tim boyd

Well, it is finally here! Check out the images at the link below for all the skinny on Round 2's 1/25th scale AMT Bronco First Edition kit, including a look at each step of the kit assembly instructions.I recall talking to my Round 2 contacts months before the new Bronco saw its first media features and advocating for a full detail kit of same. I doubt I was the only one doing so, as the possibility of a newly tooled Bronco already seemed to be on their radar screen. Apparently there were many details to be sorted, but confirmation of Round 2's plans followed many months later.Since then, we've seen photos of test shots and some videos of unboxings and buildups, but I wanted to present this new kit in my typical "full detail" photo collage and commentary, as seen below.It is hard not be highly impressed by Round 2's effort on this new kit. Short of in-detail knowledge of how the kit builds up (waiting for you on this, guys!), this appears to be a really well turned-out miniaturization of what remains today (as of this writing) one of the automotive marketplaces most desired and "hot" products. Check out the details at this link for 43 images of all that's inside the box and be sure to use the "Roll View" feature to quickly scroll through the images while reading the captions as well. And be sure to post your builds here at the ModelCarsMag.com forum ... thanks for checking it out. TB

Jeremy....yes it is. Thx for asking....TIM

...yep...those old MPC tires have done a job on the wheels over the last 41 years....oh well.... Many, many more images and a partial text explanation on a few of these models can be seen at this link.... Thanks for checking these out! Tim

Thanks Chuck....excellent reference photos! TB

I agree with Rex on all points. The silver Boss 351 graphics color is notably lighter than the Ford 1971 Light Pewter Metallic as depicted in paint chip manuals that year. Light Pewter Metallic could be described as a light grey metallic, while the graphics color is a light silver color. Without having a 100-point 1/1 scale resto or actual paint sample to compare, my take is that the silver graphics color on the kit decal sheet is close to the real color. Best...TB

I too made the mistake of painting the headlight trim ring with chrome when it should be black and noted same in my kit review buildup. Proper painting (e.g. leaving the ring black) will reduce the visual size impression. With the approach Revell took to scaling the body (e.g. digital scanning) I think it would be unlikely (though not impossible) that they made the ring/headlight too large. TB

Thanks John....thought you meant a review published in a magazine. Thanks for finding this and bringing it forward! Best....TB

John....wasn't me. TB

Luc is 100% correct here. Revell went to the extra effort to make these changes, but regrettably neither of the GT kit product reviews in the model magazines mentioned these corrections, which might have driven some degree of additional kit sales (at least among the truly dedicated modeling community) that would have justified this additional effort and expenditure. Hopefully this time will be different! TB

Thanks Erik....just placed my order for the dually rims....TB

Guys...re-read Steve's reply above. He just passed along a very big hint about a future project he is apparently working on, that I do not think is (my guess here) on anybody's radar screen right now. Just saying!!! TB

Justin...please keep us up to date on your customers' reaction to the kit. Particularly interested to hear that it might be attracting new customers for you. I hear via the grapevine that the kit is selling really well so far for others in the trade; hope you find this to also be case. Best...TIM

Steve...the silver accents are printed in a very fine metallic silver, with an overall glossy finish as you would expect to see in most of the 1/25th scale kits). I don't have AS-12 in my paint inventory so I can't provide any guidance there... Best...TB

Luc, for the review sample I built, I used Tamiya Italian Red (TS-8?) over gray primer. The result was really close to 1971 Ford Bright Red according to the paint chips manual pages in my library. Other than white and black, based on what I observed, there were no other TS colors that were close matches to the Boss 351 paint palette that year. Best....TB

That supercrisp molding is also present on the grille and the taillamps. I too thought it was Jo-Han like in its execution. Biggest difference in the decal sheet is that this one adds the front seat color inserts in two color choices (see top of sheet; really nice add!) and the European style license plates at the bottom. TB

All excellent reasons to take anything unusual that you read on ScaleMates with a very big grain of salt and always look to validate their info by comparison/reference to other sources of historical kit info that we have found to be generally reliable....TB PS: Hakan - thanks for the info on the Revell Kenworth kits....have always wondered about that...TB

The inside word on the Boss 351 kit development and the underhood ducting approach...wish I had know the extent of this (the kit development process and team) earlier, but better late than never.... ************************************************************ The development of the Revell Boss 351, per Ed Sexton: "We need to recognize the make up of the "Revell Team". It was It really is just Chris Borris with some help from Don Sikora and myself." "Chris is the only full time Revell USA person. Don (he is the Editor of Collectible Automobile) and I worked as consultants on the project. Chris also does work with Revell Germany on the development of the products. The sales end is handled by the Carrera-Revell office in New Jersey." Directly from Chris Borris on the underhood ducting: "Yes, of course we always want to reproduce with the most detail but as you pointed out we couldn't with the under hood ram air ducting due to space as you noted out. In the cad I have around 1mil of clearance between bottom of hood and front of 351 air-cleaner. We just simply could not afford tinkering with the multiple engines, air cleaners to add this rather large part. If there was more clearance we would have but it just wouldn't work here, so the cavity sides of all hoods received engraving detail instead." ******************************************************** Rex....keep up advised (I know you will) on your experiment with the DieCast model part.. Best to you all...TIM

Thanks to Ken who commented on this thread yesterday, i reminded me to advise of the following..... Pryor Passorino told me last week that Dave is fighting some very serious health issues and is now in hospice. Prayers are welcomed and encouraged....TIM

pose deleted...sorry....tb

Here's a convert I built back around 1979 or so. The windshield frame i believe is not prototypically correct (we didn''t sweat those details back then so much). It was featured in my first-ever Scale Auto Enthusiast article, the issue #4 (Nov./Dec. 1979) although I do not think it was a typical "how to" article showing all the steps....TB

A note from John G. added that the kit has an expanded decal sheet and non-styrene replacements for the original styrene rear drag slicks. John sounds pretty stoked about the new kit version. TB

Engine in this one was intended to be a hot-rodded version of the street 426 from 1965 called the "426-S" by Mother Mopar. At the time, there were really only two good sources of this basic engine....the AMT '49 Merc and the MPC engineered 426 in the AMT 1928 Model A Tudor kit. That same engine was repeated in the MPC "Ramchargers Dune Buggy" kit from 1968, and IIRC that is the engine I used in this build. Obviously, I made some changes in the induction department....TB

David....I so agree with you on the original AMT/MPC body vs. the Polar Lights car. Moving to today, the Moebius upcoming '65 Coronet kit tooling has many hours of development time invested in making the body as correct as possible....let's hope it rivals the AMT kit for looks when it is finally released....TB

David....dealing from memory (in lieu of digging out the magazine article) the basic underbody was the Revell '57 Chevy Black Widow, while IIRC the "enhancements" (engine/suspension were sourced from the Monogram BadMan and AMT '55 Nomad kits....TB

This was a rescue/restoration of the AMT (designed and produced by MPC) 1965 Dodge Coronet500 hardtop kit i originally "built" (aka butchered at age 11). I removed the roof, used an up-top from a 1963/4 JoHan Fury kit (IIRC), painted it with Tempo brand 1973 Plymouth Silver Frost paint (leftover from my 1/1 scale Duster 340), and equiped it with Centerlines and gold-lettered drag racing tires. I believe this build was pictured in the 1/1 scale mag "Popular Cars" in their regular model car column, circa 1983 or so. More pictures here if anyone is interested.... (corrected) Street Freaks, Pro Street, and G-Machines album | Funman1712 | Fotki.com, photo and video sharing made easy. Thanks for looking.