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1/25 Revell Ford Del Rio Ranch Wagon 2'n'1


Matt T.

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I am in no way telling people not to like and enjoy this kit. For me personally, I would have to fix the obvious issues to me. The kit would look "off" on my shelf next to other 57's.

As stated, I will end up with one, and will probably section up a chopped 57 Ranchero body for the correct panels. The dimensions should be close, but we will see. If that is the case, the wagon will get the same treatment (unless it has been addressed) with a Ranchero as a donor.

The tough part is removing the flatness of the 1/4 panels if I were to try to "repair" the actual kit.

Edited by Sledsel
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I've been following this thread since day one, and this thing is completely off of the rails. None of us have the actual kit in our hands yet, even though some have seen and/or handled the test shot when it made the rounds. I have not seen it in person, but I plan to buy one, once it is available, as I liked what I saw in the photographs. I am in the camp that like the Revell '57 even though it is not perfect. When I opened mine to build it, I knew that I was going to cut it up into a Ranchero,. I had an original Revell Ranchero, and this kit was light years ahead of that one, when it came to body proprtioning. Yes, to be fair, AMT did a bettter job with the fender sculptures, and well as a couple of angles here and there, and the front splash pan under the grille, but I can say, the Revell '57 kit goes together much easier than the AMT '57 kit, and I built a few of them too over the 50 plus years I have been in this hobby. I love both of those kits, and if it was not fro the fact that Revell did the original Ranchero kit, I would not have been able to do the conversion.

DSCF3557_zps19eb32bf.jpg

57FordConvertibleModel6.jpg

I have yet to build one straight from the box, and I have a couple of Resin Wagon conversions on the shelf to do. One a Jimmy Flintstone Country Sedan, which I am going to use the balance of the original Revell Ranchero to finish it, and one of the Rare All American Country Squires, which I am going to mate with some AMT parts I have. Who knows, I may convert the new Ranch Wagon Del Rio into a Courier with some surf boards to go with the Ranchero, and one of the sedans I have into a 4-door sedan, trimmed out in blue and white like my Aunt's can when I was a kid.

I'll reserve my judgement when I have an actual kit in my hands.

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There isn't gonna be any chrome plating or hubcaps in this kit? :(

That is a test shoot of the model. Of course they give us chrome in the final version. If you think people are screaming bloody murder over the kit now, imagine what they would do if the kit came with no chrome. Even Revell isn't that stupid.

Scott

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For what it's worth -

the pic that Casey posted a while back seems to suggest some work on the sedan's problem areas:

e08fe284-049a-4dc3-8af9-17dfb5f43fb2.jpg

I see a score line for the valance on the fender, behind front tire body line looks more prominent. Th very bottom of the fender should blend into the rocker area and not have the indentation and still seems to have a bulge. Front bumper is longer but too rounded on the top corner. Some work been done on the rear quarter..... I can accept this and work with it much better than the Custom.

Maybe I am nit picking, I do not care cuz I am the one who would pay for it. This will build up nice and not be too bad to fix up a little. At least it looks as if they are attempting to resolve issues, and I applaud that part.

The thing I wonder is how did they all put out such nice, accurate, crisp bodies 40-50 years ago, and now there are so many with obvious flaws?

Edited by Sledsel
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Ron, this started because I mentioned that I "hope" the faults were addressed. Since you have the Ranchero, Hardtop and Custom.... How close are dimensions?

Andy,

The orignal Revell Ranchero was a offshoot of the original Country Squire Multi Piece Body, but Revell did not adjust the doors for a two door body. I had a stock height built up of the original version of the kit, which I was going to re-do. I wanted it to look decent to my eye, so I was going to lengthen the doors and roof using parts from a chopped Ranchero I had, and some plastic surgery.

I work by "eyeball engineering", where if it does not look right to me, I will not bother.You are justified to have your feelings about the '57 Sedan and the '49 Merc from Revell, and while I agree with you, I let my wallet do the talking. I cannot tell you what any dimension is between the Ranchero, Hardtop, and Custom, except the the height of the Fairlanes were lower, and the wheelbases were longer, resulting in a sleeker looking car, which I feel AMT nailed. As a matter of fact, my favorite uncle had a '57 Fairlane 500 4-Door Sedan in Black, that I may do a model up, since the AMT 2 Door Hardtop used the same roof skin.

Looking at the photo of the new '57 Del Rio in this thread, it looks as if the fender well sculpture you mentioned has been taken care of. Over the years, I have seen a lot of cars, and I have an extensive reference library.

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Yes, I am totally aware of the history of the multi-piece Revell 57 Ranchero. Modelhaus had the wagon pieces for it in resin, so I may use a Ranchero and cut off the lower 1/4 panels and lower front fenders to try to fix a custom 300 kit if they scale correctly.

If that works, I may just resin cast the corrected body for my own use.

The Fairlanes are longer and lower than the Customs and wagons.

The Del Rio still has some issues, possibly also dealt with by now (they are way behind on release) but is is better than the Custom IMHO

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Okay.... Before anything, I would like to state, the kit photos I am posting here are from Túlio Lazzaroni - Lovefordgalaxie. I am incorporating his photos because his builds and photography are excellent. The lighting and colors on these pics really help point out the areas discussed. I am in no way trying to discredit him or his builds, I have seen many of them and they are all excellent. If he has a problem with me using the cropped pics, I will gladly remove them.

I am going to address the body issues only. Yea, there are other problems under the car, but I really do not care, it is the initial displayed kit that means the most (to me) There is a tail light bezel issue, but that would be fixed with a few minutes of sanding, so it will not be shown. Besides, it was shown earlier in this post.

Front fender: As discussed, it extends to far down in the front, and the valance should wrap around and be connected to the fender. Behind the tire, the body line extending towards the bottom should be sharp end very evident. Also, this area should be concave towards the tire. The Revell kit has this area actually bulged out. By paying attention to the shadows you can see this. Also, the bumper should reach to the edge of the wheel well.

These issues really could easily be fixed, getting that body line sharp would take some time.

(the green Ford is my dads, I included this because the bumper is off and shows the valance/fender area clear.)

10405673_1050623294963084_23461378698148

1008141754-00_zpsupw8fgyu.jpg

10393818_10204764673210678_2182660730408

345601-1000-0_zpsnsc4zeil.jpg

Now the rear quarter, and the more difficult area to correct. If you compare both body lines, you can see the difference. The upper line should extend almost to the bumper. This part of the quarter is rounded, whereas the kit quarter looks pretty flat. The lower body line on the kit looks scribbed into the body. There should be a definite break and then a concave area like the front fender. This body line also needs to extend further back.

Note: The 1:1 pic is a Custom 300, and the rear quarters other than the fin is the same on all models (shorter on custom series though)

10245281_1050623244963089_31933188642714

0907sr_06_z%201957_ford_custom_300%20tai

Dash speaker speaks for itself. An scale inch high. Again, not a bid deal, sand off or cut and recess.... but still....

10245281_1050623244963089_31933188642714

download%203_zpsqpllhlgy.jpg

As a final note, these items were not measured and checked with a caliper..... they are visual. Apparent to me as soon as I looked at them. I did not need to compare.

This entire mess started because I said I hope they addressed these areas for the wagon.

Ironically, the 50 year old AMT and Revell Wagon/Ranchero kits have these areas spot on...... How they do that then and not now?

Wow, are those flubs! Yeah...this is definitely someone not paying attention.

It does, however, as you noted, look like they're trying to correct those problems with the wagon. Cool.

We'll see in a few months.

Charlie Larkin

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Um, they're circled in color. Get glasses or a new monitor, it's not hard to see. At all. Waaaay bigger than rivets or spot welds.

Good news is wagon body looks better in many areas, especially fender well sculpting. Going to get a couple I guess.

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It just befuddles me . So many of these posts here defend incompetence . I , have been involved in this Hobby since 1958 . I took a couple of step asides . While I hung onto what I had during '70 & '71. At this time I wondered away into another Scale Model Pursuit . Back at it in '72 . In '79 I was talked into giving up my Lifelong Hobby . I then sold out . Until 1984 I was out .

This Country made the Best Model Kits on the Planet . So , Lensley happened . The other makers followed their lead . Good Enough ............ derigor of the Day .

Then the Japanese entered our Market and did excellent . Remember the Electric Motored Kits . Remember the thin Model Kits . Remember the Bonus Pen and Pencil Desk top holders immediately after raising the Kit Prices into the Stratosphere ? Due to PLASTIC COST INCREASE was the Song they sang . Why do I suspect the most expensive component of a kit continues to be the BOX ??

So , IMHO , here we are again . Ukraine delivers beautiful Models . Mobious delivers beautiful models . Revelle seems to want to do good enough ? Will they change the flaws ? Does anyone know what dealing with the Chinese to get and take advantage of "Cheap Labor" ? The History of Revelle is to fix things . Our complaints , from the Customers are heard . Good Enough is not good enough . My 2 cents ... Thanx .. Anyone want a '69 Corvette 429 kit ?

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Okay.... Before anything, I would like to state, the kit photos I am posting here are from Túlio Lazzaroni - Lovefordgalaxie. I am incorporating his photos because his builds and photography are excellent. The lighting and colors on these pics really help point out the areas discussed. I am in no way trying to discredit him or his builds, I have seen many of them and they are all excellent. If he has a problem with me using the cropped pics, I will gladly remove them.

I am going to address the body issues only. Yea, there are other problems under the car, but I really do not care, it is the initial displayed kit that means the most (to me) There is a tail light bezel issue, but that would be fixed with a few minutes of sanding, so it will not be shown. Besides, it was shown earlier in this post.

Front fender: As discussed, it extends to far down in the front, and the valance should wrap around and be connected to the fender. Behind the tire, the body line extending towards the bottom should be sharp end very evident. Also, this area should be concave towards the tire. The Revell kit has this area actually bulged out. By paying attention to the shadows you can see this. Also, the bumper should reach to the edge of the wheel well.

These issues really could easily be fixed, getting that body line sharp would take some time.

(the green Ford is my dads, I included this because the bumper is off and shows the valance/fender area clear.)

10405673_1050623294963084_23461378698148

1008141754-00_zpsupw8fgyu.jpg

10393818_10204764673210678_2182660730408

345601-1000-0_zpsnsc4zeil.jpg

Now the rear quarter, and the more difficult area to correct. If you compare both body lines, you can see the difference. The upper line should extend almost to the bumper. This part of the quarter is rounded, whereas the kit quarter looks pretty flat. The lower body line on the kit looks scribbed into the body. There should be a definite break and then a concave area like the front fender. This body line also needs to extend further back.

Note: The 1:1 pic is a Custom 300, and the rear quarters other than the fin is the same on all models (shorter on custom series though)

10245281_1050623244963089_31933188642714

0907sr_06_z%201957_ford_custom_300%20tai

Dash speaker speaks for itself. An scale inch high. Again, not a bid deal, sand off or cut and recess.... but still....

10245281_1050623244963089_31933188642714

download%203_zpsqpllhlgy.jpg

As a final note, these items were not measured and checked with a caliper..... they are visual. Apparent to me as soon as I looked at them. I did not need to compare.

This entire mess started because I said I hope they addressed these areas for the wagon.

Ironically, the 50 year old AMT and Revell Wagon/Ranchero kits have these areas spot on...... How they do that then and not now?

Excellent analysis, Sledsel. I think having first-hand experience, as you do, with the cars makes it easier to spot these issues. Having owned two '58 Fairlanes, which shared those contours around the wheel wells, and helped my Dad wash our '58 Del Rio when I was a little kid, those errors were immediately apparent. I'm not sure I understand, though, how anyone with a half decent eye for contour and proportion can't see them in direct comparison. To help those guys - if you've got AMT's Fairlane 500 and the Revell Custom Tudor, get 'em both out and look at the sculpturing around the wheel openings on the AMT kit - that's what the Revell kit should look like.

It does appear that they may have made some effort to fix these issues on the wagon kit. Hope so, because I'm looking forward to that kit even more than the two-door sedan.

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