This ’56 Ford Victoria was originally issued by AMT in the 1960’s, then re-released several times after that. Even with Round 2’s mold clean-up process, I have never encountered so much flash on a model before. Literally, every piece had excessive flash that needed to be cleaned off prior to fitting and painting.

A few minor negatives, from a model builder’s viewpoint: one of the versions included in the kit is a racing version, so the molded exhaust pipes and mufflers on the undercarriage are a little out of place. The doors are designed to be opened, but the hinge system as originally engineered by AMT is nearly unworkable, so plan to make your own set of hinges for more accuracy. The dashboard does not fit properly onto the side panels. The only way I could get everything to line up was to glue the interior tub to the body, let it dry, and then glue the dash into place. Offsetting that, the custom interior in the kit was wonderful and nicely designed. After I glued the seats in place, I had a thought: use snap-in joints to make the seats able to turn. It would have been really easy to do with this kit.

And the kit’s positives: the custom front and rear grille assemblies fit very nicely without the need for much sanding or fussing with alignment. The supplied Mercury tail light housings are extremely easy to install and add a nice touch to the rear of the car. The tires are wonderful and have pre-printed whitewalls that looked sharp. I would have liked to have seen some custom wheels instead of just baby moons for the custom version.

Overall, detail was faint, perhaps from the molds being so old. There’s only so much that can be done to recondition them. But, otherwise, the kit made up into a beautiful representation of a timeless classic.

Would I buy this kit? Without a doubt. Despite its drawbacks, the ’56 Ford is a gorgeous automobile. There are so many variations that can be done to the car, and the kit provides an excellent base to start with. Recommended for all auto building fans.

I’d like to thank Round 2 Models for providing this kit for review, and IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.