tim boyd

I recall possibly writing about this in my article on the go kart that was in Model Cars years ago. I don't recall being able to trace the exact brand of Go-Kart, but as Todd posted just directly above, the engines were definitely replicas of the most popular McCullough offering. If you examine the crankcase/engine block, you can clearly see the McCollough branding....TIM

Wow....what a ton of work it took to create this model. I also like that you were not a slave to current 1/1 scale hot rod build trends, thus yielding a very creative, yet totally killer result. Great paint finish, too. Big congrats....TIM

This is the first release of the Revell 1969 Dodge Dart GTS, built in the mid 1990's for a how-to in Scale Auto magazine, appearing under my nom-de-plume "B. T. Sherwood". The 383 Magnum engine was fully detailed. The paint scheme duplicated a photo in the 1969 Dodge Dart showroom brochure, with MCW Automotive Finishes Code F8 Dark Green Metallic along with a white with black interior and a white bumblebee stripe. The wheels were the infamous "factory recall" 14" mags; these being sourced from the MPC 1969 Barracuda kit. As a fan of the real car, i was overjoyed when Revell finally announced the kit. The popular storyline is that the kit did not sell that well, although I don't recall ever hearing that from an official Revell source. As you know, it was later converted to a 1968 Dart GTS and has seen continued reissues over the ensuing quarter century. As with some other recent photos, these were not shot in my photo studio and due to the less than ideal lighting at hand, I had to set the depth of field at F/16 instead of my usual F/32, so the depth of field focus on some of the images is not quite ideal. Also.....looks like I need to clean out some wax residue from the door cut lines....although strange, sure don't remember that when he kit was first built and completed.... Thanks for looking, and happy to answer any questions....TIM

Bob, I tool have been watching this one come together. Love your methodical, step by step approach to putting together and detailing out your RR. I did a similar chassis swap with my MPC '74 Road Runner project (a copy of my factory ordered 1/1) and posted the results in this forum folder a few months back. Exciting to see your progress......TIM

...it's a long planned (10 years plus) early 1960's style T-Bucket....but not your normal '23-'35 T, but one with the much different '27T roadster pickup body. As you all know, there's never been a 1/25th scale kit of the '27T Roadster, so this one is a conversion using the original Revell Buttera style '27T Touring body. (The AMT '27T Touring would also work, but some experts say the Revell body is slightly more accurate in proportions, and I tend to agree, to a degree.) While the prototypical T-Bucket (aka Fad T) was usually a '23-'25T, there was magazine coverage of '27T (as well as '29A) buckets as well. These tended to stand out as the front cowls of both were very different that of the earlier, and far more common '23-'25 T-bucket body. And personally, I prefer both to the earlier style. I did an article on the A-Bucket conversion in the mid 1980's for Scale Auto, but this new model is the first attempt at a classic 1960's 1927 T Bucket. Based on my own research for the best source of the back of the Roadster pickup, but with some strong directional advice from Australian model rodder and magazine columnist Alan Barton, I decided to base the conversion on a narrowed section of the rear of the Buttera series Touring body. What you see pieced back together is purely cut and glue - no bodywork filler whatsoever. It's a great match (thanks, Alan!) Only the very bottom corner of the side/rear intersection, and the lower portion of the center rear, will reguire bodywork to finish the conversion. It's going to be sitting on a Fad T style chassis and suspension from the old MPC "Switchers" kit series dating back to 1972. As old as that is, it was and remains the most current Fad T style chassis committed to bi-scale styrene. The engine is a classis Y-Block Ford V8, based on the Revell 1957 Ford series, but with liberal upgrades from Norm at Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland and other aftermarket sources (e.g. the Vertex magneto), and liberal use of Milotow chrome on the engine accessories. The wheels and tires are from the AMT-Ertl version of the Barris Ala Kart. As you can see below, there are actually two different versions of two-passenger 1927 Model T Roadster bodies. The factory (here, converted) '27T Roadster body on the left, while the body on the right represents the front half of the Touring body, with a rear section comprising the metal backing of the front seat on the real car. This application was usually found on 1/1 scale Track Roadsters and Lakes Modifieds. To do this in scale, you need to use the AMT '27T Touring body (in the background) because it is the only kit that includes the front bench seat seatback piece (the Buttera kit omits this as the front seats in it are buckets). This was a structural piece on the real car; on the model you'll need to widen the piece slightly to fit the body. (BTW, this body was built probably 20 years ago as the start of a lakes modified project, but the model mags were not interested so I stopped work on it back then). With the benefit of 20 years of additional reference material, to be really accurate, the back piece on this one needs more of a curve, vs. the fairly straight execution shown here (it has also warped a bit over the years, which has served to further reduce the curve that should be there). You can see the stock AMT Touring body in the background for comparison. Finally, here's a comparison of the new project with a resin-based '27T Roadster Pickup Project that was completed in the 2000's, and was a feature how-to in (IIRC) one of the Scale Auto Contest Annuals, of all places(!) The body and interior was from Tim's Resin Rods of Vacaville, CA if memory serves. It was placed on a narrowed '32 Highboy chassis from the Revell Deuce Street Rod kits. The engine was the inaccurate Ardun conversion from the first "Custom" version of the Revell 1950 Ford pickup, with hot rod flathead cyclinder heads replacing the completely incorrect Ardun heads in the kit (otherwise the engine was great). Not sure exactly how the model will be finished, but I'm leaning toward a Candy Red over Metalflake Red, or perhaps Candy Blue over '65/'66 Corvette Nassau Blue Metaliic. with white guts et al in keeping with the early '60's build theme. Based on some feedback on my last posting/topic on this section of the forum, just so we are clear, there will not be a step-by-step series of updates on this build, as is typical with many posts here. Just wanted to give you a one-time look at what's up on the Boyd bench as of today, December 4, 2020. Next update (if there is one) would most likely be in the "under glass" section of the forum. Welcome any feedback, and happy to answer any questions....and thanks for looking! Cheers.....TIM

Chris...now that 1.1 is a truly rare dog. You're absolutely right, that bad boy has got to be brought back! The fact that it is still in the same family (broadly speaking) is even cooler. Cheers....TIM

FWIW, I have been told by insiders that these days it is difficult to get data for new vehicles from GM in order to develop model kits. Reportedly Ford is much more supportive. Haven't heard anything one way or another about Fiat-Chrysler (forgot heir new name after the Peugeot-Citroen merger). TIM

Yes...that was an image of Richard Carroll accepting the trophy ad Grand National Champion of the first year (1968-69) MPC Customizing Championship. He attended a number of the biggest MPC shoes during the first three or four years of the series. His work was so advanced that MPC created a special class for his work after the first year or two, as no one else was quite in his league of advanced design and craftsmanship. The women in the picture was Flip McCulligan (from memory, probably mispelled), who was an assistant in the OLR Publishing (Car Model) magazine offices at the time. In the early years of the NNL Nationals, around 1985 or so, we did get Richard to come out and attend one of those shows. TIM

More images below, just shot in my photo studio, with better lighting and more accurately portraying the actual F6 Bright Green Metallic color. Also, a few comparo photos showing the difference between Dodge 1969 1/2 code (E)F6 Bright Green Metallic and the Plymouth 1969 1/2 code 999 Rallye Green Metallic, which was also the exact same color (with the exact same Dupont mix code) as 1968 1/2 and 1969 Chevy code 79 Rallye Green Metallic. And thanks for all the positive comments, folks. Very much appreciated.....TIM ,

Good points, all. Don't have a clue on the color, other than not Silver or White! Cheers....TIM

Thanks James for the heads-up. If I was going to buy a 1/1 mid engine sports car, I'd go for a McLaren over a Ferrari in a heartbeat, although the latest "GT" variant is the only one that could even marginally be in the consideration set. But anyway, really great to see a new, full detail McLaren kit! At the risk of incoming arrows/bullets/accusations or worse, I do believe it is worth noting that in reviewing Tamiya's kit pictures, it does appear to have a stand-alone, full detail engine layout. What appears to be a single, combined engine block/heads/intake/turbos casting will probably need a lot of paint detailing to look good. Would have preferred those parts to be separate, but still a much, much better solution. Very much looking forward to buying and groking this kit! \\TIM

Martin....I'd say you nailed the basic proportions and layout. Not easy to do, at all. Big congrats and look forward to watching your project develop....TIM

Interesting....If I am remembering correctly, I was told the NASCAR tooling was still in existence and one or more people took a trip to S. Korea during the time when the relations with N. Korea deteriorated, for the purpose of finding a more secure site to hold the tooling....TIM

That's a much different green color than the original c.1969 issue of the Jolly Green....I guess that is a plus for kit collectors who have the original....thanks for the images, Casey....TIM

Terrific design and execution, yielding a great result, Rodney! Cheers....TIM

This is part, but not all of the story. You'll hear another version - that suggests there was a very real attempt to reissue the Aurora funny car kits after they arrived at Monogram - in my new book "Collecting Drag Racing Model Kits".....plus there is list of topics that were planned for a follow-up 1/16th scale Aurora drag racing kit and diorama series if the initial Aurora 1/16th scale kits sold well......Cheers....TIM

Very sharp conversion and a beautiful job finishing your model! Plus, unlike so many well intentioned conversions, this one actually looks real. Congrats!!!!.....TIM

In case anyone doubts John on the 1969 1/2 Plymouth and 1968 1/2 through 1969 Chevrolet Green being the same color, according to my reference sources those two paint listings carried exactly the same Dupont paint source mix code....yet another fascinating factoid of the muscle car era! TIM

The Six Pak, as most of you know, was a mid-year addition to the Coronet Super Bee series, as was the new Dodge Code F6 Bright Green Metallic, which was only available during the spring/summer 1969 production cycle on Dodge Coronets, Chargers, and Darts (please note - the Rallye Green on mid-year 1969 Plymouths was an entirely different color - lots of misinformation out there on this subject!) This Monogram model replicates the car, and MCW Automotive Finishes replicates the paint color. I added a vinyl roof and "Day Two" Keystone Klassic (formerly "Kustomag") wheels with the big'n'bigger Revell 1932 Ford Street Rod Kit series tires and lthe valve covers in the "Day Two" plated form they were found in the kit. The engine compartment was wired; note the factory dual rain drains on the air cleaner pan. N This model was built in the mid 1990's if memory serves correctly, before detailed documentation of correct B-Body chassis/underbody finishes became widely available to model builders. Thanks for looking, and Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all! Cheers, TIM Note that the paint detailing on the underbody shown in the photo below is not even close to being factory correct.....

That came out great! Thanks for posting....TIM

Chris....here you go....not easy to see, but just as you suspected.....Chrysler letters on grille surround..... Really interesting to think that they changed it mid-stream. TIM

Interesting info here on the Jo-Han promos, and the real cars. Never noticed those diffs before. As to promo and annual kit inaccuracies vs. the real cars, a lot of it can be traced to the timelines for the model kit and promo tooling development vs. last minute changes as the full size cars went into production. At the model car companies, the details on annual kits and promos for the next model year were generally locked down based on manufacturer plans as of March each year, so the tools could be sent out (or new tools developed) into the supply base to be ready for production at the model company plants later in the year. But the plans for the real 1/1 scale cars often experienced detail changes right up to and beyond Job #1, generally the following August or September. So there was a 5-6 month period where 1/1 scale cars could change and yet the models and promos were already committed based on the plans as of an earlier date. There are many examples of this in the model kit world, and some of them offer interesting insights into the 1/1 scale manufacturer product plans, that changed at the last minute. This was particularly true during the muscle car years of the late 1960's and early 1970's. I did an entire article on this, with many examples, in the other model car magazine about 5 or 6 years ago. Just one example? Up until the very last minute the 1972 Charger and Challenger performance sub-brand offerings were to continue the "R/T" nomenclature, not the exceedingly generic "Rallye" branding that finally appeared. How do we know this? Because the decal sheet that accompanied the MPC 1972 Charger and Challenger promos included the stillborn "R/T" graphics (and yes, they were different than the 1971 R/T graphics). It happened on non-muscle cars too. The Revell 1962 Newport convertible included a large decklid molding that was entirely consistent with the Exner era ornamentation, but that trim pieces was not found on the 1/1 scale production car. The MPC 1966 Monaco 500 kit had two errors in exterior ornamentation, surely a casualty of Dodge's last minute vacillation on 1/1 series C-body badging/nomenclature and the impact of same on series differential - the MPC body included fendertop moldings that never appeared on the real car, and was missing the lower front bumper to wheel opening trim that did appear on the real car. Hope this helps explain... TIM PS - here's a look at that non-production 1962 Newport trim piece - it surrounds the trunk lock bezel, directly above the license plate....

Cool stuff Howard.....models look sharp! Congrats....TIM

Mostly box stock build of the c. 1993 AMT./Ertl issue of the old MPC 1970 Super Bee body and interior combined with the chassis/suspension/driveline/engine compartment of their 1968 Road Runner/1969 GTX tool. Factory "Top Banana" High Impact paint, with white/black guts and the factory "C" Scat Pack stripe. The tires were the major departure from kit content. The engine compartment was fully plumbed. This model was built sometime in the mid-late 1990s. Sorry about the somewhat shallow depth of field; I had to shoot these images at F/16 (instead of my preferred F/32) due to poor residual lighting.... Thanks for looking! TIM (Yep, put the removeable air cleaner back on backwards when shooting these images, fortunately it can be corrected with a quick lift and replace.....TB)

Ron. I know this will sound trite, but in my mind I was picturing that as a '41, or possibly a '42, rather than a '48, but I wasn't sure enough to write that. I remember it being a way cool model. And thanks for saying thanks on that Modeler's Corner feature; you and all the other modelers our there building great street rod modelers out there made my job doing that monthly column an easy one. So I could just as easily say thanks to you for letting me feature the Vicky or that article. Look forward to seeing your de-Foosed F100; I've mentally toyed with doing something similar and it will be very interesting to see what you come up with...Cheers...TIM