Jordan White

1st thing is tires, of course that's more of a funds issue. 2nd thing is brakes. Why can't all (new) kits come with separate brakes, rather than the wheel backs, even if they don't have see-through wheels? It wouldn't create an increase in parts, and would provide that little bit of detail. Of course, it would mean that the wheels would have to be designed as one piece, but Tamiya doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I guess the third thing would be front suspensions molded as one large blob with the steering linkage attached. Sure it might be less pieces to mold and assemble, but it looks stupid and doesn't allow the builder the option of poseable steering. Again, this is an area where Tamiya shines.

Easiest way is to get a free photo sharing account (if you don't already have one) such as Photobucket or Fotki and upload the pictures through it.

Well I got the engine assembled and painted. I still have some detail work to do, but it's complete as far as kit parts. I went with a blue block, heads, oil pan, and cam covers to mimic the blue painted engines in the original.

If this build isn't going to be done any time soon, I'd like to join. I'm going to build a 1/12 2011 Mustang Mach 1 concept.

What kits is this based on? The '99 Silverado may not have sold well because it was only a 2WD 1500 model. Ford had either the basic F150 or the Harley Davidson models. Newest Dodge had was the 2nd Gen. I think if they released a 4WD HD model, then they would possibly sell better. Why did they rerelease the '90s F250 kit? 2WD wasn't probably the best decision, but it sold because it was an HD model that could be used for many different types of vehicles. Sure the subjects you mentioned sell well, but they have been kitting some unique vehicles lately that have been selling. Again, this is where a poll would be great to put out, to see in fact whether a new truck kit would potentially be a hit.

Yeah I'm surprised that Revell hasn't done any of the new pickups yet. They are popular, and provide plenty of customization options. Plus they would provide more options for tow vehicles.

Yeah, by all means build it how you want. That's the fun in building!

Baja trucks have IFS since they do a lot of high speed dune runs where they will need to soak up large bumps and ruts, plus they are only RWD. For the most part though, people swap in solid axles since they allow for more flex, simpler operation, and less chance for breakage. When I think of trail rig, I think of driving down dirt roads or rutted trails in the woods. These roads don't really favor one suspension type over the other, so it's a draw. Portal axles are used when you want the benefits of a solid axle, but would like more ground clearance, which is generally for more extreme conditions. Personally, I think you should stick with standard solid axles front and rear, and mount the springs over the axles for a bit of lift. If you want more lift, you can heat up the springs slightly and re-arch them.

I think he's actually building the car from Fast & Furious.

The scratchbuilding is looking good so far. I'm just curious as to why you decided to go with an IFS? In the 1:1 world this would be seen as counter-intuitive, especially since you're making a portal axle for the rear.

That's a good looking dually. As for the engine bay, the actual truck is fairly empty as well. Course a big block would probably fill it out a little more in the 1:1. Sucks that the kit has such poor detail in the bay.

Dang, pics aren't showing.

Sucks that they're having it this weekend. Normally they had it the first weekend of June, wonder why they moved it up a couple weeks? Funny thing is I'm in Minnesota now and going to Michigan for a model show this weekend.

I like how it's coming together so far! However, the only issue I have is using the white stripes on a yellow car, especially since you used the black wheels. I think you should have painted a pair of black stripes instead. Wonder why they didn't include other color stripe decals? The 2012 has like 5 different colors overall (red, blue, black, silver, and white.)

Better not have, it took me a whole ten minutes to make that thread!

I have the same kit, so I took a measurement of the body height, which is about 2.5". In the picture, the chair appears to come up to just below the door handle (taking in to account the angle), which is approximately 1.375" high. Converting to 1:1, the body is about 62.5" high, or just over 5 feet. The chair is then approximately 35" tall, or just under 3 feet. That seems a little short to me. What are the dimensions of the actual chair?

As an overall kit, I'd go with the Monogram Bronco. Plowboy mentioned a few of the drawbacks with the kit, but I'd say it has much better detail than the AMT kit. Plus it comes with more extra parts. There is the fact that the AMT kit has a TTB setup that consists of separate pieces, compared to the Monogram kit, though the one-piece setup in the MG kit isn't all that bad.

Tom: It's actually out of a can, Dupli-color "Perfect Match". Found it at the local Advanced Auto Parts. Ken: I'm going to keep it all one color, though I am going to do a gold stripe (or stripes) of some sort.

Well I just picked out the color, it's Chrysler Inferno Red metallic. Here's how it looks on the bumper (the picture doesn't do it justice).

Being a younger builder myself (23) I'll chime in with some points. First, it seems that it's the older crowd who is whining about the prices. "Back in my day, I could get a model for 95 cents and still have change for a candy bar!" If you look at the price of video games, the younger crowd would most likely not be whining as much. New video games generally cost around 60 bucks for the Xbox or PS3. I believe that the main issue is friends. Most kids now would rather play a game with a friend (or multiple friends) online, since it's more likely that they will also have the same game. Building a model is either something you do alone, or maybe with one friend. However if your friends don't have patience, then they aren't gonna build and you won't either. Another issue is getting all the necessary tools and paints for building, whereas video games require one system and one game to be entertained. There could also be the issue of vehicles that they would like to build. I love building some of the more "average" vehicles, rather than muscle cars or cars older than '66.

Wheels are from eBay, and have the more curved face. They were advertised as Torque Thrust Ds, and while they look close, I'm not going to call them that. Rim doesn't have the right step to it, the spokes are too curved, and the wrong center cap are the three main issues. I think they look more like this Wheel Vintiques wheel. However as I said, the casting is excellent and they kit the kit tires almost perfectly, they're just a tad too wide and stick out the back a bit, but it's not too noticeable from the front.

I was thinking of going with an electric fuel pump, however I prefer manual. As for the grille, lemme tell you it was a pain to build! You can't see it from the angle I posted, but the bars actually follow the contours of the bumper and grille piece, and are from sheet styrene. Imagine cutting out several Vs, all at the same angle, but different widths, and they have to all glue evenly to the vertical supports. Boy was I glad when I got done! I had a chance to paint the wheels, decided to go with gold spokes and silver rim. Should contrast nicely with the color I have in mind.

Touche, I forgot that it was larger. I thought both Bronco kits were the same scale. In any case, yes the AMT's front suspension is indeed better, since it comes in pieces which makes making a lifted suspension much easier. However adding it to another kit would require scratchbuilding frame mounts, whereas the Monogram front end could be attached easily since it's all one piece (plus you can see the axleshaft to the non-diff beam, whereas the AMT kit doesn't have that.)

Adding the wipers to the molds wouldn't be difficult since they would just have to mill out the space in the blocks on a free space on the parts tree. However if the body mold is already made, then it's tougher since they can't exactly fill in the spot where the molded in wipers were. I think the main reason is they know there's a chance that the builder will accidentally break the wipers and complain that they should have been molded in. Personally, I think that most regular builders would prefer the separate pieces, but I suppose the companies would rather cater to the more casual crowd.

I think the easiest thing to do for the 4WD system is use the parts from the rereleased Monogram '81 Bronco, since it's the same scale. However you'd have to mock up the parts on the chassis first to make sure that they will work with the AMT kit.