Jim Stepanek

	Owens Deluxe Cruiser Published: April 12, 2017 Company: Round 2 Models Round 2 reissued the vintage Owens Deluxe Cruiser kit. When building you need to bear in mind that this kit and molds are over 50 years old, and it shows. The flash is so bad on some sprues that it’s difficult to locate the actual part(s). Nothing fits together tightly without some serious massaging to the parts to be joined. The instruction sheet is a very basic affair that had me thinking quite a few times as to part placement. The Owens Deluxe Cruiser is the first boat I’ve built since way, way back when I built the Robert E. Lee paddle wheeler when I was a kid, so this is totally out of my realm. Now I have to build a trailer and then a vehicle to haul to and from the water. Patience is the key to the build. Test fit, refit and sand as needed and you can… more
	Chevy Beretta Pro Street Published: February 3, 2020 Company: Revell Revell put together a pretty wild kit with this Beretta. It’s almost straight out of the TV show “Street Outlaws”. Engine We have a supercharged small block with nitrous. Real life would be putting out massive amounts of horsepower. Instructions were a little fuzzy on the distributor angle. Straight up won’t allow the body to sit correctly, so it must be angled. Provides a pretty nice Lenco transmission. Interior There’s not too much to the interior. Very nice bucket seats are provided, a full roll cage, ton of gauges, fire extinguishers, nitrous bottle, and shifters. Body Body is a simple affair and has the Chevy bowtie molded in on the engine bay. After shooting the body with HOK black followed by a quick clear coat, I wasn’t able… more
	1980 Dodge Ramcharger Published: February 3, 2020 Company: Revell Revell has re-released a fine kit that’s sure to be a hit. It is the 1980 Dodge Ramcharger. A person can go really wild with this kit if they’re willing to change things around a bit. Engine The engine is pretty basic and the kit offers no options and no chrome. I installed ignition wires, throttle linkage, and a fuel line with filter. Interior The interior is just a simple tub design with molded side panel engraving is really lacking in detail. The kit does have a rear seat that I decided to leave out to carry the spare tire. Body The body was straight although the bumpers and grill didn’t fit perfectly into final assembly so it was necessary to do a bit of tweaking. The sunroof is molded into the kit body part. To change things up… more
	Ford Gasser 2 'n 1 Published: February 3, 2020 Company: Revell Oh man, did Revell to a number on this kit. WOW!! You build a stock ’57 Ford Del Rio or build a gasser with the parts contained in the kit. This appears to be a follow up kit to ’57 Ford Del Rio kit that builds stock or as a police vehicle. The engine comes with the parts for a single or dual quad intake manifold, fender well headers and 3 different air filters. All the engine parts fit together very well. Revell did an interior platform with separate side panels and seats that feature wonderful engraving. I departed from the kit and installed 4 bucket seats and a console. The Ford long roof body Revell made is magnificent! Door handles, rear lift gate, hood ornament, mirror, and windshield wipers are all separate parts. I choose to leave some of those pieces… more
	RM Kustom Custom Chopper Set Published: February 3, 2020 Company: Revell I just love these chopper kits that Revell puts out. The kits provide a variety of different parts to help you build a fairly unique machine. Engine The engine looks to be the more modern Evo engine and has no extra parts. The cooling fins and cylinder heads are very nicely engraved. There are 2 different sets of exhaust pipes in the box. Body The kit provides a couple of different styled gas tanks, seats, fenders, handlebars, controls, and wheels. There’s only one set of tires. I used Pearl Ex Aztec gold mixed with some HOK SG100 intercoat clear on the tank & fenders with a final clearcoat. The chopper is fully wired and plumbed. Chassis This particular kit frame is a Softail, meaning there are rear shock absorbers but they’re… more
	1961 Pontiac Ventura Published: April 9, 2016 Company: Moebius Models Moebius hits another grand slam with their 1961 Pontiac Ventura kit. Little to no flash, excellent fit, and terrific engraving make this a kit worth building. If there’s a downside to the kit, it’s the poor instruction sheet. While printed on glossy paper, I found the instructions incomplete, incorrect, and lacking in detail. More later. Engine The engine comes with only a tri-power setup. This is an option for air filter(s) although not covered in the instructions. There’s the large air filter (#79 & 80) or the individual air filters (#93) that are not mentioned in the instructions. I chose to use the #93s. There are 2 heater hoses shown but placement on the engine is not clear at all. Interior Moebius did an interior platform with separate side… more
	1966 Chevy Fleetside Pickup Published: February 3, 2020 Company: Revell The 1966 Chevy Fleetside pickup by Revell was screaming for some old school modifications. Engine The 283 ci engine was bored out and I added a high rise manifold with 2 4 barrel carbs and chrome finned valve covers. It’s wired and plumbed. Interior Kit interior was pretty basic but that’s the way it would have been in 1966. Door panel and dash engraving was very crisp and easy to detail paint. I tossed the bench seat and added bucket seats and a console. A polished aluminum steering column was made with a gear shifter and turn signal lever added. The interior is also flocked. Body Smooth, crisp lines and no flash. Emblems and door handles are provided on the chrome tree. I decided to leave them off for this old school custom. Front… more
	1965 Plymouth Satellite Published: December 29, 2015 Company: Moebius Models The 1965 Plymouth Satellite kit does not show up on the Moebius website. I’m not able to tell you why it doesn’t. (ed. note - it is listed under the Club Moebius section of their site listed above) Engine The Commando 426 engine with TorqueFlite automatic transmission is extremely well done with excellent engraving and separate pieces for the oil filter and Carter carb. Interior Moebius did an interior platform with separate side panels and seats that feature wonderful engraving. The well engraved dashboard has decals for gauges and the radio face. The separate console fits very well. Body The body is molded with scripts and louvers molded in. You also get decals for the scripts and louvers. I didn’t use the decals and used BMF to… more
	Dan Fink Metalworks Speedwagon Published: February 3, 2020 Company: Revell The Dan Fink Metalworks Speedwagon is a wonderful car and Revell has made a terrific kit. Engine The small block Ford engine goes together very well but has no alternate parts. I guess because the kit represents an actual car. Parts fit and looks good when completed. Interior Interior has separate side panels that can be easily detailed due to the excellent engraving. Body The body panels fit like they’re supposed to fit without issues. The fenders, tub and hood are separate pieces. Fenders, hood and grille are probably from the Revell ’32 Ford 5 window coupe kit. I chose to use HOK majik blue pearl while the wood panels were hand painted in a 4 step process. Chassis I think the chassis/frame parts were used from… more
	Auto Transport Trailer Published: February 3, 2020 Company: Revell The kit is extremely well done with all the parts fitting together as they should. Revell even included chain to tie down cars and vinyl tubing to plumb all the hydraulic lines. The decal sheet has several new car window stickers that I thought was pretty neat. There was very little to no flash on this kit, but the instructions were not very well done. Case in point – part #48, hydraulic line junction box. Instructions call for attaching two (2) to the underside of the frame. No problem there. The problem arise because there are twelve (12) of the part #48 and they’re not shown or mentioned anywhere in the instructions. You need to look at the box cover to discover the placement. I have to mention that the completed kit is huge and will easily fit 6 cars and maybe even… more