Vantasy and Superwagon: Vintage AMT and MPC Model Kits Back In Production
I still haven’t gotten around to building my 1/25 scale Billy Carter Redneck Power Pickup kit, but that won’t stop me from adding more projects to my “get to it someday” collection… which I’m about to do, now that TTAC reader Neb has pulled my coat about the huge lineup of 1960s and 1970s plastic model kits being made from the original tooling by Round2 Models.
How about a groovy Meyers Manx in 1/25th scale?
Naturally, the van kits have great great appeal for me. The 1/32-scale Zingers, with their absurdly oversize engines, look like fun.
However, Dirty Donny’s Vantasy would be just about right for my office, especially if I install little speakers inside the van to play “Dream Weaver” on an endless loop.
If you’re going to build a classic Detroit machine from the 1960s, it’s always best to skip the Camaros and Chargers in favor of the 421 Super Duty Pontiac Catalina. This kit comes with parts and decals that let you choose between street or strip version.
Having put endless hours into an AMT kit, I must issue the caveat that these models probably aren’t quite up to the fit-and-finish level you’ll get from kits made for the super-obsessive Japanese kit-builder market. This means you’ll need to make with the sandpaper and Model Bondo— just like with real Detroit cars!
In addition to the car stuff, you can get Star Trek, KISS, Munsters, and so on. Murilee says check it out!
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Custom Van dreamers take note: you now have a choice of a Ford or a Chevy van. It's not on the round2 web site as of yet, but a local hobby shop just got them in: http://www.militaryhobbies.ca/product.cfm?ProductID=9299
You know...somewhere out there. Somebody has bought that "Vantasy" model kit and installing a little speaker to play "Dream Weaver." That van will be presented to Murlilee as a bribe at a future LeMons race. Oh man I wish I were a LeMons racer!!