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’71 Ford Mustang Boss 351 (07699) 1:25 Carrera Revell Ford’s Pony Car was first introduced in 1964, and immediately struck a chord with the American car-buying public, claiming a place in motoring history as it did so. By the time the 1971 edition came about, there had already been a series of annual redesigns as was common back then, when cars were a little less technologically challenging and safety-conscious than they are now. The aggressive styling had been toned down a little, and the chassis kept getting longer with three main body styles available, including hardtop, convertible and fastback, although the latter was unimaginatively called the Sports Roof at the time. There were three basic trim levels, plus the Mach 1, which was the sports model with two-tone paint and fancy striping, plus ducts in the bonnet to appeal to the petrol heads of America, of which there were many. The Boss 351 was essentially a tricked-out Mach 1, with grille-mounted fog-lights, additional spoilers front and rear, twin tail pipes, chrome bumpers, and blacked out bonnet to give it a more racing look. Coupled with the sloping rear of the Sports Roof, these cars were a huge draw to those with a bulging wallet, but the vehicle’s emissions were such that it was short-lived, and was dropped the following year due to the more draconian emissions regulations that were putting the brakes on oversized cars with immense engines under the bonnet, and while petrol prices were also starting to climb, America still had it pretty good when compared to other countries at the time. A de-tuned Boss 351 engine was made available as an option for most models in the following year, and some components were re-used, but that was the end of the 351, although its memory still lingers amongst those of a certain age. The Kit This is a new tooling from Revell, and I had to scratch my head about the choice of 1:25 scale, although I suspect that it might be more popular in the US, and let’s face it, that’s where many of these kits will be heading. It arrives in an end-opening box with a painting of the car on the front, and thankfully the people inside the car this time don’t immediately ring any bells as to any particular celebrities, as has been the case with a few of their recent issues. Inside the box are nine sprues and a bodyshell in white styrene, two chromed white sprues, four flexible black tyres, a clear sprue, large decal sheet, the instruction booklet in A4(ish) portrait form, printed in colour, and with a safety sheet folded up inside, just in case your common sense has temporarily deserted you. Detail is good, with modern aspects to the tooling, which has been moulded for Revell by (or in) Dongguan in China, as evidenced by black printing next to the raised Revell 2022 copyright details in the boot/trunk areas. Construction begins with the engine, starting with the two-part block and transmission assembly, which has the sump and ancillaries added to the front, then the two four-piston cylinder heads with their oil filler caps that form the V that gives the V8 its name, installing the two manifolds and more ancillaries along the sides. The fan belt with its mountings are put together separately and have the fan fixed to the front before it is joined to the front of the engine along with the air intake pathways, carburettor and the distributor that nestle in between the piston banks. There are eight decals applied to various locations during the building of the engine, adding extra detail to the bay, then the lower hose that leads to the radiator is inserted low down at the front of the motor. The dashboard is well-moulded, with recessed dials and raised bezels that are enhanced by applying eleven decals if you include the two on the steering wheel, which is mounted on a short column with integral indicator stalks, with detail painting called out along the way, which is also the case for the rest of the model. The front seats are each made from front and rear parts, and you have a choice of two decal styles for the contrasting inserts on the quilted cushions, either silver or black. The centre console has a gear selector and its gaiter inserted into the front, and there are three decals applied here too, adding four seatbelt decals to the rear seats as the front seats and centre console are installed in the floor pan, with four more seatbelt decals added to the front seats once they are in place, plus four foot pedals on a carrier glued into the left side of the kick panel. The door cards are detail painted and have two wood-grain decals applied on each one so that they can be fitted to the sides of the floor pan and create the complete interior with the addition of the dashboard that gets yet another decal in the left corner that appears to be the US equivalent of the British VIN number. So far we have an engine and an interior, but not much car to go around it. That changes when the firewall is trimmed to add a pair of recesses on the top edge, and has the brake master cylinder fitted to it, before it is put to the side for a moment. The underside of the car is well-detailed on the exterior, and has the sub-frame mounted on two coil springs in the front, then the front axle with all its steering and suspension parts moulded into it is overlaid, after which the underside is flipped over to install the firewall after checking that you have removed the cross-brace piece of sprue in the transmission tunnel before you started. A couple more ancillaries are added in the engine bay, then the engine is lowered into the bay, sliding the transmission through the firewall and mounting it on its cradle in the centre. With the glue cured, the chassis is flipped onto its back again to install the twin downpipes that each mate to their own muffler that plugs into some large turrets under the body. Two shocks and an anti-roll bar are glued into the rear axle space before the exhaust pipes are inserted into slots in the back of the mufflers, then the leaf-springs are fixed across the rear axle, which also has its differential input fairing glued into the front, dropping the assembly and a long drive-shaft into position on locating pegs. To put the power down we need wheels, and these are made from three parts each, a chromed outer hub, a white plastic inner hub, and a mushroom washer that sits loose inside the pair to allow the wheels to rotate, then slipping the flexible black tyres over the hub to complete it. One is added to each arch, being very careful with the glue if you want them to spin once you’re done. Attention shifts to the engine bay again, adding stiffening beams to brace the suspension turrets against the firewall, fitted diagonally and meeting at the centre. The battery and a few more ancillaries are installed around the capacious bonnet space, and another four decals are applied here and there to add more authenticity to this Ford approved model kit. The radiator is made from three layers, and has a decal applied to the rear layer before it is inserted into the front of the engine bay, locating on the lower hose installed earlier, and adding a top hose to the opposite side that also disappears into the engine. The exterior of a car like this is very important, as a sports car is always at least partly about looks. The rear light panel is first to receive its clear parts, painting them the appropriate colours with transparent paint, then installing it into the rear of the bodyshell after it has been prepared by removing the supporting sprue from the engine bay, and drilling the holes for the rear spoiler. The rear quarter lights are also fitted from the inside, to be joined by the windscreen with rear-view mirror and sun visors, a courtesy light in the centre of the ceiling, and the rear windscreen. Before inserting the interior into the bodyshell, the transmission tunnel should be painted black, then it locates on a set of pins and sockets, to be covered over by the underside of the vehicle, with important gluing locations pointed out by red lines around the engine bay edges. A car is nothing without a face, and the Mustang definitely had this part of its design language dialled in for much of its lifetime. The grille is provided as a single part with the headlamp reflectors moulded in, to be painted with the best approximation of chrome that you can muster. The fog-lights are chromed, and insert into recesses in the grille, and should then be painted a clear orange, as should the sidelights in the bottom corners of the grille part. Its air-dam and optional splitter are joined together, and before you install them all in the front, there’s another decal for the engine bay. The grille, chromed bumper with a choice of number plate holder shapes are fitted first, then the dam and splitter assembly is brought up from below. At the rear, the panel below the boot opening is installed first with another numberplate holder, fixing the chromed bumper over it, hiding the seam. The central badge is glued into its recess in the boot, and the boot spoiler with separate supports is inserted into the holes drilled earlier. It's not over yet! A large circular air filter “box” is laid over the top of the engine, adding a hose that snakes away to the lower part of the engine, and applying a choice of two styles of decals around the shallow cylinder. Chromed door handles and wing mirrors with chromed inserts are fitted to both doors, with two more chrome parts that portray the latches fitted to the well-detailed bonnet, which has structure and other feature moulded into the inside so you’ll want to display your engine. You also get instructions to assist you in masking and painting the black portion of the bonnet, which has a body-coloured border around the edges. Two hinge guides are glued to the back of the bonnet panel, and it is inserted into position, with pins on the ends of the guides locating in the space under the scuttle. Markings There is just one vehicle depicted on the decal instructions, and it is blue with silver accent lines that are supplied as decals for your convenience. In case you plan on painting your Boss 351 a lighter colour however, there are also the same decals in black, so if you have seen the same yellow car that I have, you could use those. Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion My experience of vehicle modelling doesn’t go back very far, so I’m unsure why Revell chose 1:25, but that aside, this model is well-detailed and does a good job of looking like one of my favourite old Mustangs. A bit large and wallowing for British roads, but nice to look at. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Ford Mustang GT 1968 Quickbuild (J6035) Airfix The enigmatic charm that is the Mustang first hit the streets in 1964 as cabrio and hardtop design that was later joined by the more muscular Fastback. It blew the motoring public’s socks off on release, and sold exceptionally well for the initial years, tailing off in the 1970s once the novelty had worn off. It changed the motoring world, and brought a new term into the vernacular, the “Pony car” for a class-leading muscle-car that appealed to the younger demographic and that's a sector still exists today, as does the Mustang, although in a very different shape. If you’re interested in that shape too, we reviewed the more modern Mustang Quickbuild here By now we’re probably all familiar with the Quickbuild range, combining an assembly brick simplicity with custom parts that gives the finished article a realistic, smooth surface that’s able to withstand even rough play without the use of glue or paint, and with simple stickers finishing off the model’s look. The Kit The box is a standard flimsy red-themed end-opening Quickbuild style, with a small cross-locking tab preventing the contents from tumbling out when handled. The main contents are in one bag in three colours of ABS and another for the clear part, and this choice of plastic makes for greater flexibility that is needed for the friction fit method that allows the bricks to fit together, as well as allowing it to stand up to the gentle ministrations of 6-year old children and older. There are 45 parts in red, silver, black, clear and four flexible rubber tyres, with all the parts having a nice shiny surface. The sticker sheet is outside the bag with the instructions, and through 14 steps plus stickers the car is made up, with all parts fitting together snugly and with very little flex in the assembly. Where there are some important parts that should be clicked into position for correct alignment, they are pointed out with a set of pointy hands emanating from the area. These occur in the later stages when the roof and rear wing panels are put in place, and of course it is critical to follow the instructions because of the way the parts intersect with each other, only fitting in place at the correct stage of the instructions. The tyres slip over the wheels from in front, with a small lip on the outer face to stop them from sliding off so easily. The axles have been sensibly placed under the main floor pan during the last steps, so that the downward pressure of anyone “driving” pushes them home and prevents them coming loose to ruin play. My example arrived with a scratch on its bonnet part, which was quite noticeable. I removed that by using a green/white buffing sponge, greenish side first, then the white side perpendicular to the original direction. That cleaned up the scratch so that it’s invisible, and I’m tempted to buff it even further to give it a more lustrous finish - that's if I can pry it away from my son now he's got his sticky mitts on it. Markings The stickers are printed on a clear adhesive surface and are die-cut to ease application. They are all left to the end, with headlights, a choice of grilles with or without foglamps, rear light clusters, then two more small stickers for the GT badge on the wings, with a choice of three number plate styles and two boot badge styles to personalise your model. Printing is good quality, but as I found before when using tweezers to remove them, the ink is prone to scratching, so take care when applying them. Conclusion Every new release of these innovative kits is better than the last, with better fit all-round. The old skool Mustang is still a good-looking car, and the red finish should appeal to the intended market, and as already mentioned the structural strength is much improved, feeling more like a pre-built than a construction toy. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of