tim boyd

What John said above, plus one other big oops. The front grille insert for the 1969 update of this kit does not do a very good job of replicating the 1/1 scale car appearance. I know this because I just completed a buildup up the kit and did my best to work around the problem. Result was better, but not great. TB

This one was built about 15 or so years ago. It used the AMT 1929 Model A body, an extended tubular frame derived from the Revell Henry J/Austin/'43 Willys Pickup gasser kits tooling, an interior with parts sourced from the AMT 1940 Willys Gasser kit, the tri-carb Nailhead Buick from the original AMT 1932 Ford Custom/1940 Willys Gasser double kit, headers from the Revell Nailhead Buick Engine Parts Pack, suicide front and transverse leaf rear suspension (IIRC) from the Monogram Little T/follow-up reissues, Halibrand Quick Change rear from an I-don't-remember kit source, 1958 Chevy Bel Air tailamps and bezels, and IIRC not quite period correct Buick Riviera wheel covers on skinny tall/n/taller aftermarket sourced dual sided whitewalls. The trunk was cut out and hinged and filled with 1960s car show type display content. The paint is MCW Automotive Finishes 1959 Buick Lido Lavendar Metallic. Thanks for checking it out...TIM Finally, a comparison shot or two of this project alongside a box stock build of the later Revell Hot Rod Channeled Model A Roadster....

Here are some photos of one of my earlier kitbashes of the Revell Channeled Model A Roadster. This one has an AMT/Ertl Ford FE V8, chopped windshield, chopped Deuce grille shell with photo-etched grille from The Model Car Garage, parts box instrument panel gauges, polished aluminum firewall, lowered front suspension, Halibrand Quick Change diff, and MCW Automotive Finishes 1957 Lincoln code 17 Bermuda Coral paint, and wheels/tires from the Revell Miss Deal Stude kit. (This one would have really benefitted from the rear wheel well revisions seen in my latest red 1929 Channeled Roadster posted elsewhere in this forum folder.) Thanks for looking.....TIM Update - found some historical info on this project. The tri-carb FE 352 cubic inch (the 390, 406, and 427 would look the same) engine came from the AMT/Ertl 1960 Ford Starliner kit. Mods include the 390 Interceptor valve covers from two of the AMT Hull Raiser Ski/Drag Boat (or its 3 reissues) wherein the chrome tree retains one of the valve covers from the previous AMT Rayson Craft Trophy Series kits - you need two of to the Hull Raiser kits to get a complete set of the valve covers for one engine, a plated oil pan from the FE 390 engine option in the AMT 1934 Ford Pickup, and the air cleaner from the Caddy engine option in the AMT 1949 Ford Coupe....the prewired distributor came from Morgan Automotive Details. The fuel lines and fuel block assembly is found in the AMT/Ertl kit; it is well detailed even if a bit out of scale. All the white styrene bits visible here must have come from sloppy cleanliness on my modeling desk!

Skip....thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts and insight here. FWIW, I agree 100% that a Halibrand QC, transverse leaf spring, and Model A crossmember would have been far more period-typical, and had i had the time that would have been the next change to add to the build. (I think I mentioned this in one of the photo captions posted at my Fotki site; if I didn't, I should have). Although a Ford diff and coil overs would not have been technically impossible at that point in time, they certainly were not typical and to your point, not seen in any degree of regularity. Another area I was not completely happy with was the inclination of the intake manifold (and as a result) the carbs. Having been sourced from the AMT-Ertl replica of the 1966 Riviera, the manifold was designed to be rougly parallel with the ground, but sinnce the engine in that application was tilted downward to the rear, the intake's car mounting surfaces were angled to be lower at the front. Plop that manifold into the Revell Z'ed chassis, added to the slight forward rake I added, and the manifold/carbs tilt downward to the front. Not too realistic. When I did my post-completion mods to change the wheels and tires, I also tweaked the engine mounts and filed the manifold surfaces to make the carbs sit a little more parallel to the ground. See before/after pix below. The effect is pretty subtle (possibly not even noticeable), but at least I know I made an attempt to fix it. As for the grille shell, I previously built another Revell '29A Channeled roadster with many of the same changes, only that one did include the Deuce shell. So, this time I went with the Model A shell. As mounted, it sits a little lower than I might like. I prefer grille shells to be aligned with the leading edge of the cowl, such that if a hood was used, it would sit at the right angle. On this model, I would need to raise the grille shell perhaps 1/16" to achieve that. Oh well.... Finally, got to get rid of that shifter knob (about four times too big) and (while it is too late to do anything about it now), if I ever build another Revell channeled Roadster, I will route the steering column through a hole drilled in the dashboard, as it sits way too low/too close to the sea as built from the kit and mounted to the kit's column drop. Skip...sounds like you grew up in a wonderful environment and really cool to have you share your thoughts and memories with us on the forum. Thanks again...TIM Before... After....

Heh guys....thanks for the feedback and comments. This was my third build of the Revell Channeled '29A Roadster, and finally this time I think I got most of the desired changes (but maybe not quite all) covered this time around. Glad that the changes to the rear wheel wells were noticed and approved. That was the very first comment I made to Revell when they asked me to do a comprehensive review of the first round test shots, but at that point it was already too late to make the major retooling needed to replicate a factory stock wheel well treatment. This change is not too difficult IMHO, and as noted in the build thread link posted elsewhere in this forum under, I vaguely recall the basic approach was proposed in this very forum, sometime back when the kit first came out in 2015, by one of our forum participants. I found his proposed approach to have worked really well. (If anyone remembers who suggested it, please respond here so we can acknowledge his contribution by name! Thanks again and best to you all....TIM

Thanks for the comments and feedback, Dave. I was specifically aiming for a 1962-1964 time frame, so a 1964 HR mag feature would have been very time-line correct and sounds like that targeting came through loud and clear for you. I kinda feel the 9" Ford diff and coil overs are a little too contemporary for that era, though they would have been technically feasible then, but ran out of time to make a swap to a Halibrand QC et al. I have another period-specific project I just completed, targeted to represent a project that would have been completed in December 1966 or January 1967. Hopefully the build will be featured in MCM, sooner rather than later. We shall see....

All...thanks very much for your feedback on this post. I am really happy to hear that some of you found value in the "fixing the rear quarter panel" tutorial posted at my Fotki site; I often wonder whether it is worth it to go to the trouble of doing this type of work to document how to do these changes. It is especially helpful to know that you do see value in this. Best to you all....TIM

Bill...thanks for adding your comments. I look to you (as I am sure many others do) as a "godfather of sorts" on the topic of hot rod design and accuracy, and glad to know you approve of grille changes. Halfway expected you to tatoo me a bit on the unrealistic forward inclination of the intake manifold/carbs of the completed model as seen above. I did do some after the fact fine tuning and was able to somewhat improve the appearance as seen in the updated image below. Still, as always, some things I would do differently next time if I ever do this type of build again. Thx again for the feedback...TB

Bob...here's my notes on the wheel tire combo per your request... * Front wheels - Holthaus #W-120(?) Chrome Reverse Wheels (with tweaks for fit) * Front tires - Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland #T-50 Firestone 5:50-16 * Rear wheels - AMT 1965 Falcon Funny Car (A/FX kit) * Rear tires - Revell Rat Roaster and just reissued (modified w/o Rat Roaster parts) 1932 Ford Highboy Roadster Additional notes - - Both front and rear wheels were chrome plated as received - My notes on the front wheels and tires are a bit sketchy; please confirm before ordering - The Holthaus wheels were ordered back when Don and Carol were running the business; I do not know if they were or are among the wheel/tire products that remained available after they closed the business - The Revell '51 Anglia and '53 Stude "Miss Deal" tires could be a more widely available substitute for the R&M parts I used.... As regards those spark plug covers, I know of no kit or aftermarket source for those other than the original AMT '32 Ford Custom/'40 Willys Double Kit. Seems that would be a no-brainer for the aftermarket to replicate. Thanks for your questions and hope this helps, at least a bit....TB

Thanks Paul for that bit of info; did not know about that. You are correct about the folks at the model companies dropping hints like that back in the day. In fact, according to a now retired AMT Executive I interviewed for the "Collecting Drag Racing Model Kits" book, one AMT engineer actually had the entire model (box art theme, imagery and decal livery) named after an event involving him one evening back in the day. Out of respect (and because the specific person has not confirmed the story to me), I'm not going to reveal the supposed details. But if true, does yet again confirm something I've (and you've) observed over the years: these model company guys work hard, and yet know how to have fun too! TB

I've posted additional pictures of the completed model, including a different set of wheels and tires and some other fine tuning, at the "Under Glass" section of this forum. You can go directly there with this link....TIM

A recently finished mild kitbash of the Revell Hot Rod Model A Roadster, with some of the kit's channeled versions quirks addressed and finished with a vibe of a hot rod you might have seen in Hot Rod, Rod and Custom, or Car Craft magazine between 1962 and 1965. Tweaks from the kit version include a grille shell/radiator relocated rearward, a chopped windshield, rear quarters with the kit's non-stock radiused wheel wells revised to a factory stock condition, dual four-barrel intake/carbs from a 1966 425 Nailhead, open header blockoff plates, and slight forward rake, chromed reversed wheels and different tires front/rear, and more. You can read more details about this project (and see it with an earlier iteration of wheels and tires) at this link in the "On the Workbench" section of this forum....thanks for looking! TIM

As most of you know, Revell's Hot Rod Model A Roadster kit is generally a fine piece of work; allowing the builder to construct either a Highboy roadster with a 1932 Ford frame, or a Channeled Roadster using a "Z'ed" Model A frame. The Highboy version stands well on its own, but the Channeled version, built straight from the box, has a few odd features that slightly detract from the impact of the finished model. The changes needed to correct those are pretty easy. In my On-Line How-To #31 feature at my Fotki site, you can read the details of the changes I made from the box-stock configuration in the background to the revised version in the foreground. Thanks for looking, and good luck with your projects involving this Revell kit....TIM

Yep...that would be me. That sure was a long, long time ago - 53 years! - yet in some ways it seems just like yesterday.....TB

Thanks Steve for weighing in on this one with a proper reality check....TB

Bill...very sharp; especially that paint layout. That was quiet a project in itself, I am sure. I don't recall what I used as a hitch and receiver for the trailer. It was probably just a simple hitch from a model car kit. Next time I get a chance i will check it out and see if I can offer any more details...TIM

Jack...close but not quite. They are "I.C.M.A" (International Model Car Association) decals. This was a group formed in the late 1960s and publicized by Car Model magazine, but supposed to be an independent organization. Tom Woodruff (who watches this forum) was ICMA member #7; I was member #5053. They were instrumental in the early days of the MPC National Model Car Contest series that ran from 196901979. I believe these decals were only distributed to those who joined the club...but i could be mistaken on that. Best...TIM

I've been following this thread with a good deal of interest. For those that do not know that much about how the car kit industry works, there is much to learn here. Good knowledge from informed sources to be had. Having said that, personally I just don't see any overlap between the new Revell Boss 351 and the prior AMT and MPC 1971 Mustang kits as kit subjects. The Revell Boss 351 kit, in my humble opinion, (and it is an opinion, so take that into account), sets a new and very high worldwide standard for 1/24th/1/25th scale kits replicating the original muscle car era. On the other hand, those original AMT and MPC 1971/72 Mustang annual kits were not anywhere near state-of-the-art annual kits, even when they were new back in the day, starting with the fact that none of the engines under the hoods were even remotely factory correct. As for the bodies, all you have to do is start reading Rex's litany of errors in both of those original annual kits posted in this forum over the years. Could those kits be made into a realistic model today? Yes, with a ton of time and effort and considerable kit bashing skills, but even then, I doubt the result would be anywhere near comparable to the new Revell kit built straight from the box with paint detailing only.... So, do all three kits attempt to replicate the original 1/1 subject? Yes, but that is just about all they have in common. Otherwise, they are universes apart. And I respectfully suggest anyone who disagrees to take the time to build the new Revell side by side with either of the original AMT or MPC kits and then revisit the subject.... Meanwhile, I also fully support Round 2's effort to bring to market, via their cloning approach, kits of more specialized topics that would not justify the business case of creating an all-new tool up to the standards of today's leading-edge products. In our enthusiasm for our hobby, we often forget that the kitmakers are businesses. They have limited resources (time, money, personnel) and can only survive and thrive if they make sound business decisions about deploying these resources. And as some of you have commented, today's market for 1/25th scale model kits is a mere fraction of what it was back in the day, and also a mere fraction of all the overall hobby kit universe (military, aircraft, sci-fi, Gundam, et al). Bottom line? It's a very limited volume opportunity, and a very limited business opportunity. With this cloning kit development approach, I would never rule out the possibility of a newly tooled clone of old kits from any manufacturer, but I would also suspect that cloning old Jo-Han tools (irrespective of copyright and licensing issues) or that really mediocre original Revell 1969/1970 annual kit convertible/hardtop, would be well down the list of potential opportunities. Just wait until you see what they have up their sleeve over the next year or two to see what i mean. But the Round 2 team has surprised me before so never say never! Meanwhile, good, respectful and interesting dialogue in this thread...Good job, guys! TB

This was a project I had been planning for a long time and finally began the year I had planned to retire. It was initially discussed and agreed to be an article in the other old model car magazine, but after the Editor saw the length and the content of the competed article, he changed his mind. Fortunately Harry P. and the MCM crew here grabbed it and it ran as a two-parter sometime around 2014 (I can look up the exact issues if anyone needs to know). It included step by step photos showing how to avoid some of the kit issues, as originally described (but not photographed) by Phil Jensen in his "Tidewater Trucker" column in Car Model Magazine, c. 1972-ish. Most of the photos here were taken after completion of the article, and reflect a few refinements "after the fact" including a better job of matching the trailer's wheels to those of the truck. It's been ten years ago now, but I can still attempt to answer any questions you have. A few pictures below; many more at this link. Thanks for checking it out....TB ***** Completed project with Transporter body from the AMT Louisville Liner Richard Petty Kit and the Trailer from a Monogram combo kit (Chevy Van and Trailer) with added upper body (IIRC) o match the transporter body... The decals were commissioned and were a nod to my two best modeling buddies...Ohio's Tom Woodruff and the late Chuck Helppie... Cab with factory sleeper (sourced from the model truck aftermarket) and A/C... That awesome 534 cubic inch Super Duty V8... With a few different "loads".... BW, anybody know what those strange circular white/blck/blue/red decals are???? Thanks for checking these out....as mentioned, many more pix at the link above....TIM

Here's the info I promised earlier on the additional mid-year colors that became available in 1971 1/2 on Mustangs in general.... ********** Four 1972 Ford colors are thought to have been pulled ahead to the 1971 Mustang at mid-year: Bright Lime (Code 4E), Light Yellow Gold/aka “Gold” (Codes 0 & 6B), Medium Bright Yellow (Codes 2 & 6E) and Gold Glow/aka Gold Glamour Metallic (Code 6F). But except for a few Boss 351s built with Gold Glow paint and three Boss 351s reportedly built with specially-ordered 1970 Calypso Coral (Code 1) paint, it is unknown whether any Boss 351s were built with the other three mid-year colors. Any Boss 351s with special (non-regular production) paints had the painted racing mirrors deleted, and replaced with the standard, non-racing mirror(s). For your reference, shown below are bodies painted (L-R) with the above referenced Bright Lime, Medium Bright Yellow, and Calypso Coral colors (though not always on '71/'72 Mustang bodies, obviously... BTW, I built Revell’s kit with Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red over gray primer, a very close match to regular production 1971 Code 3 Bright Red. For those that care about this level of detail (no doubt some would say "needless trivia", instead), recommend you print out this and Rex's earlier post showing the color chip images and file them with Larry Greenberg's review of this kit in the new Model Cars Mag #221. And note that Candy Apple Red was not an available Mustang color that year, at least based on sources that I have learned to trust over the years....TB

Travis....boy does that sound familiar!!!! TB

Dennis.....very, very clever. Surprised that they fit toether so well. Looks like another D>L> project I will need to keep my eyes on! Cheers....TB

Once again, I would really like to thank each of you that posted your comments and thoughts in this thread. It means a great deal to me that you all took the time to respond and write your thoughts in such a gracious manner, especially about condering what are now some very obscure tidbits of the hobby that we all enjoy so much. Cheers to you all....TIM

Travis....any further updates to share? Best....TIM

Daniel....really impressive work there, expecially that polished aluminum cockpit surround. Bravo! TIm