tim boyd

JB...right you are. If you don't need the plated parts, or can use Alclad II. Norm's Triumph is the way to go....TIM

Fan...I just found in my references library a list compiled by Norm Veber (Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland) of the AMT Triumph Bonneville Motorcycle parts included in AMT's 1962 Annual kits. According to that list, all four wheel halves of the Triumph motorscyle were in the AMT 1962 Thunderbird Hardtop annual kit. Maybe you could find one of those kits (even a cheap gluebomb kit on eBay.com might have the part), in case the PIF referenced earlier does not materialize for some reason. Best regards....TIM

Greg...presuming that is a Flathead Ford....very, very, very cool and super-original. What's the backstory on this model? TIM

Greg....my point exactly. They've become the "knee jerk" powertrain solution for '32 Ford builds. I have no issue with historic hot rod replicas/recreations based in the late 1950's through mid 1960's when 283 and 327 Chevy engines really were the best choice for 1/1 scale builders. First Gen Early OHV V-8's (Hemis, Olds, Buick Nailheads, and Ford/LIncoln Y-Blocks) are all cool as well. But beyond those genres, Ford engines should be found in Ford street rods. If you're in the 1940's or early 1950's, there's many great Ford Flathead V8 choices; beyond the mid 1960's there's 289, 351W, 351C, 427,428, 429, and 460 Fords that all are better choices than SBC's for 1/1 scale and 1/25th scale Ford street rods. 1/1 scale Street Rods have become way too generic,and plopping in an SBC just adds to the generic-ness. People always used to defend their SBC's by saying they were less expensive than Fords, and could be made to run faster than Fords, and fit the '32 Ford engine compartment better than Fords. That was all true for many years, but it's no longer true now - the 5.0L Ford V8 has literally revolutionized the engine aftermarket over the last 20 years, and Ford engines won both categories in this year's Popular Hot Rodding Magazine Maxiumum Horsepower Builders competition. I realize many disagree with me on this, but that's my view and I'm holding to it. At least until we see a bunch of Ford 5.0L V8-powered '69 Camaros and Tri-Five Chevies materialize! Best regards...TIM

Bandit...it will be all new tooling from what I understand. The decision to add this to their catalog was taken shortly before the October '11 Hobby Show, again from what I understand, so it will be some time before the kit appears (I usuallly plan on about a year, if there are no problems requiring retooling before it is released). This kit should have a number of pretty cool parts that will make it well worth waiting for. But if it was me doing it, I would substitute a blown 5.0L Ford engine for the lame SBC in the 1.1 scale car. (Until we start to see lots of '69 Camaros with 5.0L Ford engines, Chevy engines have no business being in Ford street rods. That's my POV and I'm sticking to it! TIM

...and here's a shot of the AMT Triumph Bonnevillle (build in the custom version from the '63 Apache kit - the "custom" parts being the ape hangers, the seat, and the rear tailamp), As noted above, the front wheels are similar to the '27 T Tub fronts. More pictures of this one and all my 1/25th bikes are at this link: http://public.fotki....-scale-cycles-/

Here's my 100% box stock build of this '27 T Tub from the original '27 T/XR-6 kit. More pictures at the link....thanks for looking. TIM http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/boyd-street-rods-ra/

Fan....Thosee front wheels have a drum brake cast in them, like the front wheel of a 1960's motorcycle. I don't recall seing them in any other AMT kit from that era. They do look similar to (though I can not verify that they are the same as) the front wheels in the AMT 1962 Triumph Bonneville 'bike that was in the 1963 AMT Chevy Pickup kit and offered (with a few pieces in each kit) as a bonus in some of the AMT '62 annual kits. Better news on the rear wheels and the Fronty engine. The correct rears are Halibrands, fairly deep offest, with small windows, These wheels and the Fronty can be found in almost all the reissues of the '27T Tub kit, including the most recent Vintage Police Car version from Stevens International in 2007. Those wheels have always been a favorite of mine. I buit this kit just a couple of years ago. I'll see if I can post pictures, and someday I plan to get around to writing an article on it. Enjoy and have a great time with your build....TIM

OK Terry, I bit. Or, to be more accurate, bought. Ordered one from Don a couple of nights ago based on your original post above....I am sure surprised to see a kit of this car....er...truck. Now...who's gonna do a '67 to '72 Ford F150? TIM

Not sure if we're talking past each other, but the source of the "Wiktor" name used on the cutout is disclosed in my post at the bottom of page 11 of this thread. Apparently Mr. Wiktor's time at AMT predates my involvement with the team at Maple Road AMT, and I think my time working with them corresponds to Art's time working with them (more or less), though we did not know each other back then. TIM

Today I took a few minutes to build the cardboard background from the new Round 2 reissue of the Manx kit and pose that Model Cars poster car on the background. Here's how it looks.....TIM By the way, if you've never heard of the Wiktor drive-in chain, it's because it doesn't exist. The name came from AMT's former Art Director Ken Wiktor. During the 1960's and early 1970's, a number of AMT's decal sheets included such "insider" messages...a sure sign of a team having fun! TIM

John, exact same experience here. TIM

Wow! WOW! WOWWW!!!! Great work, John, congratulations.....TIM

Thanks everyone for your feedback. This was a really enjoyable and relatively quick (as least as my builds typically go) project. If any of you do your own 1/25th scale drag or ski boat projects, please post them here or send the pictures to me. Thanks again...TIM

I've received quite a bit of positive feedback on my article in the most recent issue of Model Cars featuring a kitbashed Revell Hemi Hyrdo boat. If you enjoyed that article, you may want to check on the 30-+ how-to steps involved in creating this dual-engined, center cockpit drag boat inspired by several real 1/1 scale boats of a similar design back in the 1960's. Included are basic and advanced bodywork, basic engine wiring, building an engine subframe, and an overview of the nine-color metalflake panel paint job, plus plenty of photos of the finished project. It's all posted at my Fotki site an this link: http://public.fotki....oyd-online-how/ Here are a few teaser photos and the captions that go with them.... Back in the day, you couldn’t be much cooler than to have a drag or ski boat hooked up to your El Camino or Ranchero pickup. Let’s revisit those days by demonstrating the steps for building a custom-designed, dual-engined drag boat in 1/25th scale ************* To someone who wasn’t there in the 1960’s, the idea of a how-to article on a Drag Boat may seem a strange diversion for a hobby called "Model Cars". But to others, this could be a welcome reminder of just how much drag and ski boats were a part of the car-guy/hot-rod scene back then. In a retrospective article, Hot Rod DeLuxe noted in its November, 2011 issue that its namesake, Hot Rod magazine extensively covered the drag boat scene back in the 1960’s. Back then, no one had a better finger on the pulse of the automotive market than Hot Rod magazine, and if you made the cover, you were it! And sure enough, a drag boat was the lead cover image on the cover of the September, 1966 issue. Yet another hint of how hot drag boats were back then is that in AMT Corporation’s 4 page (!) ad at the front of the June, 1963 issue of Car Craft magazine, their new Rayson-Craft Trophy Series Drag and Ski Boat kit was featured in three separate “advertorial articles”. Yes, Drag Boats were big – real big! For both those who remember, and those of you who are new to all this, we’re featuring a drag boat kitbash here as an On-Line How-To. It’s based on the Model King/AMT-Ertl reissue of a combo kit featuring the old AMT “Hull Raiser” Drag Boat along with the MPC 1970 Pontiac Bonneville convertible (kit #21547P, issued in 2005). It’s combined with the engines, several other parts, and decals from the Round 2 reissue of the AMT “Drag Team” Double Dragster Special Edition (kit #AMT627, issued in 2010). For further information and ideas about this time when drag boats were nearly as popular as “T” Rods, Deuce Coupes, and Gassers, I recommend you buy the book Drag Boats of the 1960’s by Don Edwards (Iconographix, 2008). Additionally, you may want to check out the 1/25th scale Ski and Drag Boat Models folder at the writer’s personal Fotki site ( http://public.fotki....ts/boyd-boats-/ ), which features 13 other 1/25th scale drag and ski boat projects. So are you ready to splash a bunch of 1/25th scale water? I am! Let’s go! ************************** Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy the story at the link....TIM

Updates....the original link in my message was on the business card from the ModelCave....like you it goes to a non-correct website for me, so either use the facebook link posted above, or even better, look at the AnnArbor.com story on the business (see the linnk posted in the responses above) which is a link from the Ann Arbor newspaper on a full story about the business and model car kits in general. The two Ann Arbor Riders stores (Liberty St. and Carpenter Road) are now closed. I recall hearing that one of the principals of the Carpenter Road store has joined with a Toy Store in Ann Arbor to offer some of the products of the prior store; I have not been there so I guess I should hold comments until I visit there. Meanwhile, model kit afficianadoes should check out the ModelCave. Trust me on this one. Best regards....TIM

Rob...Chuck and I were regular patrons of the old Riders stores in Ann Arbor; we knew the owners welll and even ran model contests for them every year. Long story short, the Riders Hobby Stores were eventually franchised and were all across Southern Michigan, but have now dwindled to just two stores, one in Flint and one in Grand Rapids, owned and operated by an employee of the original Riders. The good news is that these are extraoridinarily well run hobby stores - much like the original Liberty St. store in Ann Arbor but much, much larger. I was talking with the owner at the NNL Detroit a few weeks back, and he reports that his model car kit business has really been picking up. The main difference between Riders and the ModelCave is that the latter is pretty much Styrene kits and building supplies only, whereas Riders is a full line hobby store. TIM

Thanks to a tip from my modeling co-conspirator Chuck Helppie, I visited a new store dedicated almost exclusively to styrene kits. It's located in Ypsilanti, Michigan (between Detroit and Ann Arbor). It's called the "ModelCave" and it's located on the SE corner of Michigan Ave. and Huron St. (103 W. Michigan, 48197, 734-316-2281, www.modelcave.com). For those traveling from nearby towns, take I-94 to the Ypsi Huron Street exit, go North about 1 mile to Michigan Ave (large intersection). Turn left, look to your left, and there it is. When I was there last weekend, they had what is probably the widest choice of current and recent model car kits in SE MIchigan, plus they had some old kits at very reasonable prices - for instance, original issue Revell '89 TBird Super Coupes at around $19, and some kits dating back to the early 1970's. They also had a large display of Humbrol enamels - virtually impossible to find in this part of the country. The proprietor seemed very knowledgeable and helpful. This is exactly what we need, a great place to buy model car kits. Check it out at your earliest convenience. Best regards...TIM

A fully correct and properly accessorized (from the factory) 1970 'cuda is one of the few remaing "low hanging fruit" kit topics left for the kit manufacturers to mine. Let's hope one of them picks up the ball and runs with it! TIM

Actually, there was a plan for a second gen Hemi under the Chrysler nameplate. It's been well documented that Chrysler was developing a C-body application of the Hemi for use in the Dodge Monaco 500 and Chrysler 300 in the 1966 model year. There were even a few parts prototyped and manufactured (including a C-body exhaust manifold) before the plan was cancelled in early 1965. According to some accounts, the C-body Hemi was to undergo further development for the 1967 model year including a tri-power (three carb) variant in place of the dual quads and tuning that would have allowed a factory application with air conditioning, and possibly an increase in displacement to 440 cubic inches. The 1966 versions are well documented, the 1967 plans are less documented. I wrote more about this in an article I did for the other magazine a couple of years ago (including a list of references) along with an accompanying "On Line Extra". TIM

When Gary originally did the '48, he had it engineered in such a way that it could be used as the basis for a '41 at a later point in time, from what I recall. So....if that coupe is on the horizon, wouldn't it be killer if it was a '41 instead of a '48? (The '41 Chevy was probably the single most beautiful pre- WWII Chevy of all time, at least in my humble opinion.....TIM

Thanks Pete. Best regards....TIM

PLenty of pictures of two of the three cars featured in the Scale Auto Enthusiast article are at this link: http://public.fotki....atro/page5.html Here are a couple of pictures: http://images17.fotk...DSC_0892-vi.jpg http://images29.fotk...DSC_0378-vi.jpg Best regards...TIM

Pete - Here's your answer. "Is there really a Highboy Heaven?", pp. 38-41, Scale Auto Enthusiast, Issue #26, July/August 1983 (with a Kenworth Aerodyne on the cover). There may have been other articles on this subject, but this is the one I remember... Best regards....TIM

Ira....very creative and engaging project there. Looks great! Congratulations and best regards....TIM