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.

Revell 1/25 scale 1957 Ford Custom ("Tudor")

I've been working on this kit for a few days now. I'm quite pleased with how it's going together. Parts fit is very good and the assembly is well thought out. Detail in some areas is soft but that's to be expected from a kit in this price range.

Assembly starts with the engine. The left and right halves of the block/transmission line up very well and go together with no unintended gaps. The seam is tight and easily removed.

It really begins to shine when painted and with the other parts on.

I did deviate from the instructions a bit by altering some of the colors called for. Simply put I don't have any gold paint nor the money to get any, so I used silver and certain Metalizer colors that I have on hand. I also decided to go ahead and work on the interior while I waited for the paint and glue on the engine and frame to fully cure.

The blue is Tamiya XF-8 Flat Blue, which happens to be a very close match to the Dresden Blue from the Ford color brochure for this car. The grey patterned areas are decals provided in the kit, and the door and window handles are painted with Model Master Chrome Silver. The only change is that I used Testors Dullcote to get a flat finish rather than the gloss of the uncoated decals.

More as construction progresses.

A new kit for the stash

While we were out and about yesterday we stopped by Hobby Lobby. They had several kits marked down for clearance. I was about to pass them by when I spotted this one:

  

Originally $25.99 marked down to $15.99, too good a deal to pass up!

The box contains two bags of white parts (body in one, all the rest of the white sprues in the other), one of chrome, one with clear parts and optional drag slicks in separate compartments, and one bag of wheel pins. There is a folded instruction booklet and a sheet of decals as well. There is no excess room in the box - it's stuffed! The kit offers the option of building either stock or drag racing versions with optional parts for both.

Box art:

 

Manual and decals:

Parts sprues and bags:

The only release year info I can find is 2012 so it does look like all parts are new tooling. There is very little flash, the exception being the tree with the rear seat and front seat back. Otherwise the molding is crisp and clear. Detail is typical for a model of this scale and price range. Ejection pin marks are minimal, although there are some on the inside roof of the body that will have to be cleaned up.

I plan to do a bit of research before time to paint the exterior comes. One thing I did find already was a brochure listing Ford colors for 1957:

This will come in handy for gauging the color match when the time comes!

I've always wanted a pickup truck!

As a break from working on the Hummel and Arizona I started on the Revell 1/25 1956 Ford F-100 Ed Roth kit my wife bought for me. I neglected to take photos of the chassis build but here it is completed, painted, and awaiting bodywork:

A closeup of the engine and cab:

And a preview of what it will look like with the cab and bed on, first with tonneau cover:

And then without:

The bodywork has been primed and is awaiting paint. Just need to decide if I'm going with the kit gloss white or something else that will go with the red frame and cab trim.

Goodies for my stash

I used to have a stash of 30 or 40 kits waiting to be built. Not big by some standards - I know guys who have literally hundreds of kits in closets and on shelves - but decent. That was a long time ago, before moving out of Texas, going to college, getting married, moving again, that sort of thing. I'm slowly convincing my wife that just because I'm still working on one kit doesn't mean I can't buy another for later on. Not sure she believes me just yet but I'm persistent.

She has bought me two more kits, one a delayed birthday present and another as a thank you for replacing the broken screen on her iPad. Here's what I have in my micro-stash:

 

I'm really looking forward to building these!