tim boyd

The 2023 edition of the Detroit Area Auto Modelers NNL Motor City featured 380 (!!!) vendors tables and a long line to get in the door even an hour after the doors opened. Here's a look at some of the models entered in the NNL portion of the event. In each case (with just a few exceptions), the builder is identified in the next image after the overall shot of their respective model so he or she can receive the credit and public notoriety they so richly deserve for their efforts. Highlights this year included viewing some 30+ of Tim Ahlborn's semi-truck collection and talking with him in person for the first time after many years of correspondence, several of Jim Drew's most impressive projects, a whole plethora of outstanding models from builders "H" and Tom Nowak, Michael Legault's latest collection of incredible airbrushed custom vans, a large display of historical AMT kits and builds, a varied group of NASCAR racecars of all generations, and so much more. Use the "Roll View" images at this link... https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/model-car-events-co/2023-nnl-motor-city/2023-nnl-motor-city-/ to quickly scroll through the images and builder IDs, and think about joining next year's NNL Motor City in person. Best to you all...TIM Pictured below - Jim Drew's large scale Bugatti..

Round 2's Steve Goldman walked me through their new MPC Dodge Demon 340 kit at the 2023 NNL Motor City. Upon opening the lid, the first thing I noticed was that ALL the parts trees are all new, not a reuse of the old MPC Duster/Dart Sport tool. Steve then clarified - this is indeed an all-new tool, based on the engineering for the original MPC Demon 340 kit but with updates/corrections/additions throughout. You can see the details in 19 images and captions at this link: https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/first-look-at-all-n/round-2-mpc-1971-do/first-in-depth-look-/ Be sure to check the body images (and their captions) for details on the new refinements there. One apology up front. My camera was set on "automatic" rather than "aperture priority" so the depth of field on some of these images is lacking. Sorry 'bout that. But I think you can get the general idea from the photos anyway. Thanks for looking and watch for this kit at the stores or online soon. As of this week, it's on the production line at Round 2's overseas production vendor....hopefully our online retailers and storefront hobby sellers will soon have the real thing for us to order and have in hour hot modeling hands....Tim

https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/186255-round-2-product-news-at-the-2023-nnl-motor-city/

Here are some photos from the Round 2 display at the 2023 NNL Motor City earlier today. The big new news is the 1968 Coronet R/T hardtop with trailer is now officially confirmed and a sample was on display. The new Dodge Demon 340 was also there (watch for a separate detailed post on that), along with the 1960 and 1963 Ford pickups, the Warlock Dodge, the flip-top 1970 Mustang Mach Won funny car, the 1964 Chevelle HT, and more. I was especially impressed with the 1963 F100. Unlike the original annual kit, the new kit body is sink marks free, the bodyside molding is arrow straight (not so, the annual kit - that was a mess!), and the headlamps are now clear lenses. Two modified reissues announced today include the AMT/Ertl 1971 Charger tool with a mix/match of parts from the original showroom stock version and the "Street Machine" version that to the best of my knowledge was only issued once before, around 2002. That means you'll now be able to build with the "Bazooka" dual exhausts and the Air Grabber hood scoop, along with the aftermarket Hemi big block conversion that was in the original SM kit. The other one was the custom version of the 1957 Chrysler 300C. I will do a separate post with a more in-depth look at the Demon 340 kit.... Assuming you guys continue to buy the "cloned" kits, the reissues, and the all-new kits like the 2021 Bronco, Steve Goldman and the Round 2 team apparently have more plans under consideration for next year! Highlights below...and more Photos at this link... https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/model-car-events-co/2023-nnl-motor-city/round-2-product-news-/ PS - sorry for the funky depth of field in some of these photos....camera was not cooperating...

It's a new compilation of selected parts from both the original AMT/Ertl Charger R/T kit and the followup Charger Street machine kit, the latter of which has not been reissued to the best of my knowledge. Pictures later....TB

I'll be posting pictures later today...TB

Thanks Matt! And with a full detail, standalone engine, thank you very much! Seems strange to be lauding such a very basic feature, but with newly tooled kits these days, it is worthy of note, it seems. Way to go, Team Revell! TB

As a said, my assessment of it being part of a broad "2nd tier" was based on the active floor space of the show and number of vendor/model car show participants, but from the perspective of it being a "destination show" as you define it, you make a valid point. In the last several years the NNL Motor City has attracted volumes of entries from Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ontario, and to a lesser extent from some other nearby states. But to your point, I don't recall having seen any more than a few participants from Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, et al, and none (that I remember) from Cali. It will be interesting o see if that expands geographically this year. Time will tell...TB

Not sure which of Round 2's various future projects they are planning to announce this weekend, but pretty sure there will be at least one big surprise on tap....time (as in two days from now) will tell if I'm right about this...TB

Cool above builds, all. And yes, these kits are really - as in really, really, really - basic in their content and approach. Still they have a certain charm all their own. And some unusual traits - as in having their front axles placed too far rearward in the fenderwell /tire openings, and too narrow of a track width up front (comments applying to some but not all of the kits) Interesting as well, that the "Hemi Under Glass" kit is not a duplicate of that real car but instead a near perfect scale replica (other than the 1966 body) of the original 1965 Tom McEwen Barracuda which was intended to be an A/FX car, not a wheelstander. Here's a shot of two of my AMT kit builds from this kit series...

Making it known to a limited number of modelers - DAAM isn't *that* big of a show, ***** My take is that the DAAM show has gradually grown to become one of the larger shows over the last several years. I don't have access to real metrics (paid attendance, number of vendors, et al) but based on visual observation (and acknowledging that i don't get out to a lot of shows these days), I would personally put the DAAM show in the broad second tier of model car shows (with the NNL East standing on its own at the top as the single largest model show). In the view of some, the NNL Motor City (November DAAM show) is also the spiritual successor to the original NNL Nats - though it does have a decidedly different flavor than the original IMHO - including much larger vendor attendance and a smaller - but growing - turnout of completed model cars on display - and that (along with the geographical proximity as noted by James above) make it a "must" for Round 2 to attend and promote future kit announcements.. Looking forward like the rest of you all to see what Steve G./John G./Tom L. have up their sleeve for Sunday...TB

I was at my local Home Depot a couple of days ago buying basement paint and stopped by the spray paint section. In person, looking at the actual paint can color that Dan chose for his tribute build, it looked to me to be nearly identical to the original Krylon paint from 35 years ago that I used for my project! Way to go, Dan! TB

OK, I'm game. Replica of my 1/1 2007 Mustang GT convertible....identical to the 1/1 other than wheels... Replica of my 1/1 scale 1987 T-Bird Turbo Coupe..... Replica of my factory ordered 1974 Roadrunner E58 Hi-Po wedge....exact even to the factory cruise contral servo under the hood...ps - keep scrolling down past the blank space...) Here's one I really wish I could have built as a bi-scale model...my 2001 Jaguar XK-R Coupe....(keep scrolling down past blank space...): Best...TB

Walter...killer car, and nice replica too~ whatever happened to the 1/1? As you may know, I factory ordered a '74 RR E58 360 hipo....mine lasted 16 years ang 140k+ miles...could have easily gone longer but good ol' Mopar rust did its deed. I ran Cragar SS type wheels on mine too (except mine were wanna-bes; couldn't afford the real things).....TB

Marcos....sharp, sharp, sharp! Excellent choice of colors, and those wheels look killer. Best....TIM

Really, really clean, and super-nice job with the underhood detail, too...T B

Very, very sharp. Cool wheels, love the coyote underhood....Congrats on a killer build...TIM

Bill....been watchin' this Bad Boy from the start, and enjoying not only the project but your narrative to go with it. Needless to say, love the "no Chevy in a Ford" statement and your so-inspired choice of an early Olds to power the rod. I did the same with my '30A Replicas and Miniatures (pix below) build about ten years ago, and at that time I used the J2 Olds from the then-just-introduced Revell '50 Olds Custom kit. It's a terrifically detailed engine, but I do recall that the oil filter (if I am remembering the details correctly) stuck out from the lower passenger side engine block and hit the frame...it had to be reoriented as the 1/1 boys were doing (Ross Engines), again if I am rememering correctly. I can't quite identify which kit your Olds comes from (most alternatives are very good IMHO) but just wanted to pass along a "watch out for" on the oil filer if you run into it. As for which engine color, it might be related to your exterior/interior/wheels color scheme. Any ideas so far on that subject? Anyway, very much looking forward to the fun of watching this one come together! Cheers....TIM

Very sharp Jonathon....glad to hear you did not have any real issues....thx for sharing....TB

Very, very cool Chuck!!!! TB

Jay....looking over this, it's very easy to see why Rick was so effusive. Really creative concept, and excellent construction. Big congrats and thanks for sharing here...TIM

Here's a box stock buildup of the Connie Kalitta version of the MPC Mustang Funny Car kit from Round 2 about ten years ago (+/-). Presumably this new release would be the same kit with new decals TB

Craig, Chuck, and Bob: Today I checked on the Roadster (built in 2015) and the Five Window Coupe (built in 2021?) that used the whitewall decals. On the 2015 build (where I had to use a ton of MicroSol to get the rar whitewalls to settle down), there were a few spots where the decal had pulled away ever so slightly from the tire, and the front whitewall decals had some minute wrinkles that were not there originally, but it both cases you had to look really hard to see them. In the 2021 build, the decals looked fine but in handling the model, the rear whitewalls have developed a sticky surface of sorts. Neither situation would be enough to keep me from doing this process again, but does suggest that there may be a few mid-long term tradeoffs of sorts....TIM

Hey Dan, yes I'm out here, and yes I just watched the video. So, so cool that you chose to do this project, and share it with us. Honestly, when I did this one some 35 years ago, I never, never even remotely dreamed it would inspire someone to do a such an exact duplicate so many years later. As far as the colors go, I think your choices are actually closer to the original than you give yourself credit for, particularly when seen at the end of the video under bright lighting. I also think your choice of front tires is actually more era-appropriate than what i did. And, of course, you are spot on with regards to your substitution of the front suspension for the modern era Revell '32 Ford components, as i recall getting the front end stance right was the biggest pain of that whole build, and the new parts take away that problem as your results show. The resulting finsihed model is truly a tribute to the original, and a very fine one at that. Anyway, great job, and it is hard to convey exactly how I feel right now, so just let me sum up by saying a very big "thank you"!!!! TIM

Mike....terrific family of Jo-Hans. My favorites are your '64 Polara convert and your '65 300 hardop....thanks for sharing! TB