Manufacturer: Revell, 8601 Waukegan Road, Morton Grove, IL 60053, 847-966-3500.
Kit: No. 1510
Scale: 1/25
Price: $16.75
Comments:Pre-finished die-cast body (3 parts) with 61 plastic detail parts and 4 vinyl tires.
Pros: Good representation of the movie car, good finish on metal body, good engine and chassis detail
Cons:Wheel axle holes too shallow, body is split through doors, radiator needs to be relocated.
Revell-Monogram has jumped on the die-cast kit bandwagon with its series of cars from the movie "American Graffiti" - "Where were you in '62?" These are 1/25 scale models of the '56 T-Bird, the '55 Chevy, and the subject of this review, the '32 Ford, or Deuce Coupe."
The clear-view kit box lets you examine the yellow factory-painted five-window body with black roof insert, the grille shell with its chrome edged plastic grille, and the front motorcycle fenders. The poly- bagged plastic parts, the tires, the metal screws, and the two metal grille support rods are found below the body in their own cardboard container. The small decal sheet contains dashboard instrument dials, an "American Graffiti" logo, and a characterization of the roller-skating car hop from the movie - hubba hubba!
The eight-page assembly instruction booklet has a brief history of the car, general instructions, directions for applying decals, and small but clear drawings with all parts named and numbered to match numbers on the sprues.
The seven-step assembly went smoothly. The 15-part engine shows adequate detail for the scale, and the chassis is also representative of a model this size. The finish on the metal body was good, but experienced modelers might want to polish the paint for a smoother look. Having rented and watched the movie, I determined that none of the kit parts needed to be painted.
Use care in step seven when installing the grille shell, radiator reservoir, and the metal support rods. The picture on the box cover shows the grille shell mounted too high. As seen in the movie and in the background photo on the back of the box, the grille shell should rest low in the chassis. This will require bending the firewall ends of the support rods down about 10 degrees. With the radiator properly positioned, you can install the lower radiator hose (which is not shown in the instructions). It fits into the hole in the lower right hand side of the radiator and runs straight back (parallel to the ground) to the receptacle on the right side of the water pump.
I found the holes in each plated wheel to be too shallow to solidly hold the axles. Drilling them out helped a lot. I noticed from the movie that the door handles droop a little, so I mounted them that way with super glue.
For collectors in a big hurry, this kit is perfect. I spent less than 5 hours doing a careful assembly. Finished, it looks just like the car from the movie. Car enthusiasts won't, however, appreciate the big seam running through the door, a concession to the die-cast manufacturing process.
With the exception of the door handles, mirror, and the wheel-axle assemblies, the model is a sturdy one, and it sure does look nice on the shelf next to my Testor '32 Highboy. Modelers who have assembled any plastic model kit and can use a screwdriver will have an easy time with this old Ford. Drive on!