tim boyd

Bill...that's very sweet; really, really promising! Hope to see you finish it some day....TIM

Not Wayne, but that looks like a very excellent buildup of the JoHan 1970 Gene Show Challenger Funny Car kit, (later sold as the "Ram Rod" after the Snow licensing agreement ran out). It's an excellent kit, but was last available new some 25 years or so ago....TIM

The AMT/Ertl '34 Five Window was first issued c. 1995 or so, with an all-new body/interior, paired with the chassis and running gear from the AMT/Ertl '34 Ford Tudor kit, dating from 1987 or so. The Tudor body on that one was thoroughly panned by most builders, and it has never been reissued. John Mueller did the body on the Five Window Coupe....which was great as he had (and to my knowledge, still has) his own '34 Ford Five Window in 1/1 scale sitting just out the door in his Iowa garage. The pure stock Five Window version is very good, the street rod version has an excellent body/interior, but the chassis has a clumsy, out of scale independent front suspension and a generic SBC engine (and you guys know what I think about SBC's in Ford Street Rod models, right?). Still, the street rod version can be kitbashed into a great looking model. BTW the other model car magazine has a feature on this very kit, shown in the upper right corner of the cover of the current issue. The AMT '34 Three Window kit, as noted by Bob above (as well as Bill's post which just appeared), was an entirely different kit, very poorly done and only issued once in 1975. Don't waste your money on that one. Best Regards...TIM

Appreciate the feedback, Scott. If I can find the time, I'll see if I can add those Polar Lights comparison photos in. And if I do it, I'll lever everyone know here. Thanks....TIM

Gene...did you click on the link (third word in on my original post)? Here's the actual URL if you are having trouble with the link http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/first-look-at-all-n/new-moebius-65-plym/ Cheers...TIM

At this link are 53 photos and commentary on the new Moebius '65 Plymouth Satellite kit. (Kit provided in advance by Moebius to several model car journalist/builders for advance publicity purposes, including this writer). From first impressions, this looks to be a great kit - have a look and see if you agree. Of course, as always, the final verdict will be how it appears when fully painted and assembled. By the way, Moebius advised that the kit is in production now and should be available for retail purchase domestically sometime in July. Thanks in advance for your interest. TIM (PS - I recommend against posting pictures of real '65 Satellites and comparing them to the pictures herein, as differences in camara lenses, focal lengths, photography angles, et al make it virtually impossible to draw accurate conclusions about real vs. kit body proportions and accuracy.) (PSS - Board Moderators - I posted this as a separate topic since it is a detailed discussion of the actual kit, vs. the existing thread which is mostly pre-introduction in topic content. But feel free to move this to the previous topic thread if you prefer). TB

I'm not aware of any changes whatsoever to the Dodge Slant Six....TIM

Last time I was there, John at Model Cave in Ypsilanti, MI, had at least the two-door in stock there....TIM

For that Surf Shop dio (way cool idea, by the way), I recommend you get the Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland surfboards offering, which includes resin copies of many different surfboards from 1/25th&1/24th scale model kits over the years....TIM

What Art said.....look at the front doors of the Galaxie kits....during assembly this area is covered by the extended front fenders of the '46-48 design...but underneath....you'll see the '41 Chevy sheet metal////err////styrene, fully intact on Galaxie's body casting! Now that the '46-'48 is to be available as a five window coupe (the previous kit had the aero sedan bodystyle that wasn't available in the '41 IIRC), now all this needs is what Art mentions above. The '41 Chevy is my personal favorite among all the pre-war Chevies, and I would really enjoy being able to build a 1/25th scale of that car (probably as a nicely kitbashed 1970's style retro-rod...). TB

Gerald...great choice for a scale replica, and a most excellent job recreating it, too! Thanks for sharing....TIM

Thanks Guys....yeah, it's mine. TIM

Mike...that's a really interesting idea or two there. I'll try to make sure it gets passed on to the Board of Trustees....TIM

There are any number of good modeling books - the aforementioned Dennis Doty books, the many Kalmbach modeling techniques and genre books authored by Bill Coulter, Terry Jessee, Pat Covert, et al. Even my own out-of-print book under the MBI label "Collecting Model Car and Truck Kits" - although it is getting really pricey these days, and Terry Jessee's "Hot Rod Model Kits" from the same publisher. But my hands-down pick as the first priority is the same one Nick mentioned above -Bill Coulter's new book on Mustang model car kits. It is just outstanding on every possible level. It features over 200 full color pages on every generation of Mustang kit - plus many how-to building tips and projects. Our own Harry Pri. did the graphics layout and it is outstanding as well. Highly, highly recommended. TIM

Once again, Don is right on the money here. This book is a treasure and a wonderful source of ideas for the hot rod model car builder. TIM

Donations to the museum can be made by personal check to: The International Model Car Builders' Museum and sent to the following address: International Model Car Builder's Museum 10271 South 1300 East PMB 131 Sandy, Utah 84094 Please think about it and send a donation today...even small amounts are helpful. Your hobby will thank you for it! Cheers....TIM

Here is a link to my coverage of the Model Car Builder's Museum, from my trip there six years ago. Our gracious host Mr. Hutchings also published an article in MCM a few years ago based on my visit in 2009. Enjoy....http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/model-car-events-co/international-model/ TIM

What Tom said, x2. Get involved. This museum is our hobby, our legacy. If we don't support it, no one will It's up to us - the people reading this board. Please support the museum with your generous contributions and make it a bucket list priority to visit the museum in person. It's an experience will never, ever forget. Thanks...TIM

Harry....I'm sort of channeling my interest in Classics through your builds of the large scale kits (as many know, I limit my builds to 1/24th and 1/25th scale). Between your projects shown on this board, and the coverage of your classics in the Dr. Cranky IHOP Volume II, I am pretty amazed at your building talent with kits of the Classic genre. . I too would love to see you tackle that Entex 1/16th scale 1930's Packard kit, but until then, take a very big bow for some mighty fine work. Best Regards...TIM

Guys...I can admit when I'm wrong. I never ever in a million years would have picked a Hudson as a 1/25th scale kit topic, nor would I have predicted that the Moebius Hudson kits would have enjoyed the success that they have seen since the first release. Certainly the appeal of the topic is in part due to a ground-breaking kit design (including the approach with the instruction sheet) from the Moebius team), but even still.... Just goes to shown that few of us have a 100% lock on "what sells vs. what doesn't sell", even those of us with in-depth knowledge of the behind the scenes goings on at the model companies. TIM

Thanks Bill....what a fun way to blow 90 minutes....the "Drag Racer" film wouldn't have kept girlfriends on a movie date very involved, but probably 75% of the footage is real drag racing action (shot at Lions, Long Beach, and Orange County), and fans of this era (circa 1972 or so) will see many real drag cars they'd recognize from the drags and magazine coverage of the same back then. The brunette is pretty sharp, too! TIM

Apparently, several distributors got an April/May/June release sheet from Revell today showing the ship date as June 29...and the last day for dealer orders as June 10....for what it's worth. Those of you that still like the kit had best place your reservations soon, if you haven't done so already! TB

You guys amaze me! The kit is still several months away, and it's being critiqued already! Anyway, after seeing these posts, I pulled out the pictures of the test shot I built a year ago March and compared it to the picture of the real grille shell directly above, along with the '28/'29 Grille shells past from AMT, MPC, Revell and Monogram kits. Turns out that every one of these kit grilles is slightly different in details, but all are reasonably close to the picture. I agree that the grille shown in the parts tree picture above looks a little egg shaped, but the test shot sample is not egg-shaped at all. In fact, it looks as close or closer to the full size image above than any of the other grilles, including the "dip" in the center of the upper grille opening. Mind you, I was told that Revell has made changes and refinements to the kit since I did the test shot project for them, so it is certainly possible that the grille shell may have changed from what I saw. Bottom line? I realize that critiquing future kit releases is a very popular subject on this Form and that it generates a lot of interest and web traffic. Go ahead and continue to comment and speculate at will...but you (and I, for that matter) may be embarrassed (or not) when you actually get your hands on the real kit in a couple of months. . TIM

Steve, you did a great buildup of this kit that really conveys the subject matter in a positive manner. I've not seen this one in person yet, but from the pictures of your build, it sure looks to me to be a fine model kit on the way. TIM PS - will be looking forward to the Coulter/Goldman article on this one. TB

The '83/'84 T-Bird, and (with new interior and other minor changes) '85/'86 T-Birds were a huge favorite of mine. I was working for Ford in Northern (Bay Area) and Southern (LA/OC, et al) California when that car was launched in '83 1/2 and it was a huge hit there. Some LA dealers were selling 80 or 90 of them a month (per dealer). It took much, much longer to catch on throughout the rest of the country. but it was very influential (in my view) in building public acceptance for the aero design language, and that helped make the Taurus a huge hit pretty much everywhere from the word go when it was introduced in 1986. I had a red metallic '83 Heritage 302 company car with the Michelin TRX wheels/tires, then an '84 Turbo Coupe lease car in the pale gold metallic clearcoat (a color placed into production in late 1983, along with the pale blue metallic clearcoat, based in part on my own recommendation to the company). Followed by '85, '87. and '88 Turbo Coupes. But my personal favorite was always the '83/'84 Turbo Coupe. The easiest way to do this conversion would be to base it on the Monogram '87/'88 Turbo Coupe, which has the basic correct suspension, frame, interior bucket (the IP was carried over from the '85/'86 freshening IIRC), and engine block, with the Monogram '84 Thunderbird ProStock front, rear, and roof/trunk behind the B-pillars grafted onto the '87/'88 body. Other minor adjustments necessary (wheels, drop the intercooler, interior upholstery patterns, etc). This would get you a reasonably correct '85/''86 except for the grille insert, which would need to be tweaked to be correct for '85/'86. To make an '84/'84, you'd need to fab an all-new IP (perhaps you could use some of the ProStock kit as a start) and other interior pieces, and come up with the '83/'84 TC Aluminum Wheels. You could also start with the Monogram '84 ProStock kit body and substitute the fenders and wheel lips from the '87/'88 body, but I don't know if the rest of the '87/'88 interior/chassis et al would slip into the Pro-Stock body and fit. Not the easiest conversion by any means, but achievable. BTW...the IRS and revised WB didn't come until the '89 TB which was based on the new MN12 platform, replacing the Fox platform used for '83-'88 (and in an earlier form, '80-82) T-Birds. Finally, there was a resin kit conversion of this offered, IIRC, by one of the premiere resin casters of the day, that was reasonably accurate for the time. Hope that helps...TB