Round 2 Dec 2022

[stitchdup]

2 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

They are there on the original '60s kit box art, maybe how the boat gets on and off the trailer is left up to the builder's imagination (lifted with a crane? hidden jacks? lifted by a helicopter?, inflatable air bags? etc..)

reverse the trailer into the water and float it off, same for reloading the trailer. thats how we do it on this side o the pond anyway

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, Danno said:

Question for Tim:  Not to be one of "those," but I'm seriously curious.

Regarding the beautiful blue boat, is that side pod attached to the hull as it appears to be?  If so, how does the boat unload (or load, for that matter) considering the interference with the wheels/fenders?  What am I missing?

Does the entire boat/trailer have to be so deeply submerged that the boat floats vertically enough to clear the fenders?

Inquiring mimes want to know.  😶

 

Danno....thx for the comments and questions.

Those pods were called "sponsons" if I am remembering correctly.  They were typically found on drag racing boats, but not the ski boats.  The idea was that they would help the hull rise above the water and sort of "capture" air beneath to mostly eliminate the friction of the water and be able to go faster.  Worked a trick until something got unstable underneath and then....look out. 

I'm sure there are those reading this thread who can provide more details and add to or correct the above explanation. 

As for how the boat equipped with the sponsons got off the trailer...good question....perhaps it was "floated" off the trailer as suggested above...or perhaps more likely, there might have been a dedicated trailer with features accommodating clearance for the sponsons that AMT omitted from their single kit trailer.  

Best...TIM 

[tim boyd]

Duplicate post; sorry...TB 

Edited December 3, 2022 by tim boyd

[keyser]

Clambake with Elvis had a couple hulls with sponsons as competitor’s boats. Elvis’ hull was a Mandela hull iirc. Unsure if I have will to watch movie again, but they’re in there. 
I’m pretty sure pickle-fork boats were a further development of sponsons. 
Other than the engine, these boats were light, didn’t draw much, so I’d think they’d float off trailer fine.

Later unlimited hydros like Miss Budweiser were a lot bigger, and transported by a tilted to the side cradle. 

[1972coronet]

Hey, @tim boyd, would you please post the link to your Fotki album featuring the MPC Toyota Supra? Thanks much!

[Plowboy]

On 12/2/2022 at 7:56 PM, Chris in Berwyn said:

And as pointed out earlier, the AMT Rayson Craft box art shows the driver on the left.

 

Chris

Actually, the boxart shows the driver on the right. 

[Rob Hall]

5 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

Actually, the boxart shows the driver on the right. 

Both. Did the kit have an option as to where to place the steering wheel? 

[keyser]

Iirc yes. Gauges were in a group of 5, a separate wheel bezel included. I don’t have directions handy but it’d be easy. Had provision for separate tach on top of dash area. 

[tim boyd]

3 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

Hey, @tim boyd, would you please post the link to your Fotki album featuring the MPC Toyota Supra? Thanks much!

John...here you go.  Thanks for your interest....TB https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/from-the-pages-of-y/from-the-pages-of-s/from-the-pages-of-s-1/

[tim boyd]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:55 AM, Plowboy said:

Never seen a boat with the driver on the left either. I've owned a boat of some sort since the '90s. The boxart on the Rawson Craft ski-drag boat shows the driver on the right side.

 

 

Finally had a few minutes to look at my reference library on ski and drag boats.  Piled together it is nearly a foot high and includes 1960's magazines, two books, and lots of eBay.com "for sale" ads.  (Yeah, this is a real area of interest at the Boyd ranch). 

Looking through it quickly, bottom line is from the late 1950's to the mid 1960's most drag racing and virtually all ski boats had the driver on the left.  By the mid 1960's most drag/racing boats were starting to to move the driver to the center of the hull.  Ski boats remained on the left. 

Interestingly, every single Rayson Craft boat pictured, both ski and drag, were either left or center, mostly left.  (Which raises the question of why the driver is on the right on the Rayson Craft kit box top).  A good example of the driver on the left in a racing application is a Ford Industrial Engines and Power Units ad dated April 1964 showing the FE powered "Orange Bowl Regatta" race-winning Rayson Craft with the driver on the left and what appears to be strapped down gas tanks in what would be the passenger seat area.  I suspect one could still find this ad on the web in just a few minutes...

So based on the references in my library, it seems the switch to drivers mostly on the right must have taken place beyond the time represented by these AMT and Revell kits, perhaps starting in the early to mid 1970's? 

BTW, here's a couple of my racing boat builds with the driver in the center...

Best....TB

 

 

[tim boyd]

2 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

Both. Did the kit have an option as to where to place the steering wheel? 

To add even more confusion....just noticed that on the end cap of the Rayson Craft kit box, there is an additional illustration of the same #22 racing boat on the box top, but from a bird's eye rear 3/4 view....and.....the driver is on the Left, not the right as on the box top illustrated here by Roger.   

Also, I looked at the instruction sheet for the Rayson Craft kit.  It shows assembling the steering wheel on the left for both the ski and drag versions.  Further looked at the subsequent Hull Raiser kit instruction sheet, again, driver on the left (these parts are shared across both the kits).  

Finally, took a look at the 1963 Revell 1/25th "Show and Go Drag Boat" kit (the predecessor kit before minor revisions for the 1971 Hemi Hydro kit).  All the box art illustrations and the instruction sheet shows the driver on the left.  

Mystery resolved?  Not even close, but just more indications of the fascinating history of our hobby, I guess.

Best...TB 

[1972coronet]

3 hours ago, tim boyd said:

John...here you go.  Thanks for your interest

Thanks much! My wanting for you to post the link was twofold:

1.) I wanted for everyone in the forum to view your photos of your built Supra, esp. with the looming reissue of the 1984 edition of that outstanding kit

2.) For the life of me, I couldn't find it on your Fotki page (I didn't think to peruse the S.A.E. folder)

[horsepower]

On 11/30/2022 at 5:40 PM, tim boyd said:

Some interesting comments on the Aqua Rod kit....

* The new, second graphic treatment is derived from the original c. 1975 or so AMT kit catalog announcement illustration of the kit.  That graphic treatment never made the very abbreviated decal sheet that actually appeared in the original Aqua Rod kit.   I suggested they look at adding the catalog graphic treatment for the decal sheet for this reissue and they actually did it!  Bravo to John G, Steve G. and the Round 2 team.

* In an article on 1/25th scale drag and ski boars in Model Cars mag about 15 or so years ago, I revealed that the boat hull was a dead ringer for the 1/1 scale Kindsvater boat of the mid to late 1960's.  But it was never referenced as such until this new kit release, which actually confirms the Kindsvater connection (see the side panel art in the December Round 2 video).  (Prior kit releases did not specify the brand of the boat hull).  

* In preparing for this release, John G. had all the gates opened in the boat tool to see what if any of the original 1963 Rayson Craft Trophy Series kit content might still be present.  Answer - virtually nothing except the parts that carried over for the 1968 "Hull Raiser" kit and its subsequent combo kit releases.     

Don't know about you guys, but I am sure looking forward to this one....TIM 

 

I am too!! I'd like to get a couple of just the boats with running gear I have enough old Chrysler "First Edition" hemis for them, I am going to build a close replica of my younger brother's Sanger blown Chrysler flat bottom.

[dodgefever]

Only have one boat pic in my reference folder, but steering wheel is on the left. 🤷‍♂️

[horsepower]

On 12/2/2022 at 3:31 AM, tim boyd said:

Hi Chris....that's the way the kit came.  Interesting observation, now I need to dig out all my old magazines with drag and ski boat articles and see what the norm was back in the 60's when this kit was first engineered.....thanks for asking.  TIM  

I've been a Marine mechanic since the early '70s and my younger brother had a blown fuel Chrysler Sanger flatbottom and the majority of the boats that I've experienced and all the ones we've owned have all been left hand drivers, even though the Sanger was originally a center steer, my brother had a photo array from an auto wind camera that had around 15-20 frames of it going through the traps at a race in the L.A. area when the engine came apart or a prop blade came off (after the crash it was hard to tell which had happened first) it was from the first owner and was way before any of the safety cocoons and the boat is upside down facing backwards down the course with the driver flailing along on the water in front of the boat and it still went through the traps at over 170 mph.

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, horsepower said:

I am too!! I'd like to get a couple of just the boats with running gear I have enough old Chrysler "First Edition" hemis for them, I am going to build a close replica of my younger brother's Sanger blown Chrysler flat bottom.

Del....whenever you get around to building that Sanger flatbottom, I for one would love to see the result.  Bet others here would too!   Best...TB 

[stavanzer]

I would like to see Round2 give the Dodge Van, some love and create a Set with the Dodge Van, and a trailer, and something MOPAR on the trailer, even if it was not a "set" back in the day.

[Luc Janssens]

9 hours ago, stavanzer said:

I would like to see Round2 give the Dodge Van, some love and create a Set with the Dodge Van, and a trailer, and something MOPAR on the trailer, even if it was not a "set" back in the day.

At one point in time, Mpc had a workshop interior for the Dodge Van....

[Daddyfink]

7 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

At one point in time, Mpc had a workshop interior for the Dodge Van....

I found all of the interior pieces bagged up inside a spare parts goodies box at a kit show. Great for making a work van or even a Garage Diorama. Would be great to see this version of the van back 

[stavanzer]

On 12/11/2022 at 9:11 AM, Daddyfink said:

I found all of the interior pieces bagged up inside a spare parts goodies box at a kit show. Great for making a work van or even a Garage Diorama. Would be great to see this version of the van back 

Hey, Steve G, bring this back. Backdate the Grill, give us the workshop parts, and we'll do the rest!

[Can-Con]

2 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Hey, Steve G, bring this back. Backdate the Grill, give us the workshop parts, and we'll do the rest!

It would take more then just the grille, I'm afraid, Alan.

You'd need to change the front fenders and hood and the tail lights too. 

BUT, yea, I'd like some '70s Dodge van action. 😈

[Brian Austin]

I think even the roof panel changed over the years as well.

Edited December 13, 2022 by Brian Austin

[Hondamatic]

Depending on the year, the cargo door cuts, side markers, dog house and taillights too. 

[stavanzer]

13 hours ago, Can-Con said:

It would take more then just the grille, I'm afraid, Alan.

You'd need to change the front fenders and hood and the tail lights too. 

BUT, yea, I'd like some '70s Dodge van action. 😈

Well, Shoot!!!

Then give us the oldest Grill that will fit the current body, and the shop truck insides....

Heck give us any Round Headlight grill that fits (mostly) and call it a Custom Piece.

[Plowboy]

1 hour ago, stavanzer said:

Well, Shoot!!!

Then give us the oldest Grill that will fit the current body, and the shop truck insides....

Heck give us any Round Headlight grill that fits (mostly) and call it a Custom Piece.

Here you go.

I remember everyone slamming this model because of the round headlights in the newer grille. Turns out, the '79 Dodge van had a round headlight grille with the markers and signals on the corner.

It's still not an accurate grille. But, these prove that the newer grille did come with round headlights in '79. The AMT grille looks like they just added the markers/signals to the '78 grille.