tim boyd

Bruno...that is a very, very sharp build of a personal favorite of mine (I don't really care much for Chevies, but that one is a very big exception). Excellent workmanship and paint detailing. Congratulations....TIM

Jason...those are really, REALLY, REALLY nice. Well done; and really sharp paint schemes. TIM

Bernard, I just checked, it has a three part sliding mold (top/left/right) one-piece frame (other than the roll bar and the crossmember that locates the driveshaft, so yes, that means it does not have the round tubing on the inside edges of the frame. Having fought the AMT Garlits and MPC Ramchargers two piece frames for decades, it's an action I can live with. Man, I can't wait for this one...sounds like many of you share the same view. TIM

Nick...you made me laugh out loud with that response. Same thing applies here, btw! TIM

Thanks Pat! TIM

James.....you are entitled to your opinion as I am to mine....and my opinion is that, in total, Revell is putting out the best kits in its history, and when judged in their totality including price and their imported ocmpetition, I believe many of their new kits offer outstanding attention to detail. There are people inside Revell who are very knowledgeable car enthusiasts and modelers. In the past, they have had discussions with aftermarket folks, before kits even hit the shelves, about spinoff aftermarket parts, Heck, from what I hear, in a few cases they've even given pre-production kits to the aftermarket to help expedite aftermarket products that support the kit. Now I have zero insider knowledge on this, but just suppose someone in the aftermarket is preparing a sedan body with Revell's encouragement/ccooperation, and with this knowledge, Revell decided to include the decals to make that conversion an easier to accomplish model? Then what would we say? At this point, to work ourselves up into a rage over something as inconsequential as this just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe to others, but not to me. TIM

\ JB....yeah, if this is just one of a bunch of mistakes that become apparent when the kit finally comes out and we build it, then I think people can justifiably point out this decal situation as an early indication of a flawed kit. On the other hand, If this is the only "mistake" and the rest of the kit is, as someone else remarked, a home run, then it becomes inconsequential in the bigger picture. My point is that we can't reliably assess the importance of this until we actually buy and build the kit. So I'm suggesting that we "hold fire" until we can put the kit together an form an judgment from all the evidence. Then, if justified, have at it. TIM

Andy...I keep forgetting that you are a rail dragster afficianado among your many automotive and modeling interests....needless to say we'd love to see your build/interpretation of this kit....TIM

Yes, that's the one! TIM

... this reissue is on track for a November release. Sounds like they've really put alot of care and attention into the reissue and packaging of the model, even down to securing from Carl Casper a revised, higher quality preiod picture of the car in action for the new box top. This is the model, of course, based on MPC's original circa 1970 tooling of the last Don Garlits front engine rail dragster. The "Young American" version was a spinoff kit added to the MPC line around 1973 IIRC. Since that release, the kit has never been available in this form - a gap of nearly 40 years!!! The frame and engine were reissued once more in the late 1970's as part of a not-too-well-done Fiat Altered kit. Since then, even the frame/engine have never been reissued. Only a couple of months away, and counting.... TIM

Don't want to offend anybody here, but I am pretty much astounded at some of the negative comments in this thread. We haven't even seen the kit yet!!! This is a kit that some of us have wanted for decades. It is a kit topic that was originally planned as long ago as the early 1960's (according to some people who were involved, it was approved as a kit and ready to go into development, then the company falsely heard that another model company was doing the same topic, and they cancelled the kit), and then again in the late 1990's (the RC/AMT-Ertl chapter). Now we are actually getting the kit - in less than a month - and it will undoubtedly have the outstanding attention to detail that we are seeing in many of the new kits coming from Revell these days. So....let's all take a deep breath, chill just a bit, and wait to see what is actually in the box when it comes out. Then if there are things to vent about or criticize, so be it (although my view is that you really can't effectively critique a new kit until you've built and completed it). And yes, I think you can pretty easily conjecture that there will be future spinoffs of this kit with additional parts that are a bit more focused in their subject matter. Revell quizzed me on my ideas on one such variant several years ago when the kit was under consideration, though I do not know if that specific variant is in development or under consideration. Guys, keep in mind, the team at Revell (and the other kit sources as well, I suspect), do read these Forums from time to time. I think our posts here should be informed and encourage them to continue to do the great work they are doing, and expand it even further - not discourage them by venting negative opinions before we've even opened the box top on their new products. Again, this comment is not directed at anyone in particular, rather it is just my overall view of the topic....TIM

Just a quick headsup here...the original Mustang concept vehicle was a midship mounted four cylinder (actually a V4 IIRC), but that was not the vehicle kitted by IMC/Testors/Lingberg. THAT vehicle was the Mustang II Concept, which was a slightly exagerrated version of the real Mustang production car, that was unveiled about six months (roughly) before the production debut. That concept has a very nice 289 Ford with several induction options in the kit, but it is a normal front engine/rear drive configuration. TB PS - if it were me, I'd use the 2004 Ford GT powertrain in yoru Fox buildup. Again, IIRC, the Polar Lights GT kit has a reasonably accurate though simplified engine....someone correct me on this if I;m wrong, please! TB

John...the Dunn and Reath Satellite and the Kenz and Leslie '67 Comet do it for me. Great models! TIM

Ditto! Outstanding....TIM

Tom....I can't recall the exact date of the ORS diorama...it was either 1963, 64 or 65. So it's just possible your memory is correct and mine is wrong! I do vaguely recall a T-shirt booth somewhere in the diorama, and there's even a 1/25th scale (let's see, 25 x 25 = 1/625th scale in real life!) slot car racing track along the back wall. The detail is just astounding....and that's not even mentioning all the precise model replicas of the real cars at the show. Truly a great model car building team effort. TIM

A Visit to the International Model Car Builder's Museum There's only one place like it in the entire world. The International Model Car Builder's Museum is located in Sandy, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City), and features a spectacular collection of the best historic model cars created by such world famous builders as Augie Hiscano, Dave Shuklis, Jim Keeler, Don Emmons, Phil Jensen, and many, many others. Special attention has been paid to collecting the winners from the national model car contests of the 1960's. More recently, winners from the Greater Salt Lake Model Car Contest, considered today to be the world's most difficult and presitigious model car competiion, are also displayed. In addition, there is a priceless collection of artifacts from the world of model cars, including one-off manufacturer castings of tool masters for kits that were never produced. Finally, the Museum houses the 1/25th scale Oakland Roadster Show diorama, the most ambitious group modeling project ever undertaken my members of our hobby, which replicates in precise detail the Oakland, California Roadster Show circa 1963, including replicas of the cars in the show. Even replicas of the T-shirt booths and signs hanging from the rafters of the old Oakland Coliseum building can be seen in the diorama. Quite a few of these pictures were taken looking through the glass of the display cases, so sometimes the focus and depth of field is compromised. But for sake of completeness, I've posted all the photos from my visit. In all, I can't recommend highly enough that all model car builders make the pilgrimmage to Sandy, Utah, at least once during your model building career. For more details on the International Model Car Builder's Museum, see http://www.themodelcarmuseum.org/ (This is the source file from which I drew the photography for my article on the International Model Car Builder's Museum that appeared in Model Cars Magazine a couple of years ago.) Thanks for looking....TIM Here's the link: http://public.fotki....national-model/

Gus...the entire chassis frame suspension engine come from the AMT Tommy Ivo front engine dragster. TIM

This was a kit idea I recommended to AMT way back in 1975 when I was doing contract work for them. I never, ever thought I would see this one in the shelves. It was also on my list of recommendations for Revell that was submitted five years ago now. So like the rest of us, I am overjoyed with this new kit....TB

http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-rail-dragsters/boyd-rail-dragsters/... and here are a few of the detail shots....again..full details at the link, and remember, some of these models are over 40 years old so they don't fully represent today's build quality!

Guys....just got done photographing my entire 1/25th scale rail dragster collection...16 cars in all...and they are all posted at this link with four to five shots of each (overall, engine detail, interior detail, cowling removed where applicable): http://public.fotki....rail-dragsters/ You'll find everything from the earliest front engine dragsters to the final and incredibly graceful LWB front engine rails, to several tandem engine dragsters, and finally to the rear engine (really, mid engine) format that evolved quickly into today's rail dragsters. These builds date from completion dates of 1974-2011, and represent dragsters from about 1961 to the year 2000. Here are a few teaser pics - again, see the link for a total of 87 pictures. And thanks for looking! TIM

....of course, mine were both started circa 1968 or 1969, and they both remain uncompleted some 43 years later....here they are, and thanks for looking. TIM *******************: 1. This is the Revell Big Deal body paired w/ a totally scratchbuilt rear engine dragster frame incorporating two 289 Stude V8's mounted side by side using the setup from the AMT Double Dragster kit. Hmmm....'53 Stude Miss Deal body...tandem side by side v8's using the Double Dragster parts....Hmmm (see Cobraman's post below). Still not finished...maybe someday. . 2. ....this was a project I started after I got a letter from Car Model Magazine way back in 1969 offering the opportunity to submit "how to articles". Never mind that I had no way of photographing said articles, I started three projects, only one of which was finished (many years later, around 1988). This one is an AMT '53 Stude, chopped per the kit, paired with the chassis from the Revell Big Deal Stude and the SOHC Ford engine from the AMT '33 Willys. The frame lightening holes were drilled with a Dremel without a speed control (really bad idea but I didn't know it at the time), the rear axle is from the Big Deal with scratchbuilt coils, and the front crossmember and upper frame tubing were also scratchbuilt. .

Wow...now that is sharp! TIM

Very cool!!! TIM

Guys...really interesting contributions on this topic. If youi go back to the link to my Fotki file, on the first post in this thread, and go to page three of the Fotki folder, you'll see a bunch of photos of 1.1 scale Triumphs. At least a couple of the photos (close to the end), show the ignition wires running to a component that seems to be replicated on the scale Triumphs, and was the basis for my wiring approach. Another interesting point, the AMT Triumph appears to me (based on reference data) to be a duplicate of the 1962 Triumph 650 Bonneville motorcycle, and the Revell unit seems relatively similar. This would support my guess that these are pre-starter unit bikes based on the information in the posts above. . Another interesting followup would be for someone with the Revell 1/8 scale Triumph Custom Motorcycle kit, dating from 1963/4, to scan a copy of the instruction sheet as these kits featured full wiring detail and wiring charts. Again, thanks all for your interest and comments. TIM

http://public.fotki....concours-deleg/ Link to 330 pictures from the 2012 Concours d'elegance of America at St. Johns (formerly Meadowbrook Concours). A fantastic event this year. Thanks for looking....TIM