Kit: No.7620
Scale: 1/25
Manufacturer: Revell, 8601 Waukegan Road, Morton Grove, IL 60053-2295, phone 847-966-3500
Price: $10.25
Comments: Injection molded, 114 parts (5 vinyl), decals.
FORD'S NEW '97 F-150 PICKUP is a beauty. Its streamlined design softens the corners and updates the appearance of this perennial sales leader.
While the body was clean and free of flash, detail moldings were not as crisp. Mold-separation lines needed to be sanded from most parts. Body panel lines are engraved, but a bit overscale.
Eliminating the mold-separation lines was easy with fine sanding and polishing sticks. The tree of 14 chrome-plated parts shows Revell's efforts to reduce the size of the sprue-attachment points, but some sprues still lead into the exterior of the bumpers.
The inner and outer halves of the wheels fit snugly into grooves in the center of the excellent Goodyear Wrangler raised-letter 16" truck tires (the fifth is a spare).
Revell's instructions are easy to follow and provide a chart of ProModeler paints (which were not on the shelves when I built my model). Part No. 73 (the power-steering pump) is misidentified on the instructions as 75.
Revell doesn't include painting instructions for some of the body and interior parts, but those given appear accurate. The photo of the full-size truck in silver frost clear coat metallic on the box cover was helpful for painting the exterior.
Using Testor spray enamel No. 1246 silver under No. 2944 gloss pearl clearcoat, a faithful replica of the full-size truck shown in the photo on the box cover can be built. Three color photos of a built-up model are also on the box.
You can avoid a couple of assembly hitches. In step 1, attach the air-conditioner pump (77), alternator (76), and power-steering pump (73) to the fan belt before placing the belt assembly on the engine front cover; otherwise you won't get them past the cylinder heads. An assembly sequence would have helped here.
The instrument-panel decal is too large for the opening in the dash. Trim and dry-fit this decal before dipping it in water.
In step 3, it's difficult to install the interior and fire wall if you've already cemented the rear cab wall. I had done just that to simplify painting the body, and I had to force the fire wall between the interior and front fender wells.
Mounting the finished bed assembly to the chassis is mostly guesswork as there are no locating pins. Revell would have you install the drive shaft after the engine and rear end are attached to the chassis. Be careful; you'll have to bend the shaft and it could break. Instead, cement the drive shaft/rear axle assembly to the chassis at the same time.
Instructions for mounting the radiator core support (No. 10 in step 8) are vague. At first I mounted the support too far forward, and realized my mistake when I positioned the hood -- it wouldn't close. If you examine the drawing, you'll see a little notch on the inside of each fender well. That's where the support should go.
After getting around these assembly glitches, the parts fit was excellent -- except for the windshield. It wasn't curved enough to fit snugly to the frame. I didn't want to damage the black-painted edges of the windshield, so I tried attaching it with Micro Kristal-Kleer. This wasn't strong enough to hold the mismatched windshield, and I didn't want to use super glue because of the chance of frosting. Finally, I used Weld-On 3 to hold the part in place and I try not to notice the slightly dissolved paint.
License plates, engine-warning placards, and the instrument panel are the only decals. The instructions caution you not to use decal solvent, and you don't need it. Press the decals on with a damp rag.
The model has no seat belts or engine plumbing. Enthusiasts may want to drill out the backup lights (molded clear red) and replace them with polished clear plastic.
Revell labels this kit at skill-level 2. The lack of a clear assembly sequence and complicated masking and painting require more experience. Building and finishing took me about 15 hours, mostly spent on masking, painting, and reinstalling the windshield. The finished model looks good compared with photos in a Ford dealership brochure.
Al Jones