1/25 AMT 1978 Ford Bronco "Wild Hoss"

[Casey]

I figure there'll be plenty of interest in this kit when it's reissued in Q2 2022, so here we go. Pics below are of the 1979 original issue, kit  #2708, via a completed auction listing, but the reissue should look very similar.

Reissue mentioned here: 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Casey

[1972coronet]

That'll be nice to have when it's available . 

I noticed that in the photos of the original kit , there's no 'glass' for the back & sides ( other than the wind wings ) . I haven't had a copy of this kit since its first release ; I don't recall if 'glass' was included in the copy I'd had .

[Can-Con]

17 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

That'll be nice to have when it's available . 

I noticed that in the photos of the original kit , there's no 'glass' for the back & sides ( other than the wind wings ) . I haven't had a copy of this kit since its first release ; I don't recall if 'glass' was included in the copy I'd had .

Mine does. and it also shows the glass on the instruction sheet.

Edited December 3, 2021 by Can-Con

[Casey]

28 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

I noticed that in the photos of the original kit , there's no 'glass' for the back & sides 

As Steve mentioned, the transparent "glass" pieces for the cap area are included, I just forgot to upload that particular image...which I have now done.

[mk11]

Parts layout...

... and a chrome tree comparison with the F350 ... 

[stavanzer]

Those Chrome Trees are Cousins, but not the same. Awfully small, though. I hope maybe there will be 2 sets of chrome wheels at least in the new kit.

[Jordan White]

At least it appears the Bronco wheels are better than the ones in the F350 kit, they actually have visible lug nuts!

[Can-Con]

37 minutes ago, alexis said:

Those Chrome Trees are Cousins, but not the same. Awfully small, though. I hope maybe there will be 2 sets of chrome wheels at least in the new kit.

 

18 minutes ago, Jordan White said:

At least it appears the Bronco wheels are better than the ones in the F350 kit, they actually have visible lug nuts!

The chrome wheels in the kit are the aluminum factory option wheels.

The second set of wheels in the kit are a set of unplated factory style 8 spoke "wagon wheels" 

 

Both are very nicely done.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Can-Con

[MrObsessive]

FINALLY! I guess I yelled loud enough on their videos last year about this kit, and they heard me!

Good to see this one back! I've had this kit for years, but mine is a bit warped. I guess it could be worked with after some "coaxing". It'll be fun actually to see the prices for these tumble like a rock on eBay after some of the crazy high prices I saw a bit ago.

[Mark]

Not positive on this, but I remember the Model King issue not having the unplated spoked wheels.  If that is true, hopefully Round 2 will get them back in.  Both this and the MPC next-generation Bronco were very good kits back then, still pretty decent by today's standards.

Edit: just checked my Model King set, the spoke wheels for the front are included, but not the rear ones.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Mark
Added info

[Mike C.]

Can't wait for this one. I have my tires and wheels (thanks Casey) for the first one and since I found all these last night you can bet the 2nd one will get a set of the Aoshimas .

 

[martinfan5]

I will probably be picking this one up.

[leafsprings]

Re issues are always nice, but why can't we get one or two new tooling option pieces? Namely, a plated grill with round headlights! It seems around '79, the whole auto industry  adapted  square headlights to a grill that originally used round headlights, kind of like going from single to dual headlights  in '58.

Edited December 5, 2021 by leafsprings

[Mike C.]

I like them with the '73 grill. ?

 

[Oldcarfan27]

41 minutes ago, Mike C. said:

I like them with the '73 grill. ?

 

That's a concept vehicle, the F150 Bronco didn't actually come to market until 1978 to replace the first gen boxy 77 Bronco.

23 hours ago, mk11 said:

Notice how much better the grille looks in the Bronco kit, vs. the F350 grille - not sure if it fits the pickup, though.

[Mike C.]

I'm aware of that concept truck but from time to time you see where someone  has put an earlier grill in a 2nd jen  Bronco. I just like the look Of the '73 truck. My cousin bought one new back in '73. It was about the most heavy duty truck I had ever seen out of the factory. It was an F 250 a custom, no chrome rubber mating on the floor, big 4 speed sticking out of the floor all business. It even had that sealed knuckle Dana rear in the front. It was a beast of a truck. Only thing he put on it were  Stewart Warner 2" oil presser and amps gauges. It was this really cool factory lime green color.

[Rob Hall]

I kind of want to kitbash one of these with a Moebius ‘67-72 to do a phantom.  

[mk11]

This kit has the only stock 351M/400 engine in scale; these replaced the FE 360/390 in the trucks in '77. The proper '78/'79 front bumper in this kit, along with the engine and the MAD resin box could be used to make the pickups more accurate.

Unless, of course, you chose to put a 300, 302 or 460 in your project.  The C6 trans with the transfer case can also be used behind any of those engines.

Edited December 5, 2021 by mk11

[tim boyd]

Ready for a couple of Bronco (1/1 and 1/25th) scale war stories? 

This first-generation Bronco was a super-hot seller in 1/1 scale when it was first introduced.  I started working for Ford in May of 1978 in a District Sales Office, and the Bronco was the single most-in-demand-from-dealers product we produced.   I remember our Field Manager for Northern lower Michigan (Traverse City/Petoskey et al) was allowed to have a Bronco as his assigned field car because it was better equipped to handle Northern Michigan Winters, who got envious looks from all the other Field Managers who had to drive more ordinary cars. 

Then the second Arab oil embargo hit in mid-1979, and all of a sudden, no dealer anywhere wanted a Bronco.  I became a field manager myself in August 1979, and over the next two years had to put on my very best-selling shoes to even get one of my dealers to consider stocking a Bronco, even though the second gen (1980 and beyond) Bronco was a huge step ahead of the previous one.  

I recall this Bronco kit was one of the first offerings from the AMT/Matchbox era, though I am pretty sure all the engineering was probably done by the 1225 East Maple Road team before the facility was shut during that transition. 

I also hope that Round 2 will consider reissuing the 1980 and later Bronco kit, as that one was also a very nice kit. 

Now, if we could only get a kitmaker to tool up the NEW 1/1 scale 2021 Bronco [with full, stand-alone engine configuration, please]....what a hit that would be!!!!   

TIM 

Edited December 6, 2021 by tim boyd
update

[1972coronet]

1 hour ago, tim boyd said:

[ The ] second Arab oil embargo hit in mid-1979

At the risk of steering this thread toward a cul-de-sac for a moment : April 1979 was also when gas octane ratings were changed / updated -- certainly that  appeared  to be a raw deal . Not that that affected newer ( 1972 & newer ) vehicles , but those A.K.I.  ratings were advertised as lower than previous decades ( e.g. , 105 octane was 'now' 100 octane vis-à-vis R+M/2 method ) .  Add another gas shortage ( Diesel was essentially unaffected ) on top of those "miserable" new ratings , and the recipe for doom and gloom was set .

My parents' 1976 Monarch Ghia Coupe with its 351-W wasn't exactly a miser with gas . At least my dad's 1969 Dart ( stock 273 ) could operate on whatever grade was available .

[Plowboy]

On 12/4/2021 at 8:57 AM, Mark said:

Not positive on this, but I remember the Model King issue not having the unplated spoked wheels.  If that is true, hopefully Round 2 will get them back in.  Both this and the MPC next-generation Bronco were very good kits back then, still pretty decent by today's standards.

Edit: just checked my Model King set, the spoke wheels for the front are included, but not the rear ones.

Just checked my MK Bronco and it has all four of the spoke wheels. I found it odd that it had the goofy looking green Boss Hoss decals. But, it didn't have the gray wrap around stripes like the boxart. 

[Goose1957]

10 hours ago, tim boyd said:

 

Now, if we could only get a kitmaker to tool up the NEW 1/1 scale 2021 Bronco....what a hit that would be!!!!   

TIM 

I picked up a diecast 2021 Bronco from Hobby Lobby a couple of weeks ago. Haven't had it out of the box yet to check it's "kitbashability" yet. If they can do a diecast, they can make a styrene kit also.

Jeff

[Smoke Wagon]

12 hours ago, tim boyd said:

Now, if we could only get a kitmaker to tool up the NEW 1/1 scale 2021 Bronco [with full, stand-alone engine configuration, please]....what a hit that would be!!!! 

Not only that, but with lots of optional parts too. For instance, 2.3 I4, 2.7 V6, fender flares and different bumpers and suspension lift and bigger wheels/tires (for Sasquatch package), wheel options (like base steelies), and different grilles to make different trim levels. 

[mikemodeler]

On 12/4/2021 at 8:11 AM, MrObsessive said:

FINALLY! I guess I yelled loud enough on their videos last year about this kit, and they heard me!

Good to see this one back! I've had this kit for years, but mine is a bit warped. I guess it could be worked with after some "coaxing". It'll be fun actually to see the prices for these tumble like a rock on eBay after some of the crazy high prices I saw a bit ago.

Well Bill, you're welcome!   I bought an original issue Wild Hoss last summer off of FB for $60 and that had to have sent a message to Round 2 that it was time to reissue this kit! I am glad to see it come back, I have a Model King version of this in the stash as well, might grab another kit if there's room in the storage closet.

[MrMiles]

This kit was very fun to build as original. I had 2 very difficult problems 

 

1, the glass on the back and sides do not want to fit. My back was a tad warped. I recently found gorilla clear glue which i think would have made it much easier

 

2, front grill has no mount points to glue. There is not really a great way to do it without getting glue on the body. I spent a long time on this and finally got it with just a half drop of glue and a hope i didnt bump it.  I think when this one comes out againt i will build something into the inside of fenders like a strip that can give a bit more room for glue

 

Other than that, this was a ton of fun to build and be glad when i can get 2 or 3 of these for the price i paid for 1

Edited December 6, 2021 by MrMiles