Lil’ Hot Dogger Show Rod 1-25 Scale AMT Model Kit #908 Review

Right On Replicas, LLC SnapShot Review 20150603*
Lil’ Hot Dogger Show Rod 1-25 Scale AMT Model Kit #908 Review

Review and Photos by Doug Cole

Poor ‘ole Droopy Dawg (The “Bone” Ranger) didn’t have a chance with the Lil’ Hot Dogger on his tail!  With a massive 400 Cubic inch “Domestic” V-8 and dragster style slicks this is one “Dawg Gone” fast show rod.  This kit hasn’t been produced since the 70’s but it’s back again thanks to the Kats at AMT.  This is a Re-release from the original kit and features a number of optional parts and an enhanced decal sheet.  AMT rates this as a Skill Level 2 for the moderate builder and if this was 1970, when everyone knew how to build kits, I would agree but with some finicky suspension parts and an unusual body rake I would rate this a skill level 3 for builder’s 12 and up.

For the Modeler: There are 95 pieces molded in light gray, Chrome, Clear, transparent blue/red and includes soft vinyl tires and a full decal sheet. The instruction sheet is in the old AMT style of five “easy” steps. There is a nicely detailed motor with an attached transmission and velocity stacks taller than a skyscraper. The chassis is also pretty basic but it includes a nice rear end gear and an independent coil suspension. The interior is sparse, but hilarious,  including a bone shaped bench seat and shift knob with a full set of gauges on the dash. The front rubber consists of three-piece spoked dragster style wheels that you’ll have to align.  The rear racing slick tires are totally awesome and a bunch of tire sidewall decal options are included.  Speaking of decals, there are literally dozens of them with campy dog catcher humor and racing motifs but there’s not much of a place to display them so you’ll have to choose carefully.

This kit goes together nicely and the first three sections; engine, tires and interior are simple and well fitting.  The fourth section for the chassis takes a little extra care.  I found it easiest to use some epoxy glue to set the coil springs into place and tape them into position until they set up.  In the final assembly section (five) I put the passenger cabin together one piece at a time and used some tape to hold the structures in place.  I then used some superglue and accelerant to keep them together.  As a note of caution here the passenger cabin has a 20 degree forward rake on it.  After installing the engine in place using the post and hole at the rear of the transmission, there isn’t quite enough room to lean the cabin forward and not run into the back of the engine.  There are two ways to address this.  Cut off the transmission mount and move the engine forward about 3/16” or take the same amount off the forward edge of the dog cage floorboard.  I used the later solution and everything worked out fine.  The rest of the parts go together well.

There are also some optional parts like the dog catcher’s net that I mounted vertically to the driver’s side and a battery that I mounted to the frame on the right side.  I removed the chrome plating from some of the parts like the shifter, oil pan, radiator bone, catcher’s net and name plate bones for a little more realistic look.  Additionally, I added a scratch-built wired distributor, coil and battery cables for a more complete build.  This kit also comes with a nice little cardboard standup display for your finished model.  The completed dimensions are: Length: 5½”, Width: 3¼”, Height: 4¼”.

Overall: this kit was a sheer delight to build and with the optional items you can really go crazy adding them all into this model.  If there’s one downfall, it is the lack of gluing contact points identified in the instructions.  The watchword here is: be sure to test fit EVERY part!  There was very little flash and since the pieces were flat there were no parting line issues.  There are some sprue joins that will be seen on the chromed parts, so you can touch those up with foil or a sliver pen or strip the chrome and refinish them.  You’ll also need the full array of adhesives for various assemblies.  The extra time and attention needed to make a great display out of this kit is well worth it just for the fun, fun, fun!

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