Revells next release from the Model A Roadster tool - a 30/31 Coupe

[Dave Darby]

Looking at a full sized version of this in this month's Street Rodder Magazine the firewall looks pretty much just as the full sized version does.

The pictures should give a few guys ideas of a kit bashed version all with Revell models.

Actually, no. The firewall on the kit is not even close. The old Monogram kits had it right, the old Revell sedan/woody had it right. This one is way off.

Compare:

Compare the above to the real car below. The leading edges of the firewall are rounder, and it comes almost all the way out to the edges of the cowl. The firewall looks almost like a continuation of the cowl.

Revell has some serious fixing to do on that piece.

And, just because it is so cool, a little inspiration...

Edited May 7, 2015 by Dave Darby

[mike 51]

A minor point perhaps,but the roof "insert" seems incorrect too.

But it could be filled easier than fixing the firewall.

[Toner283]

A minor point perhaps,but the roof "insert" seems incorrect too.

But it could be filled easier than fixing the firewall.

I didn't notice that until you pointed it out but you are right. It is way off too. Here is a good pic of a model A coupe with the top insert material not installed. Notice that it is squared off at the front two corners and it goes all the way forward to the sunvisor.

Here is a good pic of a 30/31 firewall with no engine in the way to block it. Notice how wide and tall it is compared to the cowl sides and top. And how it does not have the space all the way around that the test shot pictured has. To my eye the center two angled character lines are also notably on the wrong angle.

I don't want this thread to turn into another thread like the 57 Ford wagon thread, but I also want the model A to be as close to right as possible. In my opinion the issues are not just camera distortion. The firewall and the roof insert are incorrect and should be fixed. If the powers that be at Revell actually do read some of these threads and can see that there are issues with the tooling and will take steps to remedy them before the final tooling is completed. Model A's are one of my favorite vehicles and it would be nice to see them and get it right.

And here is another pic just for inspiration.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Toner283

[Speedster]

Yeah I'm in.

[Brett Barrow]

Looks like they designed it as a ledge for a hood and sides and then didn't do the hood and sides....

[mrknowetall]

Like Brett said! I'd be tossing the firewalls anyway, and replacing them with flat sheet stock. Or something.

[Greg Myers]

Blah, blah, blah, hang on, here we go.

[johnbuzzed]

People are expressing their opinions, concerns and ideas, both good and bad. As long as it's done in a civilized manner, there should be no problems with that.

[DaveM]

The roof is an easy fix. Just cut new lines and putty in the front seam. The firewall is going to be a real beast to fix. This is a case where is would be much easier for Revell to fix the mold once than for everybody who builds the kit to fix it individually. (Or have to live with it) The pics of the '29 roadster model don't look too bad, but they really lost it on this last one. Hopefully it's just a test shot and they straighten it out. Otherwise, somebody will make one in resin.

While I would really like a stock roof (That orange car with the "W" motor is speaking to me) the chop looks mild enough to build some nice street rods with. I was afraid that they might be tempted to make a really deep chop that would only work on a slammed rat rod type of cars. (What our local guru calls a "Cartoon Chop") All in all, this will make a nice successor to the roadster kit. I like the three carb setup and the air cleaners. The '32 front end looks fantastic. Will this kit still have both frame options? Hopefully future versions will give us plain and louvered hoods for both early and late cars, and a couple more wheels tires and engines to choose from. (And maybe a set of fenders eventually) All I can say is let the kitbashing begin!

[jbwelda]

I think some of you would be happy with a block of balsa wood, heck we could "fix" that too!

not that I am complaining, I would take it like it is. its a "rod" it can be any which way you want it to be

jb

[Greg Myers]

What William said.

[mrknowetall]

Times two! Hot rods tend to be uber modified, whacked, hacked and reconfigured in too many ways to count. I could care less about the roof insert or the firewall "irregularities" in that A kit.

I just want it! Now!

[horsepower]

I don't think that it's going to be much harder to move the firewall back a bit and round the edges off than it is to remove the mold lines from most kits, and we're assuming that the firewall is a stock one, and not one that was built by a street rodder to resemble a stock firewall, but had the angled stiffening beads changed so they wouldn't be cut off by the recess required to clear the distributor on the small block.

And the roof recess will be filled and smoothed on most kits anyway, after all it's a street rod, not a restomod, or a stocker.

Oh I forgot to add that the engine in the original Beatnik Bandit is an early Olds, a 303 if I remember correctly, and another bit of useless facts is that motor didn't, and couldn't run, it was truly a "show" engine.

Edited May 8, 2015 by horsepower

[jbwelda]

I don't think I agree with that bit on the Beatnik Bandit, I think that one ran but had a single or dual barrel carb hidden inside the blower shell and a hole drilled in the shell to stick a screw driver through to adjust the carb.

I think it was the mysterion that didn't run...because the weight of the two engines was too much for the frame so he/they gutted the two engines of all parts, crank, rods, pistons etc to save weight. still too heavy though and that led to severe structural problems.

maybe I am wrong though, not sure how this related to the thread either

jb

[Greg Myers]

Ok, when Bill Neumann took over Rod & Custom Magazine, Neumann was quick to seize upon another potential interest generator. As he explained in 50 Years of Rod & Custom, Neumann rebuilt the title as a means to groom younger readers for Hot Rod magazine. "I saw models and scale racing as an avenue for pre-teens to get a handle on rods," he said as part of the interview. So the space he created by eliminating off-topic editorial like skydiving and mini-bikes he filled up with model cars, slot cars, and their respective competitions. "We were pretty heavy into model building through Monogram and Revell," he recalls. "They had big displays for model-building contests and slot-car racing at each venue."

The attention wasn't just good for editorial; a market tailored expressly to enthusiasts who were crazy about cars but too young to own them appealed greatly to scale-model manufacturers. In fact AMT representative Budd "The Kat from AMT" Anderson, George Barris, and AMT president George Toteff conjured a touring scale-model program called the Custom Car Caravan. AMT's presence and the prominence of artists like Dean Jeffries, Stanley Mouse, and Ed Roth who "performed" at shows boosted attendance. That, in turn, kept the promotional coffers full.

Read more: http://www.hotrod.com/features/history/historic-cars/1504-the-kings-of-late-custom-car-golden-age/#ixzz3ZW8UrGx2
Follow us: @HotRodMagazine on Twitter | HotRodMag on Facebook

[mrknowetall]

I have a copy of 50 Years Of Rod & Custom here at work, and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the magazine itself, or some of the great feature cars and personalities from way back when. Just a great book!

[tim boyd]

Once again, Don is right on the money here. This book is a treasure and a wonderful source of ideas for the hot rod model car builder. TIM

[mike 51]

The HAMB web site is also a great source for pics of traditional hot rods.

Edited May 8, 2015 by mike 51

[mrknowetall]

Traditional hot rods in ink? Let's line 'em up.

Hop Up magazine has just been revived.

Street Rodder still does their part.

Rodding USA is coming on strong!

The Rodders Journal? Expensive? Yes. Worth every penny (dollar).

Hot Rod Deluxe? I'm a HUGE fan!

Plus a few out of the land of Oz, and I'm catching up on them, budget allowing (postage is a killer).

[mrknowetall]

Once again, Don is right on the money here. This book is a treasure and a wonderful source of ideas for the hot rod model car builder. TIM

Greg brought the book's attention to the forum. All I did was comment on it. Enthusiastically! Thank you Greg!

[Jantrix]

Then write a polite letter to Revell, what engines you would like in what and why it is a great idea.

I took your advice Luc and sent the following email tonight.

To whom it may concern,

I've recently seen the released test shots of your upcoming Model A 5 window coupe.

As happy as I was to see it, I was very unhappy to see the offered engine.

In real 1:1 hot rodding, the chevy small block is common because of their reliability and they can be had cheaply. But man, they are boring. Dull as dishwater. At car shows people will say, "Yawn, another small block chevy". As a modeler I'm not interested in dull. I want the hot-rodding-holy-grail engines. The nailhead in your upcoming '29 roadster is a home run with me and the scale auto community. We're very happy with it.

So here's what we'd like to see

270 Dodge hemi with the Red Ram or Super Red Ram valve covers

A 325 Dodge hemi with the polyspherical heads

A good Chevy 348/409 with finned valve covers and air cleaners.

A tripowered Olds Rocket (this one should have been a no-brainer for you guys)

A 312 Ford y-block

a Daimler 2.5 litre hemi

the Ardun flathead from your 50 Ford pickup (another no-brainer)

or just the nailhead again, with some different intake options would be better than the small block.

Cmon guys. You know by now,your target demographic is us oldsters. We're not interested in dull, commonly seen stuff. We want what we dreamed about as kids. I'm really looking forward to the '29 roadster (I'll buy several) because that's what I've always wanted, although a Duval windshield would have been nice.

You guys are cranking out some amazing kits. Really. The '70 Cuda and '50 Olds are fantastic stuff. The Deuces were top notch. Keep it up.

Rob Mattis

Tampa, FL.

Edited May 9, 2015 by Jantrix

[Ace-Garageguy]

The Chebby smallblock probably got it the kit 'cause that's what's in the vast majority of real-world hot-rods. A truly great engine by any definition, and also done to death over and over and over and over and over...

Anyway, it'll be good to have a 1/25 '30-'31 A-bone shell to hack up, and it's sure to be a big improvement over the Monogram '31. The old Monogram 1/24 body was really not-so-hot...though I have a soft spot for it and have several... and it didn't really look right on 1/25 scale bits (and took a LOT of cutting down to get the right "feel" if you're familiar with the real thing).

Let's hope somebody measures right and gets the dimensions right on the new model.

[Art Anderson]

Of course, at this point, what we are seeing are TEST SHOTS! Could well be that some of the issues pointed out here could be corrected before the kit reaches production.

Art

[mike 51]

To me, complaining about a SBC in a hot rod is kinda like complaining that there are too many Ford bodied hot rods.....

both things may be true but there are good reasons for both.

Edited May 9, 2015 by mike 51

[Brett Barrow]

Anybody else remember when the Revell Deuce came out and a bunch of folks complained it DIDN'T have an SBC?

There's never been a 4-71 blower, (that I know of) that's what this kit is supposed to have but I haven't seen a good side shot yet to tell for sure. As I said before, that is a grail engine for a lot of us. That's what's in the McMullen Roadster for one.

I'm hoping that once we get into the 3rd and 4th versions of this family they'll add more engines like the recent versions of the Deuce.

Honestly, I couldn't be more excited about this kit, SBC w/ 4-71, Halibrands, highboy on Deuce rails, Deuce grille - except for the rear axle it's exactly how I would have designed it for myself.