tim boyd

Wow...these are all great builds of these very simplistic kits. Whenever I see a series of models like these, I think back to the AMT Designers, Modeling staff, engineers, and Art Department and how they would be amazed - and I suspect, very proud - of this kit series, and what we've done with them. Bravo! TIM

Mark...thanks for the postings and for your work with Don. I especially enjoyed your "phantom" two door sedan and thanks for posting additional photos of that. Best Regards...TIM

Great stuff, Ira. It is SO COOL to see one of the premier builders from the "old days" back in the hobby, building new models, and expanding your scope of interest. Just inspirational. TIM

Gene...really.good progress. And glad to know your Cats are supervising.....mine does the same thing. As a matter of fact, he was sitting here on my lap, making it difficult for me to type, until just a couple of minutes ago! TIM

I told Steve in a private email that I thought I remembered this model. I think I might have seen it in person at an NNL event back then???? Anyway, it sure looks sweet....and I like Steve's top treatment better than the one I did. My build, including the paint and top, was inspired by the late Brian Borden's artwork from a Revell catalog IIRC. Thanks for posting Steve - and sure glad you liked the article. Best regards...TIM

Lagib said "...these two openings are open due to a resignation and a retirement...." **************** Al- presuming your source of info is correct (and I am assuming it is), thanks for the clarification. Best regards...TIM

Thanks Snake. I already did one assignment for Revell's Marketing and Engineering VP's about a year ago, after that one, not sure if they would even consider me for another one (smile!). Seriously, I retired from the auto industry about 15 months ago and my plan at that point was to stay retired unless something incredibly tempting materialized. Nothing has happened since then that would change that plan... But thanks for the vote anyway! Let's take this as a good sign that Revell deems their business climate healthy enough to add two people - which given the size of their team today as I understand it, is a significant increase. Best regards...TIM PS everyone - if you haven't already, you should read the job descriptions. Gives you a decent idea of the sorts of activities that are required to design, engineer, and bring to market a model car kit. There's a lot more to it than you would think is required....TB

Chuck...thanks for clarifying....the "engine" in your kit certainly sounds much closer in execution to the GTR than it does to the Aventador in my kit stash. It's funny that, having been more the instigator most of my life, whether speaking professionally or as a hobbyist, I now find myself being the "old school" (spelled that way, intentionally) traditionalist, and probably being judged by some reading this thread as "old fashioned" and "out of touch", at least on the subject of 1/24th/125th scale full detail kit content. That aside, my position steadfastly remains that any kit being considered for "Kit of the Year" must have an engine, and a fully done engine, for the reasons I stated earlier. There is nothing on the face of the earth, now, or in the future, that will ever change that view of mine, even the respected thoughts of yourself and other people on this board whose opinion and reasoning I respect equally to yours. For I have also learned that persistence, when properly placed and done with the proper amount of respect, will eventually attain what many consider to be unattainable. That being in this case, the steadfast position that a full detail kit in "bi-scale" cannot be acceptable for such an esteemed honor as "kit of the year" with anything less than a fully detailed, stand alone engine, regardless of what market(s) it is designed and/or sold in. And that this is, indeed, a highly objective standard for evaluation in a market where there are a number of kits deserving of consideration for this honor. So yes, we respectfully disagree on this subject. But at least now I know that the engine parts in the kit you are suggesting, on a continuum from being what I saw in the Aventador, to what I saw in the GTR, seems to be closer to the GTR in aspiration if not for total and complete engine accuracy. And yes, if any agent of an overseas Model Manufacturer is reading this thread, you need to listen seriously - very seriously, to what I am saying. At this point, having said my piece, I'm going to let others have their say on the topic. But I will be following yours and other's continued dialogue. BTW, Happy New Year, Chuck and to all! TB

Chuck - except that the Lambo kit appears to be missing an engine - looks like just a single engine plate/transaxle part in the upper right of your photo. and some parts that appear from the top view under the hatch. Can you confirm if this is correct, or did I miss the separate engine block/parts on the parts tree? I just looked at my Aoshima Aventador kit and it has a separate engine upper but the only detail is on the very top surfaces - the front, the sides are all just a solid block with no shape, no engraving, nothing but a lump except for the top surfaces. There's no accessory drive/fan belt detail, no exhaust header, etc. The box art states " V12 Seperate Engine Parts" but I could only count the block, the top intake assembly, and two small parts that go on the intake. For me, personally, that's not a separate engine - not even close, Too bad, as the rest of the kit looks spectacular. Jon, I just looked at my Aoshima GTR Longtail Pre-Season testing and it has a wonderfully detailed, totally separate engine assembly including a stand-alone engine block, the front end accessory drives, twelve glorious exhaust header tubes, separate cylinder heads, a multi-part intake assembly....Suberb! I feel like I have just built the engine on the workstand at the McLaren plant in the Midlands (I think it's located in the Midlands ")) . I can't recall for sure, but I think I paid way more than $40 for the kit, however. (I bought it at a store, not mail order overseas). For me, personally, no separate engine, no consideration for kit of the year, full stop. When I build a model, I want it to be a miniature experience of what the real car is. The Lambo approaches (as I understand them from Chuck's photo, and from my own Aventador kit) fall strikingly short in the second most important part of any model car replica (the exterior body being the first). But the McLaren is everything a kit engine should be, and then some. BTW, I acknowledge that many of you do not agree with me on this point, but... Hmmm.... This should be an interesting thread....TIM

The Police car / third issue of the '57 Ford was a joint project with Model King, not a Revell-only effort. According to other posters on this Board and elsewhere, the Model King version tooling (the Police version parts) and the run itself was funded by Model King. If this info is true, that puts it in a different situation than the 'cuda kit. Time will tell all, I suppose, if we eventually get an AAR, and if so, when. TIM

Re Lee's comment directly above (I can't get the reply function to work on this Windows 8 laptop).... The replica stock and Sox and Martin 'cuda kits were tooled together as one complete project, so once the stock version came out, it was ready for the other version right off the bat, resulting in both versions hitting the market within a 12 month period. I am not aware that any other version of this basic kit tool was done when the tool was originally created (not to say this is definitive news, just that if such a third version existed, I didn't know anything of it). I would imagine that an AAR is on their list of potential future projects, but it would need to be weighed/prioritized against other future projects before it would be tooled for production. Again, no 'insider' knowledge here, just an opinion based on past experience working with model companies. . TIM

Tim...been following this for some time now, and others have also sent me links expressing their amazement which I share. This is truly exceptional work, and it's cool to see how much you enjoy each phase of the build process. Congrats and best wishes....TIM

Tyrone....great work so far! TIM

Brad...what an adventure and inspiration your project is. Particularly inspired by your tie rod/steering linkage and knuckle setup. While I don't personally have the patience to work at this level any more (I did do so, in a way, at one time, in the late 1960's/very early 1970's, recognizing at the primitive state of car modeling detailing/scratchbuilding back then), I just find it fascinating to see how you and the other builders here who fabricate at your level, tackle and resolve each step of the building process. And of course, I am inspired by your choice of subject matter. Great progress to date, will be watching with everyone else as you post further updates. TIM

Gene and all others reading this thread....why is it that sometimes a complete tear down and reconstruction of a kit (such as you are doing here) is so much more interesting than than a straight build of one of the reissues of a kit like this? I can't figure it out, but I know I am enjoying watching your project come together.... This was always one of my favorite old kits....I helped a neighbor friend build this very kit back around 1967....Pactra metallic green body, Testors Competition Orange engine....flat black elsewhere....and later on back in the 1980's I secured an already-built example not unlike the one we are watching here to do a rebuild myself but didn't happen....I'd never built the kit for myself until I completed the Corvair CheZOOM version myself a couple of weeks ago. Anyway....sure enjoying your build thread so far... TIM

Gene....the Bob Shelton/Bill Coulter Directory of Model Car Kits with price guide, v6 lists: Hemi Under Glass as a 1966 intro kit # 6776. The Hemi Hustler first issue is listed as 1967, #6752. Next is the "Barracuda Funny Car", 1968, #F-152 Then a "Hemi Hustler" rebob reissue, 1969, #T152 Followed by the "Mad Mackerel" release, 1975, #T160, as part of the "Street Freaks" series. Also reissues in 2004 and 2006 during the dark days at Learning Curve, the earlier one (I think) being the notorious incorrect MPC '68 HUG box art with the '66 AMT kit innards. My experience is that the Value Guide is usually correct, but occasionally omits a kit or gets a date wrong, so consider this info as directional but not guaranteed. Best..>TIm

Rob...congrats on pulling this one out of the box and getting after it again...just ran across this thread, and will now be watching with considerable interest. In case you are interested, here's a link to my Fotki file with two similarly themed builds, one I did in 1970-71, the other about ten years ago. The latter was a two parter article in Model Cars mag a couple of years ago (let me know if you need the exact issue numbers/dates). http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-1950s1960searl/page3.html Best regards and good luck with your project! TIM

The entire chassis/suspension/interior is identical between the Hemi Hustler and the new CheZoom corvair reissue. Also, the rocker covers show upside down in the instructions, but if you follow the locaters, they install correctly because the engine is essentially a second gen 426 Hemi (with its attendance rocker cover design), but with a first gen 392 Hemi distributor/magneto location. . In fact, the original kit design mostly apes the first Tom McEwen mid engine California Plymouth Dealers funny car from late 1965, which was not originally planned as a wheelstander. This is the car that went airborn during early testing. If you look up chassis/engine pictures of this car, you'll note the similarities in most every design area (other than AMT's strange location for the magneto). And you'll also note that the unusual oil breathers location low on the rocker covers shown in the pictures above, is an exact match for the McEwen car. Hope that helps and good luck with the resto! TIM

Wow..yet another one. Stephen - Really nicely done!!!. Beyond the two race car combos posted here in the last few days (Stephen's combo, and the one from John Morrow), and my own from the recent covers of Model Cars magazine, there was a really nice C800 Transporter and Trailer done by another builder and posted on the Forum here, about a year and a half ago. It was a really well done replica of the 1/1 scale 1969 Ford Drag Team truck, trailer, and the two Mustang race cars. Perhaps someone can find it and repost it here. UPDATE: - the one I am referring to here, is the one by Steve Prideaux posted directly below....thanks Steve - great model! Anyone else build one or have one underway? TIM

John....great job! Your model set looks super sharp, and I also like what you did with your race cars. I presume you saw my own C800 Race Car Transport/Trailer project built with a very similar theme? Or maybe not? In any case, super cool to see what you did with your build. Congratulations....TIM .

Steve...just saw your post tonight. Loved your story. Your model looks great, especially considering the time that has elapsed over the years. Thanks so much for posting this, and thanks to you back for your kudos on my articles. Best regards....TIM

One other not mentioned above was the AMT Trophy Series Double Kit King T/Wild Dream designed and manufactured by MPC. After the initial release under the AMT label, MPC's second production run of this tool was separated into two kits in individual boxes with MPC labeling, marketed in 1966. Pieces of both kit tools were reused many times in other MPC kits of the late 1960's, (some of which have been reissued through the first decade of this century), but to my knowledge the King T and Wild Dream were never reissued again in their original AMT & MPC form. (Mark I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong). I liked the MPC kits that AMT marketed first, and built several of them, but I was disappointed in the box art, and particularly with the instruction sheets, which featured typical MPC line art vs, the gorgeous AMT Art Deparment instructions with shading, unique fonts, etc, etc. TIM

Bill....congrats...I am a 100% Ford guy now but I was 100% Mopar back in the 1960's/70's, so I can sure share your excitement. Looks like you found a really good edition, too! TIM

A 1970 (not 1969) GTO Judge Ram Air IV hardtop or convert is at the very top of my suggestion list for new muscle car era kits, and has been communicated to the model companies accordingly. It sure seems like with the topics Revell has been doing that it would be a logical choice for them. And it would be cool to see Moebius extend from their present 1965 model year limit to 1970. If we got a 1970, one could reasonably expect a 1971 GTO Judge derivative, and later on, a 1968 and 1969 version (the latter two obviously requiring a new bodyside tool, but largely carrying over the rest). I am picking the 1970 to start with as that is the biggest gap in present/past lineups, and in my view would probably have the largest initial commercial appeal. Once that kit is tooled and paid for, the derivatives become affordable on less volume. But as of right now, I personally know of no plans in that direction from the model companies...TIM

The original issue stock AMT-Ertl Duster 340 kit had both a four barrel and a non-stock (for a factory Duster340) Six Barrel option. But if you want to do the Revell '70 'cuda as an AAR, you need the AMT-Ertl Duster 340 (for the 340 six barrel setup) AND the AMT-Ertl Duster Street Machine (for the non A/C fan belt in that kit). This will result in a very accurate engine. Don't have my photo research library and kit references in front of me right now, but if you need a new air clearer decal specific to the AAR, I would think one would be in the old (2nd try) Revell 1/24th scale 'Cuda AAR kit. For non- AAR '70 'cudas, the 340 Four Barrel Air Cleaner Decal WAS a generic "340 Four Barrel" graphic for both the 'cuda and Challenger that year but I can't recall for sure what was used on the six barrel. A quick google image search should tell all....TIM