tim boyd

The completed project is now posted here in the Under Glass section of the MCM Forum. Thanks for following along! Cheers...TB

Or....yet another project intended to be a stress-buster that didn't turn out that way. It was a fully painted body (MCW Mopar Hemi Orange Metallic) from about 25 years ago), polished, and lightly cleared (around 2018 or 2019) resin rebop body that sat in my cabinet of partially finished projects. It kept starting at me every time I passed by. I always thought I could finish the model if I could find enough parts leftover from two other projects dating back over 50 years ago to finish the model. It seemed like a great way to take a break from the major kitbash project that ended up on the cover of issue #222 of Model Cars Magazine. So? Not really. Not even close. But it's done now, and you get a chance to take a look. Check out the build photos and captions in the "WIP Model Cars" tab here, or at my Fotki site using the "Roll" feature tab to scroll through all the pix and captions. Finished project photos and captions copied below. Questions and comments welcome...and thanks for checking this one out. TIM *****' After considerable mashing of the teeth and hours spent searching for old leftover parts, the project was finally complete! So much for being a stress buster after all! ***** The 3/4 birds eye rear view... ***** The resin body did not come with windows. I ended up using the front windshield from an MPC 1970 Barracuda kit (an ancient leftover piece from a funny car project). But naturally the rear window from that kit did not fit the Challenger body, So I found an acceptable substitute in the Model King "Plum Crazy" funny car kit. It was not a great fit but got the job done. BTW, the slightly orange peeled decals are from the 1971 Charger and Challenger R/T promos (the decal sheet provided with the promos had the graphics for both the charger and Challenger on the same sheet). The MPC 1971 Challenger assembly kit had decals that omitted the factory R/T graphics. Miraculously, these 53-year-old decals were soaked and applied a little over a week ago, and other than that slight orange peel, they did great! ***** Here is a closeup of the rear end detailing. It was patterned after careful study of 1/1 scale 1971 Challenger R/Ts. I didn't notice until just about the end that the resin body molding of the Challenger's distinctive quad exhaust tips was pretty poor. I did what I could to rectify it, but the result is still far from satisfactory. The resin kit's rear bumper was poorly molded and unusable. The 1970-74 MPC Challenger kit rear bumpers have a cutout for the license plate, but it was not present on this plated piece found in my parts box. I presume it was from one of the old MPC funny car kits. ***** The grille molding of the MPC kit (and the resin rebop) is oversimplified vs. the 1/1 piece, but I paint detailed it to the best of my ability. The resin kit front bumper had all kinds of extra material on the backside that made fitting to the body impossible. This slightly cut down piece came from one of those two leftover projects shown at the beginning of the aforementioned build thread. It was painted with Revell "Chrom" paint, and the results were beautiful until the paint on the bumper edges showed wear during handling while being glued in place. Cursis! (N>B> yes, ordered some SpazStic clear for chrome this week...). One final comment...although the resin body appeared to be from a two-piece mold, it was still a bit thicker than the original MPC kit, which placed the windows a little too deep in the body as you can see here. ***** The paint detailed mostly one-piece platform chassis view.... ***** In keeping with the minimally equipped spec of this particular Challenger (and that I've raided way too many otherwise complete kits for Mopar 1970-74 dual racing mirrors), I used the seldom seen (in 1/1 scale) standard outside mirror for those years, sourced from the AMT Ertl 1971 Charger R/T kit. ***** While MPC's 1970/1971 Challenger annual kit was clearly deficient in a number of areas, they nailed the overall body proportions, and for the most part, the body detailing. But they missed adding the subtle chamfered/recessed areas just beyond the wheel lip moldings on the 1/1. (N.B.: The later AMT/Ertl Challenger kit included these recessed areas, but in a greatly overdone rendition of the actual appearance). Yes, I lowered the front suspension from the kit format, which like many MPC models back in the day placed the stock version front end unrealistically high. Even the 1/1 factory setting, depending on the prep dept. of the dealer where the car was purchased, sometimes placed the front end too high. Thank goodness for my Craftsman rachet wrench and those torsion bar adjusting bolts! ***** Here you can see the damaged chrome paint on the bumper end tips. The side market lamps were very subtly engraved, making paint detailing a bit of a challenge. The resulting somewhat sloppy appearance here does not meet my normal standards, I must confess. But it is OK in my book for a shelf model, which was the goal of this completed project. Finally, you can see just a slight bit of non-conformity of surface along the upper and lower edges of the stripe decal. Again, not exactly what you would wish, but then again, any decal that is 53 years old and goes on as well as this one did is a victory in its own right.... ***** Say what you will, but the Dodge Challenger had street presence, and I feel the built-up kit delivers a similar vibe in scale. For decades I felt the freshened 1/1 detailing of the 1971 Challenger R/T (striping, the fake side scoops, and to a lesser extent the front and rear appearances) represented a big step backward from the clean 1970 Challenger design. I still feel that way but, in recent years I have become more accepting of the 1971 rendition in its own right. ***** I always like the low angle views of model car projects. ***** With its hood glued shut (see the build thread for more on this) and the compromises from a resin rebop origin, this model is obviously nothing more ambitious than a shelf/cabinet display model. But at least it is done now, and proudly grabs its place among the Boyd Mopar E-Body model collection. Thanks for your interest and for following along. Cheers....TIM

Noting the multiple threads and very impressive work by several of our Forum members on the Round 2/AMT-Ertl reissues of their '41 Plymouth, I wanted to share images of three of them built from original tooling for two, and from prototype tooling for the third. ***** First up is this one. I don't have my original model to photograph for you because I built it under contract with AMT for the box art photography of their first release of the street rod version of the kit. AMT gave me the factory stock kit, a set of blueprints, and the Richard Petty Kit Car release and commissioned me to kitbash how the street rod version would finally appear when factory produced later that year. They told me to pick the color scheme (I used Pactra Candy Green over silver with beige interior and Tempo brand 1/1 scale 1972 Plymouth Basin Street Blue for the running gear). The original blueprints showed the wheels as AMT's generic plated steelies with smoothy hubcaps. I put a strong sell on them to change the wheels to the Fentons that at that point had only been included in the 1974 reissue of the 1959 Elky, and surprise of surprises, they actually agreed to do it! After I turned over the completed kitbash, they added the orange pinstripe flame decals from some of their other street rod series kits (or more accurately, may have airbrushed them onto the finished photography). The result was pictured on the box top/side and end panels of the original issue box art as seen here (sorry for the not-so-great picture...) ***** After building the box art model, I liked the project enough to do a second version for my own collection. The body was cleaned up with frenched headlights and a rear roll pan, contrasted with added hood top louvers. frenched headlamps, and two sets of 1941 Chevy taillamps from AMT's 1933 Willys Gasser kits. The paint was 1/1 scale automotive touchup lacquer, thinned and airbrushed according to Dennis Doty's detailed instructions. The Kelsay-style wheels were sourced from AMT's 1932 Ford Trophy Series kits, with smoothy style hub caps from AMT's Kenworth cabover kit. The hand-drawn pinstriping was done with a fine brush using the same Testors Bright Green as appeared on the wheels. The engine was a 454 Rat motor, assembled by combining the best engine parts from both the AMT and MPC 1974 Corvette kits. You'll also surely recognize the header/side pipe layout from the same kit source. The finished result was entered in the 1977 and/or 1978 MPC Customizing Contests and won several trophies, and later made print in my first-ever article for Scale Auto Magazine, appearing in SAE #4, the November/December 1979 issue. ***** The last one was another kitbash... This model was also pictured in my first-ever article in Scale Auto Enthusiast. The body was a semi-accurate convertible conversion of AMT's 1941 Plymouth that I built it with a Dodge Slant Six engine (from the AMT Deora kit). Note that the windshield area is not factory correct...finding reference photography of a 1/1 scale '41 'vert was not within my capabilities in the late 1970s, so I winged it. I dropped the suspension front and back and finished it with Metalflake Brand paints. In this case, I used their Candy Orange for the hand-masked flames, painted over a basecoat of Metalflake Snow White Pearl lightly tinted with some more Candy Orange. (Airbrushed Metalflake brand paints were popular back then with 1/1 scale Chopper builders and with contestants in the annual MPC Model Car Championships of the 1970's). ***** Looking at these, it appears that the original tooling diid not present as many of the problems as you guys are showing us are present in the reissue tooling being used on these projects. I would never claim that the '41 Plymouth was among AMT's better efforts, but back in the day it was an appreciated diversion from all the pre WW-II Ford model kits out there. I don't know how it sold for AMT, but it certainly has seen a whole number of reissues over the years, if that means anything. You can see more pics of the brown coupe here, and the convert here. Thanks for looking, and good luck to all of you working on your current '41 Plymouth projects! Tim

Time to tackle the wheels, and what about those '71 only R/T side stripes? ***** These are the MPC 1970/71 Challenger R/T wheels. They are a surprisingly accurate representation of the factory 15"x7" Rallye Wheels. I began by painting the wheels' recessed "openings' Tamiya flat black, then followed with Tamiya Silver on the wheel's exposed wheel surfaces that surround the openings. I finished with Tamiya Metallic Gray on the center hubs (note that the Mopar 1971 Rallye wheels used a darker finish on these hubs than did the 1970 Rallye wheels). ***** Here's a closer look at the finished wheels. The outer rims are left in the kit's factory plating. (The 1/1 trim rings wore a brushed reflective finish; I have not found a way to convincingly do this in 1/25th and thus I leave them plated as it is close to the factory appearance when viewed in scale...). ***** I seem to have exhausted my supply of Round 2 Goodyear Polyglas GT pad-printed tires, and sadly - due to licensing issues, I am told - we are unlikely to see any more of these parts packs produced any time soon. So I I found these old MPC Polyglas GT tires and dry-brush painted the white lettering with Tamiya Flat White. Not bad.... ***** In a sneak peek ahead, here's how the wheels and tires look on the almost completed model. My own view is these two parts go a long way to contributing a factory-correct look to the completed model. (N>B> It constantly amazes me how model detailing that looks good to the naked eye, looks less good when viewed in blown up/magnified digital imaging...e.g. the white letters in this photo....) ***** There are several choices for 1971 Challenger R/T factory side stripes, although the two sheets at the top are no longer produced to my understanding. However, all of them appear to be sized to fit the 1/24th scale Monogram Challenger body. The decal on the lower right, from the c. 2005 "Plum Crazy" Model King reissue of the old MPC Challenger funny car kit, is closer to correct but still a little too long. The only fully correct choice was at the lower left. This was cut from the sheet of decals that came with MPC's 1971 Challenger and Charger promotional models, as the MPC assembly kit omitted any factory graphics. But the key question was, would a decal sheet produced 54 years ago still work? ***** Before trying to apply the decals, I arranged some reference photography to make sure the positioning would be correct. Old school decals required soaking for 30-45 seconds in warm-hot tap water, and with that approach, the decals released and applied beautifully. That was the one part of this project that went completely correct! Note that prior to decals I had applied most of the BareMetal foil; I then used a brand new and handheld X-Acto blade to cut away the stripes over the door handles while the decals were still wet. Worked perfectly! ***** This closeup of the passenger side decal shows where the rear portion has a white underlayment what was not exactly registered with the black portion. There's not much you can do to fix this, but fortunately, it was only present on this part of the passenger side decal. ***** Just about finished with this one...hope to post the finished model photos in the "Under Glass" section of the forum tomorrow....thanks for following along and thanks for your comments, too....TIM

Jim....fascinating to watch you go through this kit and address/fix all the shortcomings of this kit. I built three of them as the kit was first introduced around 1977 and I do not remember any of the assembly issues you have encountered (of course, my memory of events about 45 years ago isn't so great, either). I think it is probably a combination of tooling aging and our standards for building kits that far back being much less precise that they are today. Anyway, thanks very much for sharing your adventure with us and best wishes for final completion (looks like you are really close). TB

Bill is exactly correct in both points he makes explaining why AMT did the front end as they did. I should also add that this kit was developed during a period at AMT where scale authenticity and fidelity were often compromised in favor of reduced project costs and possibly unrealistic timing goals. I was actually somewhat impressed with this kit relative to some of AMT's other projects developed at the same time (e.g. their '34 Ford three window coupe kit). There's more to tell on the development of this this kit but I will post the info later in a separate thread...TB

Greg....fascinating to see how you are approaching this project. Thanks for sharing the project and the techniques you are using to achieve it! Cheers...TB

Alan....fascinating. That last image of the new front shows big promise, and love the backstory you have created for the project. Onward!!!! TB

Hah!....Great one, Scott! Best...TB

The MPC 1970/71 Challenger R/T kits contained a typical MPC 426 Hemi engine. But unlike the 1//1 which included the factory's dual inline intake manifold with dual carbs, these were the parts in the MPC kit - a single carb intake, a tiny carb, and a non-stock air cleaner that was more accurate for the Challenger's standard 318 two barrel V8 than the Hemi. Of further note, those exhaust manifolds were not factory correct, either. ***** Since the resin body hood was already glued shut, I didn't attempt to fix the incorrect intake components, but I did endeavor to make sure to finish the underside to correct colors and textures. ***** The interior pieces were leftover from one of those two drag racing projects. I used Testors Leather enamel to simulate the wood appliques on the Challenger's interior. Note that the driver's seat in these MPC kits washed out the pleating on the seat bottom....and the knockout pin mark is very visible on the passenger side footwell....two of the reasons I chose the all-black, rather than white with black, interior color option. Since it was intended as a quick build shelf model, I also omitted the addition of flocking to simulate carpeting. ***** Applicable elements received some care from a Molotow Chrome Pen. The instrument Cluster in these MPC kits was the base layout, not the Rallye Cluster with the tach. My recollection is that the Rallye Cluster was standard on the 1/1 scale '70/'71 Challenger R/T (I need to verify this in my reference library), marking another inaccuracy in the MPC 1970/71 Challenger R/T kits. (Fortunately, that extraneous hair on the package shelf disappeared before final assembly!) ****** Underneath was a typical one-piece promo-style chassis plate. I painted it primer gray, added some Hemi Orange overspray, then blacked out the fenderwells. All this was done with aerosols rather than an airbrush, which produced a somewhat but not completely accurate representation of the underside. The exhaust pipes, mufflers, driveshaft, gas tank, torsion bars, and K-Member were hand painted with Tamiya acrylics. ********** On the other side of this piece, the engine compartment and firewall were sprayed Hemi Orange (I used Mopar Hemi Orange engine paint rather than the factory correct Hemi Orange Metallic body paint, since the hood was already glued shut) ****** The engine is now installed. I had to go hunting for the MPC kit's rear axle/diff/leaf springs. I found them in a partially disassembled 1969 Javelin Street Machine project, which I also hope to restore some day. ***** That's it for today's update. Next up is detailing the wheels and tires, and adding the 1971 R/T graphics....thanks for looking...TIM

Looking really good Rex....TB

Dennis....very, very sharp, and great workmanship. Big congrats...TIM

Or....yet another project intended to be a stress-buster that didn't turn out that way. It was a fully painted (MCW Mopar Hemi Orange Metallic. about 25 years ago), polished, and lightly cleared (around 2018 or 2019) resin rebop body that sat in my cabinet of partially finished projects. It kept starting at me every time I passed by. I always thought I could finish the model if I could find enough parts leftover from two other projects dating back over 50 years ago to finish the model. It seemed like a great way to take a break from the major kitbash project that ended up on the cover of issue #222 of Model Cars Magazine. So? Here's the beginning volley....thanks for checking it out...several updates to come later....TB I started with a relatively clean resin cast body (or so I thought) of the MPC 1971 Challenger R/T annual kit. I was preparing an article for one of the model mags back around 1999 or 2000 on the various Muscle Era Mopar paint "High-Impact" and midyear colors. I glued the hood shut (don't ask my why, I don't know) and proceeded to paint the car with MCW Automotive Paints airbrushed Hemi Orange Metallic. Nearly 20 years later, I finished the partially rubbed out and polished body and added a light coat or two of aerosol clear for another article in one of the model mags on techniques for getting super-smooth paint jobs.... ***** Last month, I decided to try and finish the model. As I began rumaging through all my parts boxes, I masked off and painted the front and rear ends of the body to match the blackout treatments of the 1/1 scale 1971 Challenger R/T. ***** As resin bodies go, this one (not a Holthaus product) was fairly well done, at least on the surface. It turned out that some of the body was just a smidgen smaller (as in shrunk) from the original master kit. Later on, those clean headlamp surrounds were cracked when I inserted the grille/headlamp assembly from behind. (Yes, I saved it, but only after some lucky tweaking). ***** All the rest of the parts to finish off the resin body and other parts for the project came from the leftovers of two prior model car projects that were started back in 1970. The first was this 1970 Challenger Gasser started that year, and then eventually finished around 1987 or so to the level seen here. I sourced the platform chassis and some other leftovers from the kit parts that went unused for this project. Finding them all some 54 years later...now that was the true challenge! ***** This was the second project that donated leftover parts, a 1971 Challenger R/T Pro Stock based on MPC"s annual kit. This one was inspired by the Hank Borger "Angry Man" Maverick Pro Stock article in the February 1970 issue of Car Model magazine. (It was built before the Jo-Han Sox and Martin ''cuda kit became available.) The interior, engine compartment pieces, and taillamps left over from this one were sourced to complete the new Challenger R/T. (N.B.: I never finished this model - it has no engine - but would you believe that completion is underway now?). ************ Next up...engine, interior, and chassis plate...coming soon....TB . Or....yet another project intended to be a stress-buster that didn't turn out that way. It was a fully painted (MCW Mopar Hemi Orange Metallic. about 25 years ago), polished, and lightly cleared (around 2018 or 2019) resin rebop body that sat in my cabinet of partially finished projects. It kept starting at me every time I passed by. I always thought I could finish the model if I could find enough parts leftover from two other projects dating back over 50 years ago to finish the model. It seemed like a great way to take a break from the major kitbash project that ended up on the cover of issue #222 of Model Cars Magazine. So? Not really, Not even close. But it's done now, and you get a chance to take a look. Check ot the photos and captions using the "Roll" feature tab below. Questions and comments welcome...andOr thanks for checking this one out. TIM

Many of the most respected Mopar restorers have said (in print) that the engines were painted ata the factory with the exhaust manifolds attached, but the manifolds were not intended to wear paint. The net result was varying degrees of engine paint overspray on the manifolds resulting from the paint applications to the engine block/valve covers/manifolds etc. When combined with the rust overlay that quickly developed as noted in the posts above, the net appearance was something like this....

Chuck, given your past pickup truck model projects and knowledge, I will be particularly interested in hearing your thoughts once you check out the 1960 and (especially) 1963 unibody kits....TIM

There are various blues in the late 1960's early 1970s (you'll need someone else to help with the current B5 info). For 1968, the Dodge Bright Blue Metallic was code QQ-1 (though people often incorrectly refer to this as B5 Blue). Plymouth called it Electric Blue Metallic. For 1969 and 1970, code EB5 was the Dodge Bright Blue Metallic. Plymouth called it Blue Fire Metallic For 1971, 72, and 73, code GB5 was Dodge Bright Blue Metallic. Plymouth called it True Blue Metallic. Finally, for 1974, code KB5 was Dodge Bright Blue Metallic. Plymouth called it Lucerne Blue Metallic. All four of these medium blue metallics look visibly different from each other. So which B5 you use is important to be linked to the model year of your modeling project. MCW Automotive Finishes offers the first three blues for airbrushing. They may offer the 1974 color in their regular catalog, if not, you can do a special order. Their 1969-70 EB5 was also available from MCW in an aerosol can several years ago that I used when I built this kitbashed 1970 'cuda 340. Hope this helps...TIM

Claude, your creativity just amazes me. If you were competing in the old MPC customizing championship series, you would have been winning the "Best Originality" awards right and left. Having said that, this is one of your best projects yet! Great job. I wouldn't change a single thing. TIM

Thanks Daniel...this is the info I was looking for. But I also found your explanation of how you did the body panel joins to be very instructive and clever. Thanks for taking the time to explain that and the paint approach! Cheers...TIM

To further the point on Revell....the '29A/'30A tooling was substantially damaged shortly after the ''30A first went into production in mid 2015. It took a major effort (manpower, tooling resources, and funding) to redo the missing tooling for the reintroduction of those kits several years back. While it took way too long (from my perspective as a hot rod kit builder) for the kits to return, the new Revell Germany team (and its US support arm) deserve major kudos for actually making it happen. Likewise, the new Boss 351 kit is in my personal judgement clearly the best muscle car kit ever produced in 1/24th-1/25th scale. Personally, I'd rather see fewer kits introduced from Revell, done really well, than a litany of new kits produced to a lower standard. As I think about it in broader terms, we as model car/truck builders are in a really good position right now. We have Revell's new approach with the '71 Mustang and C8 Corvettes, we have Round 2 reintroducing old kit topics with simplified build processes and outstanding fit/finish refinements, we have Moebius producing long wished for topics from the first generation of muscle cars/missing 1960s era pickup and light duty trucks/and the golden age of 1960's-early 1970s drag racing, and finally have Atlantis reissuing ancient Revell/Monogram kit topics that sell for 1/5th of the price of the originals on the auction sites. And not to mention (but to mention(!) the existing and relatively new overseas kitmakers producing JDM and international automotive/racing-rallying/exotics topics. And further, the yet to be determined output of the new Ohio/Atomic group owners of the Jo-Han trademark. Yes, I'm an optimist, and perhaps overenthusiastic cheerleader for our hobby and its kitmakers, but this is my POV FWIW...TIM

Guys....the team at Round 2 are well aware of the interest in the modeling community for "clones" of the '71 and '72 Road Runner. My past experience is that in these types of cases, the model companies add such a topic to their ongoing list of potential projects. Each year (or budget cycle), the companies go through their potential projects list and re-rank the ideas from top to bottom. Rankings often change each year given how the kit market is developing. Then a budget is placed against the list, along with other considerations like the cost of the project, the timing sequence, coverage of key subsegments (pickups, hot rods, drag kits, etc as well as non-auto topics like sci-fi) and the availability of engineering/tooling resources to support the projects. Then the final list of projects to be produced that year is decided. Topics that miss the list that year go onto the list for next year. Each company has their own approach to this process, but the general description above is broadly representative of what occurs. All of which is to say, again, Round 2 knows very well of the interest on this subject. But when and how they react is subject to a whole number of considerations beyond just the feedback on the subject from the public and this forum. My own uneducated guess is that this kit topic has a fairly good chance of eventually occurring, but as to when and how, your guess is as good as mine. Finally, as you've heard me say before, chances for this sort of kit topic increase notably if the current "clone" kits on the market sell really well. Speaking of which, have you all purchased the '68 R/T convertible kit, and placed your advanced orders (when the order banks open) for the '68 R/T hardtop? Hopefully supprotive....TIM

Mark is 100% correct. The '65 to '69 tool was the same one (albeit with year to year updates), and with a new body added in 1967. The tool switched from AMT to MPC branding for the 1968 model year and continued there for 1969. The 1969 kit just reissued by Round 2 still uses a few parts dating back to the original 1965 AMT annual kit.

Mark is 100% correct. The '65 to '69 tool was the same one (albeit with year to year updates), and with a new body added in 1967. The tool switched from AMT to MPC branding for the 1968 model year and continued there for 1969. The 1969 kit just reissued by Round 2 still uses some parts dating back to the original 1965 annual kit.

Dan....my profound kudos on your project.. I have long thought that the modern-day nostalgia front engine rail dragsters would make a great subject for a model project, but yours is the first one i recall seeing executed to this level of precision and realism. And your quality of workmanship is superb! Finally, how did you do the panel inserts on the body? You have every reason to be immensely proud of your accomplishment here! TIM

Very, very cool! Thanks for sharing, and congrats on completing this "refresher" project....TIM