Jim Stepanek

	BRE Datsun 510 Published: August 8, 2014 Company: Revell What a wonderful and fun kit to work with. There was very little, if any, flash on the parts. Engine The little 4 cylinder engine comes with some speed parts and goes together extremely well. I decided to install a small block Ford V8. Surprisingly enough, it fit right in. Chassis The chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. Exhaust is a separate piece as are the front & rear suspension systems. The front suspension has several tiny parts to be glued together and are very fragile. Once installed on the chassis, the front suspension is strong. Interior The interior features a floor, separate side panels, and a dashboard that are well engraved. The only drawback is that the “full” interior consists of just 1 seat. I… more
	Garbage Truck Published: July 5, 2014 Company: Revell This was really a fun kit. There’s not many parts but you do get 4 surfboards, 3 figures, 2 garbage cans (fuel tanks), and SCUBA tanks. Engine Bottom half of the engine is molded to the chassis. Chassis Front ans rear ladder bars hold the suspension. There’s really not much to it. Interior Seats, shifter, steering wheel and column, resemblance of a dashboard is all you get. Body It’s a real simple body without much detail. I decided my version would resemble a pickup truck turned into a landscaping vehicle. After priming the body with Duplicolor grey sandable primer, I shot a few coats of Dupli-Color dark cherry followed by a coat of Nason 2 part urethane clear. Only a little bit of wet sanding and polishing with… more
	’63 Corvette Sting Ray Published: May 17, 2014 Company: AMT Round 2 Models, under the AMT brand, has re-released this 1/25 scale 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray. The kit features 1970’s Street Rod Series box art. The Retro Deluxe reissue contains a vintage 3-in-1 kit with a new, full-color decal sheet and pre-lettered drag slicks. Although the kit shows its age in the form of some excess flash, the parts do fit together pretty well. Engine The stock 327 engine has several options to choose from: a 4-barrel, fuel injection, three deuces, four Webers or a blown intake setup. You can also select from stock exhaust manifolds or two different sets of headers. These accessories are some really nice parts. I chose the Webers, but used the carbs from a Falcon kit and resin air filters. Chassis There’s nothing to… more
	Jack Reacher 1970 Chevelle SS Published: May 17, 2014 Company: AMT Round 2 Models, under the AMT banner, has released a Jack Reacher 1970 Chevelle SS as part of their Silver Screen Machines series of kits. The ’70 Chevelle SS was “borrowed” by the title character, played by Tom Cruise, in the 2012 movie Jack Reacher, and had a blaze of glory during an exciting chase scene. This kit will allow you to build your own 1/25 scale copy of Jack Reacher’s Chevelle. Engine You get a 454ci engine that can be built with a single 4-barrel carburetor (LS6) or with a fuel-injected unit. I chose the fuelie option because I liked the way it looked. Chassis The chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. The exhaust pipes and front suspension are molded onto the frame. The differential is separate, along with the shock… more
	’70 Plymouth HEMI Cuda Published: February 10, 2020 Company: Revell I love kits like this ‘Cuda. Everything fit together very nicely with no flash at all. Engine The Hemi engine is a gorgeous unit to work with. Every part fit together just the way it should. You get a couple of options about the air cleaner setup. Rather than have a hole in the hood (kit provided) I chose to go with a dual 4 bbl. air cleaner. Chassis The exhaust pipes, rear differential, and front torsion bar are separate assemblies, and fit together very well. You get a choice of stock wheels and larger diameter 5 spoke wheels and tires. I used the gorgeously detailed stock wheels and added valve stems. Interior The interior features a floor unit with separate side panels that are very well engraved. The separate seats and console… more
	’53 Chevy Panel Truck Published: February 10, 2020 Company: Revell Engine The kits Chevy 409 can be built with either dual quads or blown. There is flash on the engine parts and after it has been removed, the engine fits together fairly well. Detail of the engine parts is defiantly showing its age. Chassis The chassis frame rails are separate from the chassis, which can make for further detailing easier. The exhaust system, front & rear suspension are also separate pieces. With a little grinding and relocation of the spindles, the front end can be brought down. The kit also provides a straight tube axle with leaf springs for building a gasser. Interior The interior is a bit on the sparse side so I opted to swap out the kit seats with a pair of resin aftermarket parts. The door panels are fairly well… more
	'49 Mercury Wagon Published: February 10, 2020 Company: Revell I have to start out with saying that this is a beautiful kit to work with. There was very little if any flash on the parts. Engine The Cadillac engine from previous releases of Revell’s ’49 Merc kits is here again. It lends itself to easy detailing. Chassis The chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. The exhaust pipe, front & rear differentials, and springs are separate assemblies, as well as the frame rails, leading to some extra paint detailing. Interior The interior features a floor, and separate side panels that are fairly well engraved. I decided that all the glass shows the interior pretty well so I went ahead and installed bucket seats front and back with a console between the front seats. I also added a chrome… more
	1975 Dodge Dart Sport Published: January 20, 2014 Company: Round 2 Models Engine The kit gives you a couple of engine options. One being a Hemi and the other a 340 or 360. Both fit together pretty well once you get past the flash. I used the Hemi in my build. Chassis The chassis is a weird setup. Part of the exhaust is molded into the chassis and the back half is molded to the springs & differential. It also looks to be extremely out of scale. Front suspension – there is none. Interior The interior tub is a one piece unit with poor engraving. Body The kit supplies a 2 piece hood scoop. The front portion of the scoop was difficult to get positioned properly. Round2 has been supplying some very sought after kits lately. It’s a pity that they’re reissues of old molds that have seen… more
	Elvis Meyers Manx "Live a Little, Love a Little" Published: December 23, 2013 Company: AMT Manx dune buggies have been around for several decades. Engine The kit engine is all chrome and fits together very well with very little flash. I decided to use a nCovair engine from my parts box for this build mostly because I had a set of big sand paddle tires that I was itching to use. Chassis The typical VW chassis is a wonder in simplification and the parts in the kit go together easily. Interior There’s not much to a dune buggy interior. The kit seats looked a trifle small to me, so I substituted a pair of bomber seats from my stock. This buggy was made to play in the sand so there is no carpeting or upholstery. I modified the kit rollbar and tied it into the front support bar from the kit. The dashboard was left out… more
	1978 Pacer X Published: December 22, 2013 Company: Round 2 Models A cousin of mine had a Pacer X back in the late 1970s and I thought it was a pretty cool little car, so I thought I’d give the MPC kit a review. I was greatly disappointed in the kit. Engine The kit engine is pretty well detailed and the parts fit properly as long as you can get past all the flash. I decided to go to the wild side and installed a small block Chevy engine. Chassis The chassis in the kit I received was warped. Even soaking it in hot water wasn’t enough to bring it all the way back. All the running gear is molded as one big piece with very poor engraving. Interior The interior matched the chassis for being warped and poorly engraved. Keeping with the different motif, I left out the back seat and covered it with… more