Force

The "recent" Revell Funny Car kits started out as Monogram kits in 1985 with #2711 Don "Snake" Prudhomme's Pepsi/Wendy's Pontiac Trans Am FC, #2712 Dale Pulde's Miller High Life Pontiac Trans Am FC and #2710 Billy Meyer's 7-Eleven Ford Mustang FC, and they are 1:24th scale. Next in line was #2726 Kenny Bernstein's Budweiser King Ford Tempo in 1986. After that they moved the Funny Car series over to Revell and the kits evolved and changed to John Force's Castrol GTX Oldsmobile Cutlass in 1989 and they did several more Olds FC's that year...and the Tom "Mongoo$e" McEwen 57 Chevy FC, next evolution was with a Dodge Avenger body in 1995 and finally they did Pontiac Firebird bodys in 1997. The chassis didn't change much and was pretty much the same the whole time with a few small changes, same with the engine, only small changes through the years. The recent Pro Stock went the same way, first Monogram in 1984-5-6 with Bob Glidden's Chief Autoparts/7-Eleven Ford Thunderbird and Reher-Morrison Chevy Camaro and a few more, after that the Pro Stock kits went over to Revell and they did Bob Glidden's Motorcraft Thunderbird in 1987 based on the 1984 Thunderbird tool with a new body, 1991 they changed the Chevy Camaro to Pontiac Firebird, the last evolution of this tool was a newer Firebird in 1999, all are 1:24th scale. Before that in 1997 Revell did Oldsmobile Cutlass Pro Stock kits but it was 1:25th scale and a new tool. The recent Top Fuel kits wich started with Don Garlits Swamp Rat XXX Dragster 1987, as nobody followed Garlits with that type of streamliners they had to do a new tool in 1991 for Joe Amato's Valvoline Dragster and a few more after that, they have allways been Revell and has been marked as 1:25th scale from the beginning, the final evolution of that tool was Kenny Bernstein's Bud King and Tony Schumacher's Army Dragsters released in 2002.

As Snake says, the first generation Camaro was designed and available with 396 big block, you couldn't get the 427 through the regular dealers as it wasn't on the option list, but Yenko, Gibb and Baldwin Motion found a way to order Camaro's with the 427 anyway, it was through COPO, Central Office Production Order, where you could order fleet cars such as Taxi's, Police cars and other cars like that and you could order the cars with options outside the regular option lists.

As I said, the mid 80's and 90's Funny Car chassis wich we can call current are rigid and has no suspension, both the front and rear axles are solid mounted with no movement in them, if you want a funny car with a front suspension you have to look for an earlier funny car chassis from the 70's, Revell, Monogram, AMT, MPC and Jo-Han did Funny Cars with front suspension, the only ones of them in 1:24 are the Monogram 71 Barracuda, 71 Duster and a 57 Chevy. When the wheelbase grew longer they did not need any movable suspension, a modern Funny Car has a 125 inch wheelbase (the current Revell kits are of that type) and they are rigid, and as I said in my earlier post the only suspension they have is the flex in the chassis.

I couldn't agree more.

Even I have finally paid for an account at fotki, $24 per year is far cheaper than the $399 Photobucket wants.

A modern style 125 inch wheelbase Funny Car as the current Revell kits are doesn't have any suspension at all, the front axle arms are mounted on the frame rigid and does not move and the flex in the chassis is the only "suspension" they have, before the 80's they used coil over or torsion bar front suspensions on Funny Cars. So if you want a Funny Car front suspension you need to find a 70's Revell or AMT/MPC Funny Car kit.

The christmas tree in the McEwen kit is the older style with five amber lights on top of the green and red, the christmas tree in the GTO is a more modern layout with three amber lights like the ones used today.

Nice recovery Jarda.

You might have to right click and open in new tab or window two times, first on this page and then do it again on the page you get, the third page or tab will most likley show the picture. At least it works that way for me.

One thing tho'. The long section after the center of the bogie where the hitch is mounted on modern logging trucks is to help make the trailer take turns easier as the trailer goes slightly the opposite way through the turn and doesn't cut the corners as much with this setup, and the reach with a compensator is a must as the turning points of the load and hitch are maybe up to 8-10 feet apart. If the hich is closer to the center of the bogie the trailer will not go through turns as easy and will cut the corners more, and a reach compensator may not be that important as the turning points between the load and the hitch are a lot closer. So the further the turning points of the load and the hitch are appart the more need of a compensator coupling, if they were at the same point you don't need a compensator at all as the lengths allways are the same. The long aft section on logging trucks and reach compensator couplings used now are maybe a later develpoment and are most likely more common after the model kits were made...the AMT Peerless Logging Trailer kit first came out in 1976 and the Ertl International Paystar 5000 Logger hit the shelves first in 1975.

I bought the Ertl Rubber Duck Mack back when it was new in 1978-79 and it's basically the DM 600 with some parts added to it to make it to look more like the Rubber Duck truck...but they failed horribly. I wouldn't waste my money on one if it came back as it's all wrong if you want to do the truck from the movie, I started to build mine back then but it was so wrong and I gave up on it. The only usable parts from the Ertl kit is the front bumper and guard, the grille, the duck hood ornament, the roof air foil and the decals, the rest is wrong. You are better off starting with the AMT R685 if you want to do the RS700L from the movie or buy the AITM Rubber Duck resin kit. Of course, I would also like to see the International Paystar Logger kit again.

I don't know exactly how it works either but the reach has to be movable when the truck turns if the load is ancored with chains or wire at both banks as the turning point of the load and the tractor-trailer are at different places, otherwise the load has to be able to slide at one end to make up for the difference in length when the truck turns. I don't think the movable part of the reach wich I think is called a compensator is hydraulic because you don't pull this type of trailer with the reach when it's loaded, it's just for steering the trailer, you pull the trailer with the log load, and as the load is anchored at both banks and the lengt of the load is fixed the back end of the truck where the hitch is will force the trailer to straighten out and the movable part of the reach to retract when the truck and trailer starting to go straight again after a turn. Here is a video where you can see it work, look closely when he turns on to the larger paved road:

Everything is possible, but it depends on how much of the original tooling was altered to do the newer Transtar II and if it's economical to convert it back to the earlier model. The AMT 628 Peerless "Roadrunner" Logging Trailer is still on the Round 2 website so it might still be some left from the latest run. As for the AMT Caterpillar D8, I think it was some licensing issues last time it was re-issued because there were no Cat or Caterpillar markings anywhere on those kits. Revell AG had a modern oval tank trailer, the #07554 Chromed Beall Tank Trailer....and yes I would also like to see it re-issued as well as the AMT Autocar trucks.

You can see the pics if you right click and open in new tab, and do it once more in that tab and the picture will appear in the second one, sometime it works in the first. Alain...I understand French is your native language but please write in English, my French is a "little rusty". If I should write in my native language here on this forum not many would understand a bit of what I'm trying to say.

I haven't seen any pictures where the original 64 Plymouth Lawman car had a rollbar, so I would say no. The AMT 64 Plymouth Lawman kit is a mix of parts from the Lindberg 64 Dodge and the 64 Plymouth kits and a few new parts, the Lindberg 64 Plymouth kit started out as a NASCAR race car (Richard Petty's #43) and they for sure had a roolbars...or should I say, rollcages, that's why the floorpan has holes in it: The Lindberg 64 Dodge and Plymouth racing kits came with 426 Hemi or 426 Max Wedge and the factory stock kits had a 426 Wedge or optional slant six.

Yes that's the main reason. It even looks like they are on a bridge or overpass of some sort and it would most likely colapse...or at least be damaged...under the high axleloads of the mining truck. The weight on these mining trucks empty are in the 100-280 tonnes range depending on model...that's 50-140 tonnes per axle and that wouldn't be good for any road or bridge.

If you meant if the bar was telescopic I missunderstood because it isn't, as Anthony said the bar is fixed and the rest of the rig slides on it...so it's adjustable in my eyes.

It's adjustable if you don't glue it in place, it's supposed not to be glued according to the instructions

I have a 44 feet and 38 feet goose neck and one 21 feet tag along and they are nice kits. For the 44 feet I plan to use a 1:24 Testors Ford F-650 Super Crewser, it's a metal kit but large enough for this trailer. The 38 feet I'm not sure yet, it also need a quite large pickup truck, I would have liked some kind of crew cab for it too and I have an AMT Dodge Ram Dually...but I need to make or find a crew cab for it for it to look right. The 21 feet tag along trailer will be towed by a Chevrolet C-3500 Dually with a cap over the bed. I think the full size class 8 tractors are too large for these trailers, they need a taller longer trailer like the popular 2 story 53 feet Featherlite style trailers the NASCAR, NHRA and Indycar teams use, the Galaxie trailers are more suited to medium size trucks.

I ordered a couple of sets last Wednesday and got them today, very fast delivery...and the wheels looks as great in real life as in the pictures.

Yeah, the chassis of the truck is way too beefy to be a C600.

The Mack Cruiseliner is up for re-issue later this year and it's got the ENDT 676 Tip Turbine "Cool Power" engine the R685ST has an ENDT 675 with no aftercooler

Another option is to combine the AITM resin kit with the recently re-issued AMT Mack R series.

I'm not shure the Super Boss originally had any form of explosion protection on the Allison transmission, the Bandag Bandit wich engine has 300 more horseower than the Super Boss and now resides at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum doesn't have one, and there are none on the auxillary transmission either. So it could also be something Gary Ries added after he bought the truck, and it's not wrong to use one as the transmission of course can blow up.

I also have the AITM resin kit and it's great...but it's a curbside with the hood closed and only the lower part of the engine, and the air cleaner isn't quite correct for the movie truck, it should be a dual hose ENDT 676 Tip Turbine air cleaner as the movie truck most likley had that engine and not the Detroit Diesel that's on the movie sound track, the air horn sound is wrong on the sound track too as the long horns the movie truck has hasn't that high pitch sound. The hood can be opened up and an ENDT 676 Tip Turbine can be found in the Mack Cruiseliner if you want to detail the kit up.