Revell's Baja Bronco...my spin on a great kit!

[No Name]

So my Daughter recently graduated from college and she and her best friend (who also graduated from the same College) were hanging out in the basement.  My daughter's friend ended up taking a self-guided tour of the basement while my daughter was playing a video game (I have a couple hundred diecast cars from Franklin Mint and Danbury Mint on display that I rec'd writing reviews for Diecast magazines).

While on her self-guided tour, she opened the door to the chaos I call my Modeling Workshop. This used to be the "Racing Room" that housed 135 feet of Carrera Electric Slot car track on 16' X 6.5' table that was fully landscaped and lit.

The track was dismantled and the tables were transformed into shelving for storage and now holds a majority of the boxes that all of the diecast came in, the boxed up race track and cars and a host of about 150 un-built model kits. A few are in the picture below as well as a "clean" work area (seriously, it hasn't been this clean since that day!)

She also saw that I had her dream car...the Ford Bronco. So once I found that out, as a thank you for helping my Daughter move out of her college apartment, I decided to build it for her as she would want it.

It has a few flaws that I will attempt to fix (such as the locking hubs are on one side of the Bronco as opposed to what it should be on the front axle) and I got Tenex glue on the side windows (I have a second pair I'll install better.)

Took me 2 months using Splash Paints Cockpit Turquoise and Insignia White with Splashes 2K Clear over the paint, decals and BMF.

I used black embossing powder for the the carpet, de-chromed the grill, bumpers and wipers. Rather than using the spare tire cover on the rear, I had a second set of wheels and tires so I pirated one to use on the spare tire carrier. I also wired the engine and added a mechanical fuel pump to the mix with plumbing. 

I also need to scratch build some kind of latch to support the swing arm when not extended.  The model kits swing arm wasn't designed to support the extra weight of the spare wheel/tire I opted for over the plastic spare tire cover,

It was a fun build and everything fit so nicely. Overall, I like it but as I said, there are several flaws.

Enjoy the pics…

[keavdog]

Great job and a very thoughtful gift. I did the standard Bronco release (85-4320) which looks to be the exact same kit and was pretty impressed by the detail, fit etc. It was a joy to build. Great color choice! Have you given it to here yet? Interested in her reaction.

[No Name]

Aug 12, 2023 22:05:47 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Great job and a very thoughtful gift. I did the standard Bronco release (85-4320) which looks to be the exact same kit and was pretty impressed by the detail, fit etc. It was a joy to build. Great color choice! Have you given it to here yet? Interested in her reaction.

Not yet...she and my daughter are working in Florida as part of the Disney College Program (we're in Maryland).  They started in June and won't be done until the end of January.

She has seen the pictures of it, however and she loves it!

[handiabled]

What's not to love? Very well done and excellent color choice

[406 Silverado]

I have heard nothing BUT good things about these kits and this one crossed the finish line in VERY good fashion Brian. The locking hub and windows are quick fixes and you should have this one road ready in no time. The color is what sticks out most to me as that was one good choice. Man this one looks good!!

[70 STING]

Always passed this kit by. Might have to reconsider. Super nice build, great colour and interior.

[maverick]

It looks awesome! And yes they are really great kits that build up well and easily. With the addition of some aftermarket stuff from Fireball model works and Olson brothers They can be real standouts on any shelf. And I concur. The color choice on this one is spot on!! Nicely done sir!

[kyledehart5]

Beautiful result! Great color choice. And what a nice gift it will be.

[No Name]

Thank you all! I really appreciate the feedback...good or BAD!

[Joe Rix]

That is indeed one smart build of the classic Bronco. Beautifully done sir. As others, love the color. A very considerate act on your part and you are to be commended.

I love your slot car set up. That could not have been an easy thing to dismantle and let go of.

[chromdome35]

The Old Bronco is my favorite all-time vehicle ever.

Growing up, my best friend's father had one and my friend got to drive it as his daily driver to school. On the weekends we would put real miles on that thing cruising the strip mall parking lot with 100+ other teens in cars. I had a lot of firsts in that Bronco, first drink, first smoke, first pot, first girl...damn good memories.

We put a couple of Jenson speakers in boxes and a Pioneer cassette stereo in the dash. One of the reasons my hearing sucks today is from listening to AC/DC (and others) cranked all the way up far too many times.

I'm still best friends with my best friend and he still has Bronco, it's currently in the shop getting restored to running shape, sat for years, and then we're going to go relive our glory years, at least until we have to be home for supper.

[No Name]

it was hard to take down but the reality of it was that my son and I had hardly raced on it for the last 3 years that it was up.

I patterned it in the spirit of a Sports Car race track my brother and I spent years attending when I was in my 20's.

135 feet of 1/24th scale race track.  It was so huge that I needed an adjustable auxiliary power supply that could put out at least 24W.  I had a separate power unit to power the lamps (before the days of LED's).  It was fully landscaped with trees and grass...even real dirt shoulders (mixed with about a half a gallon of thinned Elmer's glue).  The race walls were plastic screen caps that took on many "Darlington Stripes" from the cars over the years.

The end of the front straight had banked turns in it.  I custom built a chassis with a hot motor that was put under a cobra body.  It was soooo fast that once I nailed it coming down the long front straight and up the banked turn that it launched off the track and embedded itself in the drywall!

It was a lot of fun for a while but like a lot of hobby's, the love fell off after about 10 years.

Here's some pictures of it in it's heyday...

 

[chromdome35]

I dreamed of having something like this when I was a kid. I had an Aurora track on a table my dad and I built.

[Leon]

A very nicely done Bronco and love the color!

Your track reminds me of the track i had growing up but with the smaller cars.

[No Name]

So I was getting really annoyed by the fact the Spare Tire Carrier kept swinging out so I devised a small but simple latch to keep the carrier swung into the body.

I drilled a small hole in the tail gate and insert a small plastic dowel with a rounded dip in it just slightly higher than where the carrier arm sits next to the body. End result is the spare tire carrier now sits tight to the body and since it is just slightly elevated, it take the stress of the weight off the carrier and not cause the plastic carrier to warp/bend out of whack...





I also corrected the wheel so the locking hub on the front now and replace the side windows this time using a white glue as opposed to Tenex.

Thank you everyone for the feedback!

[kyledehart5]

Aug 15, 2023 19:48:00 GMT -5 No Name said:

So I was getting really annoyed by the fact the Spare Tire Carrier kept swinging out so I devised a small but simple latch to keep the carrier swung into the body.

I drilled a small hole in the tail gate and insert a small plastic dowel with a rounded dip in it just slightly higher than where the carrier arm sits next to the body. End result is the spare tire carrier now sits tight to the body and since it is just slightly elevated, it take the stress of the weight off the carrier and not cause the plastic carrier to warp/bend out of whack...





I also corrected the wheel so the locking hub on the front now and replace the side windows this time using a white glue as opposed to Tenex.

Thank you everyone for the feedback!

excellent. Very effective way to secure the spare tire carrier.

[Medicman71]

That's really cool! Very nice work!