Brett Barrow

My source? I'd tell ya, but I'd hafta kill ya... I work in the hobby biz. I don't think there's anything on there that's super-ultra-top secret. But models are my 9-5 Mon-Fri job, I forget sometimes that what's common knowledge in the industry might not be that well publicized to the public yet. Like I thought everybody already knew about Moebius doing a '56 300B, but apparently that was big news the other day.

There's been quite a few announcements made by Round 2 about what they're cooking up for this year. These are what I have so far, sorry I don't have more details as of yet - 1/25 1965 Ford Galaxie Stock Race Car (Fred Lorenzen) 1/25 1940 Ford Coupe 1/25 Ford LN8000 Race Car Hauler 1/25 Ford C600 Pepsi City Delivery Truck 1/25 1975 Chevy Rescue Van 1/25 1940 Willys Coupe Pickup Truck 1/25 Dodge Dart Sportsman Race Car (Petty) 1/25 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner 1/25 1960 Ford Ranchero (Ohio George) 1/25 1969 Chevelle Convertible 1/25 1936 Ford Coupe 1/25 1966 Mustang (could be a restoration of the GT Fastback? edit - nope, it's an "Airplane" movie tie-in of the convertible) 1/25 1969 Camaro 1/25 2013 Camaro ZL1 1/25 1971 Dodge Demon (MPC)

I don't think we can post links to the other forums, but I don't think Mr. Boyd would mind if I linked to his Fotki - it's the last 2 pics in the miscellaneous projects folder. http://whatsnew.fotki.com/funman1712/

Tim Boyd's been recreating the Sock It To Me Vette using the new Revell kit and a Miss Deal chassis over on the other board (and his fotki page) . Good timing for that reissue! I'm sure they'll throw some of their new slicks in there and do it up pretty nice.

Got the DSLR's battery on the charger - will try to get some pics posted tonight after work. But remember my motto - "I have not yet begun to procrastinate!" But that's pretty much how I would sum it up - worth it for the decals, new 5 hole rear wheels (which seem to match up better to the period after the car had been chopped) and tires (which are newer and better than what any version of this kit ever had), and the booklet alone. The "restored" parts - and remember, they were present in the many runs of the Willys pickup, just not the coupe - are a bit flashy, as is much of the larger chrome tree. The smaller chrome tree in mine is nearly flawless, though. The plating is very well done. It's the same kit it's been all along, there weren't any miracles performed on the tooling, but overall it's a nice reissue. Good to have it back in this form. It is what it is, a 45 year old kit that's been issued and reissued in some shape or form almost continuously over its lifetime. The meat of what you need to build a decently accurate replica of the original is in there - and it's always had some boogers. Armed with the included booklet and a copy of TRJ #20, the internet, and a judicious application of modeling skill that's probably easier to do now that it was even when the kit was brand-new.

Really, really cool! Very period-correct look. One question - what are you using under your Alclad? It looks great.

Testarossa, 512TR, and 512BB are all different cars (512BB is 20 years earlier and much different car - 512TR is an evolution of the Testarossa) and each have been by several manufacturers. There's a lot of confusion on this thread. Tamiya never made a 512TR, only a regular Testarossa. It's a full detail kit. Monogram's 512TR is basically their Testarossa with a new body, interior is basically still the same. Tamiya never made a motorized 512BB, that's probably a Marui or Otaki kit. I wish I had more first-hand info to share, but I've only built the Monogram Testarossa years ago. Most 512TR's I've seen built are the Revell/Monogram, but it seems like most reviewers give the edge to the Fujimi or Rosso kits.

It's a 60 Ranchero and they're considering it (would take a new grille/bumper). They also have plans on the Mustang gasser (MPC) as well. They spent a good chunk of change to get the license for Ohio George stuff, they'll get their money's worth out of it I'm sure. I have the Willys reissue, very nicely done, new 5- hole rear wheels are beautiful, the 4-hole ones are still there, too and you get 2 sets of slicks for them, a big pair and an even bigger pair. The hole in the roof is still there and there's a filler panel for it. Body looks pretty clean and looks like they spent some effort getting the mold halves to line up better in this reissue. You get skinny tires for the fronts (look like MPC Denmans to me). The little booklet is great, too, includes some photos from when AMT measured up the real deal (including a few shots before the top was chopped) and some detail shots from the restoration that supplement the article in Rodders Journal #20 very well. I'll try to get the camera out and snap some pics tonight.

Just snip the extra L out. No biggie. Better to have too many than not enough!

Try Paintref.com, too. They have codes for several manufacturers there, including Dupont and Ditzler/PPG. If Steve already has one of their body shop chip books it would save you the hassle. http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?year=1962&manuf=GM&model=Corvette&action=Get+Paint+Codes

Clear body kits sell like trash, too. Believe me. Will probably end up helping this kit in the long run.

Yeah, the valve covers look like the ones we've seen on other SBC's, like the California Wheels versions of the Tri-Fives. And since the Vega steering box didn't fit on the real car, I doubt the Vega box from the existing 32's would fit either. The real car had Edelbrock valve covers that were machined out to accept the breathers anyway, and the steering is a trick rack and pinion unit that went in very late in the build, probably after the kit had already been measured and in development. We'll see what's in actually in there when we see the actual kit. Who knows (other than whoever built the box-top kit) what went into the box-top photo build? It's entirely possible it was built from existing kit parts and resin or STL mockups of the unique parts. There could be very litle actual kit styrene in that build-up. You have to have box art mocked up for licensing approval so early in the process these days that a lot of box-top built-ups for the recent Revell releases have been built from very early mockups or early test shots. We'll see, we'll see. In a couple weeks it'll all be clear...

You could try Hiroboy/Zero Paints, he's in the UK. Probably all you really need is the paint code (you can find this info at TCP Global's Auto Color Library) you might be able to get a local auto paint jobber to mix up some paint for you (I don't know how the regualtions are in the UK, if auto paints are available to the general public). Or you could buy a set of vintage paint shop paint chips off of ebay - "pete's auto data" is a source I've used several times - and either mix your own or match to what's available commercially. Sometimes Corvette colors are done on their own sheet instead of the same year's Chevrolet colors. Depends on which paint brand the chips are from. http://www.hiroboy.com http://www.tcpglobal.com/autocolorlibrary/default.aspx http://stores.ebay.com/petes-auto-data

Body is opaque "Petty Blue". I think the wheels are re-tooled/restored parts, they look nice.

There's also the Italeri and Rosso kits. Never built any of them (did build Revellogram's older verson Testarossa as a kid, thought it was nice. But I thought everything was nice back then...)

Well, yeah, I figured you had to put it on with something! I have seen some Japanese modelers who polish out their finishes with compound and their bare fingers, something about the skin oil and heat from the friction that's supposed to make it magical... Those Japanese modelers can be some crazy cats...

It's hard to believe that the orignal 32 tooling is now nearly 20 years old and has been in pretty much constant production. I should get to see it sometime next week, but it won't be mine I'll have to wait 'til the kit hits the shelves to have one for my own And I'm more exited about the AMT Ohio George Willys re-issue anyway!

I'd say late summer or fall at best. That seems to be the recent trend, about 10-14 months after announcement, which was a couple months ago. 50 Olds, 57 Ford, 62 Vette, and the Stacy David show car were all announced in Oct 2011, and they took about a year or so to make it to the shelves (Stacy David car is due the end of this month).

Yes, 25th scale and all-new from the ground up (well, I don't know about the tires ). Will have nothing in common with previous Revell/Monogram 'Cudas.

From what I've been told, the tooling is "all new" in the sense that it is physically a new piece of steel. Some of the individual part patterns may end up being the same as the parts from earlier kits. This was done intentionally so as to keep the ability to easily kit-bash between all of the other deuce kits. It's entirely possible the build-up we've seen pictures of was made using parts from the other kits, which might explain why the I-beam front axle isn't visible, or the rear end looks the same (on the real car it's very similar anyway - a "triangulated" four link with coil-overs). I've also noticed that there's no distributor or steering box on the built-up model. The real car has a pocket in the firewall to clear the distributor, and didn't get it's steering box - a very trick rack-and-pinion unit for solid axle cars - until very late in the build, possibly later than when the kit designers were there to research the kit. We'll have to see what's done to the actual kit to replicate these parts. From what I understand, the kit does have a few intentional comprimises to allow future development of the tooling, it might not be a 100% accurate replica of the show car, but should come very, very close. I should be seeing an actual sample kit sometime in the next week or so, I'll pass along any info I can. The kit won't be mine to keep, and I probably won't be allowed to post any photos of it, but I'll try to answer any questions I can. It'll only be about a month before this thing is on the shelves, so we don't have long to wait!

2000 grit and Novus #2??!?!!? That's all it took to polish that out?!?!?! Stunning paint, it looks very much in scale, as opposed to the "miles deep" dipped-in-urethane look. Great job!

Looks absolutely gorgeous! Stance looks perfect and those AMT Firestones look great, I plan on putting a set on one of mine when I do a showroom-stock build, the skinny WW’s or the blackwall side would look just as nice. (My first one’s probably gonna be dropped a little with some mid-60’s mags and smaller and wider skinny WW’s). Did you do any tweaking to the suspension, or is that how it sits right out of the box? Revell did a great job with this one, but knowing who they hired to design the kit I didn’t expect anything less. I won’t mention him by name, as I’m not sure he or Revell want it to be public knowledge (I work in the industry), but let’s just say that inside the industry he’s a legend and we’ve probably all got closets full of classic models he designed, but this is only the 2nd release I know of that he’s done for Revell. He also designed the new-tool 70’ Cuda due later this year, so anybody that’s worried about how that will turn out can relax a little knowing he’s on the job!

Something to remember for the next one, eh? This looks like the kind of model we'll want to build multiples of. I've already got several planned! It's pretty common for these 50's mid- to entry-level cars that Revell's been doing recently to only have one interior color scheme and very few options. The '57 Chevy 150 only had one scheme, as did the '50 Olds 88 Club Coupe, though the kit replicates the deluxe interior - there was still only one color choice until you got to "open" models like convertibles or the Holiday hardtop. I just had a conversation the other day with my grandfather, who actually owned a base-model 57 Ford Custom, I asked him if he remembered what color it was, he said "Nah, we didn't worry about those things back then. We just cared about what kind of a deal we could get."

The floor is the back of the chassis, there's no separate interior floor or tub. Under the seat would have been a better spot. Oh well, something to shoot for the next one on the never-ending quest to find the perfect model kit... One of these days, we'll get it! And a note I'd like to add, and I don't mean to insult the OP's color choice, I think it looks great and it's his model, he can build it however he likes, but there was only one interior color option (can't really call it an "option", can we?) for the Custom, and that was a gray scheme (with a really cool semi-gloss gunmetal color for the dash and metal areas, I think it's quite attractive myself). This link (which I believe are more pics of the same reference car the OP has already posted) shows an original interior, albeit with a badly discolored headliner. It should be the same as the lightest grey fabric on the door panels. http://c-it.com/aminter-tbirds/315/index.htm Again, I don't mean to insult the OP's color choice, just wanted to point out for those who might be planning a replica-stock build.

They're those weird OEM Holley "teapot" carbs. The top part is usually a different color (silver) than the bottom (bronze/gold) so I guess it made sense to mold them in halves. Don't know that it made much sense to mold one half onto the intake, though. But anyone who would pass on this kit because part of the carb is molded onto the intake is missing out one of the nicest kits ever to come out of the Revell/Monogram stable.