tim boyd

In fact, the entire '70 Sox and Martin Pro Stock is much closer to factory stock than the '71 S&M, which was one of the points I made to Revell when I recommended this as a second version of the '70 'cuda tool (I'm sure others also recommended it). The version that I was referring to was in a five page feature color article in the October, 2009 issue of Popular Hot Rodding magazine. As Bill mentions, it had the stock front seats, and the hood scoop is close to, but I can't quite tell if an exact match, to the one in the article. TB

Oh dear....that is overstating it by about 2000%. We were just model car builders who loved our hobby and were lucky enough to have won multiple awards at the MPC Contest series from 1969-79. Very famous? Not really. Brilliant Achievement? No Way! Then, I remembered. It was Mark that picked the word "Luminaries" to describe us, not ourselves! (Smile). (For those not close to this subject, there has always been ongoing, good -natured, back and forth two-way ribbing between the NNL organizers and Mark in his role as Chair of the GSL. It's just part of our shared heritage!) TB

Danno...the other two were... - Gary Dale, MPC National Customizing contestant (IIRC, he won third nationwide in 1977) and won Best of Show a number of times at MPC Regional events, and brother of David Dale who we all know is a very active builder these days and not so well known, an MPC Contest winner back then as well. - Bob Bost, MPC Contestant and winner, representing himself as well as Al Cozby, who also won his share of MPC Contests back then. Best....TB

For those that don't know, Mr. Andy Martin (aka Modelmartin) was amongst those six lonely Nameless National Luminaries who showed up at Tom Woodruff's garage for that first-ever NNL event in the summer of 1980. I'll never forget Andy's totally awesome models that he brought with him, nor his enthusiasm for our hobby and get-together! The atmosphere there was totally charged, and Andy certainly did his bit to contribute to that result! TIM

Tom...this description so wonderfully captures what I think we've all been striving to achieve with the NNL idea. Congrats to you and your team. It's been ever so many years ago that we got that inquiry from John about doing an NNL East. I remember some discussion of the request, but I think everyone knew we couldn't say no, and it certainly sounded like he was completely tuned into what we were all about. The legacy of NNL East since then, and the spirit shown in your description, suggest you guys got it, and continue to get it, every year you do your show. And ONE of these years, I plan to get there and experience it first hand. Best regards and thanks for all you and your NNL East team do...>TIM

Neil...got it. You are so serious (and talented,...) with your builds, I just presumed you were just as serious with more mundane subjects....sounds like we gotta meet one of these days....Cheers....TIM

The spirit of the NNL as a loosely organized, no rules type of activity? And a sponsorship of any kind? Nah....not a chance. But that doesn't mean we can laugh and have a good time at the idea! TB

That is hilarious and totally in keeping with the fun-loving spirit in which the NNL was originally created, per Tom's note above. Thanks for posting, Danno. TIM

Again, not my role here to defend Revell, but a number if people who've built their '57 Ford Custom or the '50 Olds Custom would suggest that those are among the best new-tooled kits on the market at the moment. Not to mention that they are selling for 1/2 to 1/3 the price of 1/24th scale newly tooled imported kits. But it's nothing more than a theoretical argument at this point anyway, because Revell hasn't announced any new light duty truck subjects that I am aware of....TB

I'm not going to suggest that Revell would win, but the company/team you are describing has moved on considerably over that decade and a half. My guess is that you would find them to be a very formidable competitor. TB

I kinda understand/sympathize with the sentiment here. But based on Revell's new '70 'cuda kit and all the factory-correct options that single kit includes, I don't think one should assume that a newly-tooled Revell Ford pickup kit would cover only one version, and/or that it would be the least desirable version at that. And while I have absolutely zero insider knowledge that would suggest such a project is under consideration, I would love to see Revell do a kit of the all-new, aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F150. If they did, wouldn't it be cool to do a "fight to the death" duel/comparo between that kit and this new Meng F350? TIM

Mark...not at all. I think I read somewhere a long time ago that every year you live seems to go by twice as fast as the year before, and with two months to go until I turn 60, that sure seems to be the case here. Having said that, I sure don't feel anything like I'm 60 years old. Maybe model car building keeps us young at heart??? Best...>TIM

Brett.///...that is certainly some hot news! Thanks....TIM

Pat...the block castings are identical between the Parts Pack version and the Miss Deal version. And they both have the upper bellhousing as part of the castings. But to my understanding, only the real 331 Hemi had the integral bellhousing, it was removed for both the 354 and 392 Hemis that came later. Best regards...TIM

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here, but I think I have to speak up once again about what constitutes an NNL Model Car Event. The intent of the original of the NNL was a group of model builders who wanted to get together in a non-competitive venue for enjoying their model cars and their friendship. Because of this, there was no contest judging, and most importantly, no awards. None. Not a single one. As the NNL grew, some of the folks who later took the lead in organizing the event decided to incorporate a people's choice award, voted on by the participants. Note that it was "People's Choice", not "Best of Show." Big difference there. Over the ensuing years, this has grown to typically a Peoples Choice, a Junior Builder award, and an Event Theme award. These vary by NNL event, but the common point is that they are 1) voted on by participants (not determined by judges), and 2) they are few in number. Because, at its core, NNL's are "Non Contests". They are not about who has the best model, they are all about showing cool models and enjoying camaraderie among each other. There are plenty of great model car contest for those who want to compete against each other. And more power to those of you who prefer to compete this way, and for the organizers who put in all the long hours and effort to make these contests work so well. But if you are traveling to an "NNL" that has a bunch of awards listed on the flier, and/or, it is not clear that any award is based on participant votes instead of judging, then most likely you are not traveling to a true NNL, regardless of what the event may be called. Part of the whole NNL idea was to keep things loosely organized and focused on fun, not rules and politics. So this NNL distinction between "non-competitive" and "competitive" events may not be as clear as it could be. As one of the organizers of the original, first ever NNL, and a strong supporter of the idea for the nearly 35 years (!) since then, I think the model car community needs to be reminded of this from time to time. For those of you who want to know more about this, I did a Commentary on this subject for Model Cars Magazine several years ago, you might want to look that up. Again, no intent to rain on anyone's parade here, just a kindly reminder about the core of what make an NNL, an NNL. Best regards...TIM

Sharp!!!! TB

Chuck...that is a great idea! For those of you considering this, just make sure your Ardun is from the second issue of the Revell '50 Ford Custom pickup (circa 2007 or so), as the Ardun in the first version of the Custom Ford Pickup was wrong in several areas (including siamesed exhausts that were great for a regular Flathead but completely wrong for an Ardun which has four separate exhaust ports on each head). TB

Pesonally, I would use the AMT '49 Merc engine. It is well designed, correct for the marque and model year, and includes desirable features like correct, separate exhaust manifolds. The '50 Ford truck would be an OK swap, but the '48 Ford is a prior generation Flathead, with the distributor in a different location and the water hoses from the radiator connecting in a different location, so it would not be a prototypically correct choice for a '49 Merc Woody.....TIM

Mark...that looks very sharp. And here's how I used it on one of my projects...http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/from-the-pages-of-y/from-the-pages-of-m/ TIM

Just to confirm...everything Mark says here I agree with....TB

David...a lot of materials on the Hamtramck site are updated with mid-year changes, and often there are "Product Information Letters" posted there that cover in-process model year spec changes. But I checked, and just as you said, there's nothing in either category on the décor group for '68 Plymouths. So I looked at some other reference materials - in this case, the Dodge and Plymouth Muscle Car Red Book, Second Edition (Peter C. Sessler). Some disagree with me, but I have found this book to be a fairly accurate (though by no means bulletproof) source of Mopar info. It lists order code 360 Road Runner Decor Group for $79.20. The text says" The Road Runner Décor Group spiffed things up a bit with expanded interior color selection, a steering wheel with partial trim ring, center pillar moldings, and a rear deck lid applique." So apparently the décor group in 1968 1/2 was exterior/interior combined. Also checked the Road Runner seat and door panels and the seat sew style doesn't appear to match any of the seats shown in the Hamtramck Dealer Color and Trim Selector. It was probably an additional sew style introduced at mid-year with the package, and the interior door panels in the kit are WAY too deluxe to be the entry level Road Runner, they were clearly upgraded as well. Of course, there is always the possibility that the 1/1 car AMT/Ertl scaled was not factory correct, but for purposes of where we are right now, I would suggest you consider the kit to have the Décor Group and build it that way on both the outside and inside (including the Kieth Mark decals). That's the way I would build mine. Hope this helps...TIM

David...good questions there. When I factory ordered my '74 Road Runner, the exterior and interior décor groups were separate options...you could get one or the other or both (I got both!). As for '68, from what I recall, the Exterior Décor Group became available at midyear, about the same time as the Hardtop bodystyle was added. It may have been that the upgraded seat became available at the same time. I didn't know that the kit seat was the upgraded one. And I don't know if there was an Interior Décor Group at that point. I recommend you look at the Hamtramck Registry website and go through the '68 Plymouth Color and Trim/Interior pages they have posted there. That will tell all, I'm sure.... Best regards..>TIM

Bob...thanks for the feedback and further comments. When AMT did the art for the Countdown series, much of the Art Department was still intact (I was doing work for them at the time....the '65 El Camino countdown kit pictured the build they commissioned from me for that kit). It was probably about six months later, when the strike hit, that they laid off the rest of the Art Department. I had interviewed for full time work there, but the strike happened and they told me no job was available....weeks later I started at Ford and lost all contact with that group.... TB

Bill...thanks...I didn't notice that....but I just figured out...the side panel art in light blue with the vent windows is a direct lift from the "stock version" end panel of the '78 Countdown issue box art. I just noticed that the '68 blackout lower treatment is in this illustration as well. Seems we (or at least I) wasn't as sharp about catching these discrepancies back in the day. Thanks for pointing that out....TIM

Curtis...it's still there but should be a fairly quick and easy removal....thanks for asking...TIM