tim boyd

Mike...this is an entirely different kit that when assembled looks like anything but the Revell kit. The Good News is that of all the 1/25th scale drag and ski boats, the one you just scored is my most favorite kit. I actually did an article on this exact kit in Model Cars back around 1987 or so - IIRC it was pictured on the cover of that issue. I think you'll have a ball putting this kit together. Congratulations on your score. TIM

To add some personal insight here...Revell sent me test shots of all three - the three window, the Speedwagon, and the Roadster Highboy, approximately August of 1996. There were no instructions for any of them. The decal sheets for the three window and Speedwagon arrived a couple of weeks later. I immediately built the Three Window and it appeared on the cover of the other model magazine we love in the December, 1996 issue (sent to subscribers around mid-October). Bill Bozgan also built a kit and his review ran as a sidebar to my article. By the time these articles appeared, the kit had just been introduced, followed by the Speedwagon a few weeks later. But the Highboy Roadster wasn't released until May, 1977. Mind you, doing this all from memory so take it with a small grain of salt.... TIM

Dan and the rest...if anyone figures out what kit this is, please let me know! Thanks...TIM

Neil...have at it! Glad you liked it....Best regards. TIM

JB - Good question! I actually glued the fenders to the tires using five minute epoxy applied along the centerline of the underside of each fender. Then I added the fender supports which tie to the kingpin on the axle, and expoxied them to the fenders. Because the fenders wrap the tires so tightly, it is impossible to tell that I glued them to the tires. The Rat Roadster kit now has the parts to accomplish the same result, albeit in a far easier way. Thanks for asking...TIM

Dan - could this have been the boat that went with a Tonka pickup/boat set from the early 1960's? TIM

Regretably, I don't think we will see this one reissued, ever. I think the '32 tool (other than the sedan body shell) is long gone. BUT for those of you, who like me, have fond memories of the '32 Sedan Custom, there will be an article revisiting this kit in a future issue of MC, and it may be the next issue....TIM

Casey....they are esentially the same kit, with a revised seating layout and new headers for the Chrysler engine, and omission of the adhesive real wood veneer that was in the original Show and go kit. I prefer the original interior because the seat sew pattern exactl matches the side upholstery panels. The parts to convert the |Hemi \hydro back to the Show and Go version are offered as a trans-kit by Norm Veber at Replicas and |Miniatures of |Maryland. I did do a kit history on 1/25th scale boats in Model Cars magazine, around 2007 or so. I believe I did cover both these kits. Best regards...TMI

Marty...they were the headers from the '64 Dodge Super Stock kit from JoHan. They are single castings; these were from a late production run and were (like most of the kits from JoHanin the final years) just loaded with flash. I remember it took several hours to prep each one and I used Flat Black paint to hide the remaining flaws when Flat White would have been more era-correct. I had to slightly adjust the header tube spacing where they meet the exhaust outlets on the cylinder hears, to properly match the Ford FE (vs. Chrysler Hemi) exhaust port spacing. Best regards...TIM To everyone who has replied to this thread....thanks guys for all the great commments. Best regards...TIM

Try this one...not sure why the other one didn't work...it did when I originally posted the picture... thanks for the headsup...TIM http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-model-boats/boyd-boats-/

I don't know of a source but you might ask Jack Smith at Top End Decals....Jack lives nearby East Lansing (Howell area, if I recall correctly), and this type of subject falls right within his product line. TIM

Very cool, James. Really like your choice of build options, and your addition of a hood is one area where my builds fell a little short of the mark. Congratulations and thanks for posting! TIM

Bernard...extraordinarily well spoken. You don't have to like the winner this year, but this is a terrific explanation of why it won, and the backroom considerations and influences that often have impacted the choice of this award over the years. I can assure that this will be a very, very popular choice with most of the street rodding community. Like almost all the vehicles Roy Brizio and his team build, I expect that this will be a highly roadable vehicle, not a show pony. (Trust me, there's nothing like watching the front wheels on a Roy Brizio driven highboy as they are rotating at triple digit speeds). Full disclosure - I've been a friend of Roy since the early 1980's and I could not be more happy for him - or John - for their win. And again, Bernard, great job explaining what is going on here an taking the time to explain it to other people. TIM

Glenn....thanks! And it's great to hear that an article I wrote nearly 35 years ago is still helping you with a new build project. Please share pictures of that '49 Merc when you are ready! TIM

Very cool Tim, thanks for sharing! Jim Kampmann

Pete...thanks...and when the time comes on your build, please show us! TIM

A couple more more pictures.... As originally built... ...and as later modified...

Thanks Joe. Yeah, I was looking at that parachute tonight and thinking that I need to refinish it in my "signature" flat dark olive drab military flats color. I never got around to adding a carb throttle linkage - the only detail missing from the engine compartment. And there are about ten other fine tuning points I'd like to do some day...well maybe not ten, but five? TIM Bill...Stephen, thanks for your comments! TIm

Thanks Joe. Sure - it was Black Gold House of Kolor "Blueberry" Pearl Clear spray, over Black Gold House of Kolor Silver Metatllic. The white stripes were, IIRC, from the "BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH Yankee" 'cuda funny car decal sheet from Slixx. Best regards...TIM

I posted a couple pictures of this in the Rat Roaster thread under kit reviews, and it made me think that I don't think I've ever posted details of this build here in the Drag Racing Forum, which is where it really belongs. Here was the model as originally completed. After the magazine how-to article about three years ago, I continued to modify the car, adding a small windshield visor, changing the headers from zoomies to SuperStock style spaghetti style which is more accurate for a carbed engine, yanking the tiny push bars for a more substantial unit, adding parachute and wheelie bars, remounting the IP at a more realistic angel, and tweaking a few other details. Here's the car after those mods... There are about 20 pictures including closeups of the engine, etc. at the link: http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-drag-racing-do/boyd-drag-racing-do/page5.html Thanks for looking...>TIM

Dennis Doty tells an interesting story about this...turns out the boat was a product of a side company run by one of AMT's executives back in the day. The "west" in "westcraft" came from part of his last name. Building on Don's note, I agree that it onlly came in this one kit. It is available as a resin rebop, however, from either Replicans and Mi niatures of Maryland or Scale Equipment Limited (doing this from memory guys, so any corrections are welcome!) Also, thanks everyone for your feedback on my original post. Best regards..TIM

Fantastic! Thanks for the update...great choice! TIM

I agree with Alan on the black box art version having all the drag parts except for the wheels. I just checked my Model King reissue of the '67 Cyclone AWB and the wheels in that kit are slotted Halibrands, but not the same tooling as the Sock it To Me versions. I wonder if Model King changed the tool when they reissued it - or maybe AMT changed it back when they did the Street Freak series (assuming this kit was part of the Street Freak series - I can't recall). TIM

Gerald...you can contact Round 2 and they will send you a replacement frame.....TIM

Steve & Don....really? I bought several of what I thought were the most recent '62 Corvette reissues and the slots were nowhere to be found. Thanks for the heads-up...and I guess that bodes well for the redone Sock it To Me. TIM