tim boyd

Wow. Wow! WOW!!!! Great work John. TIM

The first issue of this kit (in 1960) had only the tuck'n'roll interior and the seperate bucket seats for the coupe. The first major retooling of the kit (in 1965) included a re-engraving of the tuck'n'roll tub to the diamond pleat, and all subsequent reissues up until the new Round 2 had the diamond pleat. The kit was never available with both the tuck'n'roll and diamond pleat together in one kit box. Best regards....TIM

Well it seems my computer does not like the new Board hardware here....the screens to insert the links are too far to the left of the screen....so anyway if you want to cut and past the URL....here it is. http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/2010-detroit-cobo-a/2010-detroit-cobo-a/ Sorry for the difficulties....TIM

As shown in my article in the other Model Mag about on '70 Boss 302....Mustangs of this era showed underbodies in primer gray, primer rust, or what is called "slop" which was a primer apparently put together with the accumulated factory overspray from the exterior color paint booths, and manifested itself as varied shades of grayish/bluish/purplish/greenish primers depending on the car and what colors had been shot on the assembly line in the preceeding period. In any case, the bodycolor overspray from the sides of the car did carry over onto the bottom, as correctly shown in several of the photos above. Hope this helps...TIM

Chuck....it would be a crime against humanity (well, almost) if that kit doesn't have a full, stand-alone engine. Bob....thanks for the scoop....that's a really big piece of news in my view.... TIM

Great choice Gregg......TIM

Cheeezzzz Harry....I have a 2010 GT convert just like Gregg's (even the same wheels) except it's a different color....what is it about Mutang GT's and model builders???? TIM

Heh JB....thanks for the feedback on the article. Your's is looking mighty sharp! That bright yellow is probably a whole 'lot safer out on the scale salt flats than my metallic blue which would kind of fade into the distance. Congrats on a fine build...TIM

Not long ago I ran across a full page ad for the "McCulloch 300 Racing Kart" in the June, 1962 issue of Car Craft (p.12). The simularities between this Kart and the AMT Kart are many - leading me to now conjecture that the AMT Kart was based on a McCulloch Kart chassis (as well as McCulloch engine), probably the immediate predecessor to this "300" Kart which is billed as "new" in the ad (and thus would have postdated the intro of the AMT '62 kits). On another board RICHNV has just posted a picture of a mini bonneville streamliner from the December 1961 issue of Hot Rod, that while not identical to the AMT streamliner body, certainly has many simularities and could have influenced the AMT team to include this addition in the '63 F100 AMT kit. Best regards....TIM

Correct. It is also on the panel ahead of the hood,in the center of the "outline circle" decal, and on the trunk (IIRC) on the far right edge. My factory ordered 1.1 scale '74 RR had them in those four locations. TIM

Mine came in the mail last night (ordered directly from Round 2). As suggested above, it has the right instrument panel and the right dual exhaust chassis (the builder must shorten the rear of the chassis - takes all of about one minute I reckon. The decal sheet is especially nice - all three factory colors of the hood and the fender/roof stripe (yeah - now Bill and I can both build our stock 1/1 scale '74 RR's - his with the white stripe, mine with the red stripe). There are two complete sets of correct air cleaner decals, with both 340 (for '73) and 360 (for '74), 400, and 440. There are very finely registed hood stripe displacement callouts, and roadrunner cutout lettering for the side stripes. I could not however find the "bird" decal which should be in the center of the front circle logo, the side stripe and on the trunk lid. Body looks nice, molded in white, but those who ordered the Exterior Decor Group (that includes Bill and I) will have to wing the wheel opening moldings on our own. Nice box art and the Dukes tie-in should certainly help sell some kits. Bottom line, nicest reissue since the original annual kit and by far the best decal sheet ever. TIM PS - the kit still has the 400 four barrel and non-stock tri-power, but the engine displacement decals are correct for all the optional engines in '73/'74. TB

Mine came in the mail last night (ordered directly from Round 2). As suggested above, it has the right instrument panel and the right dual exhaust chassis (the builder must shorten the rear of the chassis - takes all of about one minute I reckon. The decal sheet is especially nice - all three factory colors of the hood and the fender/roof stripe (yeah - now Bill and I can both build our stock 1/1 scale '74 RR's - his with the white stripe, mine with the red stripe). There are two complete sets of correct air cleaner decals, with both 340 (for '73) and 360 (for '74). There are very finely registed hood stripe displacement callouts, and roadrunner cutout lettering for the side stripes. I could not however find the "bird" decal which should be in the center of the front circle logo, the side stripe and on the trunk lid. Body looks nice, molded in white, but those who ordered the Exterior Decor Group (that includes Bill and I) will have to wing the wheel opening moldings on our own. Nice box art and the Dukes tie-in should certainly help sell some kits. Bottom line, nicest reissue since the original annual kit and by far the best decal sheet ever. TIM

According to my sources, the chassis is corrected, the interior instrument panel is corrected, and for the first time ever the kit has correct 1974 hood and side/roof graphics, in black, white, and YES....red (my real 1/1 scale factory ordered '74 360 HiPo was black with red stripes). TIM

Showed up here today as well. Dave Thibodeau's Mopar Matco Tools Funny Car is the cover spread. TIM

George is right. Steve's Berkeley Jet Drive parts are way cool. He even includes a "Berkeley" decal and a perfectly molded Berkeley emblem. Plus instructions on how to wire up (hoses and reverser) the jet drive. Highly, highly recommended. TIM

Following up on one of the other threads here regarding 1/25th scale drag and ski boat kits and models, here are some photos of a project I completed about a year ago. The original boat hull was a project started long ago by Jarius, whom gracefully agreed to sell it to me (you'll see his original black "carpet" was preserved in my build). The Berkeley Jet Drive and seating are resin castings from Steve Perry (of '33 Willys Prock and Howell and Frieght Train GSL winners fame). The wood decking is a custom decal sheet by Sean Svensson. Steve has submitted a how-to story on his "Better Idea" ski boat using the same jet drive and seating components to Gregg.....hopefully one of these days it may see print. It's a really cool build. Thanks for looking....TIM And here's a comparison with the stock AMT Hull Raiser: Here's the link to about 36 photos of the model: 1/25th scale Berkeley Jet Drive Ski Boat Album

After I built the Revell '32 Five Window kit for a kit review, I went back and made some minor changes to the model. I wired the engine, added bigger tires (from the Revell '32 Ford Roadster Highboy) on the rear, and tweaked a couple of other items. Here is the model as it sits now, and a link to my Fotki file with photos of the kitbash. Thanks for looking....TIM And in a comparison with the Revell '32 Three Window I built from a Test Shot for the first-ever magazine coverage of this kit series. Photo Album - Revell '32 Five Window Minor Kitbash

Very, very nicely done. Way to go! TIM BOYD

This '74 RR in Silver Frost Metallic looks HOT!. But remember that the Super Commando air cleaner decals were last used in '71....after that both Dodge and Plmouth performance small blocks and big blocks used the "corporate pie pan" air cleaner decoration instead of the make-specific air cleaner decals. BTW, here's a photo of my REAL factory-ordered '74 RR with the 360 hipo engine....

Driver,,,,those wood panels are WAY sharp....TIM BOYD

Couple of comments on this very interesting thread... First, some of you have mentioned that the '67-'69 Barracuda was the first "real" pony car from Chrysler, and like you, I like this car, particularly the '67 and '68 fastbacks. But if you really wanna weep over what "might have been", check out the Barracuda "SX" concept car from 1967. Sources suggest this is the REAL Barracuda that the MoPar Design Studio created for '67-69, but it required too many changes from the Valiant/Dart platform (most likely in the very expensive cowl/windshield area), and ultimately it was turned down for production. During the debate, the car fell behind schedule and the car we finally got (which bears a vague resemblance to some of the SX design themes), hit the market in mid November 1966, two months behind the normal 1967 model intros. By the way, if you don't find pictures of the "SX", I'll just say it would have made the '68 GTO look like old grapes if the "SX" had hit the market for the 1967 model year. AND it would have fundamentally altered how the Pony Car market developed. As it was, the use of the carryover Dart/Valiant cowl height and windshield on the '67-'69 Barracuda continued to limit its visual appeal vs. the Mustang and new Camaro. Chrysler didn't really get a true ponycar until the '70 Cuda and Challenger, and by then it was too late. Yet another missed opportunity, unfortunately for Chrysler. And, one of the posts above suggests that the Corvair suddenly started outselling the Falcon, and that is one of the reasons why the Mustang was approved. If you go back and check the year sales figures, my recollection is that the Corvair never even came close to outselling the Falcon. In fact, the Corvair was an utter sales disaster compared to the Falcon, whicy is why GM rushed the Chevy II to the market in 1962. What WAS happening was that among the lackluster Corvair sales, the sporty Monza version was comprising more and more of the sales base (at the expense of the lesser series), and that definiately caught everyone's attention in the industry. Best regards all....TIM

Sean and Dave - When do you think this will be in the hobby stores....may want to use those "High Roller" decals on a project currently underway....thanks TIM

Torgny....this is an incredible project. I can't believe the way you wrapped the wood around the edgesof the hull....particularly along the rear. The dual Cadillac approach is very inventive. Can't wait to see the finished project. TIM BOYD

.....it was what is mentioned on the side of the coffee cup that was given out to all participants. It reads "the original NNL Nationals....30 years of friendship". Through the NNL Nationals we've stayed in touch with many people who we would have long ago lost track of otherwise....and I think that's pretty special. I don't know who came up with the idea of this wording on the coffee cup but whoever it was, all I can say is "right on". TIM