Christine - Round 2's AMT kit by Popeye the Sailor

[popeye the sailor]

here is a kit with an interesting story.  I have been fascinated about the history of models and the molds that made them....companies going out and the new ones that take their place.  Companies change hands and molds move around even faster.  take the 1:72 Fujimi Stuka I built a while ago........three other companies produced that very same model.  this is also a prime example of how companies repurpose molds to suit other model subjects.  I started writing blogs on this subject.....this particular model is the second installment.  it all began........

 

the admiral and I were at Michael's craft store this past week.......she likes to do puzzles and wanted some puzzle glue,  so she could mount one she liked.  there was confusion over the frame for it,  so the idea was to get exact measurements of the puzzle,  so to get the correct frame.  honest......I didn't say anything.....but she said that we could look at the models too {she knows my obsession well}.  looking them over......they were kinda scant for anything really interesting....Hobby Lobby has a better selection,  although I think they are even thinking of dropping the idea of carrying models.  I was deciding between two of them,  when the admiral pointed to Christine........the AMT logo quite prominent.   the art is what caught my eye.......looking it over,  my mind started to wander.........this would make a really cool looking pro modified   I shouldn't have said it out loud though,  because the admiral got negative about the idea,  stating that she wanted to see her as intended.  

buzz kill!  this kit would be perfect.......it even includes decals!  of course,  I didn't know what the decals looked like,  but I'm sure they pertained to the subject at hand.  the subject of movie cars {and trucks} is pretty extensive in the modeling medium,  although there are only a handful of movies about angry autos.  you don't see the Plymouth Valiant that Dennis Hopper drove in the movie "Duel".......instead,  you see Ghostbusters,  the Dukes of Hazard,  Night Rider, The A Team, Rambo.........the list goes on.  yes....and for all you do-gooders.........Batman!    Christine to me.......is right up there with "Carrie"....good scary fun.

   Anyway.....we got home,  and right away,  my mind was going.......where does this model come from?  I found that the model is actually produced by Round 2,  but why the AMT logo?  well......firstly.....keen to note that Round 2 models are actually made in China...they make that clear by an ink stamp copyright,  instead of the mold imprinted date stamp that older model manufacturers did.....still do if viable.  Round 2 tends to remove them,  which makes it harder to trace their history.

    I looked up the model on Scalemates.......this subject in an old one.  Johan came out with the first on the subject in the late 50's.  it seems that Johan and AMT started out as die cast toy makers........they also made promo models for car dealerships.  they were metal with an automotive finish,  that gave the customer a visual experience when buying cars.  some time after the plastic model kit craze started,  AMT produced this model kit in 1983.

I am not familiar with this series,  but I looked at some finished models,  and the way that the carbs and high hats protrude from the hood,  made me wonder if there was an engine in there.  there was a period of time where a lot of the detail {engine and undercarriage} was molded,  meaning a lower parts count.  of course....during this time,  modelers were clamoring for the more detailed model,  and the model medium was evolving at a very fast rate to make them happy. 

     AMT also had a snap together kit of this subject as well......I may have seen that instead...dunno.   not seeing a definite date stamp makes this hard to confirm, but I'm pretty sure these are the molds where Christine comes from.  one can probably tell by the sprue numbers.......I dared not go to that extreme,  since the admiral was getting perplexed with my obsession as it was.  but.......if your going to go out on a limb....you may as well do it for a good reason!    looking further down the time line,  in 1993,  Revell produced the model I envisioned......the Richard Earle's '58 Plymouth Fury pro modified "Christine"! 

 

you guessed it...... all hell broke loose!  Amazon and E-bay was first......E-bay had two.......a broken kit for $30.00,  and another for $65.00.  E-mailing the guy about the complete kit took time,  so I looked in Etsy and Mecari....they had nothing.  I even sent an e-mail to Alan Bussie @ old model kits.  meanwhile,  the seller from E-bay replied that the model had already been sold.........shaz-but!   Alan replied that he had only handled one such kit in his business's existence,  and since his enterprise has grown as large as it has,  he had stopped doing reserves.  as my efforts were falling around me,  like Army men,  I thought of the last ditch remedy for the itch I have,  and it was pointing towards buying the broken kit and scratch producing the parts I needed.  I took another look in E-bay and saw another one.......this one was listed at $80.00 {time to get the taste tester,  me thinks}.  I hit the 'buy it now'......and I got it....much to the chagrin from the budget director.  the reply notification came quickly.........I got it!    checking the tracking number provided,  I could see the model by Thursday,  the 10th............the postal service being my friend {at the moment},  delivered it on the 8th.......yesterday! 

doing the traditional parts check,  seeing that along the the bottom box side panel,  it appears to have been razor cut,  I'm happy to report that all the parts are here.  whoever owned it assembled part of the engine and a few other aspects without painting anything........a bit of a cliffhanger,  but not too tough a challenge,  I'm hoping.  there are some parts that are chrome plated,  that require paint,  so I will need to do some chrome removal.  I've already taken the engine apart........good thing the person wasn't into scraping the chroming off the parts before gluing    the intake manifold did break though....not too serious,  but enough that I didn't want to use it........  as luck would have it,  I happened to have the exactly manifold in my spare parts box!  I've done a few more things,  but I'll save it for the log {I've got some pictures too}.  when the rolling of the credits was done,  and the admiral was calmer.......as I was tinkering with the model,  she asked if there would be any more surprises.......I guess she meant,  "is that it?"   "dunno.........there could be a sequel

 

[popeye the sailor]

just for chucks and grins,  I looked at the movie bio,  to see what really happened to produce a possessed car.  you would thing that someone connected with the building of the car,  would be the root.  true.......two auto plant workers died because of the car,  but it had already been built,  being prepped and readied to be driven out of the plant.  so how did the car become possessed?   ........a rogue fan belt.........self conscious body.......disgruntled radio....hard to say.  they don't even give any reason........all that is known is that as long as the car is driven and loved,  it's happy.  it does tend to change the present owner to the reflection of it's evil self,  before it ultimately kills them.  unloved.......and the car falls into disrepair,  until some other sap shows up..........didn't have to work too hard on Arnie  

 

no.......sorry,  not my son..........he has a Santa Fe.........that's bad enough  

Edited March 10, 2022 by popeye the sailor

[popeye the sailor]

it's a nice kit.......the hard plastic for those who like that sort of thing.  another thing I found out,  was that in 1958,  the Belvedere and the fury was the same model car......one had different features than the other.  the body was the same style.  in 1959,  the body styles went their separate ways and became their own distinct models.  I though it odd,  during the research and again when I saw the name Belvedere molded into the rear quarter panels.  there's little flash to deal with.  I've done some clean up to the body,  as well as assembling the main parts of the engine

 

for some reason,  the sprue with the exhaust parts is warped.  above,  I cut out the cast off tabs on the body,  and assembled part of the front suspension.  note the Ghost through the rear trunk deck.

 

the tires are assembled...just a little touch ups for the back sides of the rims.......they should roll.  they have a button style insert that shouldn't be cemented.  I won't be dechroming any of the plated parts...the balance is pretty good.

the dominant color is red,  but I'll still paint.  if it was a dark plastic.....you could likely get away with it,  but with light colored plastics,  it has a sort of transparency,  that can be a turn off.  when I was younger,  I never gave it much thought.........if I only knew then what I know now   

these are the decals........they scream pro mod........either that,  a stock car     the only ones I will use,  are the license plates.  more on this soon

[mtaylor]

Just adding some to the mystery of the "possession"... the book doesn't say anything about where it came from.  It was just possessed or maybe "aware?

 

Be careful... from your tale of buying this model... maybe it's has some the big ones "features".  LOL.

 

I always thought that car was a bit of a beast (weight wise and size) to be drag car.

[popeye the sailor]

I suppose if this was the actual car...sure.  according to specs I've seen,  it could do the 1/4 mile in 16 seconds.   pro modified cars aren't built like that though......the bodies are just a shell, over a 'single weight' {all cars must be built to this spec} chassis.  they also bounced between full and mid size over the years they were built.  I recall an old Plymouth wagon we had back in the day...it had a flat head six in it......we used it use it to inflate tires.  my dad bought this adaptor that could be screwed into the #1 cylinder which had an air line fitting......he got it from J.C.Whitney.  here's something stupid for you:     I was told to blow up the tires on the tractor one day.  getting the adaptor and stuff.........and out to the car,  I drove it over to the tractor.  it wasn't that far,  I found out,  because when I installed the adaptor and tried to restart the engine,  it wouldn't start.  in order for this to work,  the engine had to be warmed up.......in modern car talk,  all cars start in closed loop........when warmed it up sufficiently,  it enters what they call open loop.  closed loop ratio being more fuel,  less air,  and open loop is less fuel,  more air.   it's basic talk for the metering the fuel / air ratio.  modern cars have a computerized fuel management system,  where as,  older cars with carbs {later carbs had computer sensors} had a choke /vacuum system.

   anywho.........after doing this a couple of times,  and getting frustrated that things weren't going my way,  I devised an idea.  I would start the car,  and remove the plug with the car running.  I did say stupid.......right?!?!!  don't worry folks,  the car has a built in deterrent system   grabbing the spark plug wire send me flying backwards.........that was about 40,000kv going through my arm!  ultimately,  I warmed up the car,  before I was able to blow up the tractor tire    dad was curious what took me so long.......so I told him.  after he stopped laughing.......he gave me my next task.

 

when I worked at Granite State Tire,  one of the techs was having trouble opening a car hood.  every time he tried to open the hood,  he'd either get a jolt to the gut,  or his fingers whenever he touched the hood.  upon shutting the car off,  he was able to open the hood,  where he found that one of the plug wires was touching the underside of the hood!.  this also solved why the car was stalling every time it rained     Mercury Cougars......and I even owned a Comet......that were susceptible for cracked distributor caps.  not only was it a rain issue,  but it would also cause excessive piling on the point contacts.

 

the pull was too great Mark.......it's a beast.......so narly that one can't imagine this not being on some sort of track.  there are other cars that I've seen that would fit the bill.......how about a 1958 Chrysler 300......

wher there is a model....there is a way 

 

[mtaylor]

Very true about the fully framed roll cage chassis.  Very light compared to the full bodied ones.  And then there's stripping out all the fluff from the interior.   I ran P/G for a few years....  very light cars.

 

I'll just sit back, keep an eye on the popcorn machine and watch what magic happens.

[popeye the sailor]

I just posted the Richard Earle car Mark.......

[mtaylor]

I see it.  Interesting model you're building.

[popeye the sailor]

been working on Christine as well.......mostly paint to start off with.   even though {and this pertains to the Earle machine too},  I'll be painting,  even though the bodies are already red.  with the sanding and cleaning of the parts,  it can look hideous with all the marks.......painting will cover all of the nasty stuff over.  so it's a combo of gloss and flat.  the majority of the front suspension is already assembled on the frame.  with that done,  the frame was painted in flat black

I was working on the engine before I got the other kit.  at this point,  it was time to assemble what I had painted.  there isn't a lot of plated part for this model,  so I didn't have to decide if anything was to be dechromed {a first for me}.

 

I'm currently working on this one.......got some ideas from pictures on the net    

[Landlubber Mike]

I love the Belvedere.  Cars had style back then, unlike the boring ones today.  Looking forward to this build!

[mtaylor]

3 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

I love the Belvedere.  Cars had style back then, unlike the boring ones today.  Looking forward to this build!

True that.   Even the so-called "super cars" all look alike.  

[popeye the sailor]

hello all.......and hello to you Mike....glad you could join in    we have a calendar of Iconic cars......this month is the 1957 Buick Roadmaster.....tempted to see if there is a kit out there for it    I did make some progress on this project.......I did spend quite a bit of time on the Pro Mod version, correcting a couple of mistakes the prior owner made.  but I got them where I can be happy,  so on with that project too {I would have been sad if I couldn't}.

 

the engine is pretty much done......the frame was painted and the engine was put in place.

 

don't know why........I decided to leave the air cleaner chromed.

other parts were painted.....like the exhaust and the rear suspension.....the tires were assembled as well.

the front tires were added...

 

you can see in the background just how warped the sprue with the tailpipes is.....I hope it doesn't reflect in the parts.  the interior was next to be assembled.  the majority of the interior was painted flat red.  in most of the picture I saw of the finished model,  there is this white /red trim deal going on.  I'm fairly certain that the interior was this way in the movie {the actual car}.  the Chevy Bel Air kits I have have decals that reflect a two tone interior,  but I didn't think they would fit good,  or come out to my liking, so I painted them in.  I used a very light gray......it looks white,  but a color tint that would fend off most of the ghosting,  since white is such a hard paint to work with.

 

 

note to self....touch up that rear seat 

[popeye the sailor]

the exhaust needs to be added before the interior box is placed on the frame......the pipes locate above the torsion bar frame.   very tight quarters to do it after.   the box is on the frame now.

 

[popeye the sailor]

once the interior assembly was dry enough,  it was flipped over to fasten the exhaust to the underside.  the rear differential was dry fitted here at this time.

once that had dried,  the tail pipes were added,  as well as the drive shaft and differential.

 

set aside to dry and await touch ups

[popeye the sailor]

I had spent a lot of time on the pro modified........I decided to do more to the street version.   I really didn't get that far into it until I got called back to the real world,  but I did get the body painted.

....as close to a 'blood' red as I could get   

[popeye the sailor]

moving on with this one........the rear tire have been added.  I had an urge during the work week,  so I got the firewall ready to add to the chassis.

one aspect I thought about is the trim along the sides of the body.  some of the image pictures seen online has them in white......but most of them have it in either flat steel or chrome.  I used scotch tape to mask up one of the sides and painted it in chrome silver.

we'll let this dry a bit before I remove the tape......doing trim work is not my forte' 

Edited April 7, 2022 by popeye the sailor

[popeye the sailor]

the firewall is now finished and I added it to the chassis.......

 

everything depends on the body now.......it's the next part to be added.   there is quite a bit of painting to go yet.   the driver side was masked to paint the trim on that side.

aside from a couple of really minor fo-pars......they came out fairly decent  

 

I masked up around the roof.........finger's crossed on this part.......this is where I don't do so well,  and this is important for the model.  I know that it's hard to look at a pink car........makes one think of Pinkie Tuskidero {what show was she from?}.  I didn't paint the inner shell of the body,  and I'm sure that accounts for it.

the bottom portion of the rear deck was done freehand.......I may try and mask the front windshield apron.

 

I don't think the Pro Modified version of Christine requires this bit of paint,  so I may be spared from doing this a second time.....I'll have to look.  here the body is in a more neutral setting....

 

 

[lmagna]

2 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

I know that it's hard to look at a pink car

I don't know.

Here is one I have in my stash. Went to quite some effort getting the decals for it. If I get it actually built it would be one of two Lotus 30/40s in my collection.

 

The real car has been fully restored to it's Pink Stamp livery including the backwards #1 and is alive and well in Portland Oregon.

Edited April 7, 2022 by lmagna

[Old Collingwood]

Dont foreget the Pink Panther  car.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

...Penelope Pitstop maybe???  wonders never cease    I looked for the place I bought the Pro Mod Christine.......Southern Motorsports does have a website....here I found something that struck me funny.  earlier I posted a picture of the 1983 'slammers' kit.....it shows a green car.  I saw the 'slammers' kit on the site,  and it is red......it looks like the original Christine.  it has the AMT logo and everything......haven't compared it,  but it looks like the same box art.  a production date would tell a lot,  but since I can't physically look at the kit,  it will remain a mystery.  the Chrysler 300 I posted earlier as well........there is a kit of it   crazy to think........but it might be interesting   

 

you should build it Lou.......I want a front row seat!  

[popeye the sailor]

odd OC..........but I do believe there is a kit of one.  that would take some research    ok....research done....I came up with these:

 

 

this one I couldn't find a kit for........would be interesting if there was one.....

 

The Original Pink Panther Car

[lmagna]

The F-1 and Dodge look nice to me. The show car on the other hand............................😝 Especially at over a million dollars!

[popeye the sailor]

fiberglass body too..........I recall a gent that owned a 77 stingray.........forever in the body shop due to cracking   

[Canute]

Denis, Pinky Tuscadero was in Happy Days (I think). All that pink....😁

[Egilman]

5 hours ago, Canute said:

Denis, Pinky Tuscadero was in Happy Days (I think). All that pink....😁

First three episodes of Season 4 then she was dropped from the series.... Rumor had it that she and the "Fonz" didn't get along...

 

There was always "Pink Cadillac".... {chuckle}

[Egilman]

8 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

fiberglass body too..........I recall a gent that owned a 77 stingray.........forever in the body shop due to cracking   

Maybe if he stopped bumping things with it, they were kinda fragile...

[Canute]

That was the 25th anniversary 'Vette. A local Chevy dealer got one of the Specials from the factory, so a group of us wandered over to gaze at the Special. The 'glass job was awful; the weave of the fabric was quite visible in the paint. Must have been built on a Monday or Friday. Turned a lot of us off to the Corvette mystique.

[popeye the sailor]

it drove like a tank too  .........no......basically the roads up here can be a trial at times.  the combination that it had a rather still suspension,  and the road conditions,  was a detriment to the car.  it didn't belong up here    I would never buy a new car and drive it around here.......

 

I was browsing through some of the stuff I gathered on Christine,  and I seem to have missed another big feature........she should have a white roof.  I had just did the window trim when I though of it......bummer!  I though I might have a rattle can of white,  but I don't.  I put a coat of red paint on the roof,  and with my luck,  if I go and airbrush the white {thinner into account},  it might cause the paint to wrinkle.  looking around,  I stumbled onto another forum where the gent did LED lighting {so cool}.......and he addressed the issue as so.  he bought a kit molded in white plastic {another wonderment}.  I'm getting even more curious about the kit offered by Southern Motorsports.....different box art.......different plastic?  anyway.....his though about this was that red plastic is terrible to cover with white.  I did wonder about primer,  but he never mentioned it in his forum posts.  I'm not going to chance it.....it is going to remain red.  not only this........but most information points to the engine being dual carbs with matching air cleaners.  I did see some screen shots from the movie,  but nothing that shows this.  I tend to doubt it anyway.  coming off the line,  it was a stock model,  and likely wouldn't get any of the higher class equipment.  it's like the two Chevy Bel Air kits I have.........the kits have them sporting V8 engines,  when the stock models had L6 engines.

   now.....I'm not say'in that they never came with V8's......not sure if they still do,  but there was a time when dealers allowed customers to chose what they wanted their new car to be equipped with.  some were also produced in other plants as a higher model.......jeeze.......you could even order a muscle car!

   I've been doing some more in the way of painting.........detail and stuff.   more to come soon     thanx for look'in in!

[popeye the sailor]

correct Ken on the Pinkie thing.........hard to wonder why they added her in.......it wasn't like the fonz had girl issues     I believe she was a relative of the Fonz anyway   

[Canute]

Coulda been, Denis. I haven't watched in eons, so I sure don't remember.

 

Yeah, the color on this is up in the air and the red plastic sure doesn't help. Well, Badger makes a pink primer coat in their Stynylrez line.