AMT no. 31934
Model Type: Injection-molded styrene kit
Molded Colors: White, Clear, Chrome-plated, transparent red
Scale: 1/25
Pros: Detailed parts, good fit
Cons: Molding lines, skill level

AMT/Ertl’s 1966 Ford Fairlane 427 is a straight reissue of a previous kit. I know this because I have several on my shelves. Which isn’t a bad thing.

Let’s start with the overall appearance of the box. The photos on the box are of the actual kit, not a picture of a real 1:1 scale car, which is always a plus. They used the same model for the box art for the 2005 release as they did for the 2003 release, and why not, the model inside hasn’t changed, so why should the one on the box? The side panel shows a side view, and engine view, and a glimpse of the interior. I would like the manufacturers to throw in a photo of the underside once in a while so I can judge the detail of the kit.

I opened the kit and inspected the parts. The clear parts are in their own bag – good. The chrome is in it’s own bag and very shiny – also good. The tires are together in their own bag – excellent. There are few decals included, but they are mainly of the emblems. Even though you have to sand the molded emblems off the car to use the decals, I felt they are a big plus. I’m not going with a traditional paint scheme and adding the decals on after I lay down some stripes was my initial plan.

When I started with the engine is when I started to be really impressed by this little kit. You could see the rib marks in the 7-blade fan. There were small tabs to line-up the exhaust manifolds, which had surprising detail. There is linkage on the transmission! A lot of kits come with a separate starter and distributor, but not many also include an oil filler, coil, oil filter, and fuel pump. The carburetors even show great detail, so I used them instead of the aftermarket resin ones I had earmarked for this project. The engine alone is 26 parts. That’s why I feel the skill level on this kit should be a 3, instead of the 2 listed.



The firewall is simple, but includes notches for the inner fender panels, which is a nice touch. The radiator panel is also notched for these parts. Together, they form a nice engine compartment with added details such as 2 horns, a battery, and even a windshield washer reservoir bag! How many kits include that?

The interior of the car is surprisingly sparse, but the door panels are nicely detailed and the fit of the parts is right on. The glass, like on almost every model, is so thick that in real life, it would be bulletproof. These are the days I wish I had a vacuform kit.

Moving onto the wheels. The rims are decent and come with small hubcaps not shown on the box. The model on the box is also shown with tiny dots for the lug nuts. I wish they would have added raised lug nuts to the rims for a realistic look. The tires are the period-correct firestones, but the box art shows them as redlines. This car only came with black wall bias-ply tires, as mentioned in the intro on the instructions. The instructions also mention that the car only came in Wimbledon White, which is correct and is offered in the Model Master 2-part lacquer system. I ended up using some rims from the Mercury Comet in the parts bin.

The body has nice lines and is molded well with the exception of the rain rail. The mold must be a little messed up on the driver’s side as one potion is too big and one section is missing the rain rail all together. The grill is very well shaped and is deep enough to do a nice black wash or even file down the backside to open up the grill. I was hoping that the hood scoop would be one piece with the hood, but it was not. Some filler is required to make this hood look good. The 427 emblems on the side are also a nice touch, but way too thick. These would have been better as a decal, which would match the other emblems on the car.



The bottom line is that you get way more than you would expect in a $10-$15 kit. This is an example of what AMT is capable when they want to make a great kit. I would recommend this to everyone, but I would caution them that it is a little harder than they would expect. If I happen to see more of these, I will pick them up for the engine alone. It makes a fantastic transplant into other cars such as street rods and underpowered Mustangs.

As you can see from the finished kit below, it was designed with a Carrera Panamericana theme in mind. This photo is from the 2007 Milwaukee NNL, which is where it made it's debut. I was very proud of the way it turned out, right down to the little map of Mexico on the dash.

- Don Stadick
January, 2007