tim boyd

This model was inspired by a somewhat similar real car that appeared in a couple of different rod mags back in 1974-75. The build combined the roadster pickup body from the Revell 1929 Model A Roadster/Closed Cab pickup kit with the 1932 Ford Highboy frame from the recent Revell 1929 Model A Roadster/1930 Model A Five Window kits. (Of course, the Revell Ford Highboy frame was thoroughly massaged up front for a lower stance). It carries a number of cues relating to the 1970's era, starting with the stake bed which was cut down from the parts in several of the AMT/Lindberg 1934 Ford Pickup kit releases. A woodgrain decal was applied to the bed floor, followed by trips of Bare-Metal aluminum foil. Amazingly, the under-bed structure from the AMT pickup kit fit the Highboy frame without modification. (Longtime readers of my old Street Rodder Modeler's Corner column may remember back to the September, 1985 issue where I featured Stan Pinnick's 1940 Ford Pickup with a shorty stake bed, it was very much in the same idiom as this model). Next up, a 351 Cleveland V8 (yes, 351 Clevelands showed up in a number of higher-end rods back then, such as the black Wayne Henderson 1932 Ford Vicky that was extensively published back in the day). But no matter what you may have read, there were really only two correct 1/25th scale 351 Clevelands - the one found in the Revell 1970 Mustang Mach 1 kit of about 15 years ago, and a no-longer-product aftermarket kit, the latter being the source for this model. (I expect Revell's upcoming 1971 Mustang Boss 351 kit to be the third, and probably best, source for this engine). The interior was pieced together from the Revell 1932 Ford Roadster Highboy kit with a heavily modified parts box instrument panel. The front and rear wheels are from the c.1972 MPC Switchers kits (with a coat of Tamiya Semi-Gloss Clear for the polished aluminum (i/l/o plated chrome) appearance of 1970's Appliance Slot Mags). The front tires are Revell Gasser Pirellis (Anglia kit et al) while the rears are Monogram Slicks (Beer Wagon et al). While I've wanted to build a model inspired by the real car ever since, well, 1974, this 1/25th scale project started around 2015 when I painted a Revell 1929 Model A Roadster Pickup body with MCW Automotive Finishes 1956 Ford Pine Ridge Green Metallic. This was for an article in Model Cars Magazine in issue #201 (January, 2016) on historically accurate paint colors for traditional hot rod models. (Famous hot rod/custom photographer Andy Southard used this exact color on his Model A Roadster pickup in the late 1950's). But most of the work (beyond the initial body prep and painting) has occurred over the last month. Further comments accompany pictures below.... On the image below, note that the apparent rough paint surface on the door is instead a reflection of the rust on my assembly plate below. The "Street is Neat" sticker and "Gotcha" license plate (a tribute to Tom Woodruff's famous "Gotcha Factor") further support the mid-1970's vibe. I also have a stake rail (not shown) that fits across the back of the stake bed; it's a friction fit to the side rails. No, I don't know what that green blob is on the bed floor. It's gone now!!! Looks like I still need to blow off a few styrene bits from the completion of final assembly, which took place just a few minutes before I shot these images.... I wanted to use the triangular "Lynx" air cleaner, but didn't want to open a sealed kit to get it. The equally period correct "bug's eye" air cleaner came from the AMT-Ertl 1970.5 Baldwin Motion Camaro kit. (The "Ford Motorsport" logo on the valve covers is about ten years in the future from my target time period (it should have read "Motorcraft"), but with the somewhat unique shape of the Cleveland valve covers and only two choices in scale, this was a necessary compromise). No real surprises underneath. But that Cleveland mill fit like a glove! (The oil pan did have to be reversed, and massaged accordingly in appearance, to move the sump to the rear for added road clearance). The underbody floor and lower firewall area was swapped in from the Revell 1929 Model A Roadster kit. Here the Revell 1929 Model A Roadster Pickup up top was test fitted (I added the top bows after this image was shot). The project was inspired by a 1/1 scale Ford 1929 Model A Roadster Pickup pictured in the Hot Rod/Petersen Publishing "1974 Annual Street Rod Pictorial" and in the Challenge Publications (i.e. Rod Action) one-off "Ford Street Rods" in 1975. Here's a photo with the model in partially completed status with a copy of the real car's image in the background. Yes, extensive under construction photos were taken along with appropriate documentation, and the intent is to eventually do an article on the assembly process. But at this point I do not have a publication format or timing lined up. It may be a while (possibly, quite a while) before that happens. Thanks for your interest and for taking a look; happy to answer any questions or comments you may have. Best....TIM

Bill.....one of my most central goals in doing the model car column in Street Rodder mag was to do my part in establishing the model car hobby as a respectable adult hobby. I think we went a long way in establishing that over the 17 years I did the column (and Mike Carroll did it for six or seven years beyond that), but yes, as you so correctly note, a few still looked down their noses at us. That's one of the reasons I started this thread....wanted to begin to put together a comprehensive list of just how many model builders also did 1/1 (and the reverse). Not to mention that these days, when the majority of 1/1 owners have their cars (or at least major parts of their cars) built by professionals, we as modelers are still doing the whole boat from concept to finished masterpiece. I'm not gonna suggest that the skills required to build a model engine are anywhere near those required to piece together a real engine, but then again, we are doing the entire fabrication of our cars including paint and (in some cases) upholstery. Can't even begin to recall the last time I saw a 1/1 scale rod that had been painted to professional levels by its owner I(although I am sure some still are). Bottom line, I think we (modelers and real car builders) should fully respect each other's skills and achievements, particularly so for those mentioned in the this thread who have mastered and excelled at both genres! TIM

Tim....I think it was your dragster style snowmobile model from the 1970 MPC Detroit show that made me aware of your modeling skills, so when we met in 1971 we were both in awe of each other's modeling skills; at least that's how I remember it (but then again, my memory is not all that accurate these days!) Funny you should talk about designing a house. Was having breakfast yesterday with a fellow retired Ford exec who is also my nearby neighbor, and we were looking at the complete set of houseplans I created as a senior in high school architectural drafting. His conclusion? The house could be built today, with some updates, of course. I was proudest of my family room elevation that showed a brick fireplace wall with a center open area that included scale representations of every MPC trophy I had won up to that point (spring, 1972). Of course, things ended up much differently ( I worked in an architect's office in the summer of my junior year...and well....I hated it). So much for becoming an architect! TB PS - everybody else reading this thread....check out that mug shot picture. Can you say "geek"!!!!????? Cheeeshhhh....

Tim was very much the "man on the scene" at the early MPC Contest Championship series, and later became a very influential judge and contest manager for the series in the mid to late 1970's..... Tim, I am trying to remember, did we first meet each other at the 1970 Detroit MPC show, or was it year later at the 1971 show? One final thought. I wish that model car builders in general had a greater interest in the early days of the hobby, and the people who made those early days happen. TB

No kidding? Wow, that is really cool. Thx for letting me know....Cheers...TIM

Gerald....I came to the same conclusion about the roof when John G. issued the "Retro Hobby" MPC Trikes combo kits about 15 years ago. I also built mine without the roof. But I like how you revised the rear part of the body better than what I did. Very sharp build! Cheers....TIM

This model was included in a how=to article that appeared in Model Cars magazine about ten or twelve years ago. AMT included parts to a factory stock 1962 Triumph Bonneville TR-120 650cc motorcycle in various of their 1962 Annual Kits, but you had to buy all the kits to get entire suite of parts to complete the cycle. Then, in their 1963 Chevy Apache pickup annual kit, they included all the parts for the factory stock bike, plus a Salt Flats streamliner envelope body and clear windshield. Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland offers a complete resin rebop of the Triumph kit, including parts for all three versions (factory stock, mild custom, and Salt Flats streamliner.) The latter is the version shown below. For those of you not familiar with motorcycle history, the Triumph Bonneville was for years the fastest factory stock bike you could buy. It was an awesome piece of kit, and they are very collectable today. While Revell's Parts Pack Triumph kit was also very well done, it was done in a Chopper-style version only. AMT's Triumph Bonneville was the only factory stock 1/25th scale Triumph ever offered, and it has never been reissued once the 1963 annual kit production run was completed. Here are the images. Thanks for looking, and let me know if you have any questions.....TIM

This model was included in a how=to article that appeared in Model Cars magazine about ten or twelve years ago. The GoKart frame and engine elements were strewn across a number of 1962 AMT Annual kits (you had to buy all of them to get the parts to complete the Go-Kart). You could build the model with either single or dual engines, and the engines nicely replicated a popular McCullough Go-Kart engine from the era. Then, in 1963 AMT included the entire list of Go-Kart parts, along with a newly tooled Bonneville style envelope body, clear canopy, and larger wheels/tires. The images below show this version. Round 2 recently retooled some of the missing parts and included the G0-Kart (but not the streamliner) in their 1960 Chevy Apache pickup reissue. The entire Go-Kart, including all the Bonneville parts, is currently available in resin from Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland. Thanks for looking, and let me know if you have any questions....Best Regards, TIM

OK, here is the status of the model as yesterday (25 March 2020)....getting close! The stake bed is completed, painted, and installed; the headers are installed, the radiator shell is in place, the windshield frame installed, an up top mocked up, et al.... And here is the list of items that needed to be completed as of this morning. As you can see, they are all crossed off, meaning the model is done! Will post finished pictures in the completed light commercial model section of the Forum tomorrow or Sunday....

Me too, David. TIM

Another add.....and one that seems so obvious. Pryor Passorino has build a number of 1/1 rods over the years. I talked to him on the phone a few months back and he still has the 1/1 scale rod gene and very active.....TIM

Thanks Mark.... Jack Davis is a great suggestion. I've been going through my old Street Rodder mags and the Modeler's Corner columns, I've been surprised to remember just how many of Jack's truly killer phantom street rod models I included in those columns. Man he had a touch! TIM

Those sure look like my (copyrighted) pictures from the November 2017 Motor City NNL....here they are again in total .... The intro caption in the applicable Fotki Folder reads "11-12-17 at 1:40pm - From earlier today, images of the Moebius display. The 1964 Nova SS Hardtop and 1965 Chevy II sedan Gasser....are 3D printed from CAD files; they have not been tooled yet so there is no official announcement date." Hope that answers the question, at least in part....TIM (PS - sorry 'bout the lack of depth of field in some of these shots) TB

...I dare you to watch this short (2 minutes) video of a 1967 V-Drive Flatbottom boat vote and not be smiling from ear to ear. Here's the link (shameless lifted form the Hemmings Muscle Machines weekly newsletter..) OK...so maybe it's time to dig out all those half-finished Hemi Hydro and AMT Hull Raiser kits and get at it! Cheers!!!! TIM

Man John, you just killed that paint! I'm really jealous... Congratulations.....TIM

Marc....thanks for the reminder. Beyond the extensive - and very well deserved - coverage of your 1/25th scale work, and that killer period correct Street Roadster above, haven't we seen your name on other 1/1 scale drag racing and related cars as well? Best....TIM

To all who have posted....what an impressive display of 1/1 scale automotive knowledge and experience. Was I still doing the old Modeler's Corner gig in Street Rodder, your responses would have surely sparked a dedicated column on just this topic. Thanks very much for sharing....TIM

Dennis...I'm loving that '32 pickup.....looks so way over on the far end of the Traditional Hot Rod movement. And so interesting that its stablemate is a Fox Series 5.0! That one was always a favorite of mine....if we are ever able to get together, I'll tell you one of my Ford war stories on the LX 5.0.... Best....TIM

Kit...that p/u is such a sharp piece. Hope you have great fun with it, and congrats on your new ride! Cheers....TB

Kit.....the triangular shaped "Lynx" air cleaners were also my first choice....good to know Dennis agrees as well.....I wanted one of those for my '70's tribute 1929 A Stake model but wasn't able to find a set that I thought looked good enough....the best ones I remember being in the old AMT/Lesney 1969 Cougar XR=7 Street Machine kit of about 1979....but I already used those on another model. Yours look familiar but I can't place them....do you recall where you got them? Also like your choice of headers and distributor....that M&D Hayes T-Bird kit was a terrific model when it came out around 1990, and remains a great choice for kitbashing even today, in my opinion. Excellent progress and thanks for sharing your updates....TIM :

Tim....yes, that is also the last time I heard about Dave Berry....great talent as we both know! Richard and Bruce,,,yes, particularly Bruce (his pearl blue customized '74 Z-28), I'm sure I've read something about Richard's 1/1's too but I can't recall the specifics....TIM

Excellent point and a classic, perfect example of what I was thinking of as I typed the original post....thanks Tom....TIM

Sam....that's quite a car building history.....I've never heard a '53 called a Short Step....I presume that means SWB Flareside (Stepside) .... in any case, sounds like a winner in the waiting....TIM

I recall David's GSL work, but didn't make the connection of his Chrysler executive career and didn't know of his 1/1 scale Ferraris. This would fully qualify him in my mind view. OF course there was the late Chuck Jordan who was GM's Design VP, and was a very prominent collector of 1/43 scale Ferrari resin and white metal models....(and a very big behind the scenes assist to Revell-Monogram on certain models such as their landmark 1969 Camaro Z-28 and SS-396 replica stock kits of the 1990's). Thanks for the info, Kurt.....TIM

Alan!....I knew I was forgetting someone who was at the top of my mental list before I began typing the post...of course you are a prime example of what I am talking about. I have for many years (decades, actually) admired Vern Scholtz' models - he was a regular at the GSL for many years - for his interest in scale Fuel Altereds as well as his mode lbujilding skills as you articulate them.... Geoff sent me photos of his models in the early days that I included in my Modeler's Corner columns....didn't know he was a 1/1 builder... Thx for adding to our knowledge base on this subject...TIM