Jim Stepanek
Reviews By Author
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Nissan Skyline GTRPublished:
I’ve heard and read about the quality of Tamiya models and now I’ve built one with only a couple of disappointments. EngineThe six cylinder engine is has twin turbo chargers. There’s a pair chrome plated and a pair just plain white plastic. The plain one doesn’t even show up on the instruction sheet. All the parts fit extremely well and are well engraved. ChassisThe chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. Exhaust is a separate piece – again, one chrome plated and the other plain white plastic. Front and rear suspensions are multiple piece units that get glued in separately. The gas tank is even a separate unit. InteriorThe interior was a major disappointment. While the dash and seats are wonderfully engraved, there is… more |
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Muscle Car "Red Line" TiresPublished:
AMT and Round 2 are known for their automotive kits and have been for a very, very long time. To add to their cars, here’s some really nice tires as part of their "Custom and Competition" line. Anybody building a muscle car from the ‘60’s needs a set of these puppies. You get 4 F60 x 15 and 4 L60 x 15 tires. There are no wheels in the accessory pack. I just put some Cragar SS wheels for the pic. And here’s a problem/issue I found. Round 2 does not have the tires shown on their website. Several aftermarket outlets have the tires available from their websites. Regardless, these are great additions to any muscle car and are recommended. My thanks to round 2 Models for the review sample. |
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1966 Ford Galaxie 500Published:
Round 2 hit a nice spot with the AMT 1966 Ford Galaxie 500. Build it stock, custom, or racing. The box contains all the parts to build it your way and some extra pieces for the parts box. EngineThe kit provides enough parts to build either the stock engine or a SOHC engine. Either version does not fit together very well. ChassisThe chassis is engraved fairly well but the suspension parts leave much to be desired. The front suspension is much too thick for scale. InteriorIt’s just a tub and the engraving is almost non-existent on the side panels. In fact, the only redeeming parts are the seats. BodyVery little cleanup of flash or mold lines was required on the body. All emblems are molded in and fairly well… more |
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Surfite with FigurePublished:
There was no flash on this kit with lots of chrome parts. EngineEighteen pieces make up the little 4 banger engine that is very well detailed with all the parts fitting extremely well. InteriorThe interior is a one piece tub that the steering column gets glued into. Very basic. BodyThe body is really small. I mean tiny, but it’s molded very well. I painted the body with HOK chrome yellow. ChassisThe chassis glues together in 4 pieces and then the tiny little chrome parts get glued to it. Some of those chrome parts are extremely small and that made it difficult for me to put together. Included in the kit are the tiki hut that is extremely well engraved. I used several different colors in an attempt to… more |
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VW RabbitPublished:
Very little flash and the parts fit very well on this kit. I had thought about trying to fit a V8 engine but the car is just too small. EngineThe little 4-banger engine is very well detailed with all the parts fitting extremely well. InteriorInterior panels are very well engraved and cry out to be detailed. BodyThere’s no chrome on the body. I made the mistake of masking all the window frames and painting them with black chrome when all that really needs to be done is paint the edge of the glass. The body is in beautiful shape right out of the box. I used HOK marine blue to get a pretty close to factory color. This really cool kit to work on and Revell needs to be commended for their craftsmanship. Thank you also to IPMS… more |
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Hot Rod HydroPublished:
Revell hit a real winner with the Hot Rod Hydro kit. Very little flash and the parts fit very well. Engine: The Hemi engine goes together extremely well. I opted to pull a dual quad intake manifold from the parts bin rather than use the 6 carb set-up in the kit. Trailer: The trailer was slightly warped so I used very warm water to try and straighten it out. Nicely detailed, but it lacks lights. Parts bin came in handy. Interior: Interior panels are very well engraved. Getting the side panels glued in gave me a few minutes of frustration because of the tight fit. Once in though, the panels look real nice. Body: The body of the boat comes in 2 halves that need to glued together and then… more |
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'70 Ford Torino GT 2 'n 1Published:
The Revell 1/25 scale ’70 Ford Torino GT is a wonderful kit with very little flash to be cleaned. The engine fits together very well, and the kit gives you two sets of valve covers and two different air filters. I chose the Lynx-type filter for its lower profile. The very nice chassis has separate suspension components and exhaust pipes. I replaced the kit exhaust extensions with aluminum tubing. The kit even comes with a set of slapper bars. The interior has separate side panels, seats, and console. This is way all kits should be made! Each component features excellent engraving that just screams for extra detailing. Moving on to the body, there are only two mold lines along the roof sides; although, I forgot to clean them up. I had fitment issues with the rear panel.… more |
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Thames Panel TruckPublished:
The Revell Thames Panel Truck is a cool little kit. There’s some flash, thin hinges, and misalignment of parts, but it’s still a very cool kit. EngineThe engine – maybe an Olds – is set up to be built as with fuel injection. Since I planned to build a street version, I wanted something more street capable so I put a dual quad setup on top. ChassisNot much to the chassis and it has several tiny little parts – especially on the front end. Most of the suspension pieces are chrome so the glue points need to be scraped to the bare plastic. Be careful – some of the parts are very small. InteriorThe minimal interior is terrific for a gas coupe but a street rod needs more comfort, so the kit seats went to the parts bin in favor of more… more |
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1957 Chevy Belair ConvertiblePublished:
This Revell ’57 Chevy is just a wonderful kit with very little, if any, flash. EngineThe kit provides 2 small block engines but only 1 set of heads and oil pan. The parts fit together just perfectly. Instead of the single or dual quad setup, I decided to use the fuel injection pieces left over from the Revell Black Widow kit. ChassisBeautiful chassis that has separate front & rear suspensions and 2 separate exhaust systems. I cut off the end tips and replaced with polished aluminum tubing. InteriorI love it! The side panels are separate pieces and are extremely well engraved enabling easy detail painting. Included in the kit are decals for the dash gauges, seats and side trim. I added a set of “Heartbeat of America” floor… more |
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Datsun Off-Road PickupPublished:
I wanted a small pickup to haul around some of my resin parts and got a real winner with Revell’s Datsun Off-Road Pickup. Very little flash and the parts fit very well together. The instructions are a 12 page document that provides the part number with a description and a chart showing what part should be painted what color.
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