mk11

Like most buyers of this kit, I was going for the chassis, engine and wheels. Kind of dumb to engrave the front wheels facing opposite the rest of the prime parts. Oh well, hope the request to revell will bring some passable wheels at least... mike

Have any of you guys picked one up yet? I'm wondering if mine is an exception or part of a bad batch. Badly warped body and chrome tree very rough on one side making the front wheels unusable without stripping/replating/acladding. Ejector pin marks on the outer rim don't help either and judging by the box art, that may be endemic to this as the box art model has the rim painted black. mike

Or just a model kit of a car that you've always liked the look of... mike

Cool ! Good thing you've got the grip tires; looks like winter's hitting you hard down there mike

Single rail overdrive Refers to the shifter configuration. Basically a three spd od. They went to a true 4 spd in '83. mike

Does anyone make a decent representative of this size tire in smooth or grip style? Gonna need some for a realistic look on a certain upcoming issue of a 4x4 Ford pickup....

Classy build, Ron. Great eye for detail. Is that finger in the pic because you've got your hand spread-eagled to steady the camera ? mike

Some of us have been drooling in anticipation of this since Dave first surfaced on fordification about two and a half years ago looking for a truck to photograph and measure Been a long time coming but worth the wait..... mike

The Stones truck is the first and only issue with the 4wd parts. The boonie boss and the matchbox/lesney ranger(same kit) are 2 wheel drives and have the same wheels and tires as the Stones truck but have their own unique rollbar, driving lights and special exhaust. Here's a pic of the BB/Ranger parts layout... mike

Incredible! Thanks for sharing this.... mike

Here's a pic of the parts included only in the '77 Boonie Boss/Matchbox Ranger 2wd editions from this series.... The blue sprue is from the Matchbox reissue (F350 Ranger) of the Boonie Boss. As mentioned above, the BB and it's reissue also included a modified front bumper with provisions for mounting the push bar and driving lights. No 4wd parts were included in these. The following are pics of the main unique parts in the Tuff Truk issue. It also had a full width louvered rear window plate and rear dual wheel spacers. ...and a pic of the factory style topper found only in the blue '77 F350 kit mike

Great color choice. I was thinking of a similar one for the unbuilt '71 amt kit I've got sitting here. Sure enjoy seeing your excellent clean builds... mike

I've found the usps website to be a great help for getting an idea of shipping costs. For instance, your basic kit under 20 oz will still ship for less than fifteen bucks with electronic delivery confirmation; not exactly the same as tracked but as Casey mentioned, cuts down the risk a bit. Shipping south from here is between 12 and 15 bucks now so there's not much difference and I can send wheel sets and parts for less than three bucks in a small envelope if it's under an inch thick. The key is finding someone who cares enough to do the research and knows how to pack economically. If cost is no object, then by all means deal with the guys stuck on global shipping or priority mail. I've had no troubles with guys I've traded with on here and will continue to do so. Not sure why this has suddenly become an issue; most forum members here also buy on the big auction site and should have an idea what the rates are like. mike

Body and stance are beautifully done but I don't think I'd give a small portion of procyon lotor dropping for that instrument panel; too much dead space mike

http://www.automobilesreview.com/auto-news/2013-equus-bass-770-retro-style-and-modern-technology-video/71714/ Seeing that old amt kit with different eyes... mike

Fascinating... great imagination, Kerry mike

Could be a '77 with a '78 grill; easy swap mike

Here's the one I've been massaging a cab, grill and box for... from the '78 Free Wheeling brochure mike some flareside info... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=81012

The high arch springs are for the rear of the 4x4 and the shallow springs are the regular rear 2wd items. A guy probably could adapt them to the front for a heavier series truck. mike

Wow, that looks great! Gonna have to grab one of those kits now. Went through the St Thomas factory twice when these were being built. Been wondering about using the motormax '08 for casting the updated front and rear. Of course, there would be some fiddling required but... mike

Sure wouldn't mind something like that closer to me; might be a great motivator to get some of these projects finished. Went to lots of nmra model train meets and stuff with dad over the years mike

Me too Good point on the '71 grill. The headlamp difference in '78 wasn't actually a matter of build date but of trim level. The Custom trim level had the round lights and the Rangers had the square ones. Chev and Dodge had similar styling cues in '79/'80. mike

Here are some of the chrome shot variations in this series... First pic is from the red '75 'new Ford truck' issue. It contains the optional Thrush sidepipes, five slot 16" mags, chrome air cleaner, basic door mirrors and stock hubcaps. Here's a partial tree from the '75 Star Truk which was the most heavily optioned of all, including the sidepipes, box rails, bumper guards, western mirrors and slot mags. <edit>The Star Truk was also issued in '76 and '77 with no changes to the box art but containing the updated '76/'77 grill and cab(for '77).<thanks Mr Carter> The Mod Ford race team combo kit (75 F350, trailer and 40 Ford modified) had it as well but the other regular '75 and '76 annual trucks had the stripped down style tree shown above. The blue '77 annual edition featured a shortened chrome shot with only stock wheel covers included. The plastic allotment for the extra chrome pieces was probably used in the included canopy instead. Boonie Boss/Matchbox Ranger chrome shot Here's the Tuff Truk chrome shot with the oddball 4 slot mags (also used in the Red Alert Chevelle and GMC stepside kits, among others) . The custom grill was not chromed in this kit, just the stacked headlights. The front bumper supplied in the regular 75-77 truck kits is a pretty good replica of the '64 - '77 item. The boonie boss issue was bulked up and had slots cut in the top for the supplied driving lights along with holes in front for the push bar. It was included in the stones 4x4 kit (without the driving lights) as well as the reissued boonie boss(ranger) by matchbox/lesney in about '81. Neither is accurate for the '78/'79 truck, though, as the upper lip should be flatter and wider; an accurate one can be found in the amt '78 Bronco kit. The accurate factory '64-'79 rear chrome sport bumper was carried through all the incarnations of this kit. A resin caster might want to pick up on those vertical bumper guards included with the Star Truk, as they would be accurate for the '67 - '72 trucks as well, unless Moebius chooses to include them in their kits. As far as that goes, since all these issues contain about 80-90% similar parts and the best one is due to be reissued soon, maybe the resin casters could look at supplying the '75 and '76/'77 grills too... mike

My first score at a thrift shop about thirty years ago was a heavily brush painted first issue amt 65 mustang with the hardtop and custom front and rear pieces glued on. Once stripped, it was a very easy restoration with new chrome from a newer coupe kit. Best find was a box of nine or ten mostly untouched kits for fifteen bucks at a garage sale. The lady's son was away working on the rigs and hadn't touched them in years. She popped the lid on one of the kits and I gotta tell you, the look on her face was just priceless, for therein amongst the kit parts was his long forgotten stash of about half a dozen, um, latex items mike

Nice clean build; and you nailed the attitude. Looks great! mike