Carrera Revell Mustang Mach 1 007 (05664) 1:25

[Mike]

Mustang Mach 1 007 (05664)

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 substantially 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 then, and are now.  The Boss 351 followed the Mach 1, tricked out with grille-mounted fog-lights, additional spoilers front and rear, different twin tail pipes, chrome bumpers, and blacked out bonnet with tie-downs 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 as it stood, and the later 351 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.  Although the Boss 351 variant ended, the Mach 1 name continued with the new design that was introduced in 1974, even though everything was comparatively smaller and more economical after the excesses of the early 70s.

 

 

The Kit

This is a reboxing of as 2022 tooling from Revell, and I originally questioned the choice of 1:25 scale, although I suspected that it might be a more popular scale in the US, and let’s face it, that’s where many of the kits will be heading.  The kit is themed for Revell’s recent release of a host of James Bond themed vehicle kits they have marketed recently, and this beast was seen in the film Diamond are Forever, with Sean Connery at the controls of Tiffany Case’s red Mach 1 in a chase through the streets of Las Vegas, sometimes on fewer than four wheels.  It arrives in an end-opening box with a painting of the car with a Las Vegas backdrop on the front, showing off the poster that is supplied (not pictured), plus reminding us of the fact that it is an official Ford product by way of a holographic sticker in the bottom centre.  Inside the box are eight sprues and a bodyshell in white styrene, two chromed white sprues, four flexible black tyres with white sidewall stripes pre-applied, a clear sprue, decal sheet, the instruction booklet in A4(ish) portrait form that is 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 near the raised Revell 2022 copyright details in the boot/trunk areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the engine, which is a little different than the original issue, starting with the two-part block and transmission assembly, which has the sump and two layers of 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 new seven-bladed 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 thirteen decals applied to various locations during the building of the engine, adding extra realism to the assembly, 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 ten 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 build process.  The front seats are each made from front and rear halves, and you have decals for the contrasting material inserts either side of the quilted cushions in black.  The centre console has a T-shaped gear selector and its gaiter inserted into the front, and there are three decals applied here too, painting the moulded-in rear seats as the front seats and centre console are installed in the floor pan, all of which don’t have seatbelts although decals are found on the sheet, but it does have 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 plus a silver trim decal 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, then is detail painted 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, just like the real thing.  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 halves to allow the wheels to rotate, then slipping the flexible black tyres over the hub to complete it, taking care to ensure that the white wall stripes are outermost.  One is added to each arch, being very careful with the glue if you want them to spin once you’re done.

 

Attention shifts back 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 bay, 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 with two more decals, 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.  The rear quarter light windows are also fitted from the inside, to be joined by the windscreen with rear-view mirror and linked sun visors, a courtesy light in the centre of the ceiling, and the rear windscreen.  Before inserting the interior into the bodyshell, the interior roof and pillars of the bodyshell should be painted red, then the floor 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 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.  The grille and air-dam are joined together, and before you install them in the front, there’s a host of decals for the engine bay, many of them optional.  The grille, bumper and number plate holder shapes are fitted first, then the dam is brought up from below.  At the rear, the panel below the rear face is installed first with another number plate holder, fixing the chromed bumper over it, thereby hiding the seam.  The chromed central badge is glued into its recess in the boot, with a choice of three number plate decals for front and rear holders.

 

 

The detailing of the engine bay isn’t over yet, adding a large circular air filter container over the top of the engine, with a hose that snakes away to the lower part of the engine, and applying three more decals around the shallow cylinder and on the bay side.  Chromed door handles and wing mirrors with chromed mirror inserts are fitted to both doors, then the bonnet is painted, which has strengthening structure and other features moulded into the inside if you want to display your engine. Two hinge guides are glued to the back of the bonnet panel, and it is installed in position, with pins on the ends of the guides locating in the space under the scuttle, so it is best done after the glue has fully cured.

 

 

Markings

There is just one vehicle depicted on the decal instructions for this special edition, and it is bright red with black lower panels that are applied as decals with silver trim incorporated.

 

 

 

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 was initially unsure why Revell chose 1:25, but that aside, this model is well-detailed and does a good job of portraying one of my favourite classic Mustangs, as it appeared in the classic Bond movie.  It’s probably a bit large and wallowing for narrow and pot-holed British roads, but nice to look at on the forecourt or in your cabinet.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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