vamach1

That’s a good question - whether the Mach1 kit will have the chrome bumper as an “extra part” from the Boss 351 parts tree. If you do not end up using any of the engine parts from either kit I would gladly trade you for them for whatever parts I have that you may need. Keith Marks, AMT. Fred Cady and Rays Kits have all made the hood decals for the 71-73 Mach1s. The Revell 007 version was not a “ram air” car based on the one used in the movie so it did not have the blacked out hood but I hope they include the hood decals anyway.

Amazing attention to detail high lighting the potential for going above and beyond adding the wiring, vacuum hoses, pvc hose, and battery cable. Looking forward to the interior and your completed build. The “stock” wheels and trim ring and hub caps are a nice touch too.

Very nice build. Interesting that Italeri sold the molds to Testors only a year later or perhaps just bought the branding rights. Have the kit ever been reissued since 1988?

I’’ll agree with you with regard to the thickness of the turn-signal lever. I’ll assume it was a compromise to take into account the fragility of the part if it was to exact scale. Not sure if I have seen an other kit with a turn signal lever and it’s one part that would probably be better suited to a metal part which of course is not typical for an all plastic kit. The full scale part seems to be about the diameter of a pencil and has a tapered end as seen in this picture. It would be a challenge to thin the kit part to a more scale realistic size as it is molded to the steering column without it breaking off.

You’re probably right on that one. At least there is a tv/movie connection unlike the Fonz Dreamride Monkeemobile that I do not recall ever seeing in the Happy Days tv show. ?

Welcome back to the hobby. The AMT will be good practice. You will appreciate the efforts Revell make in the engine compartment and chassis once you see how basic the AMT kit is in those areas. Oddly enough I have built my share of AMT and MPC 71-73 Mustangs but never one of my Mach1. The “Boss 351” is NOT the Revell one and I did not even bother with an engine or to finish the kit when I heard the Revell one was coming out. Many years ago I did build the Otaki kit (no engine) and it goes well with the Fujumi garage (excuse the mess) and a Bandai 1/28 Mach1. Here are other builds including a Testors made into a “Mad Max” Mustang and a Sam Auxier 71 Prostock racer. If you see that kit unbuilt you would understand trying to build it box stock would not result in an accurate 71 Mustang. Still on the bench is a Warren Tope 73 T/A racer and of course the Revell Boss 351.

Welcome back to car modeling and I recognized your name but did not make the connection at first. I never really stopped and have managed to collect far more than I have built in the last 40 years. When I started collecting diecast there were very few 71-73 Mustangs and the amount you can buy now is crazy. Not a bad thing.

Yes I go by Vamach1 on the 7173mustangs.com website and Facebook. As for extreme adding all the wiring and heater hoses and brake lines etc. would make the Revell build awesome. Opening the doors and trunk would be take it to a whole other level.

So here’s the Revell kit I’m building and an AMT one I threw together side by side. I even “cheated” on the AMT kit by making something resemble a 351C engine since the AMT kit comes with a 289 Windsor or a 428CJ engine both of which are not correct for any 71-73 Mustang. I think practicing on the AMT kit will make you appreciate the Revell kit and the efforts that went into making it very accurate.

When I built the earlier version of the USCP kit I used a combination of the AMT 67 GT350 chassis with the engine from the Revell “diecast” GT500 kit so I would have a big block engine versus the 289 Hipo engine. Needless to say I did not go with the Eleanor metallic gray paint scheme. ?

Let me preface my comments by stating I have owned two Mustang 72 Sprint convertibles, a 73 Mustang convertible, and two 72 Mach1s. One of the resin casters (now out of business) made a coupe version for the AMT/MPC kit. A member on this board makes a coupe body (made to order) for the Revell Boss 351 Kit. I do not remember any resin castings for a convertible. If you watch auctions, go to car shows and look at values of 71-73 Mustangs and what has been featured in movies it’s mostly the Sportsroofs and perhaps you may see some old tv shows with a 71-73 convertible but I would be hard pressed to tell you a movie or tv show that had a Grande and honestly I cannot say I have sever seen one cross the auction block of one of the major auctions except maybe a drag racing car. Yes Round2 took a last ditch effort at making some changes to the 50 year old molds and finally added some good decals and cool box art but the contents were all too familiar and disappointing. I’m sure the folks at Revell took many things into account when they decided what would sell based on popularity would not change and the sales would justify the investment in the all new tooling. Even if I had ever owned a 72 Mustang coupe I would not be disappointed a kit was not made as I know it would be for selfish reasons. It would not be hard for Round2 to modify the old molds to do a coupe or Grande version but do not count on it ever happening. The fact that the sportsroof in 1971 could have been bought from Ford as a Boss 351, 302 or 351 or 429 Mach1, 351 Shelby Europa (Europe only) and in 1972 a R code Sportroofs, 302 or 351 Mach1, Olympic Sprint with a 302 or 351, or a standard sportsroof with a 302, 351 R code or 351 Q code is a testament to the variety of the “fastback” models available to car buyers. While some of these engines were also available in limited number in the convertible body style, the coupes were marketed as more of a basic model with the Grande not really being that different from the base coupe with things like a deluxe interior, more sound deadener and a vinyl roof. I’m sure the movie producers of Diamonds are Forever and Gone in 60 seconds and some later movies did not think if only have used a coupe instead of a Sportsroof Mustang they could have made them more popular. Selling cars and movies is about what grabs more peoples attention and not necessarily what is actually more popular to the actual car buying consumer. The coupes outsold sportroofs and convertibles every year by multiples but I think they understood that Eleanor or the 007 Mach1 would generate more interest in movie goers that could watch a cool movie with cool cars for a few dollars. Further proof of my “theory” is I have never seen a single diecast model in any scale of a 71-73 Mustang coupe. I have somewhere around 100 Sportroofs diecasts and maybe ten 1/64 convertibles so it’s not just me thinking the demand would be too low to make a new mold (diecast or model kit) of a coupe with the expense of doing so being a pretty risky proposition without any past history to support undertaking the investment. Now having said all that would I buy a resin coupe to make a GT351 Mexican coupe or 72 Grande R code 351 - I would not rule it out but I know I would be one of a very select few that would buy the Revell kit and the resin body. I still have one of the older resin coupe bodies I bought about ten years ago but honestly I just lost interest in the AMT/MPC kits fixing all the inaccuracies and the toylike nature of them (e.g. metal axles) is all the more apparent when compared to the outstanding Revell Boss 351.

It looks like there are very few parts in common with the 69/70 coupe/convertible kits. Aside from the roof and engine block everything else looks to be funny car specific.

I’d buy some knowing I would not be ruining a vintage kit and I experiment use an engine and chassis from another kit.

I glossed over (pun intended) the paint references and as you mentioned there were some limited special order colors but yes the bright red would have been the color offered in 1971 on the Boss with the “Candy Apple” Red Code T paint being offered on other 1971 Ford and Mercury cars and trucks. The code T was used from 1966 to 1990 but was not always called Candy Apple red and perhaps the name was created to equate it to the color of a candied apple which would sound much cooler than just Red.

I had no idea why I used the 351 hood decals on this build I did many years ago that has a 428 with a shaker hood. Looking forward to at least the “stock” body that will be in the reissued MACH WON kit. Looking back I guess Fred Cady did not make a 428 hood decal.. ? Cleary the 1/24 Keith Marks 428 decals look to large for the 1/25 body and I assume are for the Revell kit. I guess I will call this old 1/25 gluebomb build a Twister sleeper. ?

Ford did not have factory coolant reservoirs for 71-73 Mustangs. The part Randy painted is the windshield washer reservoir. However, it could replicate a brand of bug removed washer fluid that’s green. The more common color is blue but I have seen orange also. On my build still in progress I just mixed light blue and white and went with the half full look.

I was at a Mustang show and the American Muscle car museum on Saturday so I had the opportunity to take some pictures of three Boss 351s. In person the hood paint looked very glossy which I suppose would defeat the purpose of it being a flat color to reduce glare. So if you are building the kit I would go with the black or silver color that matches the Revell decals or else it will be noticeable.

I received Issue #221 and read Larrys’ excellent review. It covers all of the observations many have made during their builds of this in outstanding kit that sets a new bar of what new model kits should be. One thing I noticed is the Revell instruction sheet does not name the parts (but what kit does) so if anyone cares part #95 is a Voltage regulator and starter Solenoid, #96 is a rev limiter, and #92 is a fuel evaporate canister filed with carbon which on these year Mustangs had a corrugated black paper hose going from the air cleaner to the canister, and a rubber hose from the canister to a metal pipe which via a metal line routes all the way back to a fuel evaporative control valve on top of the gas tank to capture and route the vapors pulled from the vacuum from the engine upon startup. There is a vented cap as you can see in the picture which is represented on the part Revell has molded.

I draw the line on bringing back old kits if the Palmer one is in the mix. ?

There were a few foxes at a Mustang show I went to on Saturday.

It sure would.

Interesting that the MPC kit was magically transformed into an AMT kit. ? Of course Monogram Fox Mustangs were issued/revised under R/M and Revell branding so no surprise. I sure wish there were more Saleen versions and kits of the 2003/2004 Cobras and Mach1s.

Found this picture of the new Revell kit It will be nice to see an accurate 429 CJ engine in 1/25 scale.

Fantastic build. About how long did it take you?

I saw one at the Miami auto show today.