This is a review of the AMT ’67 Mercury Comet Cyclone #6750

This is one of those models that I LOVE to hate. It is a car of small infamy, yet a design I’ve always been enamored with (more later). I have tried to build this one a couple of times lately, but with issues with screwing up glass fit and bad luck with paint, this has become a personal victory to finally finish it. My last successful one was years ago… it was red… and it was not very impressive. Times have changed a bit.

I have seen all the above kits – save for the drag-looking antique kit. The rest are the same quality and piece count as the one I did. And, aside from the obvious drag version, the others do not have a great deal of “speed” options.

CAR BACKGROUND :: The Man’s car, huh? That does put a damper on “womens” buying it, doesn’t it?

Sexism aside, the car is just as streamlined as a Fairlane or Galaxie, and came in many stylish colors. In some ways, the Comet was better than both in speed as well. The Comet with the 390ci V8 was faster than a Galaxie 500 (mostly due to heft) and – with the tests I’ve seen – was even a tick faster than the similarly optioned Fairlane. Its numbers are low 15s at almost 95mph. Not blistering, but still relatively quick.

The Comet Cyclone didn’t sell all that well – with only about 9,000 copies sold. Sales-wise, the Comet Cyclone and Fairlane GT/GTA certainly didn’t fare well against the GTOs of the time.

Still, I like an underdog though!

Well…, here she is. I went completely away from the horrifying blue and dreadful red I’ve used and went with a Lime Ice. This isn’t very close to any stock color for 1967, but it looks nice. This model has fitting problems all over the place, but it came out just right this time. I would’ve liked a black “GT” stripe on the wheelbase, but the decals in my kit were ruined. C’est la vie. (Look for an update when I get a set)

The first fitting issues come from the interior. The dash, doors, and tub are all fitted together, and THEN the undercarriage. This means the entire unit has to fit tightly into the body, with the hood matching, the rear bumper fitting, and the interior sitting in the right place. It isn’t impossible, but it is a pain to get all aspects right.

Add to that further underside issues, and it is a LOT of work. The interior is very detailed, however, and looks sharp when finished. I forgot to do a two-tone on either this or the Fairlane, so I may redo one to further accent the interior. They are top-10 best by AMT (I know.. not saying much, but still..) and are very easy to get right.

The engine bay is also one of the better AMT ones made. The engine is a nicely detailed 390; has a lot of surround detail; nice battery; separate master cylinder; and is framed well. Aside from a boring (but stock) air cleaner, I have zero gripes with this one. And, as I said above, you will not find many AMT engine bays this well laid out AND well detailed.

This is also a decent place to be for an AMT model. The underside has “ok” detail, an easy-fitting exhaust, and tight-fitting wheels. The exhaust tips are boring (replaced), the rims could be better quality, and the front axle pins are in a bad placement (They are either too high one way, or too low the other – i.e., jacked in the rear or almost a “fuelie” look in the front). I fixed this one’s front end so it looks very stock, but it is a tricky placement nonetheless. Not perfect, but not a fiasco either.

Being one of the better AMT kits doesn’t make it one of the best muscle cars of the day. Unfortunately, the Comet has the same fame issues as the Galaxie and even the Fairlanes of the time, and it’s often an “afterthought” when in the same pool as Camaros and GTOs. I really like this car, this model, and this build. These kits are still plentiful and reasonably priced (between $15 and $25). Can’t say it is a good investment because of its notoriety, but it is a heck of an AMT build.

8.5 – Good