Ford Custom Panel Truck 1:24 Scale Revell Model Kit #85-4337 Review

Right On Replicas, LLC SnapShot Review 20151029*
Ford Custom Panel Truck 1:24 Scale Revell Model Kit #85-4337 Review

Review and Photos by Will Emerson

Although originally intended as a work vehicle panel trucks garnered a lot of interest with the customizing, street rod and low riders crowds. By 1955 Ford was in the second generation of it’s F series trucks and had renamed it the F100 because of size, engine and chassis improvements.

For the Modeler: The Revell Ford Panel kit has been around for many years and seen several different releases. The strength of this kit has to be the 351 “Cobra” motor and at 17 pieces is very detailed. Another notable would be the 13 piece modern chassis which assembles well and gives the build a nice stance. The turbine style wheels featuring “Big n Little” tires are also a great addition and look good finished, but it should be noted there are no brand lettering on them.  If there can be a weakness in this kit it would have to be the design and fit. In these respects the tooling truly shows its age, especially in the case of the floor pan. When installed in the body leaves a one eighth inch gap between the end of the rear wheel wells and the body. The other notable short coming is the interior itself. It has a very simple hot rod feel to it with plain low backed buckets, an awkward console and shifter. Also the door panels are molded into the inside of the body, but are a little faint and lack detail. Finally, the dashboard attaches to the body without the rest of the interior causing an incorrect look when installed due to alignment there.  This is a skill level 2 kit with 93 pieces and waterslide decals.  Finished dimensions are:  Length: 8¼”, Width: 3¼”, Height: 3-1/8.”

Overall: For this release Revell has obviously cleaned up the molds as there no flash and minimal mold lines. They have also included a nice decal sheet featuring two sets of body markings (flames and scallop stripes), all scripts, turn signal, brake light and instrument panel decals. Despite the age of this kit with a little work and some detailing it can be a nice build. With that said I have trouble giving the kit a really high grade simply due to the fit of the interior, but I would recommend it for builders of all skill levels.

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