Keith Marks 1/24-25 Muscle Car Decals
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The current price of gas notwithstanding, interest in late ‘60s
and early ‘70s muscle cars shows no sign of abating. The prices
of many collector cars have gone through the roof, but American muscle
cars remain, by and large, a good value-if you can afford to put gas in
them. But I digress. A casual glance through the pages of magazines such
as Scale Auto and Model Cars reveals a healthy aftermarket of detail parts
for that ’66 Chevelle or ’70 Barracuda kit that you might
be planning to build. Many of the classic kits from this era have been
reissued, by companies such as Revell-Monogram and AMT/Ertl. Some of these
models can also be found on eBay or at model shows. I picked up the Monogram
’70 Boss 302 Mustang for $4 at a show recently, and one of the reasons
it was so cheap was because it had no decals.
My first thought was to contact Revell-Monogram to inquire about a replacement
decal sheet. However, while searching online for a review of another Mustang
kit the name of Keith Marks Decals popped up as an alternative.
Shelby GT-350 '66
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The decals in many old car kits, as well as in the reissues, are of
dubious quality-poor registration, muddy colors, indifferent screen printing,
etc. Keith Marks has stepped into the gap with a line of decal sheets
for many of the more popular-as well as some of the more obscure (1970
Maverick Grabber, anyone?) -muscle cars so many people love. For Mustangs
alone, for example, he produces 30 decal sheets. Even the unloved (at
least by this reviewer) Mustang II is catered to.
Shelby GT-350 '67
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These decal sheets are (I believe) ALPS printed on Tango Papa decal
paper, and their quality is very good. This also means that the decals
are on continuous film and need to be cut out individually, but most of
us should be able to manage that. I purchased three sheets for Mustangs-the
’66 and ’67 Shelby GT-350s, and the 1970 Boss 302. The quality
of the printing is far superior to the sheets in either of my Shelby kits;
in particular the words “Shelby GT-350” in the stripes below
the doors are crisper and more legible. Nice work! The ’67 Shelby
sheet also includes instrument gauges, door trim decals, Cobra scripts,
an air cleaner decal, and ALL of the body stripes, some of which are missing
from the sheet included in the 1/25th AMT/Ertl Shelby GT-350 (reviewed
in the April ’08 IM).
1970 Boss 302
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Keith offers decal sheets for high performance cars from AMC, Buick,
Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, and Shelby.
A quick look at his website reveals that the chances are good that you
will be able to find replacement decals for most of the muscle cars of
that golden era, when quarter-mile elapsed times were fairly low, and
so was the price of gas…
Keith Marks Decals retail for approximately $9USD and are available
in the popular 1/24th and 1/25th scales. You can check out his website
or contact him via e-mail.
Highly recommended!
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