Revell

1/25 1968 Ford Mustang GT 2 n 1

Kit Number: 85-4215

Reviewed by  Steve Jahnke, IPMS# 34991

MSRP: $ 22.95 99 pieces molded in white, black, chrome-plated, and clear. Website: www.revell.com By mid 1967 the Ford Mustang's largest available engine was the 390 CID FE (Ford/Edsel) big block. On the professional drag racing circuits, Mustangs was taking second fiddle to the Chevrolet 396 and 427 CID big block engine cars. Back then it was truly a "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" era and corporate sponsorships was practically unheard of in the top drag racing team world and it was up to independent dealers such as Bob Tasca Ford in East Providence R.I and others to develop race cars. Tasca Ford had already developed the highly successful '64 427 CID Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt; lightning struck twice when Tasca developed the famed 428 CID Cobra Jet Mustang with the help of engine builder Bill Gilbert and driver Bill Lawton in '67-'68. As a result of Tasca's early racing successes with his "non-factory built" race cars, Henry Ford II was convinced by public opinion to produce a batch of fifty 1968 Wimbledon White non-GT Fastback Mustangs as purpose built race cars to kick butt on the track. Eight out of the fifty CJ 428's were sent to the 1968 Winternationals in Pomona California and were all driven by the top drivers of the time; in true form the Mustangs overwhelmed the competition. On April Fool's day 1968 regular street Cobra Jet 428's were released to the public. The Kit: Our subject kit comes from Revell packaged in their "Revell Muscle" series. Although the kit is advertised as a 2 n 1, numerous other model deviations can be built from this kit. Many experienced model car builders will recognize this kit as a plastic re-pop of the cast metal body series (Bullitt and American Dream) from a few years ago; and this definitely does not make it bad. There are enough parts in the box to produce the following alternatives: replica stock Mustang GT with a stock 390 or a CJ 428 with Ram Air hood scoop; Super Stock CJ 428 Tasca Ford drag racing car (more on this later); and with slight modifications you can also build it as the "Bullitt" style car, the only thing missing is Lt. Frank Bullitt's JJZ-109 black California license plates. There are three wheel choices to boot, they include American Torque Thrust mags from the Bullitt car; Ford GT styled road wheels, and 2 Cragar mags for the race car and 2 unplated steelies for the drag slicks. Photos of the restored Tasca car show the steelies chrome plated while period pictures show painted as well as chrome steelies. Take your pick and as racing went you were likely to see both in the same race season. Of minor note, the kit supplies two front grille pieces, one is a plain Bullitt style with only the cross hatch detail, the second is the GT grille which includes optional driving lights, a standard Mustang grill sans driving lights is not included. This makes making the Tasca car a little more difficult to model correctly as it came from the factory as a standard fastback. The decal sheet is outstanding; included are GT 'C' stripes in black and white as well as many other decals for the engine, engine bay, interior and exterior… well done Revell. The Build: Right away I decided to build the Tasca Ford car as it had the right 'look'. Upon examination and dry fitting the CJ hood to the body I noticed the body molding had what appeared to be short shot areas on the cowl by the hood hinges, see picture. I don't know if this is a common problem but I was able to repair it easily with short piece of .030 x .030 Evergreen shim glued and blended in with body putty into the offending areas. Next, the front and rear clips were glued to the body, everything sanded and then primed with Plasticote gray sandable primer, allowed to dry and then lightly sanded again with a 4000 grit sanding cloth. Satisfied that I had a smooth primer base to work with the body was painted Testors Wimbledon White spray bomb paint followed with their clear coat. After the body had dried for a few days I set about Bare Metal foiling the trim pieces. I chose to use the GT grill even though it is incorrect for the Tasca car. All of the decals were a breeze to put on. Overall I was very happy with the overall look and accuracy of the body. The big block FE turned out pretty nicely but you will have to overlook the front axle wire hole going through the oil pan. The engine can be built as a stock 390 or the 428 as both used the same basic block but differed in real life in the intake and exhaust manifolds, carburetion and air cleaners. The 428 offers a nice induction style air cleaner that sucked in cold air from the hood scoop. The race car uses nice headers that dump right underneath the front seat. The race car had the radio delete option, as all the music came from the big CJ 428. The chassis detail is somewhat basic. As mentioned earlier all of the wheels are attached to the car via wires. A bit of detail painting adds life to the whole assembly. The interior is nicely done, for the race car a folded rear seat is a separate piece that mimics the correct folded down position to clear the included roll cage. I was surprised that a fire extinguisher is not included so you will have to find a suitable one in your parts box. Conclusion: Overall I am very happy with the look of this car and the amount of parts available in the kit to build a number of variants. This kit builds up into a very nice replica (wheels and GT grill aside for the Tasca car) that will be a welcome addition to any modelers' shelf. This model as a GT as mentioned in my review can be built as a stock 390 or as a CJ 428 with the hood scoop. While doing research on this kit I found a picture of a lime green GT CJ 428 with a black hood stripe, black 'C' stripes and GT wheels. I already bought another kit to do this replica! I congratulate Revell for bringing these previously available metal kits in plastic. A big thank-you goes out to Revell for supplying this kit, and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it for you.