62rebel

Nice build, I've never been able to finish it as the Eliminator. I always backdate it.

First off, when these kits were new, they didn't adhere to any particular scale, they were designed to fit shelf space on store shelves. Box scale, it was called. That, in no way, describes accuracy or lack thereof. Also, many kits were simply unassembled versions of either promotional models or toys. Now, there is where accuracy will be affected. I imagine the kit is closer to model railroad O or S scale than standard car model scale. Modern manufacturers seem to only go by the modern standards, and probably haven't had any inclination to research the kit and state a more accurate scale. It may not even be representative of any particular piece of equipment.

The recent threads on tire melt got me thinking... There's been a lot of changes in what kit makers gave us for tires over the years, some good, some awful.... My Dad regaled me with stories of plain hard plastic wheels, cast metal, and even wood (I think he was pulling my leg there)... I personally recall all kinds of tires over the years, hard vinyl Palmer tires that bruised your fingers getting them onto the wheels, Monogram hard plastic tires with flat spots, wrinkle wall slicks that only looked right on one side, Johan double name tires, and AMT's egregiously awful two piece tires from the late seventies.... Some of my favorites were the venerable Firestone Supremes and MPC's great G series. Unfortunately, those have an unpredictable habit of shrinking and hardening as they age. Lindberg's issue of Armstrong tires in the exAMT 1934 Ford pickup are an odd duck, but work well for some builds. Revell's tires, with a few exceptions, gave me fits. They were difficult to mount and never seemed to fit together well, and some of their kits still cleave to these things... Their recent offerings have been better, except that they rarely if ever have sidewall details. Round 2's pad printed slicks and other tires have been a welcome respite from the same old stuff. Tamiya tires, as well as Heller, have a habit of splitting in two. I haven't had this issue with Hasegawa tires. Moebius tires are fabulous, little gems all their own.

The dirty Donny superbird has the chassis from the roadrunner. Other way around.

I painted the inside of the body silver, but in truth, all that did was highlight the poor condition of the mold. Some parts have large extrusions that would be quite a pain to remove. Somewhere down the line in twenty or thirty years, it will turn up as a gluebomb and someone will question why a builder painted a supposedly rare clear bodied kit.......

Working on this one in between other projects, I find that the clear/orange metallic plastic is somewhat resistant to taking paint.... Even cleaned meticulously, nothing seems to stick well and my usual mek solvent seems to be unable to make a good bond between parts. Testors in the red tube seems to be the only stuff capable of bonding it.

I'd never paid that much attention to the shortcomings in the AMT kit, even though I had a couple of Johan versions at the time. Having had them pointed out, I wish I still had my original Johan kits. Bill certainly has an eye for inaccuracies! I bought two of the short track roadrunner kits in 1983 when I had a 1:1 roadrunner. Painted them both to match my car but didn't have a source for the Appliance wheels I was running. Lost that car and the models while I was overseas. Replaced the models when AMT brought their kit out, with the correct wheels that time.

Maybe the recent reissue Pinto wagon can donate suitable openings?

Very cool model, indicative of the school of style at the time. I wish I had the ability to do that kind of work at that age. You should try to duplicate it, as close as possible.

I may scrounge through my junk boxes and see if I can find two donors. I have a second kit to build....

Here's a hiccup; they don't provide a decent floor pan underside from the middle of the chassis forward. Literally, nothing but the underside of the interior, which has no details whatsoever. Aggravated.

I'm thinking of painting the fender on the most affected side a different color or primer as if the car had been in an accident and the owner was slowly fixing it. I have a second kit and I will be looking out for this problem during assembly. This is a nice kit, I wish Revell had done a two in one with optional parts.

Working on a 70's style build, I raised the rear to give it some rake, discovered that the front suspension is out of alignment by at least an eighth of an inch. The separate elements that make up the front suspension fit together fairly tightly, so I don't think it's due to my assembly process. I'm finishing it up regardless. I added tripower intake and carbs, and finned valve covers. Trying to find some Cragar S/S mags for it, too, since the tires in the kit look far too skinny and small.

Just hit the local Ollie's, Maverick Polara, Dodge L700 tanker, Dan Fink Speedwagon were the best cars there. I was tempted to buy the Robert E Lee steamboat, though.... I might go back and get one for winter.

That's a period correct build right there. I love it.

Doggone it, I betcha Pactra lids practically unscrewed themselves. Say, whatever happened to Pactra anyway?

I'll have to scratch build the square tail lights to depict any of the several my wife and I owned. Curbside is fine for now...... Revell's 320 can provide the basis for the correct engine.

Seems like a quick and fairly convincing fix to an issue that has unfortunately labelled this kit as "junk" in the eyes of too many. Proof yet again that the skill and determination of the builder is the key to making the best of things. Bemoaning inaccuracies almost to the point of "beating a dead horse" is not conducive to building skillsets that will enable us to overcome less-than-optimal kits.

Nice build but could really use a black wash on the grille and taillight filler piece. Reminds me of the fully loaded 500XL four door I had back in 1993.... power windows, power seats, and swingaway steering wheel. everything but A/C.

My friend David's older brother built the police bike, it was a beauty, and I wouldn't mind building that one too.

Whoever the Revell rep is, can he shine a little light on whether the molds for this classic still exist, and if might ever be reissued? I had one I found in a Navy Exchange store in 1983....... I would love to do another without taking out a second mortgage.

I am in support of the idea.

Which, of course, resides in the venerable 53 F100 kit..... Razor saw ready.

The 49 lost the Cadillac script valve covers long ago if it ever had them. The 59 El Camino has an optional Cadillac engine with scripted valve covers. The 49 Merc had only the stock heads for a long time and gained a set of unplated Offenhauser heads some time back, along with a dual carb intake. The 49/50 Fords and the engines from the Merc will require some modifications to fit. What this series of kits needs is an easily adapted early Hemi.

Wonderful array of examples and that last statement says it all