SCALE MODEL NEWS

This is an MPC reissue of a 1:25 scale drag racer kit, “Ohio” George Montgomery’s Malco Gasser. The Gasser is based on a 1969 Mustang, but the body shape is where the resemblance ends, as everything else is pure dragster. Mat Irvine:  As with many AMT and MPC kits now being reissued by Round 2, a number of parts are new included either in separate tooling, or newly made. In this case modified or new components include the hood, wheelie bar, bumper and grille filler section. There are also new decals, and new tyres, including drag slicks that are also available as an AMT Parts Pack. Model assembly is basically straightforward, though there are a few things to watch. The Ford SOHC V8 engine can be built up to start with, wiring the plug leads and adding other details if you want. The running gear is added to the underside of the chassis pan, while the two seats (the passenger seat is somewhat redundant, but has to be in the real thing for official regulation purposes) and the roll ca...

MAT IRVINE: I’ve mentioned ‘Annual’ (sometimes called ‘Yearly’) cars before, kits that featured all-new or refreshed models from the full-size Detroit auto companies. For a time AMT, Jo-Han, MPC - and to a certain extent, Revell - matched the showroom glitz with kit versions of their own. AMT started the Annuals craze in the late 1950s, but the components for each kit were packed into generic, near-identical boxes, the only indication of what was actually inside being a label, sticker, or small insert panel on the box-end. Why the similar look? Exactly why the generic styling was used is not entirely clear, though it was most likely a simple economy measure. Whatever the reason, the ‘mystery kit’ packaging lasted only a few years. Individuality wins The generic approach stayed until 1963, when, although a standard box-top was used across the range, individual kits now had their own end-panels. The following year, each model car gained its own box-top art too, although within the framew...

MAT IRVINE REPORTS Carroll Shelby, one of the best known names in US motor sport, died last week, on May 10, 2012, aged 89. Coincidentally, Revell-Germany has just released a big, 1:12 scale version of the Revell-US Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang kit, thus helping to mark the long career of this motoring legend. Big hunk of Mustang The Revell kit features the 2010 model year Shelby GT500 Mustang, and in many ways this big kit is a direct enlargement of the earlier 1:25 scale kit. Consequently, although the model is larger, the extra size makes it easier to build, simply because the parts, all 145 of them, are that much bigger and easier to handle.  Some of the runners, here in black, silver-grey and chrome-plated.  Kit build options Options for the model builder are minimal, but do include instrument styles, supplied as decals, and raised or lowered suspension. The included plans indicate the latter, but because of the multi-lingual nature of Euro-kit assembly instructions (now up...

Show update from Mat Irvine: The second Automodellismo Show - the show that features model cars inside and 1:1 scale classic cars outside - was very successfully held last Sunday, April 15, 2012. This is the second year under its new banner and location, in Hanslope village, Buckinghamshire, UK. Tasty auto lineup included, left to right: Ford Mustang, Chrysler PT Cruiser, MG-TF, Lotus Elan 2, Bond Bug, Triumph Herald, TVR 350C, Morgan Plus 4.  HaMeX model shows Automodellismo is held under the HaMeX banner - Hanslope Model Expos - that now runs three model shows a year. Automodellismo 2 drew a wide range of visitors, and had a fascinating range of full-size display cars for them to drool over. Although this aspect of the show was really a ‘taster’, it immediately caught the attention of passers-by, and confirmed to anyone arriving that: “Yes, you are in the right place!” The PT Cruiser brought its very own mini-model show in the back. Auto visitors A dozen cars graced the car park...

US pony cars began with the 1964 Ford Mustang, a sports car for everyman USA, even if it was based on the mundane Ford Falcon sedan (to the Brits, that’s a saloon btw). And now we’re up to the 2010s, with not only new, fire-breathing Mustangs, but also modern versions of its original competitors, the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro. You can take your pick which one you prefer of the three, or you can do what car model fan Robert D did, and that was to combine elements of all three into a model auto-fusion concept, nicknamed the Challarostang. In fact, sections of the three vehicles blended together without too much trouble at all, and Robert’s yellow-peril final result looks pretty much like it could have been designed in one studio instead of three. Of his Challarostang he says: “I like the main body of the Camaro better than the Challenger. I like the Challenger front end better than the Camaro. Once the idea was in my head to add Mustang to the equation, it all came together, ...