7
AMT just reissued the C-600 Stake, and it's a great kit. Even box stock it can be a very nice replica. There are really only two issues I have with it,and they are-
1. The box says C-600, but the door tags seem to read C-800, though you do have to zoom right in to notice!
2. The screens covered by a segmented bezel which fed air to the carb, located just behind the door handles on either side of the cab, are AWOL on the kit- this area is featureless on the kit cab. I'm guessing AMT did it to ease molding- break out the PE screen and Plastruct here.
Aside from that, you're pretty well armed to build just about any C-cab you like using the kit as a base. Sadly, the 'bonus' tractor framerails are no longer part of the deal, but all the other tractor specific parts are, so you can still build a semi tractor if you're up for a little relocating and cutting.
Box stock, the kit builds into a '71-'74 model. But, you can backdate it or update it pretty easily, and still keep it box stock! Though the box art shows the side nameplate located above the character line on the door, it is actually molded BELOW it on the kit cab, consistent with a '71-up model. By simply foil-copying the nameplate and relocating it above the character line, you have a '68-'70 model. Want a '75-'80 model? Sand of the "Gear and Lightning Bolt" medallion from between the headlamps. This would technicallly be correct for up to 1984, but you'd need to replace the "Super Duty" gas V8 for anything newer than a 1980 model.
For a brief period (1958-60), the C-cab wore a 'four eyed' headlamp system, shown here on a 1:1 '59 model...
The custom headlamp bezels from an AMT '50 Ford convertible are good stand ins for these, though for just about any '67-older C-cab, you'll need to make up your own side emblems, as they were about the only thing that changed regularly early on. Also notice the grille mounted parking lamps- used until 1965. For 1966, these were replaced by the free-standing units on the cowl, and the 'plugs' with the four-pointed stars came into being- the grille style depicted in the AMT kit. So to do a '65 or older unit, these would need to be replaced with clear lenses (actually they were kind of grayish lenses, with an amber bulb). The Super Duty gas V8s were available during this time, as were heavy duty variants of the FE and Y-block engine. Note the mangled grille- that's what happens to the C-series grille when you try to tow it by wrapping a chain around the bumper. If you see a C-series with a grille like this, that's what happened.
The '57-66 side emblems would have to be scratchbuilt, though some years used a modified F-series unit- the part found in an AMT '63 F-100 kit could be modified for some early '60's C-cabs if you're up for the challenge.
The side badge used from 1967 onward looked like this- this one is from an '85 C- 8000-
This is the badge you'll see on the AMT kit. Here also, on the same truck, is how the missing air intake grille looks-
For a 1985-1990 model, you'd need to remove the Gear and Lightning Bolt medallion and the FORD letters, and add a Blue Oval where the medallion used to be.
Design of windsheild wipers seemed to vary over the last decade or so- some rested at the bottom of the glass, while some rested next to the windshield divider post. There were also a few changes to the interior, mainly the steering wheel, gauge bezel, and some of the switchgear.
A few other things to consider-
The kit's bumper/grille and spoke wheels are plated. I've only ever seen one C-cab with a plated bumper/grille- it was a 1990 model with a stainless milk tanker body, and also had polished Budd wheels. It's the only non-fire truck C-cab I've seen with a chrome grille and bumper. These parts are more commonly seen chromed on fire engines, so I'm not sure if it was applied by Ford or if the fire apparatus manufacturer did it. And I've NEVER seen one with plated spoke wheels, and I've been soaking up as much info and as many photos as I can get since I was six or seven years old- I think I'd have seen at least one by now, but so far, nadda.
The AMT C-cab kit is every bit as versatile as the real deal, now that it's back out, I plan on doing as many as I can. That's what's great about a kit like this, you can build dozens of them and no two will be exactly the same.
Edited by Chuck Most, 22 October 2010 - 09:28 AM.
