Round 2 recently released the AMT 1/25 scale 2021 Ford Bronco First Edition plastic model kit, a newly tooled model of Ford’s reimagined and updated legendary SUV.
The parts are nicely molded, although there is a little more flash than I expected, considering it is an all-new tool. The fill points off the runners are also a bit heavy, so expect a little more cleanup after clipping them off. I found that a photo-etched metal saw works very well to remove them, and made cleanup easier.
The parts fit well, with the plastic tending toward the soft side, which makes cutting and sanding easy. General assembly went quickly because many of the parts fit almost like a snap-together kit; the model, on the whole, required little cement.
The smoke-colored tinted windows seem more fragile than the other clear parts. I recommend using a razor saw or similar tool to remove them from the sprue and clean them up with a sharp hobby knife or fine sandpaper. The pre-painted black trim on the windshield is a nice touch, and its installation was a breeze.
The body mold lines are well-placed and easy to clean up. The removable roof needed a little filler to eradicate the mold lines over the doors. The hood fits well, and I shaved the sides slightly for paint clearance.
To match the Cactus Gray that is common in my area, I used Tamiya Neutral Gray (No. AS-7) from the can. I was disappointed that after the second light coat (of the four or five I intended), the plastic showed signs of swirls and uneven etching, primarily on the doors and front fenders. This is not a tragic issue, but one to be aware of if you plan to use solvent-based sprays. I let the paint dry overnight and wet-sanded the affected areas. Then, I resprayed with dry coats that worked well as a barrier. (Modelers that airbrush are unlikely to encounter this issue.)
The grille is part of the vehicle’s personality, and the model captures it well; the headlight bezels and lenses are engineered to be easily installed, but their detail is a bit soft.
The kit comes with many decals to liven it up. The artwork looks nice on the sheet, and many of the smaller decals have duplicates and multiple color options, but my sample was printed out of registration (both the clear and one or two of the colors). I started with the interior decals and found that when applying them, even strong decal solvents did not have any effect on them. I worked my way up from both Tamiya Mark Fit solutions to Walther's Solvaset, and while the latter seemed to soften them somewhat, it was not enough to get them to conform. Even using a hairdryer with the solvent did not help. They also did not adhere well.
My workaround was to brush-paint the areas with acrylic gloss clear and float the decals on while the clear was wet. This also eliminated the silvering. I found it easier to hand-paint some of the raised details than to use the decals. To minimize silvering, trim all the clear on the decals around the images before application.
The decals for the wheels (No. 12) don't look right because the white and clear are so out of registration that the white isn't fully visible; the black on about ¼ of each decal stayed on the paper without any clear under it. There are four license-plate options.
While it is a curbside, it has a lot of chassis detail. The chassis also builds up nicely with minimal cement.
The final assembly is easy and, again, requires very little cement. Once all the parts are painted, the model goes together quite quickly.
The fit and ease of assembly of the AMT 1/25 scale 2021 Ford Bronco First Edition plastic model kit make this a fun and enjoyable kit to build. Unfortunately, the issues with the decals took some of that enjoyment away. The registration problem may be an isolated issue, but the decals’ inability to conform or work with traditional solvents makes them the weak point of this otherwise nice, all-new offering.