Revell '68 Mustang GT 2'n'1 kit observations

[62rebel]

i bought this one today in case i could use it to restore the AMT Iron Horse, but on inspecting the kit contents and engineering, i think i'm better served building this one OOB and using AMT Shelby's to do the other task...

this has to be the first Revell kit i've encountered that uses thick metal axles front and rear... AMT snipers would love the "hole in the block" this kit has! it would seem that the kit is almost engineered along diecast construction lines... lots of interlocking parts, deep interior plate... BUT, and i repeat BUT i am not hacking on this. this kit almost looks "idiot-proof"... i'll see if i can prove that later on, as sometimes i can be quite the idiot.

another observation: there's a set of Torq-Thrusts in this kit... a GT steering wheel... and a grille delete plate. which leads me to ask if this is the Frank Bullitt car with extra parts? none of these parts are called out in the instructions.

another observation: this is the only Revell kit i've encountered that uses the hollow tires and the odd wheel design similar to the Polar Lights snap kits design... the no-name standard tires are visually too darn small for a big block Mustang IMHO... so a set of AMT Goodyears are going on instead.

i've explained before that i shied away from Revell kits for a long time due to a misconception i held about them, to my own loss. this looks like a good kit even with the odd design quirks....

[bigphoto]

Actually it is based on a diecast kit so don't through this in with most of the Revell line but I too like the kit overall.

[Casey]

Yes, the Bullitt kit and this version are based on the same tooling, which was based on the die-cast model. There is a review in the Reviews section, too.

The Revell 1/25 '70 Challenger T/A R/T kit is also diecast-based and suffers from some of the same issues. Fortunately, Revell seems to have given up basing injection molded kits off of existing die-cast kits/tooling.

Edited January 29, 2012 by Casey

[mrmike]

Revell tooled up the Bullitt '68 Mustang and '68 Charger, the '70 Challenger RT/TA, and a few others at a time when the die cast market was changing. Trying to recoup some money invested in tooling, they went and modified the tooling for styrene injection and made plastic kits from that tooling. While the kits do suffer from the maladies of die cast tooling, they seem to be rather good looking models in plastic with several versions of the '68 Mustang that appears to be selling well. The '68 Mustang kit really doesn't offer anything in the way of kit bashing with other Mustang kits so it would be best not to consider using the Revell kits for that purpose.

[62rebel]

Out Of The Box, it will be, mostly, then. another Bullitt Mustang for my shelf!

[jaydar]

I have the same kit and made the same cooments. I will probably build it with closed hood and fix up the front suspension/block.

Someone also said the interior is wrong but i have not done the research yet.

I wish Model Car Garage would do p/e for the 68, 69 and 70 Mustangs (other than Shelby).

Joe.

[62rebel]

i was kidding a little about the front axle/hole in the block; you can't actually see either one right off the bat when it's assembled. the engine does come off a little weird.... i like the valve covers and might swap some parts box plain jane FE ones for these; the air cleaner as well. i'm trying to figure out the best way to modify those beautiful GT styled steel wheels for another build...

it occured to me, that the wheel design does away with any sprue attachment to the actual RIM section... as does the Moebius Hudson design. not every quirk in this kit is bad!

[Junkman]

Is it only me, or do others also find that there is something wrong with the front wheelarches?

[Dirkpitt289]

I just finished that very kit this week. As has already been stated it's based off of a dicast kit. Although I had some issues with the kit I loved it. You may want to take a look at my build as I think I touched on most of the kits pitfalls. I will be getting another one or maybe two of these kits myself.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51247

Best of luck with you're build. i hope you plan to share it with us.