tim boyd

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

Here's the no-trim-ring Rallye wheels in the AMT-Ertl kit. The model itself is a kitbash of what would be a 1971 Corvette ZR-2 (454 engine) in WarBonnet Yellow metallic.... More images here if you are interested....TB

Raoul....very, very sharp models!!!! Thanks for posting....TB

Took me forever to find this "under glass" post on this project I've been following for a long time. I have several of the Dumas 1/25th boat kits but have never worked up the skills and time to actually build one myself. Bottom line: Tim you knocked this one clean out of the park. It's my new favorite of your models (tied with your root beer colored '29 lowboy pickup hot rod). Huge congrats on persisting and bring this one home. And thanks for sharing with us as you worked through the challenges and delivered your design vision! Very best...TIM

Rex...looking really good! Glad to see you went with one of the contrasting front seat insert options as well.... My experience was also that the kit took longer than usual to assemble, but it was well worth the effort given all that Revell put in the box....good luck bringing this one home! TIM

Pryor also mentioned this to me. All I could think of was his tall, really big smile, his great sense of humor, and his willingness to set out on his own (not flow with the crowd) on whatever the subject might be. Dave was one in a million and those of us who knew him were blessed to be in his presence. Rest in peace, Dave, and our condolences to Linda and Jenny....TIM

On Thursday August 17th and Sunday August 20th, 2023, Ford Performance and the Mustang Owners Club of Southeast Michigan (MOCSEM) joined forces to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ford Special Vehicle Team along with Ford Special Vehicle Engineering and Team Mustang. Here are some photos from this very successful Mustang Memories All Ford Show. Reunions of Bronco owners (all generations) and Ford Mustang Bullit cars (all generations) also took place at the event location. There were several 1971 Boss 351 and Mustang Mach 1s at the show, so I took some detail shots for those of you building - or planning to build- the new Revell kits. As some of you know, I was the Ford Special Vehicle Team Marketing Manager and Team Leader from 1995-98, so I was honored to be involved in this memorable event. Use the "Roll View" feature to quickly scroll through the images while also seeing my comments...thanks for looking! Tim Boyd 148 pictures at this link....