tim boyd

Joseph....as Casey also replied to you, I don;t think your timeline is correct here. The Lawman kit was originally proposed by and developed (with an example model build) by Bill Coulter, over a decade ago (memory says around 1999 or so, but I could be off by a few years). Lindberg wanted to do the kit, but found out that they could not share the SuperStock parts from the '64 Dodge Super Stock kits, so the Lawman parts would have to be freshly tooled. The company was sold shortly thereafter, and the project died. Just several years ago Round 2 acquired the rights to the Lindberg product line, as as they began to develop the product range, the Lawman project resurfaced, I don't recall when it was announced, but memory says it was more like two years ago (updated from earlier post - someone with proof, please step in here with more accurate info if you have it) rather than 3 as you suggest above. Having said that, John G has asked that I pass along the following regarding the intro timing of the Lawman kit: "The kit IS scheduled for 2016 release and should be in modelers' hands sometime in June if not sooner. Required parts are being newly tooled currently to improve the kit over the original mockup that has been shown. A new retro box illustration has been completed and it's only a matter of time." Like you, I'm very anxiously awaiting this kit. In fact, I;ve been waiting for it ever since Bill did the first proposal 15+ years ago. The reality is that Round 2 has many projects underway, including even more now that they've gained control of the Lindberg product range. Some come together quickly (even quicker than expected), others require more time than originally projected to get the job done. Round 2 is really working to improve the quality of their product, and the changes they are making here apparently fall in line with that strategy. Bottom line, patience, patience, please. Apparently it won't be long now. TIM

Cyclone at NNL Nats in early October (image from my 2015 NNL Nats Fotki Album) Cheers....TIM

It was also on display today at the NNL Motor City. IIRC Dave said that the next round of test shots with latest refinements was due at Moebius any day now. TB

Chris....great to see this one finished after all your work over the last several years. It looks just spectacular. And it would fit, so well, on the invitation only "island" (as I call it) at the LoneStar Roundup in Austin next April. The choice of color for your wheels (bronze/brown) works so well - I would have never thought of that. And of course, I highly endorse using different wheel treatments on each side. In all, this is one of those "career" models - it will remain a favorite of yours, and I suspect, many readers on this forum, for decades to come. Great job! TIM

Casey...I personally haven't heard anything to the effect of what I think you are hinting at here, but it certainly sounds like an interesting project if it would be possible to pull off. Cheers...TIM

Matt...to add to what has already been posted above, here's a link to my Fotki album where I have posted extensive photos of my 19 completed builds of most of the kits referred to in Bernard's multiple informational posts above, as well as the several MPC, AMT, and Revell rear engine dragsters. There are shots of each kit with the front body panels and cowl tops removed, and engine and interior closeups for most kits as well. Here's the link: http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-rail-dragsters/boyd-rail-dragsters/ While some of these builds are box stock, others are mildly kitbashed, such as this buildup of the MPC Garlits Wynnscharger with a Boss 429 engine and striped livery inspired by the Don Prudhomme "Super Snake" c. 1967/8 : The only additions I would make in terms of the kit critiques is that the AMT Garlits Swamp Rat still has the BEST EVER blower drive setup in a 1/25th scale kit (all three pulleys are molded separately and can be rigged to actually rotate with some work), and the belt drive itself is rubber and more realistic appearing than any of the other kit attempts at this piece. (The internal blower rotors inside are cool too). But the blower case itself is more 4-71 than 6-71 and needs to be replaced with a more realistic piece. Second comment on the same kit is that the front axle setup is notorious for its tie rod which sets up the tires to have improper spacing (they splay outward when viewed from above, rather than parallel to each other as they should be), and the kingpin setup is not precise and results in a sagging appearance (camber) to the wheels/tires. Finally, a complete buildup and some tips for a more accurate appearance of the MPC Ramchargers kit is the cover story on the next most recent issue of Model Cars magazine. Those of you who only watch this site (and don't subscribe or newstand purchase the mag) missed a very helpful article on this subject. Matt, have fun with your project, 1960's rail dragsters are a great modeling subjectt! Cheers....TIM

Pat. that must be amongst the finest and most realistic looking builds of this kit I've ever seen. I particularly like your choice of color for the exterior. Thanks for sharing....TIM

I had a nice visit with John G of Round 2 today. He OK'ed me passing along that the new Surf Woody kit will have extensive photography of the original car, an entirely new tooled set of drag slicks representing the 1/1 scale original, and matching "dual whitewall" pad printing on both the front tires and rear slicks. There will even be decaled representations of the murals on the inside of the Woody cab that were apparently on the original car. He also said that the '29A roadster reissue will use the "Mod Rod" version box art (this was the c.1969/70 reissue just before the '73 "Street Rod Series" version). The missing pieces of the original AlaKart will not be retooled, but all the gates will be opened which will provide a number of "bonus" parts. The kit will also include the antique racing options for the stock roadster version, which will provide a very convincing "Race of the Gentlemen" type model. These plans are tentative, of course, and subject to change. Finally John mentioned in broad terms some future projects they are investigating. Suffice it to say, these guys are very, very creative, Looks like the next couple of years will see no letup in Round 2's business model and as a result, we as builders appear to have much to look forward to. Cheers....TIM

Nick...thanks for the response. My view is that photos and measurements do not lie. So I'm sticking to my position,as you are to yours. So in this case, we are agreeing that we disagree. Which is OK by me. Best...TIM

Mike's info here is exactly correct. The only addition is that the Hull Raiser was more than a slight modification - it had an all-new hull design, which I have concluded replicated the mid-1960's "Kindsvater" product rather than the wider and less streamlined c. 1963 Rayson Craft hull. The original Rayson Craft kit has a 390FE Interceptor engine (which was a big winner in early 1960's drag boat racing), including a 6-2 barrel setup, this was revised in the Hull Raiser kit to a SOHC 427 with a single tri-carb option (both kits included a GMC Blower option). The drag version sponsons were dropped in the later issue, and there were some other detail changes as well (most notably, the way cool bench seating and matching V-drive cover were dropped in the Hull Raiser redo). Bottom line, if the subject appeals to you, you definitely need to track down both versions of the tool. For more info, see... http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-model-boats/boyd-boats-/ which has photos of all these kits in build form and info on the kits as well. Here are some excepts from that album: c. 1963 AMT Trophy Series Rayson Craft built in the Ski Boat version: c. 1963 AMT Trophy Series Rayson Craft built in the drag boat version: c. 1968 AMT "Hull Raiser" [Kindsvater] built in a mildlykitbashed form (Pontiac engine swap; different buckets) and finished to replicate the box art of the "Quarter Masters" kit referenced above (note the Revell '68 Firebird uses as a stand-in for the non-correct '68 Firebird in that AMT Combo kit) : : c. 1968 AMT Hull Raiser [Kindsvater] built box stock in the drag version (note the "wood" decking which is actually drybrushed enamels using the Tim Powers method as described in his late 1990's article in the other model car mag): Let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers...TIM

...As I've touched on a number of times in the past, the preponderance of evidence is that the Hemi Hydro is 1/25th scale, not 1/20th as suggested above. Check out my review of the latest Hemi Hydro issue for visual proof: http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/first-look-at-all-n/whats-new-revell-ho/whats-new-revell-ho/ The caption with this image from my review reads "The last topic I want to address here is the rumor by some respected modelers that this Revell kit is actually 1/20th instead of 1/25th scale. Intuitively this seems a disconnect, as the original 1963 kit was designed and merchandised as a companion to Revell's just introduced 1956 Ford F100 pickup kit.And in fact, the kit DOES scale to 1/25th. Here is the original AMT Rayson Craft Trophy Series kit on the left, and another of my Hemi Hydro builds on the right. The back of the hulls are placed directly against the vertical backstop of the metal structure. At the front, you can see that the AMT hull is only 1/8 inch (or a 1/1 scale 4 inches) shorter than the Hemi Hydro.The Revell hull is very wide, but as you can see with the AMT Rayson Craft, early 1960's drag and ski boat hulls WERE wide by design. Here the Revell hull is probably oversized, but not by as much as most people think. Here's another image from my online review: ...and the caption that goes with it: Now let's compare the Hemi Hydro on the right to the AMT Hull Raiser (with its Kindsvater Hull) first issued in 1968. The AMT kit is actually LONGER than the Hemi Hydro - by 1/8th inch (or again, a 4 inch difference in 1/1 scale). Bottom line? #1 - when you check the magazine images of early 1960's ski boats, some of the hulls are really, really wide, so even though the Hemi Hydro appears too wide for 1/25th scale to our circa 2015 eyes, there is ample evidence it was scale correct at the time it was tooled #2 - the overall length of the Hemi Hydro scales exactly between the AMT Rayson Craft and AMT Hull Raiser (Kindsvater) boat hulls. So from my perspective, at least, it's time to put to rest the discussion about the Hemi Hydro having been tooled in a scale larger than 1/25th. Best Regards...TIM

John...that is one truly spectacular piece of work. My deepest congratulations, Brother, you rock! TIM

X2! Incredible stuff Harry! Cheers....TIM

Just to amplify a bit, the basic rear tailamp design is shared between the '69 and '70, but the moldings around the tailamps are slighlty different. Doing this from memory (as I was a huge Charger fan when they were new), but some Google Image searches should confirm the slight differences for '70. TIM

Just a second vote confirming Dennis' comments about the V8-60 and its lack of power/torque to adequately power a car in any applications other than very light hot rods/racers. But it sure does look cool, doesn't it??? TIM

Personally I found these (and other engines in other posts) to be both interesting and very well done. But that scratchbult gas V-12 GMC engine takes the cake. A fascinating topic, in 1/1 and 1/25th scale. Also like the Ford 534 Super Duty....TIM

Bill....excellent feedback and very helpful. You, I, and Bill G. all agree on the vent windows (I noted this in my original picture captions and Bill commented above in the thread). As to your Point A, I wonder if the visual impression here would be lessened once the windshield is installed and painted/foiled accurately. Because here we are seeing only the surrounding "sheetmetal" whereas the other bodies include the moldings with the body instead of the windshield piece itself as with the Moebius kit. My guess is that with the windshield installed and trimmed, it would be lessen the concern (that is, appear more correct) but not entirely eliminate it. I had not noticed your Point B. This is why having a detailed critique is so helpful. Best Regards...TIM

Excellent! Thanks....TIM

Bill and Elvin...to be clear here, I am not suggesting that you are wrong in your conclusions, I was simply asking for your analysis of WHAT is wrong. Many people in the modeling community often conclude a kit is wrong in some form or another. Sometimes they are correct in their assessment, sometimes they are incorrect. It helps us all that when a model is critiqued, that the analysis behind the verdict is also provided. That lets others look at the kit with a critical eye, and form their own judgement about the issue at hand. Elwin...if you read the captions that go with my pictures you will find that I largely share your assessment of the Linderg kit accuracy. I stated that it has never appeared to be correct to me, and the comparo photos help to explain to me why that is the case. For those of you who dismiss the Moebius kit because of the roof (and to be fair - this applies to me too, by the way), the comparo photos and your own judgement of the kit's accuracy should really be updated to include the windshield casting because of the way that piece carries the moldings that are normally part of the body casting, If after that you choose to not buy or build the model, that is entirely and rightly your call to make. For the rest of us, I believe you'll find this kit to, in totality, be an excellent scale replica of the real car. All you've got to do is study Steve Goldman's buildup - or several others built on this and other model car forums, to come to that conclusion. Cheers...TIM l.

There is an outstanding article on building the '65 Satellite version of this took by Bill Coulter and Steve Goldman, in the new issue (#197) of Model Cars Magazine that just showed up in my mail box today. Steve's how-to section is one of the best Mopar box stock buildups I have ever seen in print. Congrats to Bill and Steve, and the MCM team, for this article. Highly recommended for anyone considering building either the Satellite hardtop or the Belvedere two door sedan kit shown in this Forum thread. TIM

Sorry...can you be more precise in explaining the problems that you see between the model and the 1/1? Thanks in advance...much appreciated. TIM

Jesus...this kit is notorious for the front bumper and frame interfering with the forward tilting feature when the truck reaches final assembly. When I built this kit (as a race car transporter) for Model Cars Magazine a couple of years back, I showed one way to work around this problem. I don't know if you will run into this problem, but if you do, let me know if you need to see the issue number - it was a two part series and the tilting feature fix was in the first of the two articles IIRC. Best of luck with your cool project...TIM BOYD

Jarda...this is a fascinating project and your work so far is truly inspirational. I don't normally follow the Big Rig forums that closely; but there are several mentions of your prior logger truck project. Is there a place I could look at that as well? Cheers and keep up the inspiring work! TIM BOYD

I was going through my 1967 and 1968 Car Model magazines a couple of weeks ago, and there was an interview of Don Prudhomme by former CM editor Joe Oldham (yeah, THAT Joe Oldham), I think it was in the December 1968 issue. Joe asks Don to describe a run from beginning to end. In it Don says that he would blip the throttle while staging to inject a fresh load of Nitro into the engine to keep it running cool. That's the first time I remember ever reading about that as a way to control engine temp on a blown Nitro engine. (I'm pretty sure I read this in that issue of CM, but please don't kill me if I am remembering the source of this incorrectly). Cheers..>TIM

If you like this, you definitely need to check out the reborn (yet again) Hop Up magazine. Really well done. TB