Revell

1/24 Tom Daniel's Red Baron

Kit Number: 85-4258

Reviewed by  Joe Staudt, IPMS #39453

MSRP: $22.95 Website: www.revell.com When I was growing up in the late ‘60's and early ‘70's, there was nothing cooler in the world of hot rods than a Tom Daniels design. He was responsible for countless classic hot rod kits. One of the all-time coolest, in the eyes of my young, car-crazy friends and I, was the Red Baron. I was thrilled when I finally got my hands on one back then, but I remember being disappointed in the results of the build. My limited modeling experience and lack of patience contributed to a less-than-satisfactory result. When I saw that Revell had finally re-issued this kit, I knew I just had to have it again; and when it came up as a review subject, I literally begged for the chance to have a go at it. Let's see how modern reality lives up to my pre-teen memories. The kit is packaged in a very retro-looking box, with the original box art. Inside, the original instruction sheet is also there, but the parts trees are packaged in modern fashion with separate plastic bags for everything. The kit is molded in red plastic with vinyl tires and several trees of chrome parts. There are no clear pieces in the kit. The original Fokker tri-plane (in roughly 1/72 scale) is included, so this is really two kits in one. Even with the extra parts for the tri-plane, this kit has a very low parts count. Engine and suspension details are minimal. The body and chassis are molded as a single piece, with transmission detail molded into the underside of the body. The engine is a five-piece representation of a WWI-vintage Mercedes-Benz aircraft engine with an intake scoop and stylized Alpenhorn trumpet-shaped exhausts. The biggest problem with the engine is that the outputs of the exhausts are molded flat, with a large seam running across their faces; not very realistic. The rear suspension is the most detailed part of this kit, consisting of 9 pieces of which 8 are chromed. A pair of large vinyl slicks mounted on those legendary "Maltese Cross" mag wheels finish off the rear end and add quite a bit of weight to the finished model. The front suspension is minimal at best; I have to wonder if it would actually work as depicted. The front axle is molded as part of the chassis/body. A chrome tie rod, radius rods, and drag link are the only details provided. The mounting points for all of these are either oversized or non-existent. A smaller set of treaded tires on those same mag wheels completes the assembly. Neither the front nor the rear wheels turn; they are glued in place. A one-piece interior contains the bucket seats, pedals, and console with gauges. A steering wheel and oversized shift lever complete the assembly. A cowl and dashboard (the latter with no gauge details) mount on the front of the body shell, and a chromed firewall completes the front of the body. Out back, a two-piece chromed gas tank that is supposed to resemble a German canteen mounts on top of the frame ends. Two indentations molded into the body serve as taillights. The final touches on the body are the machine guns and, of course, the chromed helmet with spike that serves as the roof of the car. The triplane is similarly simple. Two fuselage halves are covered by a third piece containing the middle set of wings, the cockpit, and rear wings (stabilizers?). No cockpit detail is provided (just an indentation where the cockpit would be), but two machine guns are molded onto the fuselage just ahead of the cockpit. The engine cowl and propeller mount to the front of the fuselage. Various struts, plus the landing gear and two remaining wings complete the assembly. A small decal sheet contains markings for both the plane and the car. The decals seemed thick, but were easy to handle and responded well to setting solution. The white portions of the decals are opaque enough to prevent any of the underlying red to come through. The vintage instruction sheet is clear, with all parts labeled by name and part number. Positioning for a couple of pieces is described in the text, but not shown. Painting suggestions and decal placement diagrams are also provided. Due to the age of this kit, seams and flash are worse than in most newer kits, but neither were overwhelming. The biggest disappointment was the chrome helmet, the top of which had numerous rub marks, probably caused by the bag it was packaged in. While this is better than the scratches that an unbagged part would most likely receive in shipping, it is still a major problem since the helmet is the true showpiece of the kit. Since I'm primarily a car builder, I kept the build of the tri-plane simple, following the painting instructions in the kit almost exactly. I first covered everything with a couple of coats of Tamiya white primer. I masked off the tail, then painted almost everything with flat red. Following a light coat of clear gloss, I applied the decals, then covered it all with a coat of dullcoat for a uniform finish. The struts and propeller were painted wood tan, and flat black was used for most of the other details. Due to a slight buildup of paint on the wing struts, I had a little trouble getting them to seat properly, so the wings ended up somewhat curved; but overall, I did not have too much trouble. Construction took several days, as drying time was required between most of the assembly steps to keep everything from falling apart as I worked. The box art depicts the car as being the same basic red as the tri-plane, but I felt that a true hot rod would have had a much different finish. I found Testor's #1629 Red Metallic (or Ruby Red Metallic) to be much more to my liking. I installed the cowl and dashboard onto the body before painting, then applied several coats of the red paint to the body/chassis, the engine block, and the interior over top of the Tamiya white primer, followed with several coats of clear gloss. I used the same metallic red on the grill and the mag wheels. For everything else, I pretty much followed the painting suggestions in the instructions. I used Bare Metal Foil on the transmission and on the silver part of the interior console. The console gauges were painted gloss black, then lightly sanded with a 3600 grit polishing cloth to bring out the details. After applying the decals to the body, I sealed it all with a coat of Future floor polish. I used my motor tool to drill out the ends of the exhausts; unfortunately, I ended up grinding through the plastic in a couple of places. I painted the drilled-out portions of the exhausts flat black, and felt it was a big improvement over the previously flat exhaust tips, even with the small missing bits. Assembly was fairly straightforward. The rear suspension was the most difficult, requiring much waiting time for glue to dry between steps. I have found Micro Krystal Klear to be excellent for this type of assembly, since it bonds chrome pieces without filing away the chrome, is thick enough to hold pieces in place, and dries clear. My only difficulties were with several holes that needed to be reamed out in order to accept the pins that were to go into them; this was probably due to paint buildup more than anything else. Overall, I'd have to say this was a pretty satisfying build. My building skills and patience have improved somewhat over the last 40 years, so I was able to achieve the end result that I had hoped for as a youngster. There are no problems with this kit that can't be overcome by a modeler of moderate skills, and the trip down memory lane it provided was priceless. I'm thrilled to be able to add this model to my collection. Many thanks to Revell and the IPMS for giving me this opportunity.