offers nowhere near the level of information provided by a well-designed model car kit.
Running your hands over the flanks of a miniature 1969 Z-28 body provides far more tactile and visual information than the two-dimensional printed image. Model kits reveal detailed information such as the shape of the engine fuel pump, the engraved pattern of the rear-seat quarter-panels, and the configuration of the differential and suspension. These are things you might miss in other information sources. Assembling a Boss 302 engine in 1/25th scale really is next best to building the real thing in your garage (and let’s be honest, in many cases these days many folks are instead paying a professional to assemble that real engine!).
Today, historical accuracy is a goal of most car collectors. As Day 2–type muscle cars continue to grow in popularity, the annual model car kits of the 1960s and early 1970s become a great source of historical information about the exact type and name brand of Day 2 and Day 3 parts and modifications that were used back then. These 3-in-1 kits included the latest in customizing and performance accessories in each box. They were like a scaled-down SEMA show, decades before SEMA grew to the size and popularity it enjoys today.
Granted, many muscle car owners collect die-cast replicas. But while today’s die-cast replicas are continually improving in accuracy and detail, the limitations of a metal replica manufactured in such a small scale are many, and a close inspection often reveals a distinct lack of accuracy in body proportions and lifelike appearances. The technologies and materials used in 1/25th-scale styrene model kits avoid the die-cast accuracy issues.
Moreover, if you build up your model car kits, you can often spec them out exactly as you would have back in the day, right down to the exact same factory paint color and powertrain configuration of your choice. That’s a whole lot easier than spending months or years finding a real muscle car that meets your own preconceived factory order specs!
Then there’s the whole thing about maintaining a real muscle car collection. The ongoing expenses associated with storage, insurance, maintenance, plus the risks of having to search out and replace rare components because of an accident, can be headaches for the real muscle car collector. Most of these expenses are nonexistent, and the cost is at most a mere fraction of what it would be, if you collect 1/25th-scale kits. Indeed, it’s a great way to stay involved in the muscle car hobby for those who have decided to downsize their real car collections for one reason or another.
Of course, nothing replaces the thrill of starting up and taking off down the street or strip in a real original muscle car. Model car kits are a fine way to experience some of the same joy, albeit on a much smaller scale!
Revell’s 1969 Z-28 kit produces a spectacular 1/25th-scale replica of the real car that every Chevy muscle car enthusiast would love to have in his or her collection. The kit even includes the Chevy parts counter Z-28 dual-quad carb cross-ram intake manifold and the factory dual chambered exhausts. (The model shown here also shows Day 2–style wheels and tires, sourced from a well-stocked model parts box.)
Nobody Knew Back Then …
Veterans of Detroit’s 1960s and early 1970s muscle car wars often comment that few back then realized the significance and future collectability of these cars. They were our transportation, our entertainment, a key enabler of our lifestyle, a source of our dreams, and, for a fortunate few, a means of livelihood. They were modified, raced, and eventually sold or run into the ground (or for those of us in the northern states, they rusted away!). That is in part why they are so hard to find in original form these days and so expensive when located.
Likewise, no one realized the potential future collectability of model car kits back then. They were built (often in one sitting), showed around, run across the floor, and often eventually blown up in the backyard. It follows that the few remaining unbuilt model kits of the muscle car era are also valued possessions and collectibles today. Throughout the rest of this book, I’ll celebrate both the cars and the kits that replicated them, all the while remembering what they meant back then, and what they represent today.
A Brief History of Model Car Kitmaker Lineage
Throughout this book you’ll find references to AMT, AMT-Ertl, Monogram, Revell, Revell-Monogram, and so forth. What’s up with all this?
If you were a model car builder in the 1960s or 1970s, you probably remember the names AMT, Revell, Monogram, Aurora, and later on, MPC. You probably also heard of Lindberg, but quickly learned that many of its kits didn’t live up to your expectations. Today, one company, Round 2, owns the brand names AMT, MPC, and Lindberg. Hobbico owns the Revell and Monogram brand names; they are used interchangeably by a single organization producing kits under both names.
So how did we get from there to here? What follows is a brief historical recap of each major model maker’s corporate evolution from the 1960s to today.
AMT
At one time the largest kitmaker in the world, AMT began as Aluminum Model Toys after World War II, soon shortening its name to AMT. A big break came in 1958, with its introduction of one-piece bodies formed of styrene and its merchandising of the resulting unassembled promotionals as 3-in-1 model car kits. AMT thrived into the mid-1960s, but as the decade progressed its focus on the model kit business was diffused by unsuccessful forays into the AMT Model Car Turnpike, Dynamic Slot Cars, and a spinoff Speed and Custom division based in Phoenix, Arizona, with the goal to develop and market accessories for real cars. AMT also developed a prototype of a Corvair-based real car called the Piranha; it was to be built of the same Cyclolac material used for AMT’s promotionals. (AMT even became a supplier to the automotive industry with several contracts to manufacture parts such as taillamp lenses and side reflector lamps.) Meanwhile, AMT’s core business of 1/25th-scale promotionals and model car kits started losing key promotional and kit contracts to now-competitor MPC.
As a result, AMT faced some financial difficulties in the late 1960s, but recovered in the early 1970s, credited partly to a best-selling lineup of 1/25th-scale semi-truck kits and the business-focused recovery actions of a new company president, Tom Gannon. It again ran into trouble in the late 1970s, with unresolved issues with its unionized labor force and the truck kits having run their course of popularity. AMT eventually closed its Troy, Michigan, headquarters and factory; it consolidated at a second facility in Baltimore, Maryland. It was then acquired by the British toymaker Lesney, the famous maker of Matchbox toys. After further difficulties, the Ertl Company, a very successful maker of 1/16th-scale die-cast farm toys and replicas, purchased the entire AMT tool bank and brand assets. The company was renamed AMT-Ertl.
Revell
Also started in the 1940s, Revell was based in Venice, California. It produced a broad range of model kits of all types, with cars being a portion of, but not the primary source of, its sales volume. Revell is credited with producing the first accurate model car kits, including the Highway Pioneers series starting in 1951. Revell’s 1955 kit lineup introduced several 1/32nd-scale car assembly kits in boxes co-branded with AMT. Starting in 1957, it produced several 1/25th-scale car kits with multi-piece bodies. It became AMT’s main competitor in the 1/25th-scale car kit marketplace in the early 1960s, while continuing a broad range of other non-automotive kit topics including airplanes, boats, and spacecraft. Revell was acquired by a French kit company in the early 1980s, and then sold to Odyssey Partners in 1986 to be joined with the Monogram lineup.
Monogram
Yet another toy and kitmaker with origins