tim boyd

Thanks David for the compliment; in response to your question, I recall a couple of kitbashes of this kit being posted over at Spotlight Hobbies with lowered stances and big wheels and tires, and they looked killer! Best...TB

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

Looks like a very cool event, Bob, and thanks for posting the pix. Really like the table cards used there. And seeing a clone from the builder of that old Buick Skylark dual engine funny car from the 1968 Model Car and Science mag is just beyond incredible. TB

Good catch, James. I sure didn't know about that one....TB

Those 2023 Bronco mix numbers are very interesting, and a little surprising to be honest. I recall that early on hearing after the product launch that the total 2-door mix was running in the 30% range. Still, pretty typical for products like these to migrate to a more typical "use" purchase over a "style" priority during the middle years of a multi-year lifestage, and the Bronco is now in its fourth year of production. As for the choice of the two-door over four door for the model kit, historically in the 1/25th scale world, two-door kit versions of anything that was also available as a 1/1 four door have almost always been the preference of the kit buying public. And remember that the decision of which bodystlye to use for the kit came before the real vehicle was out, not what would now be five years later today. The thought also occurs that perhaps there is still institutional recall of the mid 1990s when AMT-Ertl offered kits of both the two-door S-10 Blazer and four-door Explorer. In the 1/1 scale those years, the four door Explorer outsold the two door Blazer by a huge multiple, but I wonder what the comparative kit sales were. If I had to bet, I'd put my money on the 2-door Blazer outselling the 4-door Explorer. Anyone have the facts on this? All speculation aside, personally I'm glad Round 2 chose the two-door for the kit. But that is just my opinion, nothing more. Plus, who knows what Round 2 has up their sleeve for the future? I sure don't...TB

I picked up the new "quarterly" issue last week. Bob's view is pretty much mine. Lotsa pictures (many historical), and fun to read about the current status of the two famous Pro Streets (T-Bird and Pontiac J-Car), but the previous notice of the change suggested far more print editorial than what I noted for $15. Give them a few issues to get it sorted, but so far I am not impressed. Robert Petersen would not be happy about this, at all....TB

I am guessing that many of you became deeply involved in the model car/truck hobby well beyond the early 1980s. Nevertheless, here is a bit of trivia from the early days of the mag that largely carried the hobby from the late 1970s through to the debut of MCM years later....hope those of you interested in the earlier days of our hobby enjoy the following: ***** In the early days of Scale Auto Enthusiast magazine, there was a 7-part article series called "Late Model Custom" that first appeared in the November/December 1981 issue (issue #16), then followed in issues #17, 18, 19, 21, 22, and 23. The original model car that inspired the entire how-to series was pictured across the top two pages of that first issue, and also as a sidebar in issue #23. That model was built by Harry Bourlaer (sp?). I photographed it at the model contest ran by Bob Butterley at the 1981 United Street Machine Association Nationals at the Michigan Stage Fairgrounds at Woodward and Eight Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan. This was the only time I ever saw the model, until just last Sunday, nearly 43(!!!) years later, at the 2024 Detroit Area Auto Modelers show in Warren, Michigan. There it sat on the Custom table at the show. I was blown away. It looked just as good as I remembered, all these years later. Harry's build was based on the MPC 1973 Chevy Impala kit. As a builder/writer back then, I didn't have access to that kit, and I wanted a kit that was widely available to readers at the time for the article series, so I used the AMT George Barris "Cruisin' USA series 1970 impala as the basis of the how-to articles. Other than that difference, it should be pretty clear where the inspiration for the magazine article series came from. Check out the photos below, and then compare it to the Late Model Custom project it inspired. Once again, great job Harry, and thanks a bunch for showing it to us once again....TIM ***** Harry's model, as photographed in 1981 and here, in March, 2023: The final result of the 7-part "Late Model Custom" series in Scale Auto Enthusiast from late 1981 to early 1983....it should be really obvious where the inspiration for this model came from... A few more shots of Harry's model, as photographed in late March, 2024: Thanks, Harry, for sharing your model with us once again....TIM More photos at this link

Other than the new wheels (cool choice, too), this looks to be the same, or close to it, to the original build. So....here's a link to images only (no text) showing a 33 step by step buildup of an original kit test shot from....17 years ago.... I had helped Revell by loaning them the interior of the AMT Tudor sedan kit while this one was in development, which explains the signed box sent by Revell's late Roger Harney after the kit hit the market (last image in album). I recall this being a very, very nice kit at the time. TB

It does...TB

Here are three images from the Fotki album at the link above, showing the box art of the new release....as stated elsewhere in this thread, it is mostly the second street machine themed release of the AMT/Ertl '71 Charger R/T tool from 2001, albeit with a few changes including a different set of wheels/tires. As originally designed, the "Street Machine" version of the kit included a replica of an actual 1/1 scale aftermarket upgrade for the "RB" 440 engine, not a true 426 Hemi. I am not familiar enough with that setup to know if it used the RB exhaust manifolds (as illustrated above) or the 426 Hemi exhaust manifolds. In any case, this kit should give the builder a good head start toward doing a full-on 426 Hemi replica in scale should that be their intent...TB PS, my recollection is also that this kit version includes an Air Grabber hood and a very nice set of Mopar's infamous 1971-74 "Bazooka" tailpipe tips (the other version of this tool has the California turn down tips). TB

Greg....are you the head honcho of the old GLMFAA that used to do those terrific fire apparatus displays at the earlier NNL Nats at Toledo (and I'm guessing you are given your forum name). If so, great to hear that you are still involved and following the hobby! Cheers....TIM