Poll : AMT '40 Ford or newer Revell ?

[Greg Myers]

Just wondering ?

Edited June 24, 2017 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

can't get the "Poll" thingie to work

[waynehulsey]

Haven't build a Revell one yet and its been close to 50 years since I build an AMT one. The AMT goes together well from what I remember, but from eyeballing the Revell looks much better detail as you would hope from a fairly new kit, especially the chassis and engine.

[AC Norton]

...........Always AMT .....best then, best now............the Ace....

[mike 51]

The last AMT 40 I saw was in pretty poor condition (as you would expect for a 60 year old mold with little apparent maintance)  

The Revell kit is far better in every respect.

[1930fordpickup]

I understand what you are asking,  but comparing kits that have decades between their first release dates is close to peeing in the wind. 

[1972coronet]

I've not perused the contents of the Revell  kit , so I can't speak to it . I'm guessing that it's a very nice kit , judging by the majority of the R-M products .

Now , the AMT kit is a classic ! I've built many of it and its variants over the years ; the last variant I built was the sedan delivery ( or , panel truck ? Not sure of its proper nomenclature ... ) , and that was every bit of 13 years ago . I believe that the AMT kit will "always" beat the Revell kit , at least sales-wise . The AMT kit's extra parts and building options endear it to many , age-of-tooling not-with-standing . Can a price be put on nostalgia ?

[High octane]

Looking at the contents of a Revell '40 Ford Convertible kit that I once had, I would say that it looked pretty good kit wise, however I do remember when AMT first released it's '40 Ford Coupe and it was a WINNER and now an old time favorite among many builders.

[Richard Bartrop]

I've built the AMT kit, and I'm in the process of building a couple of Revell '40 Ford, and it's no contest. The Revell kit has more detail, and the parts look more like the components they're supposed to represent.  Just the wheels alone, with those nice in scale trim rings, blow the AMT kit out of the water.   If your goal is to built a model of a '40 Ford, or want chassis components for a traditional rod, the Revell kit is the hands down winner.

[BigTallDad]

The Revell kit is a skill level 3, and has more parts.

The AMT kit is like most of their others...molded-in exhaust, etc.

I've built Revell's 40 Ford Convertible (and their 48 Ford convertible) and I'd definitely go with Revell as opposed to AMT.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/101729-40-ford-convertible-a-sorta-woody/

 

[Rob Hall]

Since they all build different versions (AMT-deluxe coupe, deluxe tudor, deluxe sedan delivery; Revell-standard coupe, deluxe convertible), it's kind of apples and oranges.   I like both. 

Edited June 24, 2017 by Rob Hall

[bobthehobbyguy]

The advantage of the AMT is it is a great slumpbuster and goes together quickly. Great shelf model project.

On the other hand the Revell is definitely more detailed.

Really depends on what you want to accomplish.

[XJ6]

Revell

[Ace-Garageguy]

One of my long term sleeping projects is an AMT Deluxe Tudor on the Revell chassis and guts. Very mild, period-style kustom, kinda like this...

                                                                                                              

And just an FYI...Ford used essentially the same chassis under all of its passenger cars from 1935 through 1940 (light trucks used it through '41). The Revell '40 chassis fits very well under the AMT '36 Fords and all the AMT '40 Fords...as it should, if both companies did their scaling reasonably right.

[Greg Myers]

I understand what you are asking,  but comparing kits that have decades between their first release dates is close to peeing in the wind. 

Don't get any on ya

[russosborne]

AMT for me, but I am all about nostalgia most times.

Russ

[Jantrix]

My son built the Revell Goodguys version. As I recall his only issue was the tires hitting the fenders. 

[Lovefordgalaxie]

I'm a AMT guy all the way. Revell produces some nice kits, but I have a thing for AMT's simplicity. 

1940 Ford Deluxe Business Coupe. by CCCP Digital Studio, on Flickr

The AMT '40 builds into a decent looking model, reasonably accurate, and it's hassle free as the parts count is low, like I personally like (and that is a problem for other modelers). The major defect I see on the AMT Ford, I think is the scale problem with tires, wheels, and trim rings.

Have the Revell '40 unbuilt, and plan on getting to it latter this year. Having built the Revell '48 Sedan Coupe, I predict a trouble free, yet more complicated build, and a very nice looking finished model. 

If accuracy is what you want, get the Revell '40, mostly for the correct tires and wheels. 

[bobthehobbyguy]

I would say the Revell kit. It is more detailed. Also the chrome molding on the body is not very sharp on the AMT kit.

[Greg Myers]

Where does the Lindberg '40 fit ? I always thought it was a rip off on AMT.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Where does the Lindberg '40 fit ? I always thought it was a rip off on AMT.

It is indeed a clone, very similar to the AMT kit. Some parts actually interchange. Many issues have warpage problems, varying thicknesses of parts apparently due to sections of the dies being loose on their alignment pins, etc.

It IS possible to build a beautiful model from the kit, but it's the best one to make a junker from.

A member here called Joker built this from the Lindberg kit, so you see what's possible if you put some effort into it.

Edited October 18, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[unclescott58]

Since they all build different versions (AMT-deluxe coupe, deluxe tudor, deluxe sedan delivery; Revell-standard coupe, deluxe convertible), it's kind of apples and oranges.   I like both. 

I agree with Mr. Hall. Apples and oranges. I also agree with Mr. Lazzaroni. I tend to like the simplicity of the old AMT kit. And Mr. Myers mentioned Lindberg's AMT clone. I think that one gets a worst rap than it deserves. It builds and looks okay in the end.

Edited October 18, 2017 by unclescott58

[Ace-Garageguy]

And Mr. Myers mentioned Lindberg's AMT clone. I think that one gets a worst rap than it deserves. It builds and looks okay in the end.

See post immediately above.

[unclescott58]

See post immediately above.

You and I were typing our opinions on the Lindberg kit at the same time. You barely beat me in posting your opinion first. I did not see yours until I posted mine, and was asked by the computer/site if I wanted to your latest posting on this thread.

[Bernard Kron]

The AMT and Revell '40 Ford Coupes (presumably the basis for a straight up comparison) each embody the essence of the era in which they were designed and, along with it, the underlying philosophy that produced each kit. Each has its strengths, as is clear from the comments so far, each has enough qualities to garner its group of fans.

The AMT '40 Ford Coupe is a storied kit, dating back to the dawn of auto modeling's Golden Age. I'm no modeling historian so I can't say precisely when it was introduced but I would have to guess on either side of 1960. It is a very early AMT kit with an efficient logic to the assembly, a sturdy structure, and a low parts count. For this reason it has always been a favorite for those of us who like to chop, section, channel and generally hack our way into a model.

The Revell '40 Ford is far more fragile and finicky to work with. It is, however, infinitely more detailed, and as has already been noted, is chock full of finely made, accurate parts. As a replica model it leaves the AMT kit in the dust. As a basis for hot rodding and customizing, unfortunately, the Revell kit can be a PITA. First off, there are two versions to consider, the stock Standard coupe, and the Street Rod version. The street rod version has a totally modern chassis in contrast to the stocker, which has a gorgeous, well detailed representation of the factory chassis. The only knock on the stocker is that for some demented reason they chose to specify a Columbia 2-speed rear axle. WTF???? Rare and relatively obscure and a significant downside to an otherwise brilliant parts kit, as also already noted, to build period correct hot rods. The flathead V8 in either kit will serve you well for any hot rod project, and the street rod motor, in contrast to the street rod kit's chassis, is relatively close to being right for a '50's era build if you need it, with its Edelbrock heads and dual-carb intake manifold.

But the Revell '40 Coupe is a Standard, with it's simplified grill held over from the '39 Deluxe Fords, and this is less typically associated with the classic hot rod '40 Ford coupe which tends to be thought of as a DeLuxe with its narrow-peaked three-part grill. Like the Columbia 2-speed, one wonders why Revell went that route. The Standard, is significantly less iconic in doing a rod or custom build and takes some of the shine off this otherwise superbly executed kit.

So the AMT kit is old-fashioned, somewhat over-simplified by modern standards, suffers from "soft" detailing and aging tooling, and by any objective standard is an inferior kit. But, as I said, it's built like a tank, with a separate one-piece fender set, a sturdy interior bucket, and will hold up to the most severe attacks from your trusty Zona. And its's a DeLuxe conceived in the heyday of hot rodding and customizing by the gang at AMT, who new a thing or three about the "soul" of a hot rod or custom. For this reason it's far easier to handle when doing more advanced rod or custom work and it incontrovertibly has The Look. So despite being a significantly inferior kit from a modern technical perspective, it is actually more likely to reward the builder with a successful rod or custom than the Revell kit, whose complexities and fragility tends to interfere all along the way during the build process.

My opinion is that if you want to build a replica stock Standard Coupe, or Revell's very specific vision of a modern street rod (which unfortunately suffers from Revell's usual wretched stance), then go with Revell kit, but the AMT kit, for all it's shortcomings, is a superior Weapon of Choice for the hot rod and custom kit basher.

BTW, several years ago I tried to do the AMT/ Revell Tudor hybrid AceGarageGuy mentioned above and finally gave up because the Revell street rod chassis refused to play nice with the AMT fender assembly. I'm a far better modeler now than I was then, but regardless of my improved skills, it would be no picnic!

Edited October 18, 2017 by Bernard Kron