tim boyd

I did an article on this topic (with much help from Gary Schmidt) including the box art illustrations, sometime back in the 1990's in my "Model Car Chronicles" semi-recurring feature in the old SAE back then. It underscores/confirms most of info in Keyser's post above. And the Piranha box art pictured in Pete's post directly above looks to me like the '64 Corvette/Fireball 500 trailer, with the dual axle rear treatment mentioned in Keyser's post. The upturned outer edges of the ramp, and the cross bracing of the trailer, are reminiscent of that trailer rather than the AMT Blueprinter version and its many other releases. Best regards...TIM

Skip...I was wondering the same thing about those airliner decals. Building Airliner models seems to still be a popular sub-genre of aircraft modeling, so one would thing that those decals - or something similar - would still be around. Thanks for remembering the original articles - good to know that it made in impression! Best regards...TIM

Thanks guys for the comments and feedback...TIM

...here are some photos I took there during my last visit in 2009. This is a spectacular museum and does great justice to the early years of our hobby that seem to be otherwise totally ignored, to our lasting detriment I am afraid. If you call yourself a serious model car builder, you need to check this out in person. Until then, 187 pictures from the museum are at this link....Cheers...TIM http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/model-car-events-co/international-model/ The excerpt below is part of the extensive Don Emmons model collection at the museum...

OK team, here's a full (31 image) review with text of the new Round 2 reissue of this kit... Use the "roll" feature to quickly scroll through the images and commentary here... http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/first-look-at-all-n/amt-piranha-super-s/ ...or just try this link, which hopefully will take directly to the "roll" presentation.... http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/first-look-at-all-n/amt-piranha-super-s/?view=roll And...thanks for looking! Cheers...TIM

Revell's 1950 Olds Custom, first issue in the latter half of 2013, is in my judgment one of the finest kits ever rendered in 1/25th scale. Click on the link for an on-line tutorial on building this challenging and enjoyable kit. Thanks for looking....TIM http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyd-on-line-mo/tim-boyd-on-line-mo/

Thanks Guys...really appreciate the feedback & comments. . Joe - glad you got some good tips out of all of that...and appreciate the comments on the other cars. Yes, most of those were built 45 years ago using the ultimate in super-detailing techniques available then (did anyone notice the intake manifold pop-off valves on the '70 Charger funny car???) ,,,,they don't hold a candle to some of the projects underway in this forum folder right now, but I also think they hold their own pretty well considering.... Cheers everybody...TIM

With all the interest in the old AMT Funny Car kits, thought I would post this OnLine How-To from my Fotki On-Line Model Car Builds album. This is a quick, out of the box rather than a detailed project, so those looking for a super-detailed model should probably pass on the attached link. But for those who want a quick overview of the model, and how I built it and added some basic details, click on the link below. I recommend that you use the "Roll" feature, so you can quickly scroll through the pictures while reading my captions below each photo. Enjoy...and thanks for looking...TIM http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyd-on-line-mo/tim-boyd-on-line-ho-3/

Tom's been photographing and posting pictures of some of his primo model car builds from his 55+ year career of building model cars. Here's a favorite of mine from around 1980 or so...make sure to use the "Roll" feature so you can read his captions below each picture. Enjoy.... http://public.fotki.com/misterNNL/high-top-model-t-co/ On behalf of Tom...thanks for looking....TIM

Tom's been going through his fantastic display case of of 55 vears of model building, and photographing and posting some of his favorites. Here's his Screenside Delivery....one of my own personal favorite Tom Woodruff model builds. Click on the link and use the "roll" feature to read his captions that go with each picture... http://public.fotki.com/misterNNL/1927-ford-screen-si/ On behalf of Tom...thanks for looking...TIM

I built this kit, from the red/maroon box art directly above, and it was outstanding - no flash or any other issues that I recall. But mine was purchased and built around 1974 or 75, before JoHan's quality started to slip. Mine was also molded in a deep burgundy plastic color, very similar to the illustration, rather than the red of Skip's purchase. So if you are considering buying the kit in the version directly above, I'd recommend a close inspection of the kit contents so you don't find the problems in the version that Skip found in his....TIM

Joe...thanks for the clarification...makes perfect sense. No apology needed, not even close. Sorry you had to read through my diatribe, but at least everyone now knows my philosophy on these subjects.... I just checked out the Big Kahuna build and I really liked the chassis/engine detail, particularly your paint detail. Outstanding. I also liked where you were headed with the bodies. The paint fisheyes problem is really perplexing in that it occurred twice. When it has happened to me (and it has...) it's been because of a reaction between different types of paints being used, or some sort of grease or other type of contaminant not being removed before the clearcoat was applied. The advice that others offered you is exactly how I would go after solving it as well. My only other comment would be to suggest using the Testors Wet Look Clear, with just several mist coats first, then you can lay on heavier, "wet coats". All the while watching for any further evidence of fisheyes. If you see them, you can try sanding the clear already applied down to a uniformly flat surface, and/or "pooling" clear paint in the fisheye areas, then doing the sanding. I've done both myself. I would very much like to meet you....one of these days I need to get back to the NNL West as I have a long and vested interest in that show, and the predecessor event that went by the same name. It would be great to see all my NorCal modeling buddies (although I hope we'd recognize each other...it's been 16 years since my last visit to the show...), so if I ever make it back out there and you see me, make sure to say "Hey". Gene....thanks for the feedback and looking forward to the next report....all I can say is you've sure captured my attention with this build and it's great fun to see how you are overcoming the challenges and having fun too! Cheers...TIM

Joe...I'm not quite sure whether you are agreeing with me, or perhaps suggesting that I'm advocating short cuts that compromise accuracy and correctness. Either way, maybe I need to explain myself a little better... I'm a big believer in adapting each model car build to the goals you have set for yourself. If you are building a model as a shelf model, a model to show to your fellow club members, or to proudly exhibit at the next NNL in your neck of the woods, I would allow myself the option of "insert the wheel spacers, move the front axle forward on the existing leaf springs, and call it a day." On the other hand, if I'm building for the next GSL or to push the limits of my own building skill, or to set new standards for drag car models as several of the builds underway on this board right now are doing, then the extra effort to find a wider axle, extend the wheelbase via an insert to the frame, and adapt everything else to fit is well worth the added effort. My point is that as modelers, we should have both options open to us. I've been buidling models for over 50 years now, kitbashing for nearly as long, and I've been a judge at model car contests large and small, from several stints as a judge at the earliest GSL's to a member of a judging panel for the MPC National Championship one year when I wasn't a competitor, to local contests at the Riders Hobby stores in Ann Arbor, Flint, and Grand Rapids. I've also had close modeling buddies over most of this period. What I've observed is that some model car builders get so engrossed in adding details and correcting kit errors that their projects never reach completion. And that's a big shame if it then discourages them from continuing in the hobby. (Some builders, by the way, don't get as much fulfillment from finishing models as much as they do from spending months or years adding superdetailing to a given, single model, and that's great too if it fulfills them, is fun for them, and encourages them to remain in the hobby). I've also observed that in a local contest or at NNL's, getting the overall appearance of the model correct, along with good quality workmanship, is a lot more important than spending weeks or months correcting one part of a model kit, but then having to rush to finish the overall result. The great thing about model car building today is that either way - the easier way I advocated for Gene above - or the more involved process he pondered in his earlier post - is an OK way to go. It's his choice, and I for one will enthusiastically endorse whichever way he decides to go forward. I've also noticed- and I've been guilty of this myself on numerous projects, that what starts off to be a relatively quick and simple model build, becomes more involved and detailed and time consuming as the project goes along. I try to avoid this, but when it occurs, I just kind of smile and move on. And I'll also support anyone else who encounters this pheomonen ( my modeling buiddy Tom Woodrufff has always called this "over complicationitis") because, again, we've got the freedom to do this as model car builders. Don't know if any of this makes sense, but at least I tried...(smile)...TB

Sharp! Maybe I need to dig that kit out and give it another look myself. TIM PS - kudos on your choice of engine bitbashing too! TB

Gene...all a question of how much work you want to put into it. The simple way to widen the track is to insert a spacer between the backside of the wheels and the axle unit. (This would be the equivalent of switching from regular Chromed Steel Wheels to "Reversed" Chrome Steel Wheels. It's OK to increase track width, but on a 1/1 scale car it increases front bearings wear and makes for some strange supension geometry.) The more involved way would be to scour your parts box for a wider axle and use that. As for extending the frame/wheelbase, the easiest way to do that would be to buy a second kit and use the two front end portions of the frames, cut in such a way as to extend the effective length. I've demoed that in magazine articles over the years, but not in this specific application. If it were me, I'd insert the wheel spacers, move the front axle forward on the existing leaf springs, and call it a day. Cheers...TIM

Gene, you're right on the money about the too-narrow track width of the front axle on most of these AMT AWB/A-FX/Funny Car kits. I've had to fix this as well on most of the ones I've built (it is really noticeable on the box art photography of the Mustang and Tempest versions of these kits issue by the Model King). TB

Gene...when you do the front axle mockup, make sure to check how the wheels and tires are centered (or not) in the wheel well openings. Every single one of the AMT A/FX-Funny Car kits I've built (four of them so far over the years) results in the front tires being too far rearward in the wheel well openings, unless you move the axle forward on the leaf springs. In the CheZoom model I built last month, I needed to move it forward about 3/32' to get the right appearance on the finished model. You can spend a lot of extra effort to make this change (new axle mounting pads, etc), or just do what I did - glue it in the forward position with no other changes. Still following your build....keep on keeping us updated! TIM

Well, I'm glad you guys jumped in on the discussion about the rear axle layout on this kit. A couple of additional factoids on this - first, the kit was originally conceptualized, from what I've learned, with a lot of input from Roger Harney, Revell's late Vice President of Engineering. Roger was a car guy through and through and knew his hot rods. Second, the actual kit itself was designed by a highly experienced engineer who worked at AMT during the glory days there, and built and drives his own 1/1 scale hot rod - a very sharp '34 Five Window Coupe. Third, another person from the outside who did much of the research for Revell on the body dimensions and who provided a detailed, part by part kit proposal to Revell, had pushed for a transverse leaf rear spring/Halbrand QC setup, so I am presuming that the choice was discussed at Revell when the kit was conceptualized. So the content of the kit and tool was closely considered by several people who fully understand the 1/1 scale hot rod world. When you actually buy and build this kit - along with the derivatives that will hopefully come along sooner than later, I think this will become even more evident. Second, while the transverse leaf rear and quick change is almost considered a "must" for a full-on "traditional" hot rod, it is not the defacto choice of many building actual street rods/hot rods these days. I no longer live ten miles from Roy Brizio's shop, but if I did, I suspect that when I visited his shop I'd still see cars being built there running coil overs instead of transverse leaf rear suspensions, simply because coil overs are a more adjustable and modern solution for chassis design. If you are running your hot rod cross country on a regular basis, or if you are used to the handling capabilities of today's sports cars, you are going to want to have this more modern rear suspension. Personally, if I ever decide to have a 1/1 scale rod built, it will probably be built by Roy, and I am sure mine will be running coil overs in back - although perhaps with a modern QC rear axle (like the Washington Blue, Tennessee-plated "Deuuuce" photo Greg posted on the prior page). Bottom line here - it might be jumping to conclusions to assume that Revell made a "mistake" by choosing the rear end configuration that they did, or that they were "out of touch" with the latest in hot rod design when they tooled up the kit. From what I can tell (acknowledging that you all will form your own opinions after you get the kit in hand and build it yourselves), every single bit of the design was well thought out. No one is going to agree 100% with the content of any model kit - that's one of the reasons we do kitbashing - but I think you will find out that this kit (and the follow-ups I hope materialize sooner than later) will be batting at a very high average - at least as high as Revell's '32 Street Rod series when it first appeared in 1996, and perhaps even a little higher. TIM

Thanks Bill....in this case, the engine block and tranny case are tooled together. Excellent point about the potential for another round of models (and kti sales) for the '32 Ford series....Cheers...TIM

I would be extremely surprised if we don't eventually see a full detail model of the '15 Mustang GT or GT350. No insider knowledge about this, just a clear pattern of past kit sales success for current model Mustang kits. I expect we'll also eventually see a full detail kit of the Z06 or some other C7 Corvette derivative. I would think that the companies might wait for the next generation Challenger (whatever that may be) before tooling up a new kit of that subject. time will tell.... Finally, as Gerry has mentioned any number of times on this Board and in the magazine, I can also say that Revell's plate is very full with new kit topics in various stages of development, that have yet to be announced. The amount of 2015 Q2 releases should not be taken as a sign that there will be less new kits in the future from Revell. Likewise, Round 2 has some highly interesting reissues in the works, and Mobius as additional versions of kits in the works,, that have not been announced. TB

Ludwig, just to repeat what everyone else is saying here, you did a superb job of building this kit. Congrats...TIM

Harry...can't wait to see what you do with that Entex '37 Packard. I've always been intrigued by that kit. But after building the Entex Mustang II fastback back in '75 or so (this build commissioned by AMT for me to build, for use at their upcoming sales reps meeting where they were going to introduce their own lineup of 1/16th scalemodel kits) , it was such a horrible kit that I never wanted to buy the Packard. Based on what you've done with your other large scale classic builds...I am sure you'll turn out a spectacular model. Like I said, can't wait to see what you do for it). TIM (PS - yes I am among those that mourn the fact that JoHan's announced plans to do a 1930's Package in their Gold Cup kit series around 1968 or so, never materialized. And yes, I do have the Monogram Classics Packard Roadster kit set aside in my "might build" kit stack....TB

For those who are interested, there is an extensive feature article on the '57/'58 Eldorado Brougham i(with lotsa pictures) in the new issue of Hemming's Classic Car magazine (April, 2015), it just showed up in my mailbox on Thursday so it may not be on the newstand yet. TIM

Scott...thanks for the feedback, Maybe I missed it myself when I built the model. TIM

A couple of factorids to help answer some of the questions above.... 1. The rear crossmember on both frames (the '32 Highboy and the Z'ed Model A Frame, are molded with the frame rails (for rigidity) and they are modern, So-Cal style crossmembers in design. Someone wanting to run a Halibrand quick change can do so without alteration to the crossmembers, but if you want to run a stock transverse-style leaf spring as well, you'll need to kitbash the matching Model A crossmember into the frame. Probably a five minute operation for a moderately experienced model car builder. 2. The center crossmembers are separate and the layout is clearly configured to allow other engines to be used in future kit derivatives . 3. The rear suspension is coil over shock as detailed in my original post on the subject near the beginning of this thread (see Post #8 on page 1 of this thread for a detailed description of the kit contents). The entire rear suspension is designed to emulate the style of "over the road/long distance driving" hot rods popularized by Roy Brizio and the So-Cal shops. 4. Steve Payne...those are great ideas and I suspect you'll see several of them in future version or derivative of this tool. A good deal of whether there are future kit derivatives will depend, of course, on how well this one sells, not only at intro, but as an ongoing contributor to Revell's kit sales. 5. The kit already includes an underbody exhaust system which connects to the Limefire-style headers. This requires two separate exhaust configurations to accommodate both the Highboy and Channeled Roadster frames. 6. Thanks Bill for pointing out that V8-60 engines have been and are used in Hot Rods. I agree that this is pretty rare (in part due to the relatively low power output, even after typical hot rodding enhancements, and probably as well the small visual appearance of the engine in a Model A engine compartment, as Dell pointed out), but it DOES happen. 7. The channeled /Z'ed configuration of the second frame in the kit should lend itself to the possibility of a '26/'27 T turtledeck kitbash using one of the aftermarket bodies, with a visual result trending towards that Brizio GNRS winner pictured above (which is easily in my list of all- time favorite 1.1 scale rods); this is one of the first things I plan to try when the kit hits the market. 8. Martin and Joe: Norm is already working on additions to his catalog that will work with this kit (Revell sent him partial test shots about six weeks ago or so), IIRC Norm specifically said that he is working on additional induction options for the Nailhead, including a tri-power intake. Norm did mention that he is extremely busy right now with a backlog of customer orders (including, not too coincidentally, a number of his products that allow modelers to build Model A hot rods), so it's very challenging for him to find the time to develop new kit offerings. But he's working on it... 9. For those interested in kitbashing a '28/'29 Model A body for this kit, I photographed several 1/1 scale hot rods with this bodystyle at last fall's NSRA Street Rod Nationals North. They are posted at my Fotki site www.fotki.com/funman1712 under the "Correcting or Kitbashing Model Car Bodies" folder (at the top of the page at this link). (Sorry I can't post the exact link as I can't get the copy function to work on this board with this laptop computer). Hope this helps....TIM