47 replies to this topic

[mrmike]

While at the Hollis Flea Market last Sunday, I walked past a vendor with a couple of large boxes of model kits sitting on the ground. As I looked through the boxes, I started talking with the vendor about models and my club. I saw this kit in one box and ask about the price...$5.00. I gave him a five and thanked him. It is Revell's Custom '56 F100...circa 1986.

I have always loved the look of the '56 F100 as others do since many have been restored or rodded. I started thinking about the kit off and on during the day. When I got home later that afternoon, I tore open the shrink wrap and opened the box to examine the kit. It was molded in metallic blue plastic, which would have been nice when polished, but with numerous swirl marks on the hood and roof, my only choice is to paint it. I decided on Tamiya TS-19 Metallic Blue.

I have decided that the BBS wheels look out of place on this truck. I have a set of wheels and tires from the Revell '06 Mustang GT to use instead. I think they look better than the BBS wheels which, IMHO, would look more at home on a Porsche.

I have had a couple of versions of this model over the many, many years that I have been building. I was hoping to get the latest reissue of this kit at my LHS (the Ed Roth shop truck version), but that won't be necessary now. The first order of business is to remove all the flash and mold lines. Then on to paint!

More to come...

Edited by mrmike, 29 September 2012 - 06:02 AM.

[01blueedge]

good start I agree on the wheels the mustang ones look better

[mrmike]

Thanks Josh! Those BBS wheels just don't fit into the vision of the '56 F100 that I want to build. I wished I had a set of Cragar SS mags for this project, but those seem to be hard to come by lately.

If it is one thing that I am very much aware of, it is the fidelity of this kit and yes, the tooling is old. I first built this kit when I was young...quite young and needless to say, I was in over my head with it. I later built a drag version of this kit about 30 years ago and it was the same as this kit is. I do know that to successfully build this kit, it will require a lot of test fitting of parts and sub-assemblies. That is what I am doing now...lots of test fitting. Last night I got the inner fenders installed.

I even got the door hinges in which was a little bit of a challenge especially since I broke one. Some Ambroid ProWeld and I was good to go.

I partially assembled the bed. The tailgate and hinges have been let off so I can detail the bed floor with foil and paint.

More to come...

[AUGIEDOGGIE]

NICE ILL BE WATCHING

[Jantrix]

I have the same edition as this Mike. I'll be following along and see what is in store for me. I like your choice of wheels.

[crazyjim]

I love those Effies.

[TooOld]

I personally like this kit . It's no different that any other Revell kit with all the openings !
Looking forward to seeing this one completed .

[vintagestang]

The Revell '68 Mustang Gt comes with optional Cragars.

[Steven2]

I built this kit and I always liked the wheels but I have to admit, the Mustang wheels look better on this truck.

[mrmike]

Thanks guys!

The Revell '68 Mustang Gt comes with optional Cragars.

You are correct Patrick, but there are only 2 Cragar mags in that kit and I cannot justify buying two kits for just the wheels. But yesterday, when I stopped by the LHS for a jar of paint and I saw this on the shelf.

Oh, thank the model gods for they have been listening to me!! These wheel and tire sets are becoming very hard to find. This truck kit comes with a Thunderbird engine that I would venture to say that it is a 312 CI V8. The kit also contains a supercharged Pontiac engine of unknown displacement. And, the winner is...a 426 CI Hemi from a Revell '67 Charger!


I have a pair of small round chromed air cleaners for the carbs. I'll leave the valve covers and the carbs chromed. I have a pair of stock Hemi manifolds and a set of Hemi headers. I'll see which set will fit better when I mount the engine in the chassis.

More to come...

[Monty]

You are indeed one fortunate man. You not only scored a nice, complete kit for $5.00, you may also have found the last MRC wheel & tire set in the entire US. It's hard to believe that set wasn't snapped up ages ago, since MRC hasn't made them in over a decade.

This should be a fun and interesting project to watch!

[slammedi'am]

Nice!

I have one of these kits I started but never finished it

[Sixties Sam]

Looking good! That 56 pickup kit has always been a bear to build. I built one of the originals as a teenager in the 1960's and it looked bad. I built one two years ago, and it turned out much better, but required a lot of fiddling to get things to fit. It does make a nice model if you have patience with it.
Sam

[mrmike]

Thanks guys! It is one thing I do possess, it is patience! It is necessary in this day and age!

[mrmike]

Last night I made a transmission mount by cutting off the molded trans mount and modifying it to fit with a couple pieces of scrap styrene.


This is the start of the engine mounts for the 426 CI Hemi.


More to come...

[mrmike]

I finished the engine mounts this afternoon and mounted the between the frame rails.
The trans mount was added as well.

With the engine mocked up in place. Perfect!

I looked at the springs and the thought ran through my mind of these springs breaking because they are really thin and fragile looking. My solution was to add a strip of styrene to them and add some strength to these fragile looking parts.

The strengthen springs with the lowered front axle.

I did the same to the rear springs and added the rear axle.


More to come...

[heepey]

+1 on those springs. I am in the process of restoring on of these I built many years ago. The springs had broken and I am rebuilding them using the same system you are. It would be much easier to have done it first not after the fact.

[Jantrix]

Keep it going Mike, you are working out all the bugs for me.

[mrmike]

Thanks guys! Rob, not so much as bugs, but as kinks! I am having second thoughts about using the Cragar mags for this build. I have yet to find any other MRC Cragar wheel sets and part of me doesn't want to use these just yet. I may use the '06 Mustang wheels instead. We shall see. I finally had a chance to work on the F100 today for a short time. I got the Hemi painted with Chrysler Street Hemi Orange Engine Enamel and the trans was painted Aluminium Metalizer. I have yet to drill out the distributor and wire it up.

A picture of the Hemi in the chassis with plenty of clearance for the exhaust manifolds

The front and rear suspensions are painted and partially assembled. The drive shaft will be removed and replaced with a more substantial unit.

While I was out running errands this morning, I stopped at Michael's to look for white embossing powder. I found a jar of clear (even though it looks white) for $3.49 and purchased it. I should be able to paint over the clear embossing powder with any color paint.

More to come...

Edited by mrmike, 11 August 2012 - 02:06 PM.

[01blueedge]

its looking good great job on the scratch built motor and trans mounts