tim boyd

The 1971 Plymouth B-Bodies (Road Runner, GTX, Sebring, Sebring Plus) were landmark vehicle designs that were largely ignored when brought to market in 1971. Only recently have 1/1 scale enthusiasts and collectors begun to realize just how important and significant these cars were. They are certainly in my top five favorite Mopars of all time, and if I was inclined to own a 1/1 scale musclear, one of these would be at the top of my list alongside the '71 Charger SE w/ 383 or 440 Magnum V8's. I've built both the Revell-Monogram and MPC (1987 reissue) '71 B-Bodies and they are both very good at capturing the magic of the 1/1 scale originals. If forced to choose, I'd give a slight edge to the MPC version. So needless to say, I'd love to see it reissued, and the idea of a secondary parts tree with the '72 exterior trim items makes it all the more desirable. Plus the recent surfacing of what appear to be a couple of solidly authenticated 1/1 scale '72 B-Bodies with the Six-Pack 440 engine (IIRC, that's what is in the MPC '71 tool) just add to the "rightness" of this proposal.. I'd love to see it happen. TIM

Alan, try issue 174 (January 2013) for the Tub and issue 190 (November 2014) for the XR-7/////TIM

Tom....GREAT touch with the license plates on the inner door panels! Love it! TIM PS - I'm a big fan of what appears to me to be the 1/1 car you show as inspiration, starting with the use of the small block Ford instead of a generic SBC. There are a ton of pictures of this car on my 1/1 reference photo album....TIM

Paolo, sorry for the delay in answering your question; my mistake You are exactly correct, those blocks are magnets and the base they attach to is also part of a magnetic jig setup I got a few years ago from Micro-Mark if I recall correctly. I used this background when I first posted pictures of the Revell '29A Roadster version of this kit tool, and I liked it so much that I've continued to use it for other builds since then. I think it gives a bit of character to the pictures vs a plain white background sweep. Best Regards.....TIM

Dennis....thank you very much for the comments and feedback. The engine color was chosen to be roughly reminiscent, rather than a precise copy of, the old Ford Flathead engine color It's actually Tamiya TS-78 Field Gray, which is not gray at all but an olive/gray/green combo. It comes out of the can in a flat finish, so I gave it an overcoat of Tamiya Semi-Gloss Clear to be more realistic. As for the dark metallic orange version, that was a build straight out of the box, with no mods at all. I think the channeled version of the coupe makes for a far more presentable model out of the box, than the channeled version of the roadster. The color is Tamiya Metallic Orange (a recent addition to the Tamiya paint range) with Testors Wet Look Lacquer Clear overall). Cheers....TIM

As a post-script to this discussion, some of you may not be aware of the XR-7/'27T Tub Double Kit. It didn't sell very well when introduced in 1963, and was never reissued. I did buildup/kit review stories on both versions of this Double Kit for Model Cars magazine a few years back. Most recent was a buildup-review on the XR-6, which appeared roughly three years ago. Prior to that, I did a buildup-kit review on the original "hot rod" version of the '27T portion of this kit for Model Cars magaine. This first version contained a good number of parts that never made it to the first reissue of the '27T as a stand-alone Trophy Series kit in 1967. If you are not familiar with these kits, probably well worth your time to go through your MCM back issue stash and did out these articles. Best ....TIM PSS - here's an outtake from the original MCM article on the '27T version of the Double Kit....note the parts that never made it to the reissue including the entire front suspension, grille shell, quad headlamps, and front wheels for starters....

Luc is exactly right here. Round 2 has invested considerable time and effort, including hiring the services of the most knowledgeable people, to do an extensive inventory of their tooling bank . The success of that effort is the reason we have the original California Hauler kit back, for example, a tool long thought to have been scrapped but one that turned out to share the Peterbilt Cabover tool parts but with the Conventional Cab parts trees welded off. This only became evident based on Round 2's efforts to fully understand their tooling bank. Round 2 has also been pretty good about disclosing what they have. When they say the do not have something left in the tool inventory, I for one tend to give them the benefit of doubt. Having said all this, I suspect that they have a few surprises yet to come out of the AMT/MPC/ etc. tooling bank. As Luc says, whether they see the light of day will depend on what is required to make it a once again a salable product. You may see at least one such example some time in the next year. TIM

Revell made a trip to the GM Heritage Design Collection in Warren, MI, a couple of years ago to scale the Suburban, so unless someone knows the specific truck in that collection, my guess would be that the vehicle will wear factory stock equipment, perhaps followed later by a more street-machine orientation. But this is just 100% speculation on my part. I would imagine will see the Revell quarterly flier with an image very shortly now. which will probably provide more visual info. TB

Thanks Andy and Hector, and the rest of you. Glad to know this captured your attention. This kit can support so many different kitbashing ideas....hopefully I've inspired a few ideas for you to build on.....will be watching to see what all of you do with it......Best Regards...TIM

Michael....thanks for your comments. As regarding your question above, this is going to sound incredibly lame....but it is just the kit grille/radiator shell, with the Ford oval from the kit's decal sheet, and Tamiya Flat Black brush paint in the recessed grille area. I was going to say perhaps it was the lighting in the picture, but the Cult Theme table is over in one corner of the room and my camera/flash unit struggles with high-res/high depth of field photos in a non-tripod setup. So I can't offer much of an explanation, but sure glad it looks good to you. Best....TIM

Thanks for the link, Luc. Revell has been working on this project for several years. At least based on the instruction sheet, it would certainly appear that they've done their homework. Can't wait to see the first one that's been painted and assembled; that will give us a much clearer read ...TIM

Dennnis...thank you for that. I am both flattered and humbled. Very Best Regards... TIM

Bob....see pictures #45 and #57 at the following link: http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/model-car-events-co/2016-nnl-nats-three/ On this model, the roof has also been modified to a more original Model A appearance, as has the firewall Best Regards.....TIM

That's a great question, Bob. The answer is yes. In fact I glued the top in place before painting this model. Makes the interior assembly a bit more challenging, but not an issue for most people on this forum. I went a step further and completely filled/eliminated the seam on a Blue kitbash of this kit; it's pictured in my NNL Nats Cult Theme coverage in the "Contests and Shows" section of the "Community" section at the bottom of the forum. I think the fit is pretty good for a box stock application, but the molding operation is the way to go for an upper-end contest model. Best Regards....TIM

(Enthusiast, envious) sigh...... Dennis, another great project from you. I so enjoy reading about your thought process and design decisions as well as seeing the visual representation of your processes/decisions. I think you and several others on this board are, in effect, inspiring every one to upgrade their approach to traditional hot rod model car projects. Cheers....TIM

Mike, you've got that right. Between posting and documenting, probably 5-6 hours of work, not to mention the time at the show to photograph and take down the info. Still...I strongly feel that 1) the builders deserve credit when pictures are posted and 2) in some ways, my preferred "table shots" provide a better sense of the overall event than the sterile "studio" style photography that is favored now for magazine event coverage. This is the style I used when I first started the modern-day event coverage format in Street Rodder in the early 1980's, and shortly thereafter in my event coverage in one of the major model magazines. There's no doubt that the studio format provides better quality pictures overall, but something is also lost in that process. Accordingly, this is my way of backing up my views with action. Thanks for the feedback....much appreciated. TIM

Once again....Keyser is right on the money. I set about collecting these Maisto 1/25th Harleys some years ago...it seems to me (probably exaggerated, but....) I have nearly 100 of them now. Also, Franklin Mint did some of them (more expensive, and reflected in the more extensive content in quality), and yes, they were 1/25th scale too. Brookfield Guild did a few (with truck combos such as an F250HD and Dually and a Chevy Suburban), very nicely detailed, again in 1/25th. . Finally, the annual Hallmark Christmas Tree Ornament Harleys are very sharp, in 1/25th, and look great (other than the lack of tire treads) once you pull out the ornament hook with a pair of pliers. Unlike the others mentioned here, Hallmark has continued to produce these right up to today, so the more recent Harley introductions are captured in scale as well. Hope that helps....TIM t Hall Bui

Drew.....looking very, very fine. For my two-cents worth, your 409 is a far more original choice for this kit than an SBC, and the dropped front is pretty much a "must" for this kit. Also liking that color scheme. Yeah, I've thought about taking two of the tops, making one more close to original 1.1 scale height while making the other a more severe chop. I want to do a Gasser-themed version, and the stockish-top would be a better fit for that one.... Looking forward to seeing yours done...TIM

Here''s the NNL Nats Cult Theme coverage, featuring numerous builds using the new Revell '30A Five Window Coupe kit...thanks everyone for your comments and feedback on the completed build....Cheers...TIM

Here's the NNL Nats Cult Theme Coverage...every car entered shown and builder identified....

LInk is now fixed....thanks for the heads-up Tom....TIm ..

For images of some assembled 1/25th scale Harley kits. including that uber-rare Revell Parts Pack Harley Chopper, you can check out the following....here's the Harley Anniversary F150 Dyna Glide Sport assembled (I wrote an article on this for Model Cars back around 2007 or so).... Hope this helps....TIM

Separate and apart from my NNL Nats coverage also posted here, I placed each and every entry in the NNL Nats Cult Theme in this separate folder .... The "Cult Theme" for the 2016 NNL Nationals #37 was "three and five window coupes", identified as 1920's to 1954 model year cars, be they traditional hot rods, gassers, restored stock, customs, or anything else builders wished to entered. The only restriction is that they be 1/24th or 1/25th scale.Fifty-five models entered makes this the second-largest NNL Cult Theme ever, and considering the relatively restricted subject matter, arguably tied with last year's "Traditional Hot Rods" as the most successful Cult Themes ever.I want to thank John White and Craig Sobczak, who both brought many models with innovative build themes and executions. And an equally big "THANKS" to each and every person who brought a model for the Cult Theme table.I attempted to photograph each and every one of the 55 models, as well as identify the builders. Here's the full coverage, with 1-3 or more pictures of each model, starting with Craig Sobczak's '32 Five Window Gasser pictured below. Thanks for looking....TIM

Several attendees have posted coverage of NNL events the week of October 8 in this section below. Don't miss it! Thanks....TIM

Here's your virtual trip to the NNL Nationals held near Toledo, Ohio, USA on October 8, 2016. Make sure to use the "roll" feature so you can see the identification of builders for every model shown, and other hopefully relevant commentary. Thanks for looking....TIM , As a teaser, here's a glimpse of Jim Drew's 1969 Brawner-Hawk in 1/25th scale...