Table of contents for June 2016 in Scale Auto

IF EVER there was a “ubiquitous” V-8 engine, it would be Chevy’s small-block. From its origins as an innovative, lightweight 265-cubicinch engine in the 1955 Chevy, through the completion of its reign in the 1990s in 305- and 350-cubic-inch variants, the original design of the small-block Chevy powered tens of millions of American cars and trucks, and is by many measures the most successful overhead valve (OHV) V-8 engine. So how should we approach the small-block Chevy (hereafter, “SBC”) for the last segment of our Scale Auto “Muscle V-8s” series? After all, the SBC has been in hundreds of kits. After pondering this for several years, I decided to zero in on the model car kits that replicate the truly legendary versions of the SBC: The ones with the order…

MANY OF MY favorite car-body styles emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Nice, rounded lines make them conducive to the style of customizing that I like. This time, I’ll take on the latest from Galaxie LTD: a 1947 Chevrolet coupe. Follow along as I find out what can be done to turn it into a nice flowing custom sled. In this part, I’ll concentrate on chopping and reshaping the top. After all of the planning, cutting, and gluing, I had a chance to look over everything to see how I was doing. I temporarily attached the bumpers, headlights, and grille, and studied it from all angles. I kept trying to like it, but something just seemed off. I finally asked my wife for her opinion, and she apologetically…

1978 VW Scirocco Round 2 No. AMT925/12 Model Type: Injection-molded styrene Molded Colors: Gray, clear, black Scale: 1/25 MSRP: $26.99 Pros: Nice interior detail Cons: Difficult final assembly; vague placement instructions for some parts SOMETIMES, nostalgia is a lot of work. This was one of those times. This isn’t a beginner’s kit. Not because of the parts count, but because of the work needed to get satisfying parts fits. Construction begins with the 13-part engine, which is a decent representation of VW’s SOHC fuel-injected fourcylinder. The distributor, oil filter, and lower radiator hose are molded in place. The interior is molded platform-style, and is one of the better parts of the kit. The door panels and rear-seat quarterpanels have good detail. The dash has all of the instruments and warning…

Lamborghini Aventador Aoshima No. 11522 Model Type: Injection-molded styrene Molded Colors: White, black, gray, clear Scale: 1/24 MSRP: $34.51 Pros: Body fit; perfect stance; a pleasure to build Cons: Thick connection points on parts trees FOR ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY, Lamborghini produced this version of the Aventador (a radical supercar that replaced the Murcielago), limited to 100 vehicles. The debut example of the car was painted in Giallo Maggio, a superbright pearl yellow. There are a good amount of parts molded white, black, gray, and clear. The kit has a clean and crisp decal sheet for the emblems, and a separate set of 50th Anniversario decals in various sizes for use on a display base. The tires are extremely accurate, and are molded with a fine tread pattern. There is a…

Richard Smith’s Revell 1950 Chevy has a wired 427 engine with a scratchbuilt exhaust, parts-box wheels and tires, and is finished with Testor’s Model Master Hugger Orange paint. “I love my orange crush,” he says. WANT TO SUBMIT A PHOTO? It’s easy! Visit our contributor submission Web site at www.contribute.kalmbach.com and follow the step-by-step guide. Be sure to provide all the necessary information and details about your model! Tom Nungester’s 1970 Cuda is based on a Revell kit, with opened grille, modified suspension, and many machined parts. The hubcaps are from Missing Link, and the finish is Tamiya color and House of Kolor clear. QUESTIONS? Send your Finish Line questions to Scale Auto, Finish Line 21027 Crossroads Circle, Box 1612, Waukesha WI 53187-1612 E-mail: jhaught@ScaleAutoMag.com…

Frequent contributor Ed Maslin has again come up with a clever solution to a tricky problem. Ed has devised a simple way to drill holes in a cramped location: “I recently needed to drill holes in a tight location, where a pin vise was not an option; I had to drill around a corner. “I found a small (approximately 1/8" diameter) spring at the local hardware store. I removed the loop ends, cut the spring to about 1” and glued it onto the end of a 1/8" diameter, 3-1/2" long piece of styrene rod. The end of the rod had to be trimmed a little for a tight fit inside the spring. About 1/3 the length of the spring was pushed over the rod. “I then drilled a pilot hole…

AS CAR MODELERS, some of us are aware of muscle cars and muscle car production options that were planned, but never actually materialized. Considerable evidence has surfaced that the automakers had even-more-aggressive plans that were, unfortunately, canceled at the last minute. One potential source of this information deserves further investigation. During this period of automotive history, there was a highly synergistic working relationship between the 1:1 “Detroit Big 4” and the model car companies AMT, MPC, and JoHan. Given the lead times of designing and tooling the massive steel dies that churned out new model car kits, the “Big 4” shared detailed designs and the following year’s product plans with the model companies – approximately nine months before the 1:1 cars were introduced. The model kits that resulted each fall…

THE NHRA Pro Stock division began in 1970. This was the only car that Chrysler provided to Ronnie Sox and Buddy Martin that had a Vehicle Identification Number. The cars raced at that time were still very much stock compared to today’s racers, although substantial modifications were done to the engine, drive train, and suspension. The interior remained intact; only the rear seat was removed and a roll bar added. When I first did the review of this kit (Scale Auto December 2014) I built it to be a nice-looking, box-stock shelf model. At that time I realized matching the paint to the kit decals was quite a challenge, and I found a few areas that could use some improvement. I ordered the correct paint from Model Car World, a…

Cosmic Charger MPC No. MPC826/12 Model Type: Injection-molded styrene Molded Colors: White, clear, black Scale: 1/24 MSRP: $29.99 Pros: Nice pamphlet to use for reference; blower parts update Cons: Brittle decals; parts fit tests a builder’s patience ROUND 2 has released another old classic MPC drag kit: Carl Casper’s wild “Cosmic Charger” front engine dragster. I have never built the original, but I can say that for the rerelease there have been some nice upgrades. The contents are what you would expect from on old 1970s kit. Everything is molded in white plastic, along with a clear windscreen, a large chrome tree, and a nice set of tampoprinted rear slicks. There is also a fullcolor decal sheet, containing all of the car’s signature graphics. This version also includes a really…

Mazda MX-5 Roadster Tamiya No. 24342 Model Type: Injection-molded styrene Molded Colors: White, black, clear Scale: 1/24 MSRP: $49.00 Pros: Crisp, well-engraved parts; nice level of detail for a curbside Cons: Curbside only; lack of 17" wheels for 2-liter trim variants; lack of uptop WEEKS AFTER the all-new fourthgeneration Mazda MX-5 began arriving in showrooms, Tamiya announced its all-new kit. Mazda Roadster is the Japanese name for the car known as the MX-5 in the rest of the world. The box art features impeccable illustrations showing the car on the cover, and color and trim variations on the side panels. Variations inside the box (decals, driver figure, left or right steering) allow you to build Japanese, European, UK, and US-spec MX-5s. The kit can be built as the fully loaded…

MANY HAVE referred to 1970 as the pinnacle of the Trans-Am series. Seeing it was the last year for full factory support of the teams, it’s hard to deny that claim. The money was flowing, the crowds were huge, and the track was full of Fords, Chevys, Dodges, Plymouths, Pontiacs, and AMCs. High times indeed. After three seasons racing Camaros, Roger Penske took his team to AMC in 1970. He kept his Sunoco sponsorship, but changed his color scheme to match the familiar red-white-and-blue of the previous AMC team. However, in a nod to Sunoco, he changed the blue from AMC’s Big Bad Blue to the darker Sunoco shade. As usual, he used a Traco modified engine. It’s difficult to find the old JoHan 1970 Javelin, and expensive when you…

Dodge Polara 500 Kit No. C-664:149 Introduced: 1963; never reissued in this form Present value: $180 JOHAN WAS KNOWN from the start for the unquestioned accuracy of the bodies of its 1/25 scale annual kits and promotionals. During the mid-1960s, they also became known for exquisitely detailed model kits below the surface of those pristinely rendered bodies. Compare this kit with its immediate predecessor, the 1963 Dodge Polara (kit 4563:149) to see the jump in accuracy. The 1963 version was essentially an unassembled promotional model, with a simplistic engine and basic set customizing options. The 1964 kit debuted with its topicspecific box art, showing fully developed factory-stock, custom, and Super Stock Drag versions. The engine was new and highly detailed, replicating the Dodge Ramcharger 426 Stage III Max Wedge. Features…

1960 Chevy Corvette MPC No. MPC/830 Model Type: Injection-molded styrene Molded Colors: White, clear, black Scale: 1/25 MSRP: $22.99 Pros: Seven building versions; many accessories Cons: Flash; cannot be built 100 percent box-stock WHEN THIS kit (and this box art) was introduced in 1968, it was the ultimate Corvette kit, boasting no less than seven building versions. The instructions still list them all: stock, Bonneville, modified sports car, rally car, road racer, drag racer and wild custom! The good news is that this kit is still packed with all the parts to build these versions (almost), plus a myriad of cool accessories such as a ski rack with skis, fire extinguisher, helmet, rally board, tow bar, and a seven-piece driver figure. There are also two hinged hoods, three induction systems,…

1966 Chevy Fleetside Revell No. 85-7225 Model Type: Injection-molded styrene Molded Colors: White, clear, translucent red, black Scale: 1/25 MSRP: $24.95 Pros: Good interior detail; nice woodgrain decals Cons: Fit issues with air cleaner, body, and tires I’VE ALWAYS liked 1960s Chevrolet pickup trucks. The cab and chassis have been around before in Revell’s Stepside 2 ’n 1, but this is the first time the Fleetside body style has been offered. The engine is a small-block “Hightorque” 283 with a two-barrel carburetor. The carburetor is mostly covered by the air cleaner, so its simplified detail is generally hidden. The front body panel needed a bit of filler and a few rounds of sanding to get a decent fit. The tires were rather floppy on the wheels, and didn’t fit snugly…

Tyrrell 003 1971 Monaco GP Tamiya No. 12054 Model Type: Sidebar Molded Colors: Injection-molded styrene Scale: 1/12 MSRP: $143.00 Pros: Good parts fit overall; engine detail; new nose fits well; no decal bleedthrough Cons: Many parts need cleanup; mirror mounts are tricky TAMIYA REISSUED the original Tyrrell a few years ago, but this version has been unavailable until now. The original kit’s blunt nose has been replaced by one that is specific to the 003 model. A new Cartograf decal sheet, with all the decals necessary to replicate the 1971 Monaco GP winner, and some photoetched details are the only other changes from the original 1973 release. Assembly starts with the basic monocoque and front suspension. Nearly all of the suspension components are chrome-plated; the plating is done well, but…