tim boyd

That's a cool story...thanks for the link...TIM

Bruno....just got a chance to look at my completed builds, and just as you said (and you show above), there it is. I don't recall this being in 1/1 scale factory stock 'cudas....does anyone else remember this to be the case? Otherwise, I can't think of any reason why this hole would be there....unless.....could it be intended as a mounting point for a component on some future version of the kit. Like maybe an Accel ignition spark module or Cool Can that you would see in a future Pro Stock or Super Stock version of the tool. Or some part related to a road racing version of some kind???? Anyway, belated kudos to you for pointing this out. TIM PS - that's a very sharp looking 'cuda build you have there....TB

From what I recall, BFG Radial T/A's started coming on the market around 1974/75 or so. They were top end, big buck items and a source of real prestige for those who could afford them. OEM availability came a number of years later though I have to admit, I can't recall on what cars or trucks. In any case, they were never available from the factory as OEM equipment on the E-Body Mopars. I won a set as a prize when I finished 2nd in the Nation in the 1976 MPC Customizing Championship: I could have never afforded them on a part-time college student budget...they were terrific tires and a real step up from the factory Goodyear Polyglas tires....TIM

I don't recall seeing that hole on either of my completed builds. I'll try to check on them later this evening and see if I see them. TB

I had no issues with the door mirrors on two separate builds. The contact area with the body is sufficient for holding them in place if the glue makes good contact on unpainted mating surfaces. One of my builds was subsequently shipped out of state and returned for photography and came back all in one piece. Pinning the mirror is always a plus but in this case I would consider it optional instead of mandatory. Hope that helps...TIM

John....I don't know which car or cars Revell used to create their kit. What I meant by that statement is that during the period when I (and several others) were recommending this as a future kit subject, I sent them copies of several articles in the Mopar mags on '70 'cudas that were restored correctly and equipped with the right factory options that I wanted to see Revell include in the kit. This was between 2008 and 2010 and my reference materials from that period seem to have gone temporarily missing, but if I recall correctly, one or several of these examples were Mopar Action Magazine "Reference Restorations" (I assume you would be very familiar with that mag and how they use that term). There may have been one from Musclecar Review as well. Let me know if I missed the intent of your question, or if I can add any further insight... Best regards...TIM

Guys...everyone is entitled to their judgment on this and any other kit that is produced for us. But I dare any of you to actually build this kit and then still conclude that Revell "does not seem to care about the products they are releasing". Is it 100% correct? No, and many of you (along with myself, in my earlier QuickBuild and Kit Review assessments) have pointed out some of its shortcomings. Is a seven-point distributor an embarrassing error? Yes. But it's hardly something to worry about within the context of an overall kit like this one, and it is easily fixed via a whole number of build alternatives. Is a folded decal sheet an evidence of poor quality control? Well, if you actually build the kit (my decal sheets looked folded just like those above) you'll find the decals to be one of the many high points of this kit, and the folding has absolutely zero affect on the appearance or usability of the decals. One of the chrome sheets on my kits had a blotch, but it was right on the part of the Rallye Wheel that you paint argent silver for the correct appearance. So that had zero impact, at least for me on that particular kit. Still, this is a worrying concern. But the only flash I saw was on the base chassis/floor pan and it took about two minutes to clean up. My point here is simply that, if you actually build and complete the kit, you will find errors, but you will also probably find that there are many points of evidence that suggest (at least they did to me) that Revell cared a great deal about this kit. Sorry, maybe I'm just too close to the manufacturing/marketing side of this hobby to remain objective on this subject, but like everyone else here, I am also entitled to my point of view. And that is that 1) any detailed critique of a kit like this carries a lot more credibility if it is based on actually building the kit, and 2) from what I know about the model car industry, virtually all the model company staffs do care about their products, and they generally try to do the best job that they can within the many business constraints they face. TIM

Art or Dave need to provide a more definitive answer...but with Test Shots like Art is working with here, the tool is typically run with all the "gates" open for the parts for both the initial and (pre-engineered) future versions of the kit. More likely here is that there will eventually be four releases of the kit, each version including the grille that is appropriate to the model year represented by that individual kit. (To that point, I think this thread or others like it suggest that there will eventually be at least two Moebius kits and a third under the Model King label.) Still...that is an impressive picture, to be sure! TIM l

Carl...given the choice between those two options, I expect that nearly 100% of modelers would agree with you. Unfortunately, an additional set of four ires (and the further adaptation of the wheels to adapt to the wider tires) would, I expect, be a much more expensive proposition than dropping the fold-up miniature boxes. Plus I just checked my kit...and there is no miniature fold-up this time. Oh well.... TB

Chris...that is a way sharp conversion to replica stock....way to go! TIM

Deciding what to include (and exclude) in a product is one of the most difficult issues a kitmaker faces....it's essentially a series of tradeoffs. Do you add the extra tires and offset the extra cost by not updating/restoring the tool....or do you add the extra tires and raise the price....or do you do what Round 2 did...and restore the kit to its original status and rely on kitbashers to do the tire upgrade for the NASCAR version? Tough calls, all. TB

Just confirming that Joe is correct in both these statements (as referenced in my accompanying photo captions/text for photos #10 and #15 at the link above ). My '65 annual kit original is missing the instructions, but the only tires in the kit are the stock narrow whitewalls and drag slicks...the new reissue has the same except that the drag slicks are Tampo Printed pie-crusts....I don't recall that AMT had any kits using NASCAR type tires until the wide ovals that came along in '68 or '69...kitbashers back in the day used the "Darlington" tires (IIRC) from the AMT Tires Parts Pack for slot car racers...TIM

James,....looking super-sharp so far! TIM

I just checked my Little Red Express Truck kits (one the original MPC release, the second an AMT-Ertl reissue from the 90's) and they have the original big block Mopar Wedge V8 engines that have been in most (all?) of the MPC Dodge D100 pickup kit derivatives since it the tool was developed in 1972. Is there a version of this kit that has the 360 V8 (among other items, with the distributor in the typical SBC location rather than to the passenger side of the water pump as in all Big Block Mopars)? And FWIW, I strongly agree with your take on the MPC "Six Pack" 340 Duster engine. Not sure that I agree with some who think it is underscaled, though. Thanks! TIM

35 photos and captions at the link below, including a comparison with other previous versions of this kit.... http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/first-look-at-all-n/new-round-2-amt-65-/new-round-2-amt-65-/ Thanks for looking! TIM

It was at my local hobby store this Tuesday....TIM

Randy....glad to have helped out, and as many others have said, great result! As for the body proportions....all the points you make above correctly reflect the difficulty in comparing a model car body to a 1.1 original. When I did my 1/1 to 1/25th scale comparison, I used the same camera lense and same lense setting (other than to adjust for lighting differences), and the body does look somewhat closer to the real thing than in the comparison shots above (great side view profile photo from the internet, btw!). With apologies who might have seen my opinion on this subject already posted, I don't believe the Revell body is perfect by any means, but I do believe it is a very workable effort and that for all but the most ardent purist, it will get the job done. I would like to see Revell correct some of the items that have been noted here and elsewhere, starting with the overly-flared wheel lips, then the drip rail molding engraving and hard-intersection at the C-pillar (as pointed out by Bill G.), and moving on to about ten other items - mostly minor; some more involved. One addition that would seem to me to be very easy would be to add the racetrack moldings around the rear tailamp cove. Randy, you did a superb job replicating that with BareMetal, but it is a very difficult task (I did the same operation on my original build which has not yet been published). Adding the engraved molding would not only help with the BareMetal, but would also help with the masking operation to apply the Organisol Black insert. If someone could send me the link to the discussion on this subject at the other board (referenced above), I'd appreciate seeing what others have to say about this subject. Happy Holidays all! TIM

Steve....when I was doing research for my 'cuda reviews, I ran across descriptions of this option in several Mopar sources but thought maybe that it was a cancelled option, as I have never seen one in person or even pictures. Recently I saw a post on another board with the scoop but not the blackout treatment....so until this picture, I have never seen one in its fully factory regalia including the blackout lower panels. Really appreciate you posting this - just points out why with Mother Mopar, you never say "never"....THANKS!!!! TIM

...or you can use the new AMT Round 2 Goodyear Polyglas GT F-60-15 RWL tires - they are a direct swap onto the Revell 'cuda Rallye Wheels....TIM

Thanks Jens...I wasn't fully clear on that. And I have read many articles stating that the '70-'74 E Body and '71-74 B Bodies shared the entire engine compartment including cowl structure .... although as you note, the area in front of the radiator wall is different. I'll check the PM...don't know why mail would not have gone through...TB

Great pictures, Dave. thanks! Also...the new (Feb 2014) issue of Vintage Trucks (I buy my copy at Barnes and Noble) has a neat four page full color article on a stock restored '50 Merc - it's gorgeous! Lotaa detail shots too. TIM

I believe the design of the front fenders being located to the interior walls may have to do with the assembly process. That big 'ol honkin' Hemi would have a difficult assembly operation if you were to try to place the body with the front fenders already molded in, on top of/over the chassis with the engine already located in it. Of course, for 1/1 scale cars the engines may have been top-loaded into the engine compartment on E bodies (Mopar experts, beat me up if I'm wrong here), which would be impossible on a 1/25th scale car unless the transmission mount was made a separate part. In any case, I actually prefer the new Revell approach, because as Casey notes, you get a much more definitive final assembly result with the hidden tabs and the secure mating of the fenderwell tops to the body itself. Casey....great shot of that "cuda roof - I was looking for images like this that would show the drip rail moldings, but I never found one that showed it as well as this image. This image also describes visually the "racetrack molding" that needs to be added to the body for the rear cove blackout panel. TIM

I believe the axle pins are in the same piece of clear plastic as the clear window parts, in a separate "compartment" if you will. TIM

Randy...great job on the red grille stripe....exactly how did you do that again???? Also...excellent catch on the lower front roll pan opening insert being painted silver...I bet most 'cuda builds will miss that step. TIM

Note that this seller is also selling Goodyear RWL tire decals...G6015 is the closest he has to the factory correct F6015 lettering...I just ordered several sets. Thanks for the link Marcos. TIM UPDATE...he's just added F60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT RWL tires to do with the 'cuda kit. I ordered those too....TIM