tim boyd

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

Chuck....so my view is, build it as a LWB, without apologies! Better weight distribution with the longer bed/more weight on the rear tires. You could present it as a "version 2" or an updated prototype from the Ford Factory, DST, or whoever built the original. TB

Just to add to the chorus here, I bought one of these castings a few months ago just after Ed introduced it, and it is as near a flawless piece of work as you could possibly imagine. Highly, highly recommended. Plus, Ed explained to me (perhaps better than any other caster I have spoken to on this) why resin-based bodies tend go out of production and seldom return to the market. Bottom line? You want it, you buy it now (my words, not Ed's) or you (and I) may regret it later! Cheers...TB

Heh Terry....looks really clean and purposeful....good luck proceeding forward! TIM l

According to the 1963 Ford Full Line Truck Catalog, the only V8 available on F100, 250 and 350 4x2 and F100 and F250 4x4s was the 160 hp 292 cubic in Y-Block 2-barrle V8....no FEs at all...TB

Working from memory, I don't believe the FE was available on the F100 in 1963. Will check my references and report (probably tomorrow, sir!) TB

Dennis...super to see you back at the bench on this one. Personally, I have great admiration for the extent that you (and also, my modeling buddy Steve Perry) prioritize the use of these pins to faciitate mockups and goof-proof your final assemblies. Thx for the update! Cheers....TIM

X2! Another great Mueller and team kit was the street machine version of the '68Elky: Mini Tubs, 90s era B&M supercharger/EFI, wide and wider low-profile rubber, etc. Never been reissued since original production run circa 1998. Hope to see it soon! Cheers...TB

Wayne....that is one spectacular piece of work! Mega congrats from this corner....TIM

Pete....just saw this WIP thread. Looks really promising so far. Needless to say, I'm all over your choice of a SBF engine for a Model A Hot Rod, too. Will be watching your progress! Cheers....TIM

Craig....really, really sharp....such a clean build....way to go! Tim

Thanks Tommy. Did not know about the above factoid. Fascinating. I suppose the following is of note for those following this thread: I researched the two=tone paint break line as shown above, which was different in 1963 than previous. Also noted that the cab drip moldings were body color, not chrome. Since my build is a semi-custom I am going to leave off the door moldings shown above, but what I really would have liked to do was save the bodyside molding. I couldn't do that, as the original annual kit molding engraving on my kit body was a disaster. Fortunately, the newly tooled kit molding (which can be seen in the background) looks great....TIM

Hi Alan...its the early 1990s Cayman Green Metallic from the Testors Car Colors Lacquer paint series...now sadly discontinued. Many of my cans of this paint series have suffered oozing from the bottom of the paint cans, but at least with this particular paint can, it still words fine. The second color is Tamiya Racing White, which is very close to Ford Wimbledon White.... Thx for the comments...Tim

Brief update....back at working on this one again....comparo to the new Round 2 tooling of the same subject.... Thx for checking it out...TIM

Very sharp, Chuck! Thx for the inspiration...TB

Tim....very nice! And what's the story on the dune buggy? And the bikes in the background? Inquiring minds (at least this one) want to know. :) All....as Tim notes, moving the axle rearward of its kit-based location on the single axle version is a "must" as it will tip rearward if built straight from the box, particularly if it is carrying a vehicular load on top...TB

While the first version was a single axle trailer included in the AMT 1964 Corvette annual kit (as noted earlier in this thread), I believe it quickly changed to the dual axle setup you have here when it was included in the AMT Fireball 500 kit which came out around 1966 or so. The Piranha combo kit, as pictured above, quickly followed. I am typing this from memory and not able to check my sources, so apologies if I have a few of the details not quite right...TB

Thx Steve for the info. The AMT '66 to '69 Falcon annual kit was a personal favorite of mine back then, and today. Interestingly, been going through my volumes of the original Model Car Science mags from mid-60s to the end in 1972, and I have been very surprised to see how many of the "model of the month" contest entries were based on this kit series, especially given all the other cool kit topics available back in the day. I can only conclude that the kit's Gasser version front suspension and engine setup perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the period back then, perhaps moreso than most other kits. at the time. Still....if I were in your shoes, I'd reluctantly be forced to rank a new tool Falcon well below most of the other retool/new tool projects you have in mind... Best...TB

Don't look now (well, actually do), but this looks to be a reissue of the 2nd version of the Pro-Modeler tool circa mid 1990s, and it has some very cool parts in it, including (IIRC) essentially a back-halved chassis with a competition/G-Machines style four bare rear end and all other kinds of goodies. TB s