Revell Model A 5 window coupe

[Plowboy]

1 hour ago, CabDriver said:

Seems like a bunch of places are getting theirs today - one eBay seller had five at $27 shipped, and by the time I got the checkout they had sold 😂

Found one to order anyway...

I was really tempted at that price. But, when I learned a while back that they don't have the Halibrand wheels, I decided to wait until they issue with them. 

[Rob Hall]

40 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

I was really tempted at that price. But, when I learned a while back that they don't have the Halibrand wheels, I decided to wait until they issue with them. 

The Hailibrand wheels are in the 2nd issue of the roadster.  For the 2nd issues, they swapped the engine and wheel options between the roadster and coupe. 

[Plowboy]

9 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

The Hailibrand wheels are in the 2nd issue of the roadster.  For the 2nd issues, they swapped the engine and wheel options between the roadster and coupe. 

I know. But, I already have a couple of the original release roadsters. I don't need another one.

[tim boyd]

Guys, need some help from those of you who have bought the new 2021 version of this Revell 1930 Model A Five Window Coupe kit.   

Please pull out the parts trees and take a good look at the 1932 Ford Highboy frame.  Look at the alignment of the front of the frame to rear of the frame.  Please post here or PM me and let me know if your frame is a) correctly aligned (not twisted at all), b) slightly warped/twisted but still usable with some "persuasion", or c) warped/twisted front to back to a level that would make it very difficult to use in a kit buildup. 

I've seen all three instances in the five kits I've bought so far.  But I'd like to hear from others to ascertain whether this warpage issue is a relatively rare occurrence or a more major issue. 

Thanks in advance for your help on this.....TIM  

[PowerPlant]

I have removed neither of the two off the sprues yet, so it’s hard to tell for sure, but my highboy frame looks ok, while the channeled version one seems a bit twisted. Definite warpage is visible on chrome sprue with windscreen frame, which is well wonky, but I hope that will fix itself once it is lodged into the body. 

[Robberbaron]

1 hour ago, tim boyd said:

...Please pull out the parts trees and take a good look at the 1932 Ford Highboy frame.  Look at the alignment of the front of the frame to rear of the frame.  Please post here or PM me and let me know if your frame is a) correctly aligned (not twisted at all), b) slightly warped/twisted but still usable with some "persuasion", or c) warped/twisted front to back to a level that would make it very difficult to use in a kit buildup. 

I've seen all three instances in the five kits I've bought so far...

 

41 minutes ago, PowerPlant said:

I have removed neither of the two off the sprues yet, so it’s hard to tell for sure, but my highboy frame looks ok, while the channeled version one seems a bit twisted. Definite warpage is visible on chrome sprue with windscreen frame, which is well wonky, but I hope that will fix itself once it is lodged into the body.

Thanks for the heads up on this, Tim.  I've bought 2 so far but didn't really inspect the frames, I'll need to do this later today.

Matija already beat me to the comment about the windshield frame.  My first kit was fine, but the WS frame in my 2nd kit is so warped it's unusable.  (This is a very common problem on the roadster kit as well)  I still need to get around to doing a parts request from Revell.

If either of the chassis frames are warped as well, I think I may just return/exchange the whole kit at the store where I bought it.

[tbill]

So far, I’ve done 2 coupes and a roadster, frames in each were a tad warped, nothing crazy, just a bit off. A few minutes of careful twisting seemed to bring them back square.

[Fat Brian]

Both of the frames in mine are slightly twisted but should be fine once it's attached to the base plate.

[Luc Janssens]

Tim, I have two coup's and both chassis are as straight as an arrow.

Cheers

Luc

[tim boyd]

Thanks, guys, for the feedback.  I am certainly relieved to hear it is not a widespread problem, as among my 5 kits, only one had the '32 Highboy frame molded/formed correctly.  Two others were warped but usable with some "persuasion".   The last two were so badly twisted as to be not usable. 

The frames sprue was among the retooled parts and has different styrene feed points than the original release, which appears to be a contributing factor to the warpage I saw if the parts were removed from the mold before they had fully cooled, or more likely, if they were packaged to tightly together with the rest of the sprues in the clear parts bags. 

Also appreciate the quick responses....TIM 

Edited January 23, 2022 by tim boyd

[Fat Brian]

24 minutes ago, tim boyd said:

Thanks, guys, for the feedback.  I am certainly relieved to hear it is not a widespread problem, as among my 5 kits, only one had the '32 Highboy frame molded/formed correctly.  Two others were warped but usable with some "persuasion".   The last two were so badly twisted as to be not usable. 

The frames sprue was among the retooled parts and has different styrene feed points than the original release, which appears to be a contributing factor to the warpage I saw if the parts were removed from the mold before they had fully cooled, or more likely, if they were packaged to tightly together with the rest of the sprues in the clear parts bags. 

Also appreciate the quick responses....TIM 

My twisting looked more like it was due to how they were placed in the box than mold or cooling time issues. Mine are twisted slightly at the rear where there is just a single attachment point to the sprue.

[tim boyd]

5 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

My twisting looked more like it was due to how they were placed in the box than mold or cooling time issues. Mine are twisted slightly at the rear where there is just a single attachment point to the sprue.

Brian, that's just how mine look too.  Only difference is the degree of twisting at the rear attachment point.  Are yours usable with some tweaking, or not?  Thx...TB

Edited January 23, 2022 by tim boyd

[Fat Brian]

1 hour ago, tim boyd said:

Brian, that's just how mine look too.  Only difference is the degree of twisting at the rear attachment point.  Are yours usable with some tweaking, or not?  Thx...TB

Yeah, the twist is only a few degrees. They should straighten out fine.

[Robberbaron]

Rechecked, and fortunately all the frames in my 2 coupe kits look fine.

It seems like nowadays it's more critical than ever to open and inspect kits as you purchase/receive them, even if you don't plan to build them for years.

Looking at build threads on this forum over the last year, it seems like certain types of warpage problems are pretty common for both versions of the Revell Model A.  Someone even posted a short shot seat recently.

I myself had a short shot Revell Impala SS not too long ago as well, so it's a pretty widespread problem.

[deuces wild]

I have 2 of the roadster kits. One is from the first release and one of each from the new release.. Guess I'm going to have to check all 3.... Hope they're ok...

[tim boyd]

6 hours ago, deuces wild said:

I have 2 of the roadster kits. One is from the first release and one of each from the new release.. Guess I'm going to have to check all 3.... Hope they're ok...

The frame parts tree and parts feed points are located differently on the second release '29A Roadster and '30A Coupe kits.  The revised parts feed locations are one of the contributing factors, I believe, to the chance that the frames sometimes show this twisting effect, while none of the original Roadster and Coupe kits (and I bought a ton of them!) showed any twisting. 

Very interested in hearing what you find out....TIM 

[disconovaman]

Be Aware... My friend and fellow local club member got his and when he opened it, the engine parts chrome tree for the Nail head was not in the kit. Instead the parts tree for the Chevy Small Block was in the kit but no SBC engine. It must'a been a mix up at the factory. As these kits are somewhat of a factory kit bash of sorts between the Model A Roadster and Coupe. He asked me to look on the forum and see if anyone else has had the same problem.  Hopefully it was just a simple mix up and not a mass assembly situation. 

[GarryR]

9 hours ago, disconovaman said:

Be Aware... My friend and fellow local club member got his and when he opened it, the engine parts chrome tree for the Nail head was not in the kit. Instead the parts tree for the Chevy Small Block was in the kit but no SBC engine. It must'a been a mix up at the factory. As these kits are somewhat of a factory kit bash of sorts between the Model A Roadster and Coupe. He asked me to look on the forum and see if anyone else has had the same problem.  Hopefully it was just a simple mix up and not a mass assembly situation. 

I had the same problem with the kit. I ordered one from Omnimodels, thru ebay. I filled out the part replacement request on the Revell website and received the Buick chrome within 10 days. 

I ordered three from Modelroundup, and they are all correct. 

The '32 frames show a tiny twist in the rear, nothing that won't straighten out in assembly. I am using one of the frames under a resin body, and hadn't noticed the distortion until Tim Boyd mentioned it.

[ozmodeler]

15 hours ago, disconovaman said:

Be Aware... My friend and fellow local club member got his and when he opened it, the engine parts chrome tree for the Nail head was not in the kit. Instead the parts tree for the Chevy Small Block was in the kit but no SBC engine. It must'a been a mix up at the factory. As these kits are somewhat of a factory kit bash of sorts between the Model A Roadster and Coupe. He asked me to look on the forum and see if anyone else has had the same problem.  Hopefully it was just a simple mix up and not a mass assembly situation. 

Thanks for the heads up, I finally received my coupe kit yesterday and after reading your post i checked the parts and sure enough it has the small block tree with the oil pan valve covers etc. No nailhead parts. What  a disappointment after a long wait. Oh well I hope Revell are willing to send me the replacement tree to Australia.

[mrm]

I've gotten few of them. Most of them had issues with the frame. One major, to the point it was absolutely worthless and impossible to work with. One took major adjustments and still not 100% straight. And a couple that were twisted, but I managed to fix them rather easy. In contrast no '29 roadster frames have given me grief.

The other thing that needs to be addressed is that the coupe kit is NOT designed to work with the nailhead engine. There is nothing included to connect the '32 grille/radiator to it and its transmission greatly interferes with the firewall. The kit is also molded from a lot worse quality plastic. Whatever Revell changed in the reissue was not for the better in any way. 

[tim boyd]

13 hours ago, mrm said:

I've gotten few of them. Most of them had issues with the frame. One major, to the point it was absolutely worthless and impossible to work with. One took major adjustments and still not 100% straight. And a couple that were twisted, but I managed to fix them rather easy. In contrast no '29 roadster frames have given me grief.

The other thing that needs to be addressed is that the coupe kit is NOT designed to work with the nailhead engine. There is nothing included to connect the '32 grille/radiator to it and its transmission greatly interferes with the firewall. The kit is also molded from a lot worse quality plastic. Whatever Revell changed in the reissue was not for the better in any way. 

Thanks Michael for the feedback on your frames.  Of my five '30A Coupe reissue kits bought so far, two '32 Highboy frames were badly warped and unusable, two were slightly warped and the model I built used one of them; took a number of "retwisting" exercises to fix it.  And one was perfect as molded.  Sounds pretty similar to your experience.  Most others I've heard from say their frames, if warped, were relatively minor and resolved fixed during assembly.  I sure hope that's the case for most and that you and I were "outliers" in our experiences.  

*****

I can assure all reading that this thread that the '30A kit WAS designed from the very start to use the Nailhead V8.  I've built several of them that way with no issues, including the first-round test shot, the original kit release, and the just-reissued version.    

The parts to use the '32 Deuce grill shell are in the new kit, just not called out in the instructions.  

And FWIW I've never encountered any issues with the firewall / transmission fit.  I wonder if possibly you ended up using the wrong firewall for the version you were building? 

There is an in-depth kit review of the latest release that is due for release at the FineScale site on Tuesday that will include the needed info to address the questions above, and also cites some other issues to be aware of concerning the latest kit release.  But I don't know if it will be behind their firewall (i.e. requiring a mag subscription or not) to view or not.    

TIM 

[Dennis Lacy]

17 hours ago, tim boyd said:

Thanks Michael for the feedback on your frames.  Of my five '30A Coupe reissue kits bought so far, two '32 Highboy frames were badly warped and unusable, two were slightly warped and the model I built used one of them; took a number of "retwisting" exercises to fix it.  And one was perfect as molded.  Sounds pretty similar to your experience.  Most others I've heard from say their frames, if warped, were relatively minor and resolved fixed during assembly.  I sure hope that's the case for most and that you and I were "outliers" in our experiences.  

*****

I can assure all reading that this thread that the '30A kit WAS designed from the very start to use the Nailhead V8.  I've built several of them that way with no issues, including the first-round test shot, the original kit release, and the just-reissued version.    

The parts to use the '32 Deuce grill shell are in the new kit, just not called out in the instructions.  

And FWIW I've never encountered any issues with the firewall / transmission fit.  I wonder if possibly you ended up using the wrong firewall for the version you were building? 

There is an in-depth kit review of the latest release that is due for release at the FineScale site on Tuesday that will include the needed info to address the questions above, and also cites some other issues to be aware of concerning the latest kit release.  But I don't know if it will be behind their firewall (i.e. requiring a mag subscription or not) to view or not.    

TIM 

I’ve got two Coupes so far but have done nothing more than opened the boxes. People savvy to these kits know that the frame center cross members have different transmission mounting tabs depending which engine is used. I wonder if it’s possible that some kits included the wrong cross member? Feasible considering some of them are showing up with the wrong engine chrome tree. That would throw off engine placement and cause fit problems. 
 

PS: Both of my Coupes have the correct engine chrome trees and non warped frames.

[Robberbaron]

On 1/22/2022 at 7:11 AM, Robberbaron said:

...the windshield frame in my 2nd kit is so warped it's unusable.  (This is a very common problem on the roadster kit as well)  I still need to get around to doing a parts request from Revell...

Thought I should follow up and confirm that Revell made good on the replacement windshield frame that I requested.

They sent an email on Feb 3 confirming that it shipped, but warning that US customers needed to allow up to 6 weeks to receive.  So I was quite surprised to find a box from Deutschland waiting in the mailbox on the 14th when I came home from work.

Complete new chrome tree.   See below for the original vs. the replacement.

[Robberbaron]

Also, stopped at my LHS the other day and picked up my 3rd coupe kit.

Ran through my inspection checklist:

✔️ highboy frame

✔️ channeled frame

✔️ windshield frame

✔️ Buick nailhead chrome tree

All good 👍 😁

[tim boyd]

4 minutes ago, Robberbaron said:

Also, stopped at my LHS the other day and picked up my 3rd coupe kit.

Ran through my inspection checklist:

✔️ highboy frame

✔️ channeled frame

✔️ windshield frame

✔️ Buick nailhead chrome tree

All good 👍 😁

Whew.....good to hear. 

For any of you who have a subscription to the magazine that (sort of) replaced your Scale Auto sub, there is now a fully detailed kit review/assembly hints on this kit posted at their website....TB  

Edited February 19, 2022 by tim boyd