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Revell 1/24 '70 Boss 429 Mustang 3 'n 1 Kit |
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Kit Number 2149 |
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Reviewed By Walt Fink, #2447 |
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MSRP:
$15.50 USD Revell's kit of the 1970 Boss 429 Mustang is a re-issue molded in white plastic with a chrome trim tree. As it's now a "Motor City Muscle" series 3 'n 1 kit, it also contains those parts appropriate to duplicate a factory stock version, a customized street machine, or a resto-mod with low-profile tires and large-diameter chrome custom wheels. Two hoods, three separate sets of wheels, and such are included. The engine is a ten-piece basic block-and-heads build-up to which either a stock manifold or a ram intake one with dual-quad carbs and velocity stacks are attached, depending upon which of the three variants of the Boss one wants to build. I opted to build mine factory stock. The engine looks pretty good when built up and painted but there are a couple of fit problems which need to be addressed. The carb and air cleaner sit too high on the manifold and some sanding is needed to bring them down to the right height. The instructions specify not installing the air cleaner until after the engine, chassis, interior tub, and body shell are mated, but I think the height might cause the hood not to close, so I recommend at least dry-fitting the air cleaner in the early stages of construction. (See Photo #1) |
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| The interior tub is a basic one-piece affair with separate two-piece front seats; the only other parts to be added are the armrests, dashboard, steering wheel, and shifter. I opted to paint my interior black rather than white as specified in the kit instructions, and a coat of Gunze Sangyo acrylic H77 Tire Black followed by a light gloss overspray gave a slight sheen to the seats and upholstery. For contrast, I flocked the carpet and used Testors Flat Black enamel on other parts. It still looked pretty much like a black hole in there, so using Bare-Metal Chrome foil and wood grain decal trim film, I tricked out the dash, center console, and upper door panels to resemble the interior shot of a '69 Boss in Leffingwell's "The Mustang - Forty Year History". (See Photo #2) |
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| The instructions specify that the front fascia and rear panel are to be added to the body shell after painting, but dry-fitting revealed a poor fit of both so I glued them in place first and sanded down the front panel to match the shell. The chassis can still be mounted to the body shell with those in place, so no worry there. On my sample, a divot was missing from the right front fender, which I patched using Aves Apoxie Sculpt, sanded to blend into the body shell contour. After sanding off the mold lines, I used Testors Grabber Blue enamel to paint the body shell and hood. (See Photo #3) After that had dried sufficiently, I painted the interior and engine compartment with Gunze Tire Black and used Bare-Metal Chrome foil to trim the exterior. (See Photo #4). |
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The chassis is simplified but looks pretty convincing when assembled. The
instructions specify the frame is painted the same as the body color for
the stock version, but according to my references, it should be black
with a body-color overspray around its outer edges as it came from the
factory. The instructions specify to mount the tires lettered side in when using decals, but the stock tires aren't lettered and there aren't any decals for them, either. The stock tires look like poor-quality recaps, having excess rubber flash on the tread at the sidewalls. I trimmed this off but installed my tires with that shaved edge inboard. To break up the monotony of the plain blackwalls, I applied Shabo dry transfers to them. The chrome parts are pretty well-done but the rear bumper and taillights don't fit well and needed some trimming to get everything together. The taillights are too heavy and detract from the look of the rear of the model. I puzzled over the angle of the rear spoiler, and reference photos of the real cars didn't help much, either, as there seems to be more than one way they were mounted. In the end, I sanded the pedestals down just a little bit to give the spoiler a more neutral angle instead of the "up angle" it had when mounted out-of-the-box. When all was assembled, the chassis didn't sit true. I was thinking this malady is something I'm doing wrong since I'm not that prolific at building cars, but I've got enough under my belt now to think maybe something's warped a little bit besides the builder. The hood has a pronounced twist from front to back (why does this show up when I'm almost finished with the kit?) so the front chrome strip doesn't match up when the hood's closed. If I'd noticed this earlier I'd have corrected it. Decals include engine compartment markings, a choice of license plates, and "Boss 429" front-fender logos in both black and white. The decals don't react to solvents or setting solutions. If you really like Mustangs, I think Revell's '70 Boss 302 kit, which is the same body shell, might appear less clunky as the rear panel and chrome tail light trim were black on that version. Still, in the hands of an accomplished car modeler, the Boss 429 kit makes up into a nice replica of the real thing. The proportions are right and the kit captures the aggressive stance of the car--- Revell's Boss 429 handsomely holds its own with more recent kits, particularly for an older issue. My thanks to Revell and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this kit and special appreciation to Steve Jahnke for his assistance and Mustang knowledge during the project. |
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