tim boyd

Just to reiterate/reinforce a couple of posts above, for 1979, the first year of the fox body mustang, the V8 engine was the 5.0:/302, paired with either a 3-speed auto or a 4-speed manual overdrive. As a then-new Ford employee, I ordered one for myself around August 1978 and took delivery in October, 1978. Like Keith's above, mine was a Ghia Coupe (not hatchback) but with a 4-speed manual OD, in Medium Red Glow with a Red Velour inerior, lift-up roof glass, and the MIchelin/TRX wheel/tire package.... (Scroll down to see 2 pix of it..) I also briefly drove a 1979 Indy Pace Car 5.0 auto as a company car, and an '81 Cobra hatchback as a company car, it was the 255 V8 with the Recaro seats. Compared to my own 1979 Chia and that Indy Pace Car, the 255 was a DOG. Two years later I had a company car '83 GT with the 4bbl. 5.0...notably faster than my own 1979 and worlds ahead of that '81 255. Later again, a lease car 1986 LX Convertible SEFI 5.0L 5-speed manual...faster still. Was so exciting to see Ford return to performance cars in the 1980s////TB

Again I want to reminder everybody that the AMT 1970 Mach 1 body in both the annual kit and the Mach Won funny car kit has a non-stock treatment in the rear quarter panel just below the quarter window. It's actually pretty cool. For anyone wanting to do a showroom stock conversion, the area in question should be able to be converted to a showroom stock condition with just a bit of filing and sanding (e.g. no body filler - yeah!). Best of both worlds, in a way. TB

Yes....the longnose Mustang image in my book was a 1/1oth scale wood master. I have another image (also from John Mueller) of the same master, with Gene Winfield holding the body in a raised position over the tube frame, while smiling for the camera. I didn't use it in the book because I was unable to contact Mr. Winfield for his permission given the short time frame for the book's completion (it was pulled ahead a number of months at the request of the publisher....). TB

Del...that "Cross Boss" in-line intake/carb setup was an option in the Revell/Monogram 1970 Boss 302 kit... used it in my '32 Ford "smoothy" project from Street Rodder Modeler's corner late 1980s and finished project in 2020.... TB

Details of this heavily kitbashed project can be found in a 2021-ish 8-page story in the other model magazine that sometimes covers scale automotive topics.....

Mark is exactly correct here. One interesting tidbit is that AMT's 1970 Mustang annual kit tooling has a non-factory engraving treatment on the upper rear quarters below the quarter windows (wher the ersatz fake scoops were on the 1969 Sportsroof; this carried over to the Mach One kit too. TB

I am just back from an extended visit with Tom Woodruff and his wife Karen at their Ohio home in September, 2023. I thought I should share some of it with you all here...particularly as many of you are most likely not aware of Tom's role in our hobby over the last five decades... For those of you who don't recognize Tom's name right off the bat, he is arguably the single most successful and prolific award winner of the entire 11-year MPC Model Car Championship (over 40 regional and national awards including a number of top-five nationwide finishes in the yearly national finals). This was the premier model car contest series worldwide from 1969 through 1979. Tom (with the enthusiastic support of his lovely wife Karen) is also credited as one of the three original initiators of the first-ever NNL Nationals back in the summer of 1980, and a regular supporter of all the subsequent NNL Nats events right through to 40th and last-ever event in the fall of 2019. Take a look and be sure to check out all the 57 photos along with the captions below each photo.....yep, Tom is still a very active and highly creative 1/25th scale model car builder and diorama artist as he enters his 80s! Wow! Thanks for looking....and thanks in advance for checking out the latest from one of the Model Car hobby's all-time premier modelers as well as one of its most influential ambassadors for the hobby we all love...TIM PS - here are just a few images to give you a taste at what is at the link above...TB

For those who missed my earlier post of these two built modes, here's a series of full color pictures that show the details well....(a couple of excerpts from the album copied below). Did I really say I didn't like one of the colors? WHAT was I thinking???? (smile). Jim...good luck with your plans....Best to you all....TIM

X3!!!! tb

Big, big congrats on finishing this project, Justin. Adding more detail to a Fujimi Enthusiast Series kit is fraught with danger, seems to me, but you really nailed it! Best...TIM

Paul....this is a project I've been considering myself because I think Moebius did a terrific job on the underbody/suspension of this kit, and I've always liked the AMT-Ertl '66 Nova kit. Really appreciate the carefully considered approach you've taken with your project, as well as your efforts to share it with us. Best wishes on bringing this one home....TIM

Thanks for the update, Steve! TB

Last I heard was that the two kits were planned to be produced concurrently and go on sale during roughly the same time period. This info is at least six months old now so plans could have changed in the interim time period...TB

Alan....man, you really nailed this! Terrific paint, too. Amazing transformation.....Congrats....TBf

Rex...I too experienced that the battery decal, voltage regulator, and valve cover end decals did not look as clear as one would hope after their application (the fact that the valve cover decals numbers and font style exactly matched my 1/1 references compensated for that in my view - perhaps that was ill-founded justification on my part???) Anyway, thanks so much for sharing your build with us here. Aso noted you replicated the factory assembly striping on the driveshaft...COOLLL!!!! TB

Guys.....several 1971 Boss 351s with several different factory paint/interior treatments as well as Mach 1s can be seen in the photo album on the SVT 30th anniversary and Mustang Owners Club of Southeast Michigan All-Ford show last weekend. Check it out at this link....TB

Thanks all for the comments on the photo album. Glad you enjoyed it....TIM

Thanks Claude. I had a series of Mark VII LSCs and several Mark VIIIs. My favorite of all was the last iteration of the MkVII with the BBS wheels, especially the 1990 I drove ordered in the light silverish blue clearcoat with the navy interior. One of the MkVIIIs I drove was just like the one mentioned in your response, but I never warmed to that generation the way I did to the later vintage M7 LSCs.... Glad you enjoyed all those Contours. One reason the SVT Contour was so good was that it was based on such a good basic car design, IMHO. Unsung heroes, in my view. Ahh nostalgia....yes, so true! TB

Joe...that is a gorgeous interior job and your engine detailing rocks too!! TIM

Justin...gorgeous color! I think this thread is fascinating as I do not recall seeing the Fujimi Enthusiast series kits previously being presented in a build thread done in this level of detail. And as someone who appreciates seeing paint detailing used to enhance kit-based builds, I find your efforts here to be of great interest. Finally, seeing you do this level of work, for me, greatly enhances the credibility of your posts on new kits in the kit review section, and personally I do not know of any other hobby shop owners who are capable of achieving this level of results from automotive model kits. Best of luck on finishing this one up and keep up the great work! TIM

Gil...really good to see the effort and results you are achieving with your build of this kit. FWIW I too was concerned about the lower bodyside blackout and had planned to paint these separately. However as i had a time constraint with my project, i ended up using the decals that go along the lower bodyside on the area ahead of the front wheel openings, between the front and rear openings, and between the rear openings and rear pan/bumper. Not only did they applywihtout issue, but there was enough material to wrap around the edges (lower bodyside and wheel openings). i had no issues with opacity given my base color replicating 1971 Ford Bright Red, but I can see how a brighter color might be a bit worrisome. Also, glad to see you caught the distinction of no chrome accent around the headlamp openings. Looking foward to seeing this area completed in this manner. In all, great progress and go, go, go!!!! TIM

Rex...I too was concerned about this, but with MicroSet and MicroSol, they all worked perfectly....TB

The Contest Annual continues to be published (they just announced the next annual version) though under Fine Scale Modeler branding vs the previous SA nomenclature. Big improvements over the last several versions, IMHO, on the photo captions that go with the images. TB

Lotsa work from the MCM team went into this issue, from my POV. Hope you guys like it....TIm

The original two Monogram 1/24th Jeep CJ-7 kits were a real sleeper in the Monogram kit catalog c.1977 (sleeper said in a good way). Here is a photo of two box stock kit build versions, mostly sourced from several of the more recent reissues. For those with a collection of the back issues of the old other model magazine, there was a cover story on these kits and buildup advice in one of the last issues of the mag (2019 or 2020) IIRC. The kit was slightly fussy to put together, but the only real issue was the rear hardtop, which could not be tweaked (at least in this project) to fit properly, so was left off the blue build version. If the subject interests you, this is a kit I highly recommend, especially if you do not ordinarily build off-road 4x4 models... 43 additional images here...TB