Revell Black Top Warriors (All Three Kits)

[spencer1984]

I finally finished all three of these kits after having them in my stash since the days of Kay Bee Outlet stores and their wall 'o models. I liked Revell trying out their own unique IP, and treated them as if they were any other TV/movie-based kits that were "close enough" for selling but needed some extra attention (think AMT's Beverly Hills Cop Nova).

Killer Bee was the first one I started working on, since the kit was in a very sorry state. Terrible flash, malformed parts, two-piece vinyl tires, the works. Its writeup said that it was a dune buggy built for desert terrain, but the low ride height and grooved tires were all wrong for that. Since part quality meant I was going to have to scratch build a new suspension anyway, I moved it closer to the description: tall ride, wide paddle rear tires, skinny front tires, etc. I also stripped out anything unnecessary to save weight, leaving the interior with a single seat and gutted dash. Decals were from the kit, over faded yellow and black to represent a sun-damaged finish. The lights were all replaced with parts box or 3D printed items, and the engine was wired, plumbed, and upgraded with proper 3D printed Weber carbs.

As I was working on it, I decided I wanted to add a figure. Nuts Planet had one listed as "Belford" with a decent post-apocalyptic look and cybernetic left arm. This lined up perfectly (literally and figuratively) with the bullet holes in the door, so she became the driver. A sniper perch and quick-release steering wheel was added to the Bee's interior, and the figure was modified to have a canteen instead of the kit-supplied tool bag. Since she was smart enough build herself a new arm, I decided she was a former MIT student and gave her the appropriate T-shirt.

Edited August 31, 2024 by spencer1984

[stavanzer]

Wow! That is the best Killer Bee, I've ever Seen.

Will you be doing Mr. Deadwrench & the Alley Rat?

[spencer1984]

Alley Rat was second. The chrome was as bad as anything in Killer Bee, but the rest of it wasn't too bad so most of it was assembled box stock and detailed with wiring and plumbing. The biggest changes I made were to the armor: the kit supplied these as decals, which was bad enough...but the window decals had metal flower bullet holes in middle of the glass, and there were plates for the rear fenders but not the doors. None of this made sense, so I made my own plates from sheet styrene and new window covers from fine mesh and plastic strip. I also added a couple of plates to the chassis to protect the engine, transmission, and differential. The new body plates meant I couldn't use the kit-supplied door decals, so I made new name tags for the doors and (while I was at it) the tailgate. I also didn't like the wheels that came with it, so I swapped them out for a set of semi truck wheels with vintage-appropriate run flats. Since Alley Rat was written as a city vehicle, I figured beefy off-road tires wouldn't be as critical anyway. My last modification was loading up the back: a larger fuel tank, cargo crates, tools and toolboxes, chain, and the Honda Trail 70 bike from AMT's Bigfoot kit. Once I got it all painted and detailed I didn't want to dirty it up to match the truck, so headcanon says that it was a recent find by the team who drives Alley Rat.

For Alley Rat's drivers, I chose DEF Models' "Modern Female Mechanic Crew: Jennifer" and Brick Works' "Maschinen Krieger - Female Mechanic (A)." Both were wearing coveralls befitting anyone scrounging through a post-apocalyptic city, and Jennifer had long gloves that were painted to look like chemical-resistant nitrile gloves. Yes, she still has her travel mug...but I know at least one person who wouldn't leave their coffee behind for something as trivial as the End of the World.

Edited August 31, 2024 by spencer1984

[spencer1984]

1 minute ago, stavanzer said:

Wow! That is the best Killer Bee, I've ever Seen.

Will you be doing Mr. Deadwrench & the Alley Rat?

Thank you! Yup, I'm just slow at typing...the last one is going up now.

[stavanzer]

I love these kits. I had all three, but I've since sold all 4 of my Killer Bee kits. I stole the Brush Guard/Pushbar from the Midnight Cowboy Wrecker to use on the Alley Rat. They are the same kit, but the Brush Guard cannot be put in the Alley Rat kit because of where it is on the sprue. You can have the Pick up bed or the pushbar, but not both in one kit.

[spencer1984]

Finally, Pink Poison (originally "Mr. Deadwrench," but the unfortunate timing of this kit's release and Dale Earnhardt's passing meant Revell did a quick rename). This was the best of the three, so the only modifications I made were swapping out the wheels and replacing the cast-in lenses on the middle driving lights with proper buckets and stone guards. I also redrew the markings, as the kit had the whole white side panel made as a single waterslide. Since Killer Bee covered the desert and Alley Rat had the city, I decided to make Pink Poison the mountain goat and covered it completely with mud. Vallejo Mud and Grass, paint, pastels, and several other weathering effects were applied in multiple layers, and crushed tea leaves were used for the tree litter in the back of the truck.

For Pink Poison's driver, I used one of Master Box's "The Last Bridge" post-apocalypse figures. She was modified to have a backpack instead of a baby, then painted to look like a proper woods hermit.

Edited August 31, 2024 by spencer1984

[spencer1984]

3 minutes ago, stavanzer said:

I love these kits. I had all three, but I've since sold all 4 of my Killer Bee kits. I stole the Brush Guard/Pushbar from the Midnight Cowboy Wrecker to use on the Alley Rat. They are the same kit, but the Brush Guard cannot be put in the Alley Rat kit because of where it is on the sprue. You can have the Pick up bed or the pushbar, but not both in one kit.

I had picked up a bag of Cowboy parts for this exact reason, but couldn't decide if I liked it better with out without it. Fortunately, because of the way it slots into the front bumper, I can just kind of pop it into place and it'll stay there without having to glue it.

Yeah, if you're going to sell one of the three Killer Bee would be the one ?

I really wanted to like the kit more, but it was just so rough. Not sure I'd want to tackle it again, though I'm happy enough with the end result.

[stavanzer]

Awesome Builds! I am blown away by how well you have built these kits. Much better than the Revell Box Art director ever imagined them, I am sure.

You make me want to complete my Mr. Deadwrench Jeep Honcho. I have a set of Monogram CJ-5 Rims for mine, and  box full of "Junque" for the bed.

[stavanzer]

Just now, spencer1984 said:

Yeah, if you're going to sell one of the three Killer Bee would be the one ?

I really wanted to like the kit more, but it was just so rough. Not sure I'd want to tackle it again, though I'm happy enough with the end result.

That Revell Bug, is a rough, crude kit to be sure. Not putting better tires and wheels in it, combined with the badly detailed VW engine, just made it that much worse.

[spencer1984]

Thank you! The Honcho had a couple of weird parts, but otherwise was not too bad. CJ wheels would have been a great option...I know what Revell was going for here, but I think they missed. I mostly went with these because I had them left over from the GMC snow plow, so I knew they'd fit the tires and inner wheels.

Edited August 31, 2024 by spencer1984

[TonyK]

So cool! All the added detail and extra stuff is well done and a joy to look at. Very different and you applied your "vision" in a fun way.

[shoopdog]

Wow! What a cool set and incredible detailing!

[spencer1984]

Thanks, guys! I liked what Revell was doing here, and am thinking about adding some "unofficial" kits to the group.

[stavanzer]

On 9/1/2024 at 6:48 AM, spencer1984 said:

Thanks, guys! I liked what Revell was doing here, and am thinking about adding some "unofficial" kits to the group.

That would be great to see! I look forward to seeing what you chose as "Companion" kits to these builds.

[TooOld]

Great detailing on all of them Bill !  I really like what you've done to the Killer bee , such an improvement over the basic kit !  Mine has been on hold while I search for better tires with not much luck . Where did you find those rear paddle tires ? They're exactly what I can't find !

[spencer1984]

Thank you! Agreed, the tires are probably the biggest sticking point on that kit. These were resin copies of the tires that came on Jada's 1/24 sand rail diecast. I'm afraid I can't remember where I got them, though...I think it may have been something Alan Raab (Ma's Resin) made?