Revells new funny car kits

[Steve D.]

Revell’s new trio of Funnycar kits

I have just completed a build up of these three kits and the following is just some casual observations I have made on each one .

Roland Leongs Hawaiian

First of all if you are planning a real nuts and bolts replica with full blown detailing make sure you first get some pictures of the car at a particular event . I picked mine up at Michael’s in March , and just built it out of the box . There might be an issue with the color call outs for painting as the instructions say the interior tin work should be painted black . The tin work should be silver or natural aluminum . Also there is the glass work that should have a blue tint . ( I found this out just before installing mine and dusted on a coat of Tamiya clear blue.) Having read the reviews , I noticed someone making an issue of the hatch cover on the Hawaiian . While it might be out of place , I would not putty in the cover unless I was going to scribe in a new one . All funnycars had the hatch (usually with a mirror) to assist in backing the cars up after the pre race burn out to warm the tires . I think an out of place hatch is better than no hatch .

The only problem I had with the build concerns the rear end . While dry fitting the rear end parts I noticed that the steel axel supplied with the kit was just barely wider than the rear end piece . So I simply cut a piece of brass rod as a replacement . Easy fix right ? well no , as it turns out . If I had narrowed the rear end piece a tiny amount (not enough to affect the mounting of the disc brakes) I would have given myself enough clearance for the body at the rear tires . As it sits now you must take care when lowering the body down over the chassis because of the rear end width . (the judges will LOVE that one)

This kit along with the CHI TOWN HUSTLER are great kits in that they show another couple of versions of the types of chassis that were being run in this period . Even though the kits share the same tires and some of the same body parts they are two completely different kits .

FARKONAS , COIL , and MINICK CHI TOWN HUSTLER

This kit went together like a dream . The only thing with this kit is that I “imagineered” the plumbing and wiring on the kit . If I had only known about all the info coming in the latest mags I might have gone that way……..maybe I’ll just build a couple more…… they are that good.

No problems with this build , and the decals for both kits are top notch , and that bring me to the

MONGOOSE “75” Plymouth Duster Funnycar

This appears to be a rerelease of a funnycar kit with a new body and tinwork for the Duster . The reason I know this is because all the parts are the same as the Revell/Slixx generic “70’s” Charger funnycar kit that I am currently building . (another Blue Hawaiian)

On this build I really wanted the decals to pop so I figured I had better paint the body in three colors , red , white , and blue . When all the major decals on the sheet are white and they are going on red panels there is cause for concern . After painting this became apparent. The decals on the side panel that were painted white underneath looked great . The white stripes on the tops and the GO NAVY decals on the hood and side were translucent . Cartograph oh cartograph were are you ? So it’s off to Michaels With my trusty 40% off coupon for another kit and set of decals . I ended up decaling over the white stripes and the GO NAVY decals on the hood and sides ala Fred Cady . While I’m not thrilled having to buy another kit , it came out so well , I’m not going to complain , but thought it should be mentioned . The only way to avoid this would be to paint white under all the white decals turning what would otherwise be a great kit into a monster . (or stick with pink markings)

So if you plan on building this kit plan on either two sets of decals or some fancy masking and paint work . The other option is SLIXX decals , which I will be looking into , now that I have a kit without decals . The rest of the kit goes together well and there are no surprises . This kit employs the “straight Logghe bros. style chassis that was very common in funnycars of the day . The difference between most cars was how they they set up thier fuel and cooling tanks , so again if you are doing a replica keep this in mind .

All in all this is a GREAT series of kits and I will be adding at least a few of each to my collection ….hmmm ……..no matter how fast I build , I can’t seem to get my collection to shrink .

This weekend I’m going to figure out how to post pic’s if it kills me.

Take care and see around the clubhouse

STEVE D.

[horsepower]

Revell’s new trio of Funnycar kits

I have just completed a build up of these three kits and the following is just some casual observations I have made on each one .

Roland Leongs Hawaiian

First of all if you are planning a real nuts and bolts replica with full blown detailing make sure you first get some pictures of the car at a particular event . I picked mine up at Michael’s in March , and just built it out of the box . There might be an issue with the color call outs for painting as the instructions say the interior tin work should be painted black . The tin work should be silver or natural aluminum . Also there is the glass work that should have a blue tint . ( I found this out just before installing mine and dusted on a coat of Tamiya clear blue.) Having read the reviews , I noticed someone making an issue of the hatch cover on the Hawaiian . While it might be out of place , I would not putty in the cover unless I was going to scribe in a new one . All funnycars had the hatch (usually with a mirror) to assist in backing the cars up after the pre race burn out to warm the tires . I think an out of place hatch is better than no hatch .

The only problem I had with the build concerns the rear end . While dry fitting the rear end parts I noticed that the steel axel supplied with the kit was just barely wider than the rear end piece . So I simply cut a piece of brass rod as a replacement . Easy fix right ? well no , as it turns out . If I had narrowed the rear end piece a tiny amount (not enough to affect the mounting of the disc brakes) I would have given myself enough clearance for the body at the rear tires . As it sits now you must take care when lowering the body down over the chassis because of the rear end width . (the judges will LOVE that one)

This kit along with the CHI TOWN HUSTLER are great kits in that they show another couple of versions of the types of chassis that were being run in this period . Even though the kits share the same tires and some of the same body parts they are two completely different kits .

FARKONAS , COIL , and MINICK CHI TOWN HUSTLER

This kit went together like a dream . The only thing with this kit is that I “imagineered” the plumbing and wiring on the kit . If I had only known about all the info coming in the latest mags I might have gone that way……..maybe I’ll just build a couple more…… they are that good.

No problems with this build , and the decals for both kits are top notch , and that bring me to the

MONGOOSE “75” Plymouth Duster Funnycar

This appears to be a rerelease of a funnycar kit with a new body and tinwork for the Duster . The reason I know this is because all the parts are the same as the Revell/Slixx generic “70’s” Charger funnycar kit that I am currently building . (another Blue Hawaiian)

On this build I really wanted the decals to pop so I figured I had better paint the body in three colors , red , white , and blue . When all the major decals on the sheet are white and they are going on red panels there is cause for concern . After painting this became apparent. The decals on the side panel that were painted white underneath looked great . The white stripes on the tops and the GO NAVY decals on the hood and side were translucent . Cartograph oh cartograph were are you ? So it’s off to Michaels With my trusty 40% off coupon for another kit and set of decals . I ended up decaling over the white stripes and the GO NAVY decals on the hood and sides ala Fred Cady . While I’m not thrilled having to buy another kit , it came out so well , I’m not going to complain , but thought it should be mentioned . The only way to avoid this would be to paint white under all the white decals turning what would otherwise be a great kit into a monster . (or stick with pink markings)

So if you plan on building this kit plan on either two sets of decals or some fancy masking and paint work . The other option is SLIXX decals , which I will be looking into , now that I have a kit without decals . The rest of the kit goes together well and there are no surprises . This kit employs the “straight Logghe bros. style chassis that was very common in funnycars of the day . The difference between most cars was how they they set up thier fuel and cooling tanks , so again if you are doing a replica keep this in mind .

All in all this is a GREAT series of kits and I will be adding at least a few of each to my collection ….hmmm ……..no matter how fast I build , I can’t seem to get my collection to shrink .

This weekend I’m going to figure out how to post pic’s if it kills me.

Take care and see around the clubhouse

STEVE D.

you do know that Revell will send you an extra set of decals if you request them?

[SuperStockAndy]

you do know that Revell will send you an extra set of decals if you request them?

Exactly; I don't know why people spend 25 bucks on another kit when you can get free decals from Revell. Maybe for extra parts, no?

[Steve D.]

Exactly; I don't know why people spend 25 bucks on another kit when you can get free decals from Revell. Maybe for extra parts, no?

Fifteen bucks at Michaels is nothing compared to waiting six to eight weeks for a set of decals , heck I'll bet there's a company out there that makes decals for this very same model .

[SuperStockAndy]

6-8 weeks in nothing for me...it takes me AT LEAST that long to build one!

[Dragracer]

Don't mean to be nasty or anything, just making a comment on one of your statements concerning the roof hatch. Not all funny cars had a roof hatch back in the 60's or early 70's, they are mandatory now. The Chi-Town Hustler & some of Dick Harrell's cars had a escape hatch(& there are others too I'm sure), Bruce Larson's USA-1 cars had a working drivers side door for awhile in case of a fire or something happening.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

I was gonna say - maybe there's a roof hatch on the Hawaiian, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell exactly where from this and any number of other shots...

Fwiw, I also observed that the rear track is narrower on the Hawaiian, and that its body shell is positioned a little higher over the rear wheels. It's for this reason that it was actually my Chi-Town Hustler that was a little tight over its slicks, while there were absolutely no clearance or mounting problems for the Hawaiian I built.

Edited July 26, 2011 by Chuck Kourouklis

[Chuck Most]

It's a shame, but if I ever bought one or both of these, I'd just rob parts from it!

[deathskull59]

well im in to drag racing and i wish micheales would sell these alot cheaper than 25$$$$ bucks. maby down to $17.95 but i guess how more well detailed some model kits. are the more exspansive they get. but those do look nice to get.

[Dragracer]

I've seen these two kits at my local HobbyTown USA, both are going for $25 there, haven't checked the local Michaels, but I have noticed they (Micaels) does seem to charge more.

[RickRollerLT1]

Michales usally charges the Manfictures SRP on their kits, though some kits they carry are more (no more than 25) while some are priced a few dollars less.

Though Michaels seems expensive, check their weekly circulars and website for their magical 40-50% off coupons to bring the price down to a more reasionable cost.

Hobbytown USA while they carry more items and prouducts for the hobbiest, are waaay more pricer than msrp (from what i've heard) because they need profits to keep up and stay alive. Rarely i've seen them have any sales of offer discounts. we used to have HT USAS many years ago on the island, but then they all dried up because they were horribly overpriced and couldn't keep up with the other LHS's and retailers that carryed kits at a lower price.

[Dragracer]

HobbyTown USA is the only hobby store I can find on my area, use to have a little Ma&Pa store (ModelsModelsModels), that was a lot closer then HobbyTown, but they were in the process of selling/closing the store when I moved here, only made it there on 3 occasins, on the 3rd, they only had Nascars models hanging around. So HobbyTown it is, (mainly for paints,glues & Evergreen, Model Express for my models )

[ausbuilder]

i bought these kits, and they go together really well..if you havent got one yet..i'd suggest getting one..or all 3, awesome