Tommy Ivo's "Showboat" by Revell in
All the way from Meggahobbies" in the USofA, $33.00, landed here for $60.00. !!
And. !! You also get a "figure" that is poorly painted and cast, so I will have to reissue the paint here as well :-/
The original instructions that assumes that you have a degree in mechanical engineering.
Very basic, but this is where we all learned how to understand "exploded view" plans.
Wots in da BOX. ???
Two largish bags with parts that have broken away from the runners, so open carefully. !!!!
The 'detail' is rudamentry (basic) and as I said before, there is quite a bit of 'flash' but with care and attention it will not be a major problem.
Crank case bottoms
There are some pronounced seam lines on all parts of the cage.
It should clean up well, but this is what you get with the early kits.
The steering wheel has great lumps of flash all round the outside and inside and spokes.:-/
Say no more !!!!!!!!!
The first 'reissue' date. Would you believe that this kit is almost 52 years old.? :-/
LOL, "Spot the flash" !!!!
There are some good detail areas, such as the surface of these pedals.
The new "water slide" decals.
It should be fun picking out the lettering on the slicks. !!
Unfortunatly, due to the 'seam lines' that abound in this kit, a lot of the original 'chrome' will suffer some damage as seam lines are cleand up, but the Alclad should take care of that.
Alclad "Chrome" is reported to have the same look as this chrome here. 🙂
Oh the 60's tool makers, Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The painting of the figure by some little Chinese person has the look of a 'rush' job, so I will be smoothing off all the clothing and repainting the whole thing.
There are four of these carby manifolds to do, and I will have to repair where the ejector pin marks are obvious.
There are 32 of these "Ram Tubes" and just look at how many points there are to clean up once cut from the tree !!!!!
I cut each one off allowing plenty of room for the trimming off of the 'flow gate' points.
The simplest thing for me to do was to dechrome all these pipes with Mr Muscle oven cleaner, and the bonus is that I can now 'see' what I am removing in the clean up stage.
All the 'burrs' are trimmed away and I will be alcladding these with the alclad "Chrome" which BTW, looks exactly the same as the chrome I am replacing. !!!
Manifolds are to get a clean up and sprayed with Testors metalizer 'dull aluminium'
All prepared for the undercoat and then the metalizer.
Seam lines !!!! HUGE ! But with some careful sanding and scraping I should get something respectable out of it all.
Gradually getting there 🙂
The resultis better than firs anticipated really. "😉 No loss of the overall 'shape' of the tubing.
The exposed areas will be painted "Italian Red" so I covered these areas that need to be glued, or even maybe left unassembled for a static display of a maintainance session. I havent decided yet as that will depend on the paint job.
I have a mile of 'plumbing" to work out yet, and as there are four, it will be an interesting project.
All the fuel lines, throttle linkages and ignition work will have to be done before this stage. :-/
The rough original I will now attempt to clean up and think about a "Replacement".
Just a small amount on the inside of the wheel and it should be OK.
I will not be looking for an "Aftermarket" wheel, as this stayed in one piece. 🙂
First were the "Blocks" to be painted before the cylinder heads.
All cylinder heads are ready.
Along with the rest of my hand, I have also painted the side pannels and floor pannel and got the Gloss coat on and so far, no polishing required.
I stripped the chrome plating and cleaned up all the burrs and seam lines, as they are just no good the way they are here.
32 pipes later, I wanted to open them up to create a more realistic looking system.
drilled to a depth of about 5mmand as close to centre as possible, as the next stage will either "Make or Break" the overall 'effect'
Using a 12 scalpel blade, i removed as much from the inside diameter as possible for the "flute" effect.
I said it was going to be tedious, and if I was to build it the way I says in the instructions, there would be the chrome plating gone from 50% of all parts,
Alclad black base ready.
All the exhaust pipes mounted on some new clean strips of Blu Tac
Four sump pans and the gleam was so bright from them as glossed up, it was very hard to "focus" the camera's auto focus. 🙂
All the exhaust pipes and carby 'ram tubes' are now sprayed ready for the alclad chrome.
It looks a mess, but it's the preperation for the "Alclad chrome" and the surface of each item must be "Gloss" so many coats were applied and will be left for at least a day or two before the chrome is sprayed
Three light passes with the airbrush and look what I got. !!!
These were meant to be Gloss black but I have never seen a top class dragster with anything but a chrome sump pan.
All these small bits will look better than original.
Once the alclad is on, and "Less is More" applies, as you don't need much to get all the chrome finish you want.
These will now be rubbed gently with the white cotton gloves I wear for such an occasion 🙂
All hand polished now and I am so pleased with the results I am getting with Alclad "Chrome"
all ready to be attached !!! 🙂
32 Exhaust stacks.
32 Ram tubes !!!
Aside from my thumb nail, you should be able to see the eight holes i have drilled into the ignition distributor.
Drilling all the way through the carburetor body to install the throttle linkages.
Prepping for the ignition leads.
This array helps keep it all in order, and the ends are snipped and then throttle linkages will be fitted .
A gloss black frame.
Alclad gloss black base is applied.
Now the chromed parts and go gear is being fitted.
Alclad is really quite good at looking like the chrome I removed fro the parts cleanup.
All the alclad bits have been painted and ready for assembly.
The engines are linked through gearing
These is a small amount of paint I will have to touch up after all the ignition leads are fitted.
Micro drills help when it comes to getting the holes needed for all the eight ignition leads to fit the head of the distributor.
Yes. Hexagonal bolts for allen key fastening, and the bolt used is 1/5 the size of a match head. !!!
The 32 spark plugs have been fitted and I am now going to 'wire' the motor.
That is the oil filter, not the starter motor. And the destributor and wiring arrived yesterday from Hobby Linc in the states. The 4 destributors cost $20.00, but the postage was $30.00. Go figure.
The 'coil' wire is the one in the middle.
Alclad is the chrome here. 'Ultra'.
The ram/velocity tube are stock, but cleaned of all rough edges and seam lines after the chrome was stripped and then sprayed with Alclad.
Trying to get is as 'uniform' as I can with the ignition cables, and in firing order. (for the rivet counters.)
ALL the chrome you see here is Alclad, as the original kit chrome was rough and in some places thick.
On the original 'Showboat', these inlet tubes had red balls placed in the top to stop FOD. These I made using stretched spru and a candle.
Comments
1 8 April 2015, 07:06
Kerry COXLots of ignition wiring and fuel lines, oil lines, throttle linkages yet to come. 🙂
8 April 2015, 08:50
Kerry COXHolger, G'day mate, It is a 'rebox', but all the contents are exactly as it was in 1963 when first issued, and the dies have not been updated at all, and this is a "limited Run". 🙂
8 April 2015, 11:15
Holger KranichSo this build becomes a travel in time! Have fun with your short run kit!😄
8 April 2015, 11:23
Holger KranichLook at that gear!!! Thats extremely insane! All made of paper Boeing 777!
8 April 2015, 11:40
Curtis CadenWell I'm glad you are going to fix that Chineses rush job on that figure. Had me worried, ya know! I love to see someone so excited about a new model and you have barely got it out of the box. Of course I would have had all the parts washed in Dawn before getting them posted! LOL I think this will be a great model and look forward to checking out your future posts! Mazel Tov!
8 April 2015, 11:58
Kerry COXOh NO............Did the big little boy come through THAT strongly mate ????
It is strange how we all go back to "Where it all began" for all of us.
I never completed the first one, as the army got in the way back then, and all my cousins destroyed what there was left.
I am looking forward to this with great excitement. 🙂
8 April 2015, 12:10
Curtis CadenKerry, you are quite the funny guy. You make me smile! My first dragsters were the ones I could get for 50 cents with my tooth ferry money at the corner drug store! I keep thinking I will build dragsters again, but w
8 April 2015, 16:30
Curtis CadenI found a model like yours -
Monster Machines- Tommy Ivo Showboat & Challenger I
(1/25) (fs) This Revell Combo Kit includes two complete models as described below. Released in 1987 by Revell, Inc, Des Planes, IL. This kit is factory sealed.
Features
Model Details and Features of Tommy Ivo Showboat:
Drag Racing Exhibition Car
FOUR Fuel Injected Buick Engines
Individual Gearboxes
Simulated Rubber Drag Slicks
Simulated aluminum-finish plated parts
Custom Designed tubular Drag Chassis
Model Details and Features of Challenger I:
Land Speed Record Car with speeds in excess of 400 m.p.h.
FOUR supercharged Pontiac Engines
Removable body panels show chassis engine and interior
FOUR LaSalle gearboxes, eight exhausts
Special, low-profile treadless Goodyear tires
Tubular Chassis
$64.90 at modelroundup.com/product-p/rmx-7501.htm
8 April 2015, 16:33
Thomas MayerMate, you amaze me whenever I see a post of you anywhere! Now, here, you are doing such a nice Oldie! 🙂
8 April 2015, 17:07
Christian MeyerhoffHi Kerry! I follow this one with interest. You will make the most out of this oldie for sure !
8 April 2015, 17:27
Kerry COXWow, All my mates with beer and popcorn at the same table. 🙂
I couldn't ask for more. !!(🙂)
Curtis, I do remember the "Bag Kits" for 50c and yards of glue and no paint, the best days ever. LOL 🙂
The "Challenger" looks like Sir Donald Campbell's "Bluebird" that he set the land speed record with on Lake Eyre here in Australia back in the 50's !
Thomas, mate🙂, I am so happy to know your looking in too my friend.🙂
Christian, your encouraging optimism is well noted too mate, and I will just try and do as good a job as I can with 'what I got'. :-/
8 April 2015, 21:51
Christian BruerNostalgic project🙂
One of my ship mates build all the scale 1/600 Airfix kits he has build in his youth again. He try to make the best out of it with some PE and today's paints, tools techniques etc. His slogan, give old kits a chance! I like it!
9 April 2015, 15:21
Kerry COXIt is interesting from my view also, mostly because I can remember building it when I was young, but I wonder if I completed it :-/
10 April 2015, 13:04
Thomas MayerMate, you really should think about wearing some gloves when airbrushing... Imagine you go shopping with all the red on your hands...
10 April 2015, 18:26
Kerry COXThomas, Good morning, but all is good as I use "Barrier Cream" before I paint and I wash as soon as I have painted and it all washes away mate, and I wear a mask to filter the air too. But thanks for your concerns Thomas.
No 'blood' on my hands. !! LOL🙂
10 April 2015, 19:17
Steve -Wow Kerry Just caught up with this build. Nice, real nice .👍 Good job of re-crafting the old Revell into a semblance of order.
So ,OK, NOW what? inquiring minds want to know 😉 have you been making progress without showing us more pictures?😮 😄😄
Popcorn an' beer is in stock an' ready for your next update👍
13 April 2015, 04:12
Kerry COXSteve, thanks for that mate. 🙂Each step so far has been a 'Try it and if it works, post it" sort of build.
I am constantly between the images of the actual car in Google images and working out a way of replicating all I see without turning it into a mess.
I really want to do all the fuel lines, oil lines, throttle linkages, wiring and anything else I feel will bring it to life so to speak.
I am having to be quite inventive in the things I want to do and it really is a tedious process, but still heaps of fun.:-0
For it's day, it was an engineering marvel.
13 April 2015, 06:27
Kerry COXJust finished some fitting of miniature bolt heads from RB Motion in the USA. rbmotion.com/index.php?route=common/home
20 March 2018, 11:59
Bart GoesaertVery nice work in this golden (sorry, chrome...) oldy... you're tilting this one to the next level again (by skipping a few in between...)
20 March 2018, 13:43
Kerry COXI have always wanted to get this model 'just right', as being as old as it is, the flash and seam lines always made it a challenge. And also, the detail of the machinery was not all that flash too.
The chrome was crap, and alclad is now the better option, as it takes a lot of cleaning up of all the poor moulding to really make it something worthwhile to continue on with and the detail was not that great from the box to begin with.
20 March 2018, 20:20
Spanjaardlooking really good. i would have done one thing differently, instead of working on those 32 "ram tubes" in plastic, there is some (cheap) metal pieces, to be used at the end of cables (sorry i can not describe better), that may have been perfect. with even the "trumpet"end. and they are hollow, and thinner than the plastic.
25 April 2018, 08:53
Spanjaardindeed, you can find them in different sizes, maybe one will be just right
25 April 2018, 10:46
Kerry COXI actually ordered some from RB Motion. A company in the USA that makes all the auto accessories , and the ones I got were just too big, even though the size promoted were what I wanted, but the plastic ones, they are a whole lot better than what they were like. But thanks for the tip and recommendation. 🙂 👍
25 April 2018, 11:53
John ThomasHey Kerry, I built this kit back in the day and even saw "TV" Tommy Ivo race. I was a big Drag Race Fan in the late 60's and early 70's. I went to many races and saw all of the great drivers and I was even part of a race team in the mid 80's for a short time.
26 April 2018, 12:56
Kerry COXJohn. I envy you mate. 🙂
I am a rev head from when my brother bought home a BSA 350 single, I was 10 and I have never been far from a bike since.
I currently have a BMW R1150R bike I cant stop throwing my leg over. 🙂 👍
This build I did when I was a wee boy, and always wanted to "Do it justice", and I hope it turns out OK. 🙂 👍
26 April 2018, 13:37
Kerry COXHey Bart. 👍 🙂
Thanks for your vote of confidence in me. 🙂
That means a lot. 👍
26 April 2018, 20:45
Chris ParsonsI've worked on cross ram double 4 barrel hemis, my own 440 six pack dodge, and early corvette crossfire injection systems and thought I knew some nasty systems.... but 4 Buick mechanical injection systems driving both ends of the car? .... that's just nasty!
26 April 2018, 23:18
Kerry COXApparently, Tommy was never allowed to "Compete" with the 'Showboat', having to content himself with "Demonstration runs". Poor bugger. It was a real asphalt destroyer. 🙂 🙂 🙂
27 April 2018, 00:16
Peter HardyA W E S O M E ! I dips me lid to the work put in so far Kez! Work of passion.
27 April 2018, 10:16
Kerry COXI have managed to try three times before on this kit but with no luck. Mainly because it a really old kit from the 50's. 🙁
The dies were crap then, and there has been no 'updating or retooling' like some other kits I know, so I do my best to bring it up to some sort of a presentable quality that I could compete with. 👍
Peter, your words of encouragement mean a lot and they keep my interest up. Thanks my good friend.
Kez. 🙂 👍
27 April 2018, 12:35
Kerry COXJames. 🙂 Thank you my friend. 👍
There is a LOT of plastic on my workshop floor. 😉
It would be fantastic if the dies of this kit were blueprinted to bring it up to a better result and standard.
But I have had a lot of enjoyment getting the beast to this stage, having seen all the problems arise from the first two and having a better idea of the problems and remedies.
'Keep on truckin'. hahahaha
Cheers. 👍
27 April 2018, 20:43
Kerry COXThat is for sure James. repetition sucks some times. But I am not complaining. 👍
27 April 2018, 21:29
Album info
In 1963, I was 16 and the American dragster industry was beginning to make inroads into the scale modelling world, and the one that grabbed everyone's imagination was the 4 engined monstrosity that TV personality of the day, Tomy Ivo, had made.
I bought one and as I was not mechanically minded, it was a most complicated model to build, (and still is) and 'tube glue' was the ONLY glue around then and there was heaps of 'oversupply' when any gluing was attempted.
This is the 'reissue' of that exact same kit, using original dies, but with different coloured plastic, being white, as it was originally red.
As with the tool making of that era, the engraving was a little off, and the plates didn't align exactly and as a result, there is a LOT of 'flash' and huge 'seam lines'.
So, now that I have all these modern adhesives and alclad chrome paints, I think I can do a reasonable job on it this time around. !!
Wanna come for a ride? LOL