AMT 1960 3-in-1 Ford F-100 Pickup Truck

[afx]

1 hour ago, SteveG said:

For what it's worth. I would be willing to put some time in toward evaluating the AMT 1960 Ford F-100 as a possible future reverse engineering project.   The fact we could cover 1957 through 1960 is a big plus in its favor.   What would be helpful to me would be to see some analysis of what AMT got right and or wrong shape and detail wise.  A comparison with the Ertl diecast wouldn't hurt either.   The more information I have before making my pitch the better.   There's no guaranty it will happen but I will at least give it a try. 

-Steve

mk11 is very knowledge I believe on these trucks, hope Mike will chime in here.

 

[Plowboy]

5 hours ago, SteveG said:

For what it's worth. I would be willing to put some time in toward evaluating the AMT 1960 Ford F-100 as a possible future reverse engineering project.   The fact we could cover 1957 through 1960 is a big plus in its favor.   What would be helpful to me would be to see some analysis of what AMT got right and or wrong shape and detail wise.  A comparison with the Ertl diecast wouldn't hurt either.   The more information I have before making my pitch the better.   There's no guaranty it will happen but I will at least give it a try. 

-Steve

I've built two of the '60 F-100s and shape wise, they're right on the money IMO. The only fault I saw and it's pretty minor, is the tailgate is recessed just a little too much. I didn’t fix it on either one I built. It's that minor. I did separate the grille from the bumper and added a splash guard. One thing that impressed me with the grille was the tiny screws molded in on the headlight surrounds. Like the other kits, it needs separate clear lenses for the headlights. The only fault with the interior is, of course, the single piece tub. But, the seat and dash are very accurate. The door panels are a bit weak. But, look the part pretty well. If Round2 were doing it like the Nova wagon, all it needs is a seperate bumper and headlight lenses. Oh, and separate the bed from the cab.

  

Edited May 27, 2022 by Plowboy

[Tom Geiger]

Steve, while you're pushing pickup ideas to Round 2...  

To complete the year run of Chevy pickups from 1955-59 is super easy.   The '55 and '57 exist and provide the tool.  1956 is just a couple of emblems added to the '55 kit.  58 & 59 are minor changes to the cabs...  maybe add a long wheelbase to one,  NAPCO 4WD setup to another.... would be winners!

[keyser]

Same rear fenders, chassis, inner fenders, glass iirc. Body, interior, bedsides, HL, grille, trim only needs. More than a little but yearly trim minimal changes. Reasonable thought Tom. 👍🏼

[leafsprings]

9 hours ago, SteveG said:

For what it's worth. I would be willing to put some time in toward evaluating the AMT 1960 Ford F-100 as a possible future reverse engineering project.   The fact we could cover 1957 through 1960 is a big plus in its favor.   What would be helpful to me would be to see some analysis of what AMT got right and or wrong shape and detail wise.  A comparison with the Ertl diecast wouldn't hurt either.   The more information I have before making my pitch the better.   There's no guaranty it will happen but I will at least give it a try. 

-Steve

Great news. IMO, the '60 was a very good representation, only problems, as others mentioned were the short cuts AMT took to save money, one piece interior tub, one piece bed and cab, one piece chassis and one piece grill and bumper. The big payoff will be when the 57, 58 and 59  get added to the series, especially the '59 ( shown below) never done by anybody before. Personal preference, I would rather have a small back window cab on every pre '66 pickup ever made.

Edited May 27, 2022 by leafsprings

[Phirewriter]

The one piece interior was simply the method and technology model makers had back then. As far as the integrated bed and cab, the first years of the kit starting in '61 were replicas of Ford's unit body pick ups and not the bed and body on standard frame rails we're all used to. 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Phirewriter

[John M.]

I have a pro built 1960 Ford pickup in my collection of "Crown Jewels" as I like to call them. I tried to upload photos of it and the other vintage models but my computer for some reason doesn't like to cooperate.

[mk11]

4 hours ago, Phirewriter said:

The one piece interior was simply the method and technology model makers had back then. As far as the integrated bed and cab, the first years of the kit starting in '61 were replicas of Ford's unit body pick ups and not the bed and body on standard frame rails we're all used to. 

What Roger said was a reference to the original AMT '60 bed and cab being molded in one piece... and is a very good idea. Opens the door to styleside and flareside box options. I can't really add much to what's been said (definitely not alone in being a Ford truck fan) but you can pretty much take it to the bank that most of the early kits are as close as you can get to an identical copy in miniature. Those sculptors were masters of their craft. Sure, minor imperfections exist, but don't really jump out. Very few modern tools can hold a candle to these and one especially represents as close to a nadir in applying computer tech to a subject as you can get for a model of a classic subject. gigo. The true craftsmen are few and far between.

Anyways, Steve, checking out an original 1:1 with a few key measurements will bring you back to a stellar example of the art of model engineering brought to us by amt sixty-odd years ago   

Great choice for a new subject.

[Plowboy]

7 hours ago, mk11 said:

Anyways, Steve, checking out an original 1:1 with a few key measurements will bring you back to a stellar example of the art of model engineering brought to us by amt sixty-odd years ago   

Great choice for a new subject.

Agree completely. It still baffles me as to how they did them so well sixty years ago. Something else that is odd is it's counterpart, the '60 Chevy Apache, had the bed floor molded to the cab with the bed a separate piece. The body on it has several issues. 

[Mark]

We've got to remember that the annual kits existed mainly because of the promo model contracts.  They were made to fulfill those contracts, with the auto manufacturers allowing AMT/SMP to produce them as kits afterwards.  Producing the kits probably allowed for a minor price reduction on the promos.  But the parts breakdown of these things is mainly owing to the promos.  AMT/SMP tried to strike a balance between accuracy and ease of (promo) assembly (meaning fewer parts).  The big rear window and upscale trim is there because Ford and Chevrolet wanted it there to promote the deluxe packages.  The long/wide pickup beds, with no alternative, was the same deal.  That's what Ford and Chevrolet wanted, that's probably the configuration that sold in the biggest numbers.

[oldcarfan]

The Nova redo seems to be selling well. I really hope they reverse engineer the 57-60 and the 61-63 trucks. They might even be able to use the AMT 53 Ford truck bed to make a stepside version.

On a slightly different subject, why can't they also tool up a new grille and tailgate to turn the Chevy 55-57 trucks into their GMC versions? They have a license for GMC to make the Deserter truck. It seems to me that would be a very cost effective way to get some new kits to issue.

[Smoke Wagon]

57 minutes ago, oldcarfan said:

On a slightly different subject, why can't they also tool up a new grille and tailgate to turn the Chevy 55-57 trucks into their GMC versions?

A different hood and chrome hood insert would be needed as well, and the clear parts would need to be tweaked if the windshield and back glass on the kit are still undersized. GMC had its own version of the Cameo, called the Suburban Carrier.

[Can-Con]

1 hour ago, oldcarfan said:

The Nova redo seems to be selling well. I really hope they reverse engineer the 57-60 and the 61-63 trucks. They might even be able to use the AMT 53 Ford truck bed to make a stepside version.

On a slightly different subject, why can't they also tool up a new grille and tailgate to turn the Chevy 55-57 trucks into their GMC versions? They have a license for GMC to make the Deserter truck. It seems to me that would be a very cost effective way to get some new kits to issue.

 

20 minutes ago, Smoke Wagon said:

A different hood and chrome hood insert would be needed as well, and the clear parts would need to be tweaked if the windshield and back glass on the kit are still undersized. GMC had its own version of the Cameo, called the Suburban Carrier.

They has their own unique dash too. This not aftermarket, it's factory '55-'57 GMC.

[Can-Con]

[Can-Con]

,,, and they used the Pontiac engine

[mk11]

On 5/28/2022 at 10:26 AM, Mark said:

We've got to remember that the annual kits existed mainly because of the promo model contracts...

Therein probably lies the answer to why most of the early kits were so beautifully rendered. Oversight was probably near microscopic by people with pride in their company's product; plus they had the budgets to hire the best craftsmen. As for today, I've heard people wonder if occasionally the oversight ends after the lawyer receives the license fee  

Edited May 29, 2022 by mk11

[leafsprings]

The expandability factor is also a plus for medium duty fans, unlike later F series 1 1/2-2 tons with physically much larger fenders, this series retained the pickup fenders, but just enlarged a bit to accommodate larger 20" wheels.

[Plowboy]

Another pitch for this kit is that it's perfect for adding the Texaco decals to. If Round2 still has the license. It came with gas cans, tool box, tools, push bumper, flashing roof light and a few other bits. It'll make the perfect service  truck IMO! IIRC, it came with Texaco decals originally. I know the Chevy had them. 

[stavanzer]

On 6/3/2022 at 8:51 PM, Plowboy said:

Another pitch for this kit is that it's perfect for adding the Texaco decals to. If Round2 still has the license. It came with gas cans, tool box, tools, push bumper, flashing roof light and a few other bits. It'll make the perfect service  truck IMO! IIRC, it came with Texaco decals originally. I know the Chevy had them. 

+1

[1930fordpickup]

I have no idea what the budget for any of these model companies happens to be.  I have no idea if they have the money to do anything about these good idea's.  If they do not see what Has been going on with Moebius and the Ford trucks they are blind.  Trucks have been hot in the real world for a long time. It is hard for the plastic world to keep up the real world because of sales numbers being what they are but come on AMT and Revell get it gear already with trucks. 

[paul alflen]

 1930 fordpickup, I agree 100% with what you are saying. Now the real question is , do the builders of the 1/1 pickup want a 1/25th scale one to build? 3-d print files can make everything!

[Plowboy]

8 hours ago, 1930fordpickup said:

I have no idea what the budget for any of these model companies happens to be.  I have no idea if they have the money to do anything about these good idea's.  If they do not see what Has been going on with Moebius and the Ford trucks they are blind.  Trucks have been hot in the real world for a long time. It is hard for the plastic world to keep up the real world because of sales numbers being what they are but come on AMT and Revell get it gear already with trucks. 

It's especially baffling considering the accuracy, proportion and warpage issues of the Moebius Ford pickups. Round2 could just plug and play the '60 as-is and produce a much better looking model right out of the box. Even with the one piece chassis and four piece interior. 

[SteveG]

I'm pretty confident you'll be seeing additional light truck items coming from Round 2.   You're just going to have to be very patient on seeing any announcements on what those items may be.   2023 should be a great year. 

Personal I think Moebius has done a brilliant job with their 65-72 Ford truck line-up warts and all.  There are only so many vendors that actually do the kit production regardless of who and where the design work is done.  We use the same vendor that's currently producing their Ramp Truck for many of our kits, and I have no doubt they will get any production issues straightened out.  

-Steve

Edited July 26, 2022 by SteveG

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 5/28/2022 at 1:44 AM, mk11 said:

...you can pretty much take it to the bank that most of the early kits are as close as you can get to an identical copy in miniature. Those sculptors were masters of their craft. Sure, minor imperfections exist, but don't really jump out. Very few modern tools can hold a candle to these and one especially represents as close to a nadir in applying computer tech to a subject as you can get for a model of a classic subject. gigo. The true craftsmen are few and far between.

...checking out an original 1:1 with a few key measurements will bring you back to a stellar example of the art of model engineering brought to us by amt sixty-odd years ago.

Exactly.

On 5/29/2022 at 12:15 AM, mk11 said:

...As for today, I've heard people wonder if occasionally the oversight ends after the lawyer receives the license fee  

Yup.

[Robberbaron]

I suspect there will suddenly be renewed interest in this thread.

Looks like Stevens International (allegedly) let the Kat out of the bag: