68 Mustang $59.00, While the Door Automotive Modelers Me Not Only the Amount GT
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MAMA Sez! Volume 22, Issue 6 February, 2009 This is the newsletter It’s Time to Go Racin’ !! of the Maryland It continues to amaze new plastic ‘68 Mustang $59.00, while the door Automotive Modelers me not only the amount GT. Thanks, dudes! box contributed another Association of modelers that consis- Don’t forget to check $91.00. Yay—we made tently show up for our out the new Mustang the rent. Thanks, guys. ‘Lectric Caddy?! 1 monthly ‘bull sessions,’ Cobra Jet racer on page Thanks to the following Ref. Review 2 but also at how, eventu- 12. Talk about retro! donors: Brad, Ed Brown, ally, stragglers manage to Especially considering Ron Bradley, Ron Ham- Revell ‘68 Mustang 3 carry the meeting out that the NHRA Winter- ilton, Phil Jones, Ron Barn Find 4 into the parking lot! nationals was the begin- Leedy, Charlie Magers, ‘NOTHER Barn 5 This month, we can ning of February, where J.C. Reckner, yours Find? thank Rich Wilson and these awesome cars de- truly, Rich Wilson, Rep- T ‘n T 6 Ron Hamilton for their buted, winning their class licas & Miniatures Co. So Long, Farewell, 9 opinions of reference in an all-Mustang final. of MD, and yours truly. & Buh-Bye! material, and Revell’s The raffle raised Thanks, guys! Lets Go Racin’! 10 ‘08 Cobra Jet?! 12 ‘Lectric Caddy?! Philly Sit-Down 13 GMs’ tight finances they have to prove may keep them from they have the cash. building a production It would have a 2009 Meeting Schedule version of the recently range of 40 miles on Meetings are scheduled for revealed Cadillac Con- electricity, with a the third Saturday of the month Edmunds.com, the ‘09 (unless noted otherwise). Do verj concept car. It potential total range of Lexus SC 430 starts at NOT assume meeting dates— would use the same tech- 700 miles after a $67,630, and the ‘09 confirm them with a club offi- nology as the Chevy Volt generator kicks in. GM Caddy XLR starts at cer! plug-in hybrid. GM de- says the powertrain, January 17th $86,200. The Volt likely signed it so the produc- formerly known as E- February 21st will cost $40,000+, a March 21st tion version—if it ever Flex, is now called high-priced Chevy. April 25th happens—will look Voltec, and could be used ! “The Voltec May 16th TE NO “exactly like this,” says in a variety of technology we’re June 20th Bob Lutz, soon-to-be- applications. developing is flexible, July 18th retired GM vice chair- Lutz says a produc- August 15th and can meet the man of global product tion version of it would September 19th expectations of luxury development. But, be- be priced like a “luxury October 17th buyers,” said Lutz. November 21st fore GM can build it, coupe.” According to December 19th Inclement weather phone MAMA Sez is the official monthly publication of the Maryland Automotive Modelers Association. Articles as attributed by author and source, and may be reprinted with proper credit given. Opinions expressed are those of nobody of any importance. Any corre- number: (301) 474-5255. spondence or contributions should be sent to: Timothy Sickle, 15905 Ark Court, Bowie, Maryland 20716. Page 2 MAMA Sez! and article. Reference Review When Motor Books released Mickey Thompson-The fast this one in November, I life and tragic death of a racing knew I had to have it. legend, by Erik Arneson He was born in 1928, [hardbound, 304 pages, $25.00, and was the ripe old age ISBN-13: 9780760331781,ISBN: of 59 at the time of his 0760331782, Catalog ID: 144606, and his second wife, http://www.motorbooks.com] Trudy’s, deaths. It was an Since both of our resident act of pure revenge for Tims seem to like quizzes, here’s lawsuit losses in a part- a quick one for you. nership that went terribly Who invented the sling shot wrong. dragster? Zoomy headers? Water Because of a child- filled traffic barriers? hood illness, his stature Who was the second man to was temporarily stunted. go faster than 150mph in the ¼ Later when he met his mile? The manager of the 1st first wife to be, Judy, she commercial drag strip BEFORE was slightly taller than the NHRA was created? The crea- him. Their meeting was tor of stadium off-road racing? not unlike the famous BEEEEEP! Time’s up; it was scene in the movie Marion Lee ‘Mickey’ Thompson; American Graffiti, with one of my personal heroes. I’ve Suzanne Sommers and the white punched the unknown person right been following the news updates T-Bird. She was not immediately in the nose! He was hauled off to of the double murder of him and attracted to him, but started dating jail and wasn’t released until he his wife since I heard of it in ‘88. I him anyway. He wasn’t much of a agreed to leave town immediately. can remember many years ago student in high school, so Judy did He was introduced to Semon helping my mother grocery shop- his homework for him. She did so E. ‘Bunky’ Knudsen in ‘55. Knud- ping; in the early summer of ‘63. much of it that the school princi- sen had just been tasked to im- There was an ulterior motive pal congratulated her when prove Pontiacs’ image. He and for this as the best hobby store in Mickey graduated. Because of his Mickey hit it off immediately and town was in the adjacent drug size, he had a hair trigger temper remained friends for decades. store. As we passed the magazine that got him into fights all of his Knudsen shipped him four of the rack, my eyes were caught by a life. The local Lions clubs hired new overhead valve V-8s that had wild looking car on the cover of a him to manage the newly created just been introduced, but they magazine. It was HOT ROD, and Lions drag strip. were used test engines. the car on the cover had a wild set Despite his efforts to make the Mickey and his mechanics re- of headers coming out of a blue races safe and fair, he always built them and put them in his mid-engined, open wheeled car. It ended up in fistfights afterwards. Challenger salt flats car, which was Mickey’s ‘63 Indy 500 entry, People would form a line to fight was under construction at the the Harvey Aluminum Special. him. In the early 60s he took his time. They had to be tested and This was in an era when the road- family to Europe to tour several tuned separately, which required a sters still dominated. Grand Prix races. While in the pits special dragster. There is a whole It was the first car mag I ever at the French race, a policeman chapter on the building of and the bought, and I had to have it, and, grabbed his arm from behind. problems encountered. Later when to this day, I still have the cover Mickey instinctively turned and Knudsen went to work for Ford, (Continued on page 4) Volume 22, Issue 6 February, 2009 Page 3 parts. First, I must warn you, each Revell ‘68 Mustang These kit is unique, but curiously, the “2 kits were par- ‘n 1” has all of the parts included [Revell #4233; 1/25th scale; tially assembled, well engraved, in the “Bullitt” version, with the modified reissue; 79 pieces plus simple to build, and represented exception of the “JJZ109” black decals] the subject well. But the plastic on yellow California plates, which [‘68 Mustang GT 2 ‘n 1; Rev- kit purists tended to shun them, were on the movie car exclu- ell #4215; 1/25th scale; modified probably because they were really sively. reissue; 99 pieces plus decals] simple kits, and without a lot of The 2 ‘n 1 kit adds not two, I take my hat off to the Revell- work, the variations were limited but three building variations, Monogram for reissuing this kit in to the one represented by the kit. which should be welcomed by a new version and medium. These kits were run once, and most modelers interested in build- Originally, these ‘68 Mustang GT have since been hard to come by, ing such a car. The versions are variations included a diecast metal being issued five years ago. as follows: body and attendant parts, and sty- Up ‘til now, a model of a ‘68 1) A Replica Stock ‘68 Mus- rene plastic for everything else Mustang GT was only currently tang GT with the 390 V8 engine, except tires, axles and attaching available as an AMT or MPC including the “Exterior Decor screws. They issued the car in “annual” kit, last produced for the Package” hood with twin depres- two guises: ‘68 model year (41 years ago), or sions 1) A replica of the car driven a resin kit of the same. When Rev- 2) A Replica Stock ‘68 Mus- by Frank Bullitt, portrayed by the ell announced they were going to tang GT with the 428 “Cobra incomparable actor Steve Mc release a kit of this subject, I was Jet” V8 engine, including a flat Queen in the ‘68 Warner Brothers hoping for one with a detail level hood, functional ram-air scoop, movie of the same name. The comparable to the great AMT kit and specific air cleaner. (Not men- model is a faithful copy of the ve- of the ‘67 Mustang. We did not tioned in the instructions, but in- hicle used in the film, with the get that.