tim boyd

Word I heard was that the '28A Sedan was being investigated as a possible reissue, but it sounded as though it would require quite a bit of new work to make it a salable kit again. That put the project into the list of other "retooling" projects and apparently there were other projects that were judged to have a broader market appeal (and thus a better return on the tooling investment). Some of what I just wrote here is speculation on my part, but I haven't hear a word now on this project in several years so it sounds as though it will be a long time (if ever) until we see this one again....TIM

Guys....whoever dreamed that in a million years we would be able to buy newly molded parts of the original Revell Parts Pack suspension and chassis parts???? Not this guy, that is for sure. What a great moment for the hobby. Thanks to Peter V. and the entire Atlantis team!!! TIM

The Ramchargers Dune Buggy chassis was the MPC Logghe funny car frame, just shortened. May have been the same length/parts (side rails) as in the MPC Cougar kits....TIM PS - also note that the headers (complete with miss-aligned to Mopar 426 Wedge exhaust ports) were from the Logghe MPC funny car kits....TB

Michael, this image is from my earlier, in depth review of the new Round 2 Cutlass Convertible kit, but the instrument panel decal is the same one in the 442 kit you are asking about.... Hope that helps....TIM

Yeah Buddy!!!!! TIM

More on the Ford Super Duty family including the 534 V8 in the AMT kit.... Another Forgotten Ford Big Block: The Giant 534 SD V8 | Mac's Motor City Garage (macsmotorcitygarage.com) TIM

Thanks guys for the comments. Part of me wants to dig back into that bad boy, but I have something like 70+ other unfinished projects that are also begging for some type of progress, and most of them are much farther along than this one. Still.....appreciate the encouragement and I will never say never....Best to you all....TIM

Rodney,....thanks for the heads-up on this one; missed the buildup and final presentation. Great idea on adapting the SuperBug to this type of drag application. Also noticed your attention to detail throughout the project. Just a cool model car project from beginning to end. Sure gonna have to watch your drag racing builds from this point on! Cheers....TIM

Rodney....had no idea you built great drag models, too. Love that interior paneling you scratched together, and the paint scheme....so creative! Got two '53 Stude Boyd drag projects to share too. These were both started in the very late 1960's when Car Model magazine sent a letter to the winners of the Dodge/Car Model/MPC funny car contest asking them (us) to consider writing articles for the mag. Of course, this then-14 year old modeler had no way to take pictures of these "how-to" builds, but... This one was the AMT '53 Stude body, chopped, combined with the Revell Miss Deal chassis. Lotsa "lightening holes" drilled in the frame with a Dremel Moto Tool without a speed control (fun, that!). Circa summer, 1969 (ish).... Anyway, after decades in a box at 25% completion, I went ahead and finished it (without redoing work already done) around 2012 or so. It was later a feature article in Model Cars mag.... The other model, started at the same time back in '69, was the Revell Miss Deal body over a scratchbuilt frame with the AMT Double Dragster side-by-side dual engine setup under the rear window. It was to have used two Studebaker V8 's i/l/o the SBC's. This one still sits in a box, at about 20% completion. Maybe someday? Anyway, will be watching yours cross the timing lights in full glory with the laundry unfolding! Great enthusiasm on display in your project (and the ones shown by others in this tread, too!) TIM

This was a project started for the 1973 MPC National Model Car Contest Series. But after my three-car Charger funny car set was misjudged by the MPC Judges at the 1972 Washington DC contest (they didn't read the instructions and incorrectly disqualified the matching trailer and tow car), I was so disgusted that I stopped working on this.The body was based on one of those ultra-rare MPC 1971 Demon 340 kits (no one knew back then...). The body was narrowed into a wedge shape (when viewed from above), with a much larger rear window, roof dropped at the A-pillars, and the hood replaced with a sheet styrene panel that was shaped to look like the revised 1973 Duster front end. among many other body mods.The engine was going to repeat my trophy winning (1st Place Senior, 1969 Flint; Best Detail. 1970 Detroit; Best in Show, 1970 Indy) MPC contest feature where rotating the rear tires caused the engine blower drive to rotate as well, except this time depressing a working clutch would have stopped the blower drive rotation.The frame shown here was partially scratchbuilt from styrene tubing. Had I finished it, it would have been a contender in the MPC series. Instead, I started building a series of street rod models for myself rather than building models for the then-judges who didn't read judging sheets (smile, sort of). Thanks for looking....TIM PS - no intentions of finishing this one....TB

For anyone reading this thread who might have missed my earlier "here's what's in the box" post on the AMT 1964 442 Hardtop, here's the link to the info/skinny.....TIM

Steven....I've read in reliable sources that the factory undercoating was also sprayed along the transmission tunnel/driveshaft area, and under the rear axle/differential area. I've replicated that on most of my own Mopar factory replica builds. But there does not seem to be evidence this was done on all the cars, whereas the fender area applications, as shown in your original post, do seem to be on most all of the undercoated cars....TIM PS - just a note to confirm John's info on blackout paint applications, too. The outward facing portion of the radiator support walls on Mopars, for instance, was always painted black. Sometimes from underneath, sometimes through the then-open grille area, but always messy and seldom a complete 100% coverage of the area...TB

Carl's right on both points....TB

"Odds & Ends the story of the fiddly bits & small details that most will never see... -KK" ....and the sometimes countless hours it takes to do these fiddly bits correctly. No one will ever know the work you went to in getting it right.....but you will! (Or in this case, Kit will and so will everyone following this thread!) TB

According to my contact at Round 2, the Salt Shaker parts were retooled for this new release. And yes, there was a dropped axle in the original kit; presumably in this one too, especially after looking at Casey's screen shot directly above. TIM

Here's what the engine in the Turbosonic kit looks like built up....

Two highly respected contributors to this forum were mentioned in 1/1 scale mags recently.... * Fred Farrand's new 1/1 scale '36 Ford w/Y-Block power rod is is pictured in the GoodGuys Nats (Columbus, OH) coverage in the new issue of GoodGuys mag...he won a "Top Ten" award at the event. * Dennis Lacy's work as a 1/1 scale hot rod builder was cited in Issue #7 of Speed and Kulture mag for his work on a transmission in a newly built early traditional style 1932 Ford highboy featured in that issue. Congrats to both of them for their work both as modelers and as 1/1 scale hot rodders! TIM

Great progress by all...exciting to see these come through the development/build process. And belated congrats to this thread's "Father", Dennis, on his call-out in issue #7 of Speed and Kulture magazine as the builder of the tranny in a very traditional early style 1/1 scale 1932 Ford Highboy Roadster....way to go, guy! TIM

Team...at this point I am going to wrap up my involvement in this thread. I think everyone's mind about the body is pretty made up and there isn't much left that will change a person's view one way or the other on that subject. I would hope we could generally agree that the rest of the kit is really well done, except for the blower top hat, but even that may be a bit presumptuous on my part. I was really excited to share a preview of this kit with the model car hobby as I thought (and still do) it was one of, if not the finest, 1960's style gasser kit ever to come on the market. The last thing I ever dreamed was that this thread would become a spirited debate focused mostly about the accuracy of the body. I also tried to share what I learned from 11 years working alongside some of the best automotive design executives in the industry about how photography and minor changes to design elements such as DLO's can make a big change in the perception of a car's appearance. Maybe that was too much or inappropriate for a thread on model cars. If the opportunity ever presents itself in the future for me to do another test shot preview like this one, I will discuss with the Forum moderators beforehand and see if we can come up with a better way to go forward in presenting the information and responding to questions without the antagonism that seems to have surfaced this time. Thanks for your attention, over and out. TIM

Roger, please look again. The exact measurement between the top of the door panel/bottom of the DLO to the top of the DLO was exactly 8/16" for both models, if you measure taking into account my plan to remove the incorrect trim engraved on top of the Moebius door panel. The ruler didn't line up exactly the same between both models in the picture showing both, so you have to use the 1/2 mark on top and bottom of the Moebius, but the same net total measurement is 8/16" for both models after the adjustment I am proposing. I do not have a set of digital calipers, so that measurement will have to await someone else's efforts when the kit is finally released.

Thanks Jason....TIM

Roger....please, sir, take a look at the images and captions at the link I provided above and here if you have not already done so. I did provide measurements and comparisons to the AMT Nova as well. My suggestion was an attempt to address the single biggest visual element that I think is leading to the widespread view of a chopped appearance; this is not a 100% perfect answer but is relatively easy to do. The real two door sedan car appears to have little to no visible molding above the door sheet metal (fwiw, neither does the AMT Nova wagon), but there is a step down in the DLO behind the door vent window, which my proposed fix also corrects vs. the unaltered Moebius body. Ultimately, we won't really know if my proposed fix really works until the kit comes out and I/we can try it ourselves. At this point, and based on the visual evidence I provided at the link, I don't personally believe the top is chopped, but I am sure when the kit comes out, there will be many who address this issue, do more measuring as you advocate, and provide their view. Maybe out of that will eventually evolve some sort of ultimate consensus in the modeling community on the subject...TIM

Thanks Dave for the reset. As I said earlier, I wanted to hold off responding to some of the questions asked by readers of this thread, until I had shown the finished model. Now that I have done so, I have posted the "Upon Reflection" photos and commentary at my Fotki site at this link. In it I attempt to address some of the requests you've made, I show how I propose to address what I see is the biggest issue contributing to an impression of a chopped appearance to the greenhouse, and I provide some comments about how I plan to build a second, mildly kitbashed version of the Moebius Gasser when it becomes available for sale early in 2022. You will probably find the info herein a bit surprising in some ways, it certainly was to me. l doubt it will substantially change some of the previously voiced impressions, but at least you now have this info to add to your takeaway from this online preview of the upcoming kit. Thanks for following along with this thread, and see you all on the tabletops. Best...TIM

OK guys, here is a link to the album of the completed build along with associated commentary. In it I also address what I believe is the biggest single factor in the body leading to the conclusion of many that the top is chopped. It can be remedied pretty easily, I believe, as I describe in the specific photo caption. Doing so, I predict, will reduce, and possibly for some, largely eliminate the view that the top is chopped. Tomorrow or Sunday I will post a further update where I attempt to answer some of the questions that have been in the Forum about the body proportions, including how the body compares to the Round 2 Nova wagon reissue and and upcoming Moebius Nova hardtop. Spoiler alert...some surprises await. Thanks for following along. Everyone is, of course, welcome to provide their final thoughts, but please, keep it civil and do not falsely presume I have any other motive here than to present to you a sneak preview of an upcoming kit that I think will prove to be very popular with most of the modeling community when it finally becomes available early next year. Thanks....TIM

OK guys, here is a link to the album of the completed build along with associated commentary. In it I also address what I believe is the biggest single factor in the body leading to the conclusion of many that the top is chopped. It can be remedied pretty easily, I believe, as I describe in the specific photo caption. Doing so, I predict, will reduce, and possibly for some, largely eliminate the view that the top is chopped. Tomorrow or Sunday I will post a further update where I attempt to answer some of the questions that have been posted above about the body proportions, including how the body compares to the Round 2 Nova wagon reissue and and upcoming Moebius Nova hardtop. Spoiler alert...some surprises await. Thanks for following along. Everyone is, of course, welcome to provide their final thoughts, but please, keep it civil and do not falsely presume I have any other motive here than to present to you a sneak preview of an upcoming kit that I think will prove to be very popular with most of the modeling community when it finally becomes available early next year. Thanks....TIM PS - looks like I put the rear wheelie bar assembly on upside down in my haste to finish the model. Will have to fix that PDQ! TB