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Tamiya Ford GT Review

First impressions are everything and Tamiya knocked it out of the part from the moment you open the box. The setup is normal Tamiya quality with each tree being bagged separately.

At first glance the parts are all molded very crisply and had little to no mold release despite some previous releases from the company. The parts are molded in clear, a satin chrome finish, white, black, metallic grey. The black rubber tires are very crisp with detail however there is no side wall “brand name” to be found which is a bit of a bummer.

The body went together with ease requiring about 45 minutes of careful sanding and dry fitting. A trick learned  building the body was to apply your thin cement from the backside of the body, this way you can avoid fuzzing up any body lines or having a stray fingerprint on body. The only mold lines I uncovered after a quick dusting of grey primer were very light on the fender tops and easy to take off. After that the body was scuffed using 1000 grit and sprayed with Tamiya pink primer followed by base and clear coats.

Engine assembly consisted of a handful of parts followed by a few decals which are hidden once the body is mounted. Suspension was very simple with some nice detail – which was again covered up and hidden by the body.

The interior is on full display in this kit and can be ultra-detailed with aftermarket racing seat belts, flocking, etc. you get the idea.

I had no real complaints with this kit but if I were to knit pick, I would say the hardest part was making sure the body was glued and built straight so it mounted and all the glass fit properly. If building another one I would take extra time during these steps. The other thing would be the headlight assemblies are a bit finicky and all that hard work is hidden once painted and installed.

My final thoughts on the kit would be how it builds into a very detailed curbside model of the new Ford GT and I think even gives the diecast versions of the car a run for their money. It was a very fun build even though supercars are not my first model of choice, but it was a fun creative break from my normal builds, and it turned out very well!

Model on and never be afraid to step outside your comfort zone of building!

Brendan Glover – ACME

Additional pictures to be added

The 1968 Chevelle received an all-new distinctly sculpted body with tapered front fenders and a rounded beltline. The car also adopted a long-hood, short-deck profile and a high rear-quarter “kick-up”. The public responded well to this new design by selling a total of 464,669 units, 62,785 of them being equipped with the SS396 L78 package.

Revell’s all new 68 Chevelle comes complete with 201 parts, molded in white with chrome, clear and red transparent parts.  An impressive decal sheet provides 3 color choices for the side accent stripe (red, white, black) along with gauge and under hood details. Revell also includes some nice pad printed red line tires.  The body is nicely molded in white with very little clean up required before going to paint.  I felt that the panel lines were a bit shallow for the doors and trunk and decided to deepen them with a scriber. I would recommend deepening the lines to avoid filling them in with paint.  Also, the right and left taillight housings are separate from the body.  I chose to glue them to the body and re scribe the panel lines before painting.  This decision worked out well, causing no issues during final assembly as well as not having to worry about trying to glue them into place after a fresh paint job.

The engine consists of two engine halves with the transmission molded into the block and a separate oil pan eliminating that pesky seem running down the center.  The valve covers; fuel pump and carburetor are chrome plated.  I would recommend stripping the chrome off the carburetor and fuel pump and finishing them in a metallizer or paint equivalent to make them appear more realistic.  Other parts for the engine include an alternator with bracket, fan belt and pulley assembly, fan clutch; separate water pump, coil and distributor. Once assembled, it builds up into a nice representation of the Chevrolet L78 396ci. 

Revell chose to mold the frame separately from the interior floor pan.  It makes detailing the chassis and floor pans much easier if you choose to do the primer with body overspray effect as I chose to do.  The front fenders are also molded into this assembly.  Careful masking will need to be done to protect the fenders, interior floor and floor pans if painting multiple colors, but the results are well worth it.

The interior consists of 11 separate pieces including separate door panels, front and rear seats, dash, steering wheel and column, shifter and center console.  The interior assembles easily and I didn’t discover any fit issues.  There were some small gaps on the left and right side of the rear seat where it meets the door panels.  I was concerned at first, but after installing the interior into the body, they are unnoticeable.  I thought the option of black and white shift pattern decals was a nice touch to add to the shifter.  Full instrumentation decals are also included for the gauges.

Final assembly was a breeze.  I did have to carefully shave the top of the firewall to get the chassis assembly to fit properly in the body, but overall that was the only challenge I found.  The front and rear windshields are crystal clear warp free and fit perfectly into the recessed areas of the interior.  Once completed, the model sits nice and level and represents the 1:1 car well.  I chose to add a black vinyl top with Rust-O-Leum textured paint and finished the body in GM Butternut yellow courtesy of MCW finishes.  Overall, I would recommend this kit to everyone from beginners to veteran model builders.  This kit assembles well, it’s almost nonexistent of flash, parts fit are great and it was a lot of fun to build. 

Mike Hackey – ACME