Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Revell Ford Custom update

The Revell 1/25 scale Ford Custom is pretty much finished. All that's really left is getting the body painted and attaching the last chrome bits. I need to get some paint before I can proceed.

Finished interior showing dashboard

 Engine compartment

 Underside showing exhaust and fuel tank

Preview of what the finished model will look like

This is a great kit. The parts all fit well, there is minimal flash to clean up, and it builds into a solid model. About the only thing I can really complain about is that the instructions are a bit vague on the exact placement of some parts, especially on the engine and in the engine compartment. I strongly recommend that the builder take the time to dry fit repeatedly before gluing assemblies into place. One example in particular is that the steering pump has an end that fits into a hole in the firewall. Nowhere in the instructions is this shown. It is up to the builder to discover this and figure out how to fit these parts together when the time comes.

Unfortunately this is something that isn't uncommon in plastic model kits. Most have gone to simple CAD generated line drawings with minimal text. In the past instructions were highly detailed and each step was fully explained and accompanied by precise drawings. Those detailed instructions do take much longer to produce and require the services of experienced technical writers and draftsmen to create. The simpler instructions coming in today's kits are adequate if the builder takes the time to dry fit parts, and they do help to keep kit prices lower so I guess it's a trade-off we'll just have to live with.

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