1970 AAR Cuda

[Jhedir6]

Well I woke up this morning to the mail man bringing me the new Revell 1970 AAR Cuda. With the weather being not very nice here today, I think after breakfast I'll dive into this and get some of the prep work started. I think I'll just go OOB on this one and down the road to a Gurney Trans Am car. 

Once I pop it open I'll do a mini review of what it looks like on the inside and my thoughts on it. I've watched Chris' Youtube video already so I already know what's in there and what's not to like. As stated in another thread the kit has the wrong rear end (tbh I would have never noticed) but for me the most glaring thing is the tires, they added the printed tires to the '69 Boss 302 but not this kit? Seems strange. I think I still have some Fireball Modelworks  tire decals somewhere, so I'll just add those, or maybe some of the AMT parts pack tires if they'll fit the kit rims. 

I don't know which colour I'm going with yet, I'm trying to use up paints I have left over from past projects instead of buying new colours for one build and then have the rest of the bottle taking up space in the cabinet. I do like the purple on the box art but not sure if I have something like that on hand. I have some blues or reds I could use but that purple looks so nice with a white interior. Oh well, something to think about. 

I hope to have a real progress update later this afternoon. 

[Geno]

I have the Monogram 1/24 version of this model and it definitely has the wrong shape tail. Surely Revellogram didn't make a 1/25 version with the same mistake???? I can't wait to hear your thoughts Dave. Thanks.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Geno

[StevenGuthmiller]

I would really love to see someone build a 'Cuda in some other color rather than the "usual" "In Violet", "Limelight" or "Lemon Twist".

Haven't these "High Impact" colors been done to death?

It's about time to see something a little different.

How about "Burnt Orange", "Burnt Tan" "Sunfire Yellow" or "Yellow Gold".

It would sure make these "Cudas and Challengers a little more interesting to look at.

You could swear by looking at the majority of the models built that these cars only came in a half dozen colors!

Just my opinion.

 

 

 

Couldn't even find a photo of a '70 in "Sunfire Yellow".

That should tell you how unusual that one would be!

 

 

Steve

 

 

 

[Rob Hall]

I'd like to do one of my kits in this green... 'Rallye Green' or 'lime green poly' from that chart above, I think? 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Rob Hall

[Bucky]

Here's a list of AAR and T/A colors:

https://www.transamcuda.com/body-and-interior-colors/

[Jhedir6]

1 hour ago, Rob Hall said:

I'd like to do one of my kits in this green... 'Rallye Green' or 'lime green poly' from that chart above, I think? 

Well I was picking through the paint stash and I have decided I'm going with a TS spray of the olive metallic that's been long discontinued by Tamiya. Of course I'm upstairs atm and totally forget the actual name but it's quite similar to this, but probably a bit lighter.

Found the paint, its from the Mini line, called Olive Metallic. It's so old I can't even find an actual image online of it. Once I start taking pics of the sprues ( I'll take a shot of the can) but it doen't even have a TS#.

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Jhedir6

[Geno]

Steve, I am actually converting a Franklin Mint standard 'Cuda I got for free into an AAR using parts from the Monogram kit, I already have the Deep Burnt Orange paint for it.

[Rider]

Looking forward to seeing your review. 

[kelson]

Your color choice sounds like a good one,i'm on the fence about buying this kit,i'm still not liking the shape of the body,i know Revell did some tweaks,maybe your WIP will change my mind.

[Jhedir6]

Ok, here's the sprue pics. Sorry not the best, just quick shots with the phone but good enough to take a closer look. You can see Chris' video here for a different look, and his build of the kit.

In no particular order...I'll toss in a couple comments for the spures if I see something as I'm uploading these, I've not really inspected each sprue as of yet.

Body bits....I LOVE the fact that they've added none chromed bumpers (cause I'm doing mine body colour matched. I HATE that they added the mirrors on an outside edge, not a big deal but another step to clip and clean and a chance to lose the part when it could be attached by the stem.

Interior parts...all look decent no real complaints that I can see so far.

Engine.... all looks good here too (sorry this one's a bit blurry)

More interior.... again its all white plastic ( the whole kit is minus the chrome tree) which makes painting and detailing so much easier. I also love the fact that they have included sun visors.

AAR exhaust and spoiler....I see some dimples in the mufflers, easy fix, not that big of a deal and the exhaust tips look like they need to be hollowed out.

Engine top....everything here looks good.....carbs are fairly basic looking but you wont be able to see them anyways once the air cleaner is on. EDIT... the carbs are upside down on this sprue and once flipped over they're actually really nicely detailed (I'll try to remember to take a pic) not as nice as Fireball's stuff but really nice for a production kit, you could easily detail paint them and leave the air cleaner off for a nice look.

Tires (and axle pins)......they're nicely cast, with no burrs or outrageous seams, but no lettering ( a let down for me, I thought with the Mustangs done they might have started a continuing trend) easy fix with decals or tire swap.

Clear parts...I didn't open the bag to keep them safe, but if you watch Chris' video he mentions that the glass is a bit small on installation so check on that as you go.

Decals...all look good so far, much better than the US release of the Ford GT Le Mans. They've included gauge decals which go on a clear piece from the backside of the dash which is nice. They've included those gawd awful faux wood grain that designers seemed to think was classy back in the late 60's and early '70's, a feature I completely hated (my preference). They also added seat belt decals which is a nice touch. 

Chrome...(again a blurry pic, sorry) I didn't open this as well, just to keep things nice but there are a lot of extra parts (the other Cuda) as well as chrome bumpers, so a choice, and extras for the parts box. The chrome looks good, no imperfections that I could notice with a quick look.

Front suspension...nicely on its on sprue.

More detail bits.....

Firewall and rad support and other engine bay parts....(sorry another blurry pic) more nicely detailed parts (no flash on anything so far)

Rear suspension.....wrong rear end, but those that have been following the other thread already know (for me, I can live with it)

Interior tub....nicely cast and with it open like this makes it much easier to mask and paint (all kits should have the sides separate).

Chassis pan.....nicely detailed and again very clean looking

Hood, rear rollpan and leaf springs.....the hood pins are molded in but easily sanded off and PE one added if so desired (I'll be adding some on mine)...EDIT the hood pins are actually on the chrome tree, and super tiny, be careful when removing them, I almost lost one....

Body....Looks good to me, I know others have stated it's not 100% but much better than what's come before. No flash no terrible mold lines (yet).

Body... I didn't take a good pic of the fender lips, but yes, they're much too pronounced, especially the rear. I'll be sanding mine down. Otherwise the body looks nice. Door panel lines will likely need some scribing so they aren't lost in paint. 

Sorry guys, much more long winded than I had originally intended. Time to get some work done.

 

Edited June 29, 2019 by Jhedir6

[oldrevellfan]

Thanks to show this!

Edited June 27, 2019 by oldrevellfan

[gtx6970]

Thanks for the pictures.

[Hawk312]

6 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I would really love to see someone build a 'Cuda in some other color rather than the "usual" "In Violet", "Limelight" or "Lemon Twist".

Haven't these "High Impact" colors been done to death?

It's about time to see something a little different.

How about "Burnt Orange", "Burnt Tan" "Sunfire Yellow" or "Yellow Gold".

It would sure make these "Cudas and Challengers a little more interesting to look at.

You could swear by looking at the majority of the models built that these cars only came in a half dozen colors!

Just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here was my attempt a looooonng time ago using the 2nd iteration kit. I believe my goal was the Ivy Green. I cant remember what the exact paint was that I used.

['70 Grande]

I, too, really appreciate the unplated bumpers for building a car with body-colored bumpers, but this leads me to a question.  It seems to me that I've seen 1:1 1970 Plymouth Cuda's, (and other Mopar products of this vintage), that had the factory-painted bumpers installed, but in some cases, it was only the FRONT bumper that received the body-colored paint, and the 1:1 rear bumper was still in Chrome.  Am I losing-my-mind; was what I saw an abnormality or did '70 Cuda's sometimes roll out of the factory that way? 

[Mr mopar]

Thx David for the pic and review  got one coming soon ,I'm going to do it in burnt orange !

[gtx6970]

23 minutes ago, '70 Grande said:

I, too, really appreciate the unplated bumpers for building a car with body-colored bumpers, but this leads me to a question.  It seems to me that I've seen 1:1 1970 Plymouth Cuda's, (and other Mopar products of this vintage), that had the factory-painted bumpers installed, but in some cases, it was only the FRONT bumper that received the body-colored paint, and the 1:1 rear bumper was still in Chrome.  Am I losing-my-mind; was what I saw an abnormality or did '70 Cuda's sometimes roll out of the factory that way? 

Urethane bumpers were avail as just front

or front and rear  together

 

Just as an FYI, these were NOT just unplated / unpainted  steel bumpers. There is actually a rubber / urethane coating on the steel base core

 

[Rob Hall]

8 minutes ago, gtx6970 said:

Urethane bumpers were avail as just front

or front and rear  together

Just as an FYI, these were NOT just unplated / unpainted  steel bumpers. There is actually a rubber / urethane coating on the steel base core

 

Also, from the photos of 1:1s I've seen, it looks like the front urethane bumpers are a different shape than chrome front bumpers..they seem to fit flush on the corners..

[gtx6970]

15 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Also, from the photos of 1:1s I've seen, it looks like the front urethane bumpers are a different shape than chrome front bumpers..they seem to fit flush on the corners..

they are.

the coating is made to make the bumper appear to fit closer to the body. The coating also wraps around the ends and fit real snug to the body on the sides

this is a car I built for a client / friend of mine a few years back.

 

notice it does NOT say AAR on the rear decal.

The man has owned it since late 70s early 80s time frame.

And yes, its an original Plum Crazy purple  AAR , 

But he decided from the beginning of the resto to build what HE wanted and purists be damned,,,,,And btw,,,, this particular  car has a Dana in it. LOL

Edited June 28, 2019 by gtx6970

[Jhedir6]

49 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Also, from the photos of 1:1s I've seen, it looks like the front urethane bumpers are a different shape than chrome front bumpers..they seem to fit flush on the corners..

And they're different in the kit too. The unplated parts look like the pic above and fit snug to the body. I'll post a pic of that later, but looks like they got that detail spot on.

[Rob Hall]

14 minutes ago, Jhedir6 said:

And they're different in the kit too. The unplated parts look like the pic above and fit snug to the body. I'll post a pic of that later, but looks like they got that detail spot on.

Cool.  Great to hear. Looking forward to getting mine. 

[Fish_65]

Thanks for posting this David. I've really been chompin' at the bit to see this.

I'll be watching to see what you do with yours. I'm leaning towards building a 340 4 barrel car (not an AAR) and use the extra dual scooped hood from the 1st issue Hemi kit.

['70 Grande]

I truly appreciate the wealth of knowledge found on this forum; thanks to all that responded to my bumpers question; it'll help me to build a more accurate model and that's what's great about this forum!

[Rider]

Thanks for posting this David. Looks like a great kit. Weather is rocking today. 

 

[Geno]

16 hours ago, Hawk312 said:

Here was my attempt a looooonng time ago using the 2nd iteration kit. I believe my goal was the Ivy Green. I cant remember what the exact paint was that I used.

That is way cool Dave. great job.

[W-31]

Didn't know that AAR cudas came with Dana 60's?