Question on what's available

[sheena]

  I watched the NHRA event yesterday on TV,way more interesting than football, and my question is ;are there any models available of the cars I saw yesterday? I like the top fuel dragsters best and I really liked the C&J energy services car. Just curious to see if I could get model of that one .Thanks

[Petetrucker07]

These are the most current Top Fuel kits available. They're from the early 2000s.

There may be aftermarket decals out there, but I'm not sure.

[Daddyfink]

The above kits will get you the closest to the car you want to build. Decals would be your next biggest hurdle. 

[Jeepxj]

One word...Slixx 

[AZ Boy]

Slixx does not produce decals for any current Top Fuel dragster.  The most recent one is the 2010 Fram top fueled driven by Cory McClenathen.  There are a few 'cottage industry' decal makers who might be able to make the decal for that dragster, but it would be expensive and take some time.

[Greg Myers]

another word ,decals. 

[Force]

Another hurdle is accuracy.
How accurate do you want your build to be as the Bernstein and Schumacher dragster kits were way out of date even for the time they came out.
They needs lots of work to be up to date, mostly the engine wich needs a lot, new set back 14-71 blower, new MSD Pro Mag 44 magnetos, new fuel pumps, new valve covers with covers over the spark plugs and some other stuff.
The rest of the car need a new 3 element rear wing, a new one piece front wing, a head protection shield and new wheels.
If Revell had done all necessary updates back in 2002 when these two kits were new they would have been nearly accurate even for today 13 years later...but unfortunately they didn't.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Force

[sheena]

Another hurdle is accuracy.
How accurate do you want your build to be as the Bernstein and Schumacher dragster kits were way out of date even for the time they came out.
They needs lots of work to be up to date, mostly the engine wich needs a lot, new set back 14-71 blower, new MSD Pro Mag 44 magnetos, new fuel pumps, new valve covers with covers over the spark plugs and some other stuff.
The rest of the car need a new 3 element rear wing, a new one piece front wing, a head protection shield and new wheels.
If Revell had done all necessary updates back in 2002 when these two kits were new they would have been nearly accurate even for today 13 years later...but unfortunately they didn't.

I would want it to be as accurate as possible,my OCD would demand it, but I have nowhere near the skills needed to make the parts you described. Oh well I'm sure I'll see something that strikes my fancy. I kind of like the Tom Daniel's "Pie Wagon" as maybe the next project. Thanks for the info

[BigTallDad]

The kits shown are skill-level 3, meaning they are very complex and have a lot of parts.

[Daddyfink]

The kits shown are skill-level 3, meaning they are very complex and have a lot of parts.

Well, they are not that complex. With some patience they can be build fairly easy. Now, the early Revell kits top fuel kits, those are complex! 

[BigTallDad]

Well, they are not that complex. With some patience they can be build fairly easy. Now, the early Revell kits top fuel kits, those are complex! 

I mentioned that because the OP is a newcomer to the hobby.

Sheena? Take a look at the instructions for the kits here, Then decide if you're ready to take them on.

http://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/

[sheena]

Thanks for that link, not sure I could do those level 3 kits "justice" yet. That's ok though as I really do like that Pie Wagon as a next kit . Being a fantasy type of vehicle will let me play around with things a little.I'll just file the idea of a real top fuel car till I've developed a little more skill.

[Force]

As Jesse says, these Top Fuel Dragsters are not that hard to build if you do them straight out of box...it's when it comes to correcting things to make them accurate for today it gets a bit harder as it involves some modification of parts and some scratch building...and if you decide to detail, plumb the fuel system and wire up the ignition system you have to know what you are doing to get the right look.
But the model kit itself isn't that hard at all and you can allways get a couple of them, build one for practice and do the others when you feel up to the challenge...a bit like learning by doing.