Revell '26 Sedan Delivery

[Bruce Poage]

It's time to work on something a little different. One of my choices--from the stash, would be the Revell '26 Sedan Delivery. So at this point I am wondering if there are any "red flags" or building hints from those of you who have already completed this kit. Thanking you in advance.

[Longbox55]

That kit is basically a rehash of the Li'l John Buterra car, not a bad kit overall. The Jag suspension is a little fiddly, and the frame can be a little tricky to get aligned up straight. Otherwise, it goes together without much issue.

[Casey]

I recall a few things from building the "Street Demons" re-issue in the mid '80s.

1) The actual car is very small, and being Buterra built car everything is designed to fit well together, but in a very small space. I recall the 289 small block being a semi-tight fit in the engine compartment, and ditto for the radiator. No interference issues that I remember, though.

2) The drawer pull style door handles look very out of place. I think these were a nod to the resto-mod trend which was coming on strong in the mid-late '70s, but I would suggest you replace them, or go with the shaved look.

3) If you're working on an older version the wire wheels, the tires MUST be replaced, as they are the horrible two-part variety.

4) The ribbed, rectangular air cleaner always seemed out of place to me, too, but I suppose it matches the ribbed Cobra style valve covers and oil pan.

5) Make sure you square up the chassis to ensure it's not twisted.

6) The headlights are molded as one with the headlight buckets. Drill 'em out and replace with clear lenses, as they are very noticeable at the front of the car.

7) The rear window "glass" has some engraving/etching, so you may want to straight up replace that piece.

8) A 6" chop really brings this car to life.

[Greg Myers]

Casey really hit that one out of the park. Reading through that review I couldn't agree more. Oh yeah, chop that top, it's pretty straight forward.

[Draggon]

I found the frame to be way more than fiddly. I ended up stripping all of the chrome and it became another stalled project on the bench. I haven't decided whether to use the T fenders or the ones from the 34 kit.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The engine is seriously underscale, but the car itself is right. People argue about this, but a 289 is the same length as a 302 / 5.0, so compare the T kit's engine with the one in the Revell '32s, which SHOULD be the same, and you'll see. Maybe they had the same ruler-challenged crew who did the tiny Hemi in the last AMT Ala Kart do it, or maybe someone thought the correct-scale engine looked too big in a T, which is a VERY small car. Either way, 1/25 scale is 1/25 scale, and the engine isn't. Doesn't matter to some, but drives me crazy.

[Gramps2u]

I built the kit box stock & had fun with the build. Over all it came out just fine for me.

[Mark]

The frame is molded in two pieces, with half of each tubular crossmember molded as part of each frame half. They taper ever-so-slightly. Assemble the frame halves, then you might consider cutting the crossmembers out one by one and replacing with round styrene rod. Doing them one at a time keeps the frame square and in alignment. This is a good idea for the early issue Revell funny car chassis also (funnies issued in the last few years have an easier-to-assemble one-piece frame, but the old one is actually better if you don't mind a little filing and trimming).

The two-piece rear tires are workable, the front ones aren't so hot unless you have an early kit.

The engine is a bit undersize, but that's probably so everything fits under the stock hood as it did in the 1:1 sedan. Revell had to deal with thicker-than-scale hood panels; had they been made to scale they would be paper-thin. John Buttera was a master at packaging everything in the 1:1 sedan that he built for his wife to drive. As for the engine being short, a lot of work was done on the 1:1 mill to shorten it up so as to fit under the hood. The pulleys, accessories, and water pump were all considerably massaged to save space.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The engine is a bit undersize, but that's probably so everything fits under the stock hood as it did in the 1:1 sedan. Revell had to deal with thicker-than-scale hood panels; had they been made to scale they would be paper-thin. John Buttera was a master at packaging everything in the 1:1 sedan that he built for his wife to drive. As for the engine being short, a lot of work was done on the 1:1 mill to shorten it up so as to fit under the hood. The pulleys, accessories, and water pump were all considerably massaged to save space.

Perhaps I should have been more specific. The BLOCK and the cylinder HEADS on the engine in the '26 SD kit are 1/8 inch TOO SHORT to be correct scale. Those parts of the engine weren't and couldn't be modified to fit in 1:1. Just FYI, I build 1:1 hot-rods for a living at a well-known, multiple magazine-featured shop, I work with these engines every day, I rarely post before I actually know what I'm talking about, I measured before I posted, and I verified the correct-scale engine WILL in fact fit the car with a little work (which is why I also pointed out that the car itself IS correctly scaled, though many folks who haven't measured and done the math seem to disagree).

And I'm NOT trying to be a know-it-all...just offering facts as opposed to opinions.

if a builder doesn't particularly care if it's all in-scale or not, it builds up into a nice model. The frame is fiddly, but if you do one sub-assembly at a time, jig it and let it dry before going on to the next part, it makes a great frame. I like the tube frame so much, I've used it as the basis for some period race-cars as well. A builder who cares about scale CAN shoehorn a Revell smallblock Ford from the '32 series into this kit, and get it right.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy

[tim boyd]

I built the original issue of this kit over one weekend soon after it was introduced, and encountered no issues along the way. In fact, it was probably the best Revell 1/25th scale kit ever at the time it was released.

Can't comment as authoritatively on the reissues over the years....but the posters above make some good points on how it can be improved even further...

TIM

Edited January 26, 2013 by tim boyd

[tooltas]

i just use the body and floor to make a cool lowboy car

[Longbox55]

Just throwing this out there, the bodies from the Buttera based kits do fit right onto the AMT Model T frames perfectly. In fact, I'm converting a Demons '26 Delivery to a stock T using a spare AMT frame.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Just throwing this out there, the bodies from the Buttera based kits do fit right onto the AMT Model T frames perfectly.

Yup, which is as it should be with correctly-scaled 'scale-models'.

[Gluhead]

Not much I can add after the insights already given. But I can say I think it's a great kit, and if you absolutely must chop it (T's are so easy they almost chop themselves), a little goes a long way.

Signed,

Someone who loves tall t's.

[berr13]

I built the '27 T when it came out, and enjoyed it--to my eye it looks pretty good. Over the years I've purchased some of the variants of the kit, and used the parts in other projects. My biggest gripe, though, is about the shape of the Cobra valve covers. If I remember correctly, as viewed from above they're shaped like a parallelogram, which looks kinda funny.