tim boyd

x2!!! TB

Great progress.....lovin' every minute of watching this project continue forward....TB

As I explained in an article I wrote for Model Cars magazine back around 2007 or so on all the 1/25th scale drag and ski boat kits, these boat themed kits from AMT and Revell were reflective of a 1/1 scalet trend back in the day to include them in the 1/1 scale world of hot rods and drag racing. As my modeling buddy Steve Perry says, they are basically hot rods with propellers instead of wheels, and that remains the case today. Look through any Hot Rod magazine dating from the late 1950's to early 1970's and you'll see what I mean. Not to mention that our host here, Model Cars magazine Publisher Gregg Hutchings, has also featured model fuel altered drag boats prominently in the 20+ year volume of his issues. Anyway, that is a long-winded intro as to why I have posted this topic in the Industry Corner/Car Kit News and Reviews. (Hope the mods here agree with my thinking!) Here's an abbreviated look at Round 2's recent reissue of the c. 1975 1/2 AMT "Aqua Rod" drag boat/Chevy van kit. The big news is an all-new decal sheet with a second graphic treatment reprising the artwork in the AMT Mid-Year Announcement catalog, which was omitted from the minimalist decal sheet when the kit was offered in original form back then. Take a look at the link for 34 images and captions (use the "Roll View" feature to quickly view each image and its information). You'll also find info on imagery of all-new and extensive decal sheet livery. and a few views of a box stock buildup of the boat kit, and some historic box art linked to this release . This kit was released a few months ago and according to some is already getting hard to find. If the subject interests you, and the review at the above link supports that interest, I recommend you grab one of these sooner than later. Thanks for your interest....TIM

Craig....also my thoughts. At the time, I don't think they ever considered a redo of the '63 pickup as a reality, and they probably had other plans to merchandise the streamliner. Time will tell, I guess...on the other hand, Round 2 is brilliant at getting multiple hits off a tool, so I wouldn't rule this out for the future, either. TB

Thanks Steve....great news! TB

Here is my build of the early 1960's Fuel Altered built almost entirely from the old Revell Parts Packs.It is essentially identical to the "Sanitary T Bucket" in the uber-rare Revell Sanitary T/Mooneyes Dragster Double kit released only once in 1963, and will be (presumably) indicative of the new Atlantis kit. It uses the T frame parts pack with the rectangular section frame rails, the Blown Chevy parts pack V8, the suspension parts from that also very rare parts pack, and the '23T Cal Automotive body parts pack.I commissioned the custom decals from Steve A. in California, and are my way of honoring my long time modeling buddies Tom Woodruff and Chuck Helppie. One thing I remember from this build which took place more or less 15 years ago - the Model T body is actually really nicely done. Best...TB

I do not know if the blower will make the Round 2 kit or not, but in any case, Replicas and Miniatures offers the entire blower setup in their catalog....TB

Very impressive work. And that chassis/frame looks great! TB

...and now you know what I meant (if you look at the new kit announcement news in the Truck Kit News and Reviews section of the forum) with the above cryptic comment. And kudos to Jim King who figured it out....TB

You can see a photo of the test shot (courtesy of James Duff, and repeated below this note in this thread, again courtesy of James) in the same thread topic on the New Car Kits section of the Industry News section of the forum, but today at the NNL East Round 2 unveiled their latest "clone" project, a redo of the original AMT 1963 F100 pickup kit, in this case, the 1968 kit release with the added camper top shell. This new "kit clone" tooling was apparently designed from the start as a parallel part of the 1960 F100 tooling set. The body itself appears a much higher quality casting (at least based on what I see here) than the original 1963/1964/1968 AMT kit release, eliminating many of the sags, sink marks, and so forth of the original. It also has a far better execution of the 1963-only upper bodyside molding. The engine is apparently the same Y-Block as in the 1960 kit. This and the 1960 are apparently on pretty much the same glide path in terms of development timing; reportedly they should appear on the market either at approximately the same time or the second one soon after the first one debut. This one has been near or at the top of my "wanted" pickup kit topics since at least the early 1980's (see my WIP thread on my build of the original kit elsewhere on the Forum for details), I hope it is near the top of your "wants" as well. Major league kudos from this corner for Tom Lowe, Steve G, John G, and the entire Round 2 team. Way to go, guys! TIM

Yep....thanks for confirming, James. Here's more on the Demon. It is a clone based on the original MPC Duster/Demon/Dart Sport tool, not an update of the later AMT-Ertl tool. I looked over the test shot about a month ago and it looked very sharp. The front fender shows the correct (non-matching to the Duster rear) Demon front wheel openings. The hood is more accurate than the original 1971 1/2 MPC Demon kit. The engine compartment actually looked very full and well developed, though I do not believe it is changed markedly vs. the original MPC kit. If I understood correctly, Steve and team went through the entire project and added corrections and fitting aids, much as we saw with the '68 Coronet R/T. As many of you know, since the early 2000's (at the very latest) this one has been at the top of the serious model builder/kit collector wanted list. Now it is nearly here! As for the '63 F100, this was apparently designed from the start as a parallel part of the 1960 F100 tooling set. The body itself appears a much higher quality casting (at least based on what I see here) than the original 1963/1964/1968 AMT kit release, eliminating many of the sags, sink marks, and so forth of the original. It also has a far better execution of the 1963-only upper bodyside molding. The engine is apparently the same Y-Block as in the 1960 kit. This and the 1960 are apparently on pretty much the same glide path in terms of development timing; according the Steve G. they should appear on the market either at approximately the same time or the second one soon after the first one debut. Needless to say, these are both at the top of my own wish list, and I suspect, many of you as well. They have a number of other projects in the works that I think will simularly resonate with us when the are announced. Just keep buying these "clone" kits when the are introduced; I think the sky is the limit for our future kit offerings from Round 2. Best...TB

Here's mine. Painted the factory correct 1967 Corvette color code 976 Marina Blue Metallic. Only mod was the aftermarket redlines, which in retrospect appear too tall for the correct factory appearance that year, and the radio interference resistance ignition wires. I recall this being a very well-done kit with no real assembly issues. I believe it appeared as a how-to in the other (no longer publlshed) model car magazine, sometime in the 00's. TB

Dennis...that is one sharp build. Having worked many hours to fix the body issues on mine, I was highly impressed to see how you did yours. Then I saw those pictures at the bottom showing what you started with. Pretty amazing stuff. Big congrats from this corner! TIM

UPDATE 4-21-23: Today, after finishing a couple of magazine contributions, finishing 2023 taxes, etc, etc, finally sat down and took to that orange peel with a brand new 2400 grit (yes, the really serious stuff) Micro Mesh sanding pad and soapy water. Took a couple of hours, and avoided sanding through except the very top of the tailgate which was an easy fix. Just shot the Mr. Super Clear Gloss about an hour ago (8:10pm 4-21-23), appeared to go on without sags for flaws (except one small one on the hood that should rub out OK). Last checked it was drying nicely. Next step will depend on how much the paint shrinks as it dries. Would love to straight to polishinng compounds, but that may be too much of a stretch. Best...TB

Regrettably I will be missing the NNL East this year. But I think that there is a good chance that there will be at least one "bombshell" new model truck kit announcement at the NNL East this weekend. For the benefit of those of us who do not use Facebook or other social media, can those of you who are attending post any applicable new kit announcements (with photos if possible) here the MCM forum? Thanks in advance and have a great time at the show....TIM (PS -at times in the I've been proven wrong on these predictions - so don't take this guess as being gospel....just sayin'....TB)

Regrettably I will be missing the NNL East this year. But I think that there is a good chance that there will be at least one (and possibly more???) "bombshell" new model car kit announcement(s) at the NNL East this weekend. For the benefit of those of us who do not use Facebook or other social media, can those of you who are attending post any applicable new kit announcements (with photos if possible) here the MCM forum? Thanks in advance and have a great time at the show....TIM (PS -at times in the I've been proven wrong on these predictions - so don't take this guess as being gospel....just sayin'....TB)

Indeed, I also hear from Tim K. that much of the MCM team will be at the GSL 23 event. Great opportunity for us Forum participants and the magazine's brain trust to chat with each other, and nothing but good will come out of this for the future of the hobby. TB

Very, very cool progress! TB

Some mighty fine work underway there, Russell! TB

Bruce....thanks. The color is actually 1993 Ford Bright Calypso Green Metalllic (it was a special color for 1/1 scale Escort GT's IIRC), and this is the Testors Lacquer spray bomb version (yes, I still had one can left that had not leaked out all its contents along the bottom can seal). It went on a little rough....don't know if that had anything to do with the extreme orange peel reaction from the TS-13 Clear months later... No further progress at this point, sadly. Had another project to finish up for a magazine article, and seem to be awful busy on non-modeling toics these days for a retited person. Gotta get that one back in balance somehow! Best...TB

Heh Jim and Charlie...either of those outcomes would be a big, big win for me personally, and a reissue/cloning project would be a win for ALL of us in the hobby in my personal opinion. Given the way Round 2 is working these days, my takeaway is that as long as we keep buying their new cloning kits in big enough volumes, anything is conceivable over the long run!

Greg...ain't that the truth! I guess I'd been really lucky over time, but recently it seems that vendetta has been catching up with me! Thx for the comments! TB

Hi Alan....thanks.....and that's my plan....TB

I'm pretty sure I commented on this earlier in this thread, but if not, my take is that the two MPC Pinto pro-stocks were by a fair margin the most overall accurate Pro-Stock replicas of MPC's entire 1970's Pro-Stock lineup. I have advocated for a reissue of one or both of these kits for well over 10 years now with my friends at Round 2. For a number of reasons, though, I don't expect to see this happen in the near to mid future, if at all. Hope I'm wrong on this, though! Also, a very big caution on scalemates.com. I have found that while much of their kit history info is largely or completely correct, other info can be completely off the mark. As such, I always recommend double-checking any kit info there with other trusted sources.. TB