tim boyd

My recollection is this one originally came in the AMT 1964 Corvette roadster kit, but I'm not in a position where I can confirm that right now. That version did not have the dual axles of the Firebird 500 kit, and tended to be a "tail sitter" (to quote our aviation modeler friends) as the axle was placed too far forward for proper tongue weight balance. Here is some photography of my gluebomb resto of the original kit trailer with some mild kitbashing added....TB

Ummm....not likely. I'd have to shed too many company secrets....(smile)....TB

Thank you Ulf. That is great stuff! Like you, the knowledge I gained building model cars early in my life directly led to my "competitive advantage" during the early part of 35 year career at Ford Motor Company, and later on, my first book and writing background gave me invaluable credibility with our Design staff when I was transferred from global sales and marketing to a senior level business oversite and chief of staff for the Global VP of Design role. Probably didn't hurt too when I was eventually assigned management/leadership responsibility for our three global advanced design studios. You just can't make this stuff up. I doubt much if any of this would have happened had 1) I not been a model car builder, and 2) had Pat G. not given me the opportunity to start the Modeler's Corner gig when he was Editor at Street Rodder. BTW, congrats on your own writing and career. I understand and respect your gratefulness as you explain it. It is also great to hear how Wheels magazine's readership endorsed model cars. It was exactly the same here during my 17 years writing the model column for them. Cheers...TB

Thanks for the latest update Marty. In fact, looking very, very close! Lovin' it! TB

Sam...that is just TOO COOL! Thanks so much for sharing this....TIM

Pat aiso wrote an article circa 1975-ish for Street Rodder on building a 1929 Model A Roadster on a '32 frame...not so easy do with the kits available back then. His article inspired (in part) my first '29 on '32 highboy model. Pat attended the second-ever NNL West back in January of 1983 at a hotel in Millbrae (just south of San Fran- I had invited him to attend). Pat always had his camera with him, but I did not know that he took photos and sent them to the Swedish magazine per Ulf's note above. Ulf, do you recall if his writing was for "Wheels" magazine in Sweden? Several of my models were pictured in the "ModelKornan" (sp?) column written by Hans Kihlen in that late mag back in the late 1970s IIRC....TB

Thanks Don....best to you....TIM

Here are a few images of an original issue Revell 1962 Newport convert, in the factory code JJ-1 Bermuda Turquoise. Actually a pretty nice kit. Biggest minus is that the side trim goes a bit uphill as it moves forward along the front fender. Coolest plus is that it has a planned pre-production trim piece that was dropped before job #1 at the factory (the ornamentation around the rear trunk keyhole). Some of you might recall this model from the old Scale Auto article about two decades ago where I coined the term "Mainstreamer". TB

Having been more than a little unnerved about the accuracy of some of the information posted on ScaleMaters, can someone on the board here that is in the know confirm that the Peterbilt Tow Trucks do in fact descend from the original Revell 1/25th scale Peterbilt Conventional Tractor kit that was first tooled and issued in 1982, as the ScaleMates site suggests? Thx, TB

The kit pictured in Jesse's post above was the only time Revell-Monogram ever used the 1973-ish molds for a reissue. Other than that, the tooling has gone unused for over 50 years now. So happy to see Peter V and his team purse a complete reissue of the original model, including period-correct livery and licensing. Way to go, Atlantis! TB.

x2!

The Mongoose dragster is the original 1973-ish Monogram tool. It is an outstanding kit and yes, Atlantis is ready to produce it (they have been working on it for quite some time). TB

Jim...that's a real cool link. Guys you need to look closely at this...there is - apparently if my eyes do not deceive me - a bit of pretty shocking (at least to me) info in this video....TB

The only correct engines for the '71-'73 engine would be 335 Series Clevelands and 385 series 429s (this one in 1971 only). Revell offered the former in the '70 Mach 1 kit of 15 or so years ago, and in the new Boss 351 kit. The 385 series engine is in the new 1971 Mach 1 and the 1970 Torino GT/Cobra kits. These are all excellent replicas, albeit the 351s will need some minor tweaks to be factory stock (e.g. valve covers). No AMT, MPC, or other Round 2 kits have these two engines in scale....TB

Thx Jens...This is different thant what i recalled (obviously). I need to check my reference library on this, but like you I do find the Hamtramck Registry to be a pretty impeccable source of Mopar history...appreciate you taking the time to post this, too..TB