Jordan White

This will be a look back at the series of 1/12 kits that were released by Doyusha (and I believe some earlier by Otaki, though they were the same kit). There were 14 kits in total, all with opening doors/trunk/hood, working suspension, and posable front wheels. They did all come with plenty of detail, however they were also designed to be motorized if chosen by the builder. This means that the engine is slightly overscaled and blocky in order to house an electric motor. The driveshaft(s) have actual u-joints so that they can turn, and the rear differentials (for the ones that are separate of the transmission) are also oversized and blocky to fit a set of gears. All of these axles are solid-style, regardless of whether the real car is or not in order to utilize solid axle shafts. I will start with the four Mercedes-Benz kits, two are the SLC coupe and two are the SL convertible. Both styles came in a factory version and an AMG version, and I believe all are mid-70's age. The most common is probably the factory 450SLC Coupe, which came with two wheel styles: the body-color wheel covers and the available aluminum wheels. They also came with both US and Europe headlight styles. Plus, as an added bonus, they came with a set of golf clubs! Next is the factory 450SL convertible. I'm not sure if this kit has both sets of headlights or both sets of wheels, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same as the coupe kit, just with no roof and a shorter wheelbase. On the sporty side, there is the AMG version of the SLC coupe. This kit only comes with the European headlights, 17" BBS alloy wheels with larger tires, AMG specific air dam, and rear spoiler. Sorry, no golf clubs here! Finally, there's the rarest version, the AMG version of the SL convertible. So rare in fact, that I couldn't find any pictures of the box art on Google! I'm guessing it's just the regular SL with the AMG bits from the SLC kit.

Today I cut out the fuel tanks and the cab floor away from the frame. I am going to extend the crossmembers and then reconfigure the frame for both a regular cab and for a slightly longer wheelbase.

Oh yeah, you're doing the custom one with the Chevy truck. I've been watching that one actually since I'm intrigued to see how it turns out.

That's the best part about building models, you can build anything no matter how mundane it may be! Anyways, quick update. Been mostly glueing part-halves together, so nothing too interesting. I did get the cab scratchbuilding done, so now it's on to putty, sanding, and primer. I also picked up 2 sets of tires (8 tires total) that look a bit more appropriate than the (blank sidewall) Goodyear kit tires that I was originally going to use. These are blank as well, but the tread pattern will work better along with the more square shouldered look.

This build is also featured in the Light Commercial community build project, but I figured I would post it here as well for those who don't venture that way. As the title states, this build will ultimately be a U-haul truck based on a 1991 Ford F-350 dually chassis-cab. It will be 2wd, and feature the 7.5L/460 V8 and 4-speed automatic. As for the kit, it's rather a mashup between parts from the Monogram F-350 dually kit, and the Monogram F-250 kit. I'm using both because I plan on using a majority of the Dually kit for another build, and thus only needed the badges, wheels/tires, and wheel spacers. I will also be shortening the cab to a regular cab configuration, and plan on rebuilding the rear chassis section. An example of one (sorry for the large pic ) Here's the cab shortened and the driver's side molding removed. The cab was already previously cut for a different project, so I had to use some scrap styrene to fill in the gaps. Once I get the molding removed on the opposite side, and the gaps filled on the back, then I'll be able to throw on some putty.

Not there, considering it's a curbside.

Which is a shame since there are quite a few cars that could stand to be kitted. However I wonder if he's including 1/16 scale in that statement. They're only slightly larger than 1:18 scale diecasts, and still offer plenty of opportunity for large scale detailing.

The only thing is the Foose F100 has the front wheel wells moved forwards in the fenders compared to stock, so it wouldn't be an exact copy of his build if it were going to be also offered as stock. I'm really hoping this gives them a reason to rerelease the 1/12 Corvette kit in the same way as the Camaro.

Ah okay, I was hoping it was a new kit!

What's the scoop on the Skyline? I see 1/12 on the card, and it would appear to have the sport parts from the recent Datsun kit.

If you would like something that doesn't need a lot of prep work, don't get the recent Ed Roth '57 kit. Its based on a tooling from the 60's, so there's a bunch of sanding that needs to be done. Plus, its an "all doors open" kit, and the parts are fidly to get to sit right.

The majority of my kits are 1/24 and 1/25. However, I have recently started collecting up several 1/16 and 1/12 kits, as well as two 1/8 kits for the detail that I could put into them.

I do like those Darts, however I am more partial to the styling of the 'Cuda.

Otaki/Doyusha actually made quite a few 1/12 kits, with the American subjects of the '71 Mach 1 Mustang, the '78 Corvette Stingray, and the '73 Firebird Trans Am. The one that I would love to see, and I think would sell well, is a 1970 or 1971 'Cuda. I believe at this point, MOPAR is the only group that has yet to be represented at this scale.

True, it is on the higher end of the spectrum on what I would like to pay. However, paying $30-40 for a well detailed Tamiya or Aoshima kit feels like a good deal for the content, and if Revell could make some kits with similar detail levels for the same price, then I would be satisfied with that price. Revell kits seem to average around $25, but they generally seem to stick with details that make them feel cheap (two piece wheels anyone?). They don't have to try and fit in opening everything like some of the Level 3 kits of the past, but just providing more/better detailed parts as well as 1:1 accuracy would go a long way.

While not trying to get into this can of worms, I will say that I am willing to pay more for a better kit. I bought two of the Meng F350 kits when they came out, at around $65 apiece. While they had a couple small issues that I can look past, the overall quality and detail of the kit (plus the subject matter) are what swayed me to pay so much.

Yup. The stock kit uses Dunlops, and the Sport Options kit uses Yokohama Mud Diggers.

Sweet! These kits are tough to find, especially the version with the sport options. I know that the Montero kit with sport options comes with both LHD and RHD interiors, so I'm guessing the Land Cruiser is the same.

Would you be able to make them out of brass? Should be sturdier than styrene.

Revell. They were first made with normal sized tires and suspension, and later turned into monster trucks. The monster trucks are the easier ones to find, though they go for around $100 each.

They did put out a few versions of the '73-79 Chevy in 1/16 back in the day, though they are very hard to find and/or very expensive.

Worst show is probably Counting Cars IMO. TFChronos: start on season 2 of Graveyard Carz, it gets better with less drama and goofing off, and more building and information.

The nice thing is you could just say it's a 1995 model, since the only difference between '95 and '96 was the new Vortec engine.

Yeah it does leave a lot to be desired, but it's just a quick buck for them, though it does come with a great plow. Of course, AMT's version isn't really much better.

Now that this will be out for the snap-build crowd, it would be great if they would create a glue kit for those who want one. It could be a 2004 model, and the kit could easily be a 4n1 kit. Version 1: Stock base model with wheel covers (that would go on top of a set of steel wheels) Version 2: LX Sport model with alloy wheels and floor shift Version 3: Undercover/detective model using stock wheel covers, spotlights, and "hidden" flashing lights Version 4: Fully decked out police cruiser with steel wheels and center caps, light bar (could have options like the Charger kit), interior divider, computer, spotlights, decals. It seems like alot, but it's just two sets of wheels (plus two sets of covers), all the police specific stuff, and a few fancier parts for the LX Sport model, so it's an expanded 2n1 kit. Or if they wanted to make several kits, they could as well. 1) Stock and Sport, 2) Undercover and Police Cruiser 3) Taxi with a few different decal and service light options. It's one of those tools that could easily be used several different times to recoup their costs.