tim boyd

Francis, these are the wheels in the kit. While I am far from an expert on the subject, I would imagine that they are correct for this application as Mr. Goldman told me he and the team really pulled out all the stops to make this kit a top-notch effort. I'm sure you all will update us on this if the above is wrong....TB (UPDATE 3-25-24 am////I was wrong on this...see posts from Francis, James, and Jonathon posted below...TB

Here's a link to 70 images from the Round 2 New Product Display at the 2024 DAAM show in Warren, Michigan on 3-24-2024 https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/model-car-events-co/2024-daam-show-3-24/round-2-product-new/ ***** New news includes * the '64 Olds Topless "Streaker" AWB funny car, first time ever back on the market since the original release in 1967 * a fully detailed (inside/outside) present-day Charger Police Pursuit (detailed images of an assembled/unpainted Charger at the link above) * the second version of the new Bronco tool...the popular Outer Banks trim/content level * new parts for the AMT-Ertl '62 Pontiac tool - based on the 1/1 scale "Tin Indian" and including a Grand Prix grille (swapped in place of the Catalina grille in some of the 1/1 scale Pontiac Super Stock competitors back in '62) and newly tooled 8-lug brake/wheels (includes shots of new parts at link above) * a full look at all of the inside box contents of the '64 Malibu (ten images of parts trees, body, chrome shot, clear shot, etc. at the link above)...a ton of stuff in the box for a curbside level kit, and like the '63 Nova wagon, setup with a separate hood and engine compartment gubbins. Also includes choice of hub caps ('64 Malibu SS and '64 GM B-Body simulated wire wheel type, plus the optional tri-tip accessory spinner center hub inserts) * new box art for a number of kits, some seen for the first time here. A big thanks to Steve Goldman and the entire Round 2 team for all this new product and for holding court just inside the entrance to the spring DAAM show today...will attempt to answer any questions you have.... Best///TIM

UPDATE 3:24 2:30pm - Scroll well down the page for my full report with high-res photos and info - all the details from the show...thanks...TIM (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Steve Goldman and the Round 2 support team are in town and ready to go tomorrow morning. I would imagine you will start to see details of whatever they reveal by tomorrow late AM on the various social media sites. I plan to post pictures and any info I learn about later in the day tomorrow. Best...TB

Update. When installing the front bumper on the model (probably about 3-4 weeks after spraying it with chrome, the edges of the bumper showed discoloration from holding the bumper in place as the Five Minute Epoxy (main body was a resin rebop) dried. So....looks like I will need to use ClearCoat in the future. Tried to order SpaxStic Clear Chrome spray but they were sold out; did acquire it in airbrush form. Area of bumper that was not touched during install still looks great. You can see the discolored area on the portion of the bumper that faces the driver's side front... Best....TIM

FWIW I have always had great service from Keith...TB

Excellent points as always, Mark! Cheers....TB

Alan....my version would be with the '71/'72 style front bumpers. I believe I have those parts (possibly from Missing Link Resin) stashed somewhere. I could just never stand for what Ford/Mercury/Lincoln did with the '73 and later bumpers! Actually, I have such a project started (so far, just painted with the special mid-year 1971 1/2 Mustang/Cougar mustard-like yellow color...) TB

Quite frankly, I am amazed that more hasn't been made over the quality and accuracy of the chassis and suspension parts in this Atlantis kit. While they date back to the 1963 Revell Parts Packs, some of these parts (example: hairpin radius rods) are among the finest and most accurate parts ever found in a 1/25th scale kit. To me they are almost mandatory for a state-of-the-art top end early drag or 1960s era hot rod build....TB

Don't have the time here to watch the video, but if it is not mentioned there, it should be noted that neither of these engines are correct for 1971-73 Cougars. The kit engines carried over from the original MPC tooling of the 1969 Car Craft/Dyno Don Cougar kit and the 1970 Cougar hardtop and annual kits. The correct choices for a 1971 Cougar would be the 335 series 351 Cleveland and 385 series 429 as found in the new Revell 1971 Boss 351 and Mach 1 kits (the Cleveland would need to be mildly kitbashed to the non-Boss version). For 1972 and 1973, the 351 would be the correct choice. While not correct for the 1971-73 Cougar, the engines in this kit are well done and worthy of finding a home in correct body applications. The 429 Semi Hemi, in particular, is an interesting non-factory/showroom version, perhaps reminiscent of a NASCAR version of the engine (checkout the intake manifold design) or a pre-production developmental factory prototype...TB

This is so, so clean; a building style that just sings to me. Super job, Paul! And great to have met you at GSL, too. Cheers...TB

Duplicate post in error...MODS please delete...thx...TB

For those who missed it in the earlier (2023) community build thread, here is a link to the "Vintage Beach Racing" theme at the 2017 NNL Nationals.... Some pretty inspirational projects posted there might serve as good inspiration for your 2024 community builds... From John White: From John Strick: From Tom Woodruff: From Ken Krawler: At the "entrance gate"... Best wishes from this corner for your own 2024 TROG projects...TIM

One possibility for motorcycles for TROG projects is the 1/25th scale Indian Ace/Henderson (take your pick) bike in the MPC 1932 Chrysler Roadster kit. This one was a gluebomb recovery built from the original 1966 MPC kit release, which was the only source for the bike until the most recent Round 2 reissue of the original kit a couple of years ago. The spoked wheels are plenty crude, but replacing those with a better substitute would go a long way toward a nice replica, as the rest of the kit is very nicely rendered. TB

Guys....there are few things 100%vcertain in this hobby, and this one is like the rest. However, if you study Round 2's current business model of developing multiple offerings off each new tooling investment, I think it is reasonable assumption that the Streaker AWB kit is likely to return to the hobby shelves at some point in the future. Key question (from my POV) is when that might be. If I had to guess, I'd forecast late this year or early next year, but as always, time will tell if the kit returns, and if so, when. TB

Graham...thanks for the reply. Just noticed your new thread the other day and will be following there from now on....best....TIM

Ulf....thanks for the link; checked it out and lookin' good! Interesting story about being asked to stay another three months past retirement date. Same thing happened to me, after 35 years they asked me to stay another six months. We compromised at three months plus extra $$. Was the right thing to do, congrats on doing the same too on your end and on your new retirement. I just passed the ten year mark (after retirement) myself and I still don't have as much modeling time as I had expected. But still the way to go. Anyway, keep up the great work (when you have the time) and looking forward to your updates as they occur...TB

X2! Love that Fisher six too....TB.

Ulf....among some, in fact, many very cool projects shown in this thread, yours is the one that has my most current interest level very high. Any progress since your last post that you could share with us? Best....TIM

Some very, very cool work still going on in this thread. Personally, I encourage all of you to keep going regardless of an expiration of community build completion date. Onward! TB

Acknowledging up front that this information is gleaned from only a limited number of sources, I am hearing that the first production run of the AMT '63 Ford Pickup is largely sold out at the retail level. So....if you are planning on buying the kit at some point and you see one available for sale right now, best advice would be to grab it post haste! Best...TB

Thanks all for your comments and feedback. Glad you enjoyed reading about and looking at the result, in spite of the issues and "challenges". In any case, it was a great deal cheaper than buying a mint unbuilt MPC 1971 Challenger, and had I done that I wouldn't have wanted to build it anyway. Very best to you all...TIM

Link fixed. Thanks for the heads-up David! Cheers...TIM

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