Revell's "Hot Rod Hydro" - What's New and Different with this reissue?

[tim boyd]

For anyone who was around in the 1960's, ski and drag boats were an important and integral part of the car hobby. Hot Rod magazine regularly featured ski and drag boats from the very late 1950's to the 1970's, with countless articles, many full color features, a monthly column, and even a few magazine covers. Anyone who ventured to a hot rod show was sure to see at least 1 or 2 ski/drag boats for every 10 cars at the show.

So? Well summertime 2015 is finally here, and is always the case at this time of year, I feel the urge to build a 1/25th scale drag or ski boat model. Maybe you too?

Fortunately, Revell has just reissued their seemingly timeless "Hemi Hydro" ski and drag boat model, with new box art, an expansive new decal sheet (with three different graphics schemes, including one designed by Jairus), and improved quality vs. some of the 1990's "Selected Subjects" reissues of this kit.

Let's take a closer look at what's new, along with a kit history (did you know that the original version of this kit dates to 1963 and included some different parts, as well as a real wood veneer applique for the hull deck?)

Not only that, I'll suggest some simple kitbashing ideas, AND hopefully definitively resolve the rumors that the Revell kit is really 1/20th scale instead of 1/25th (I'll provide visual proof this rumor is wrong).

Please click on this link and then use the "Roll" button a directly below left so that you can view the 28 photos as well as the captions that go with each image.

Thanks for looking...and what do you say we hook up the Hot Rod Hydro to one of those new car or truck kits (Moebius '71 Ranger XLT, I'm thinking of you), head out to the lake, launch it and then bring up the revs on that 1/25th Hemi and send some echoes across the lake! Cheers....TIM

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PS - for those of you who dislike Revell kits full stop, there's little here that would change your opinion, so probably best just to move on to the next forum topic. Cheers! TB

Edited June 25, 2015 by tim boyd

[Muncie]

Thanks Tim,

Great kit review and history

Saw this kit at the LHS and remembered how bad the flash and chrome was in the 90's issue ssp kit. The new kit looks excellant

Also appreciate the tip about narrowing the hull. It looks better to me.

Now I'm interested in building one of these.

Steve

[jbwelda]

> for those of you who dislike Revell kits full stop

that is hilarious, I thought you were above such passive aggressive bullbleep.

I wish you would be more explicit if you are going to bring it up. lets hear what you really think Tim.

jb

[GMCMAN52]

Thanks for the review. nice to see some of the old box kits designs

[gman]

Yes- thanks for the review and the shots of the built versions. I wouldn't normally purchase or build one of these, but after seeing your treatment of the subject I can really appreciate the kit.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Good to see this great old kit making such an impressive comeback.

The Hemi engine in this is basically the same one as in the very rare parts-pack, and the Miss Deal Studebaker kit.

It's one of the best early Hemi engines ever done, and to me, the engine and the multi-carb induction system are easily worth the price of the kit.

[Austin T]

I've got the 90's issue of this kit,I don't think I've even used as much spot filler and primer to get a model smooth before than I've used on this kit. I never ended up finishing it mainly because of the chrome so now it sits in "Project Purgatory" waiting for me to look at it do a little something to it and shelve it again.

[DaveM]

It's great to see this come back. I bought the earlier SSP, and the chrome tree had so much flash that I decided not to build it with chrome. I am glad to see they have fixed this. I like the idea of narrowing the hull, and I might try that on one. It gives a bit sleeker look. I always thought this boat would be a good canvas for a scratchbuilt custom interior, with half round styrene tuck and roll, lots of piping, and even some seating, or a padded section on the bow for sunbathing. This kit is a great blank canvas for airbrushers, and when the SSP came out, I saw several at contests with great paint jobs, Almost anything goes for schemes, although I would stay away from really modern ripped graphics, or trueflames, as they would look better on a more modern hull. Panels, crazy '60s graphics, old style flames, and even early '70s style murals are really cool on these things. I always thought the kit was 1/24 or 1/25, but the boat was just a touch wide. I might paint one to match a '69 Ford pickup, but the neat way to do this would be to build the biggest '60s car I can find, and use that to tow it. ('62 Buick, '61 Pontiac, Any Impala or Galaxie, '66 Parklane, Johan Cadillac, Even the Chrysler 300s would work well with this. ) This kit also lends itself to engine swaps, as it really shows off a well built motor.

Great review and history, Tim. I am glad to see the Replicas and Miniatures resin parts, as I like building things "Old Style" once in a while. I must have missed the original announcement. I will see if our local craft store still has any left.

[tim boyd]

Good to hear I'm not the only one who enjoys building this type of model.

Most of you all have probably already seen this, but for those that have not, here is a link to my Fotki album with 14 past Boyd 1/25th scale drag and ski boat builds.

Regular readers of Model Cars magazine may recognize a few of these as well.

LINKY to Boyd 1/25th scale SKI AND DRAG BOAT ALBUM

Cheers...TIM

[GLMFAA1]

Thanks for the article on a boat that I saw in the LHS in 1963, but I did not like Revell models back then and got the re release and built it. I preferred the AMT. It is interesting that the engine grew in the years as you listed it as a 392 Hemi on page 7 of your photos and on page 14 the original box art side panel lists it as a 341 .(will be filling the cylinder heads to check) Another question since I'm in the Buckeye state and have no idea what the west coast boat would be like, what side should the steering wheel be on?

greg

[LDO]

I'll have to look for that back issue of MCM.

[unclescott58]

Another great review Tim. Thanks. I have a copy from the 1990's. I need to get around to finishing it one of these days.

Scott

[tim boyd]

Greg....interesting about that Hemi. It is listed as throughout the years as a 341 (which I don't believe was ever a stock Chrysler Hemi engine displacement) and a 413 (which of course was the top displacement for the completely different, "Raised B-Block" wedge engine at the time the kit was first introduced).

In reality, the engine could probably replicate either a 354 or 392 Hemi....as the differences between these two in scale are difficult to discern.

But if anyone can add clarity on this question, please step forward (and make sure to reference source of your info, preferably from a recognized reliable source!)

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As to the steering wheel question, all the 1/25th scale boat kits I am aware of, placed the steering wheel on the left side (driver's side???), just as in cars driven in North America.

While I think it's safe to assume this is correct for the V-Drive ski and boat kits that were offered over the years, I'm not an authority on pleasure boats (although the original AMT Trophy Series boat kit, which replicates a Chris Craft boat which in one version would be considered a pleasure craft, also placed the steering wheel on the left side). Anyone else have any info on this?

Cheers...TIM

Edited June 25, 2015 by tim boyd

[tim boyd]

If any of you do decide to build or finish your models based on this kit, I'd love to see pictures of them. Thanks in advance...TIM

[Snake45]

I just looked at the instruction sheets for the original and the SSP reissue, and I'm confused.

Revell seems to have you mount the engine backwards.

To clarify, the engine SHOULD be mounted backwards (at least it is on every one of this kind of boat I've ever seen), and they want you to mount it frontwards.

They have the driveshaft coming out of the front cover, instead of from the flywheel end of the engine. Is this real? Was this ever actually done by anyone?

[afx]

I just looked at the instruction sheets for the original and the SSP reissue, and I'm confused.

Revell seems to have you mount the engine backwards.

To clarify, the engine SHOULD be mounted backwards (at least it is on every one of this kind of boat I've ever seen), and they want you to mount it frontwards.

They have the driveshaft coming out of the front cover, instead of from the flywheel end of the engine. Is this real? Was this ever actually done by anyone?

Yep.

[Snake45]

Interesting. Never seen that before.

[Mark]

I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere (or maybe I overlooked it)...did Revell wipe the "Chrysler Fire Power" lettering from the valve covers?

[DaveM]

That's interesting. That would make the prop turn the opposite way from a motor that was mounted in the normal (Backwards) configuration? So, if I mount a Chevy in it, and do the normal setup with the motor turned around backwards and the blower belt to the stern side of the boat, then I would have to replace the prop with a reverse rotation one. Or am I missing something different in the drive setup? I missed that little detail in the one I built back in the dark ages. (I bet my blown 454 powered version could have outrun any of Tim's builds in a backwards race!)

Did these release with the preferred program? I went back to the local craft store, and they still had all of their kits (Except for the Del Rio I bought.) but none of the boats. Would they be separate from the other Revellogram releases? I'll have to hunt around and grab one of these.

[unclescott58]

That's interesting. That would make the prop turn the opposite way from a motor that was mounted in the normal (Backwards) configuration? So, if I mount a Chevy in it, and do the normal setup with the motor turned around backwards and the blower belt to the stern side of the boat, then I would have to replace the prop with a reverse rotation one. Or am I missing something different in the drive setup? I missed that little detail in the one I built back in the dark ages. (I bet my blown 454 powered version could have outrun any of Tim's builds in a backwards race!)

Did these release with the preferred program? I went back to the local craft store, and they still had all of their kits (Except for the Del Rio I bought.) but none of the boats. Would they be separate from the other Revellogram releases? I'll have to hunt around and grab one of these.

Interesting. Isn't that a Chevy motor shown in JC/AFX's posting above?

Scott

[Ace-Garageguy]

That's interesting. That would make the prop turn the opposite way from a motor that was mounted in the normal (Backwards) configuration? So, if I mount a Chevy in it, and do the normal setup with the motor turned around backwards and the blower belt to the stern side of the boat, then I would have to replace the prop with a reverse rotation one.

Or you could smile and say you put a reverse-rotation cam in the engine (yes, it's done).

[Custom Mike]

I got one of the 1990 issues of this kit from Sam I Am, and bought the re-issue just in case I needed any spare parts, Not a whole lot of improvement over the old tooling, a bit less flash and better chrome for sure, and the new decal sheet was a great addition. I scrapped the kit engine and substituted the 392 HEMI from Revell's '32 Ford 5-window, it looks a whole lot better than the original engine!

Edited June 26, 2015 by Custom Mike

[johnbuzzed]

That's interesting. That would make the prop turn the opposite way from a motor that was mounted in the normal (Backwards) configuration? So, if I mount a Chevy in it, and do the normal setup with the motor turned around backwards and the blower belt to the stern side of the boat, then I would have to replace the prop with a reverse rotation one. Or am I missing something different in the drive setup? I missed that little detail in the one I built back in the dark ages. (I bet my blown 454 powered version could have outrun any of Tim's builds in a backwards race!)

Did these release with the preferred program? I went back to the local craft store, and they still had all of their kits (Except for the Del Rio I bought.) but none of the boats. Would they be separate from the other Revellogram releases? I'll have to hunt around and grab one of these.

That might be rectified via the gearbox or the prop blade orientation; and some engines can be made to run in reverse rotation. If I remember correctly, there was an article in one of the magazines in which the writer fabbed up a jet drive unit for one of these. I'm using a Lindberg wedge in my loooonnnng-term project, but sticking with the kit drive setup.

[eastown]

You can run the engine in these boats either from the front or rear of the engine and just purchase the prop to match the setup.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks for all of this. I have a couple of the old kits, the Hydro Hemi and the AMT Rayson Craft and have plans to build them. I've been experimenting with Metalflake paint effects and large scale decals to duplicate period typical panel paint schemes and these would be perfect candidates for those sorts of things. Great inspiration as always!