tim boyd

The long awaited kit is finally here. Click this link for 51 images and captions that show the kit contents in detail along with a complete walk-through of the assembly manual. Thanks for looking! TIM

I am really, really happy to read that both the new tool Revell '71 Mustangs and the '68 R/T HT are doing well. I lobbied for both of these behind the scenes as well as publicly (in the "Collecting Muscle Car Kits" book, here, and elsewhere), particularly so the '71 Mustang Boss 351. Thanks Justin and Steve for your candid feedback on this topic! Cheers...TIM

Following up on an earlier promise (sorry it took so long) here are photos of the funny car chassis from the Nitro Charger kit (which came out in 1971-is, and was also the chassis for a 1971 Torino, Nova, and first-gen Camaro funny car kits) and the MoPower (which was based on tooling that came out 1974-5 ish for the licensed Mustang funny car kit and was then re-employed for a series of kits with Corvette, Pinto/Bobcat, Monza, Vega/Astre, and Road Runner bodies, all of which were slightly exaggerated beyond normal (then) funny car proportions. According to a then-AMT insider, they wore generic graphics because AMT's then-president, Tom Gannon, did not want to pay licensing fees to 1/1 scale drag racing teams. (More info on both these kit tools is in my book on Collecting Drag Racing Model Kits). Nitro-Charger: MoPower: More images of both at this link (see images 180-198): Boyd Funny Cars Models - The Complete Collection album | Funman1712 | Fotki.com, photo and video sharing made easy. Best...TB

What Larry said = my reaction after seeing this build thread for the first time. Can't wait to see what you do for paint, Dennis, and love the switch to the Caddy V8! TB

Bill...FSM, May/June 2024, p.58 All....includes previously unrevealed (to the best of my knowledge) info about the process of the kit topic, kit development, and insights from Bob Johnson and Ed Sexton. Also the spectrum of commentaries regarding the kit...from not so good to really good. Good info if the topic of the A-M McLarens is of interest to you... Best...TB

The A-M McLaren kits were featured in the "Classic Kits" column in Fine Scale magazine a few months ago. Included info/background that was not previously in the public domain to the best of my knowledge. LMK if you need the specific issue date/pg #....TB

Chris....this is a most impressive piece of work on your part. I thought I knew a lot about this kit series but you've uncovered a ton of fresh info, at least for me. Big, big congrats. One comment/possible addition...and I am doing this from memory so take this as unconfirmed rhetoric as opposed to confirmed fact, but my recollection is that at least one of the two 1980s reissues of the MPC 1972 Chevy tooling included optional engine parts to build a dual turbocharged street fighter type powertrain. Here is how that engine configuration appears in as installed in an AMT 1953 Ford pickup model I built back in the early 1980s.... (the air cleaners and radiator hose were later adds, not in the kit engine...): Thanks for taking the time to research and document this kit history. Count me as among those very, very impressed with your efforts here. TIM

That's what I vaguely recall...that the T5 was a running change later in the 1983 model year. My '83 GT was the 4-speed overdrive IIRC....TB

Believe it or not, the Nitro Charger chassis and the MoPower (originally tooled for the Larry Fullerton "Trojan Horse" Mustang II F/C kit) as well as the powertrains are entirely different. IMHO opinion, the Nitro Charger parts are better detailed, but the Trojan Horse/MoPower parts (also used in several other AMT kits of the era) was much easier to assemble. The engine in the former had one of the few Hamilton blowers, while the latter had what was purported to be a 417 Donovan block....TB I'll try to post photos of both chassis later...TB

The MoPower is a rare kit...featuring a somewhat exaggerated body based on the 1.1 scale 1974-74 Plymouth RoadRunner/Satellite. Here's my kitbash build of this kit, with the body/hood area revised to some degree to eliminate of the more cartoonish elements. Nice kit, will be good to have it back....TB

Yes the 5.0L was available in the '79 Mustang...as I had a factory ordered Ghia two-door with that engine and the 4-speed overdrive. (Scroll down this page to see two images and my follow-on comments about the '81 4.2 and '83 5.oL) It wasn't nearly as fast as my '74 E58 Road Runner but it was a very fun to drive car (along with the TRX suspension/tires). I also drove a 1979 5.0L Automatic Indy Pace Car company car and later on a 1981 4.2L automatic hatchback company car that was just gutless. Then drove a 1983 5.0L GT manual company car and it was a big improvement over the '81 and somewhat faster than the '79. My next one was an '86 5.oL EFI convertible....don't recall it being much different than the '83....TB

An interior refresh is planned and is to include a revision to the console as you suggest....I believe I read this in Automotive News a couple of weeks ago in their annual GM Product Plans recap....TB

What Dave said. I did exactly the same on my first ever '29A/'32 highboy kitbash built back in 1974-5....TB

From my 1/1 scale automotive design POV, the C8 Corvette is heavily over-sculpted on its exterior, far more so than just pure Aero considerations would dictate (I'm sure GM Design Staff would challenge me on that statement). But if I didn't already have 150 projects on my build list, would sure be fun to redesign the kit exterior into a cleaner, more organic form! Then again, maybe not....TB

Agree. Little known kit variant and lots of cool parts hiding in the box....TB

I am working right now on a rod project using the more recent Mod Rod kit. I had never looked at the 2015ish reissue.refresh all that closely, but I have recently and it is pretty amazing how much of the original AlaKart kit content resurfaced here. And turns out with just a relatively few changes it can construct a really sharp traditional rod of its own. Proof of that statement to come, hopefully sooner than later....tB

I recommend Spotlight Hobbies, Model Roundup, and Model Cave (a local hobby store in Ypsilanti, Michigan). I've done business with all three and they are top notch. I'm sure there are many others out there that also provided great service....TB

Chuck that factory stock R/T buildl is outstanding! Nice work! Cheers...TIM

Me as well...TIM

Paul and Wes....terrific work! Onward!!! TIm

James...big thanks for taking time to photograph and post those images.... As for the Blazer....wow! was my first reaction. Those separate frame rails? First impression is that the standard set by the '71 Boss 351 appears to being carrying over to this kit. As always time will tell, but as noted by many of you above...really good for first impressions....TIM

What John said, and for what it is (e.g. a typical Mattel era oversimplified engine), it's a pretty nice Flathead, too. TB

The AMT/Ertl '56 T-Bird is actually a really nice kit, except that the Y-Block engine proportions are really off. Substitute one of the y-blocks from any of the Revell '57 Ford 500/Del Rio kits and you're golden! TB

Agree....TB

John....sweet cars (both the model and the 1/1). A '69 300 Convertible is one of my dream cars. (I drove a nearly new 1969 Town and Country in my junior/senior years of high school). Juha Airo did a resin casting master of a 1970 300 hardtop a long time ago, and Art Anderson (AAM) did some castings of it before he ran into trouble with business. Later on, a couple of other casters did them as well (thought to be copies of the original). More recently, AirTrax (overseas) has done a '69 300 transkit. I have all of these, they are very nice but the overall proportions seem just a tad off to me. Still well worth it if you could find a sample on the auction site....TB i