Right On Replicas Step-by-Step Review 20140113* 1950 Olds Custom 1:25 Scale Revell Model Kit #85-4022 Review The Oldsmobile 88 was a full-size car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division's top-selling line. Oldsmobile introduced the 88 badge in 1949. The new car used the same new Futuramic B-body platform as the Oldsmobile Straight-6 engine 76 but paired it with the powerful new Rocket V8 engine. This combination of a relatively small light body and large, powerful engine made it a precursor to the muscle car. The Rocket 88 vaulted Oldsmobile from a somewhat staid, conservative car to a performer that developed into the car to beat on the NASCAR circuit. Starting with the trunk-lid emblem of the 1950 model, Oldsmobile would adopt the rocket as its logo, and the 88 name would remain in the Olds lineup until the late 1990s, almost until the end of Oldsmobile itself. For the Modeler: This is a Revell California Wheels 1950 Olds Custom 1:25 Scale Revell Model Kit #85-4022 Review. It is a Skill Level 3 kit for the advanced builder. The kit comes in at a solid 132 parts molded in White, Clear, and Chrome with vinyl tires.. At first glance this is a very nicely detailed kit. This is a somewhat new release overall (as it is not really considered a RE-POP) but does share a majority of parts with the 50 Olds Club Coupe, also a recent release. The Stock parts are here to do a lowered Stock build or, as designed in this version, Customized. The motor is nicely detailed; it is still the Rocket 88 but with an Automatic Transmission and Tri-Carb intake. The chassis is molded in completely individual parts and is very impressive. The exhaust is now dual not single. Although the front suspension is only supplied as a lowered version returning it to STOCK position would be SUPER SIMPLE just cut the and flip the wheel pin mounts! The interior is likewise nicely detailed and has dash details as decals. The body is one piece with separate hood and is straight and well defined STOCK body, not chopped. Unfortunately all the great chrome trim is molded on the body not add-ons. There are few mold lines on the body and the ones it has are light and easy to sand off. Paint colors are standard issue that you should have on hand. Overall I would say this is another very nice release from Revell. This will build an impressive likeness of the 1950 Olds and gives you OPTIONS. The finished dimensions are; Length: 8.", Width: 3", Height: 2.625".
Construction: I decided to convert this kit to the stock configuration instead of the custom version it was intended for since most of the stock equipment was in the box. You can still follow the build and make the custom version so I ll let you know when I m building it stock. At that point you can just build the custom parts instead. PIC 1 PIC 2 Pic 1 shows the parts as they come from the box. Pic 2 (right) shows the box art for this kit as released in the Revell California Wheels packaging.. Adhesives used in the construction consists of Testors Tube Glue (Orange Tube), Standard Superglue and Testors Clear Parts Cement. Paints consist of Testors Enamel bottle paints and Wal-Mart or Krylon Brand spray cans. The body is finished using 1:1 automotive use paint products shot with an airbrush. **Note: Assembly paint colors may vary from instructions as I use simplified colors that most model builders should have on hand. Before beginning your build soak and wash your parts with a mild detergent like DAWN to remove any mold release agents and help with paint adhesion. Pic 3 is the decal sheet that comes with this kit version. They are a new release and are crisp and sharp. The decals Stock include interior dash but no Stock exterior badging. Included with the standard decals are 3 license Plates and 3 Car Club Plates. Revell has included 3 different colors of Pinstripes for the customizers but why no Stock Badges? **Note on the decals** they float fast and set just as fast. This seems to be the norm lately for Revell decals, the carrier is fast. PIC 3A PIC 3B *** OPTIONAL IDEA*** License Plates: I decided to do custom license plates and personalize this kit a little. You can go to http://www.acme.com/licensemaker/ and create any custom plate you want for any State. Also, you can search photos online for period correct license plates. You can save the photo and resize it to fit a model. Just print it on paper and cover it with clear tape and you have a plate of your own. To print your plate for 1/25 scale kit, open your photo program and crop the plate so you just have the plate only. Re-size the image size to make the Width.5 inches and make sure CONSTRAIN PROPORTIONS is on. Use 300 DPI for a crisp print. Save that and Print it on White paper and use clear tape to cover front and back. You now have a proper sized plate to glue on your car. I am a HAM RADIO operator so I made a period correct Call sign Plate for the back using the ACME website, and I like Harley Davidson motorcycles so I downloaded a plate for the front using a photo off the web. This demonstrates both ways to get a custom plate.
PIC 4 Here are the parts used to build the engine. Pic 5 shows the completed motor left side. Painting: As the motor is mostly one color I will assemble it prior to painting. Glue together the block halves. Add the heads to the block. Add the water pump to the front of the motor. Add the oil pan to the bottom. Add the transmission pan to the transmission bottom. Paint the motor assembly Green and the transmission Silver. Paint the intake Green. For the distributor paint the cap Gray, the shaft Steel, the electronics pod Aluminum. On the oil filler tube, paint the cap Black. Paint the exhaust Steel. Paint the starter Black with the solenoid Gold. Paint the generator Steel. Paint the fan belt Flat Black. Paint the fan Black. Paint the carbs Gold. Paint the oil filter Orange with Steel mount. Pic 6 shows the completed motor right side. Assembly: On the assembled motor add the valve covers to the heads. Add the distributor to the front of the valley pan. Add the intake to the heads. Add the coil to the intake left side. Add the starter to the right side back of the transmission. Add the oil filter to the left side of the transmission back. Add the 3 carbs to the intake and the breather caps to the carbs. Add the exhaust manifolds to the heads. On the fan belt add the generator to the back and the fan to the front. Attach that to the water pump. **DECALS: On the oil filter add decal 3. On the oil cap add decal 4. On the generator back add decal 2. NOTE: There are replacement Intake and Exhaust Manifolds in Chrome Plate if you would rather use those. Also, while most of the parts for the Stock version are included the Stock Rocket 88 Valve Covers are sadly deleted.
Pic 7 shows the parts to assemble the front suspension. I will detour from the instructions just a little. The instructions show installing the motor and then installing the suspension. You can have unwanted damage to the motor because of movements to install the suspension. Instead I will install the suspension and then install the motor. **THE FOLLOWING IS AN OPTIONAL STEP FOR THOSE WHO WANT A STOCK RIDE HEIGHT**: As stated in the For the Modeler section this kit has all the major parts to make it Stock Ride height. There are 2 different methods to achieve the proper stance. First and simplest is to find the Club Coupe kit front suspension part and just substitute this kit supplied one with it. Second is to modify this existing part to change the ride height, this is my chosen option. I will show a step by step conversion. Pic 8 is a SIDE BY SIDE comparison of the part from the instruction sheets. Notice the CUT HERE. You will cut straight across where the parts meet. Pic 9 and Pic 10 are a close up of the actual part. You will cut straight across at the base of the mount. See Pic 10. I used a new sharp #11 blade in my Exacto knife and just slowly pressed down and it cut off really smooth with no loss of material.
Pic 11 shows what the A-Arm mount will look like when cut. Pic 12 (right) is the wheel pin mount that was removed. All you need to do to return the ride height to stock is flip the pin mount and superglue it to the A-Arm spot that you cut it off of. Now the hole is closer to the Lower A-Arm and raises the ride height. Pic 13 and Pic 14 show the mount re-connected to the A-arm in its new design. You can now paint and assemble the front suspension as previously planned. PIC 15 Front Suspension Painting: Paint the frame Black. Paint the upper A- Arms Black. Paint the springs Flat Black with Silver coils (Pic 15). Paint the stabilizer bar Steel with Black mounts. Paint the steering box Flat Black and the brakes Flat Black. Paint the Front suspension A-Arms Gloss Black, the connection plate Flat Black and the tie rods Flat Black. Assembly: On the top side of the frame attach the upper A-Arms. On the bottom side of the frame attach the stabilizer bar. Insert the springs into the frame and attach the front suspension to them, when lined up the suspension will attach in the center, the springs and the upper A-Arms. The stabilizer bar will line up to the suspension. Attach the steering box onto the frame; the shaft will meet the tie rod when at the right angle. Attach the brakes to the wheel mounts; I used a toothpick in the holes to align the brakes better. Flip the assembly over and install the motor at this time. PIC 16 is the completed assembly of the front suspension. IF YOU RAISED YOUR FRONT SUSPENSION REFER TO THE NEXT STEP:
Pic 17 is the lowered rear suspension parts; these are on their own sprue. Pic 18 (right) shows the Stock Ride Height suspension parts; these are on the regular sprue with the rest of the parts. You will discard the lowered suspension sprue and just build the rear suspension as described in the instructions, but using the stock parts. Raising the ride height in the rear is that simple! PIC 19 and Pic 20 show the other parts that are needed to assemble the suspension and finish the chassis. Pic 21 shows the branding on the underside of the floor pan in the rear corner. This needs to be removed and smoothed out before painting. Pic 22 (right) shows the other branding mark in the valley for the rear suspension. I used a sharp #11 blade and shaved off the print and just sanded with 400 grit sandpaper to smooth it out.
PIC 23 PIC 24 *** OPTIONAL IDEA *** I decided to do my interior a Gray and Black 2 tone. You can just paint the interior for an acceptable look but I wanted to have carpet in this car. I flocked the floor pan with Ken s Kustom Fuzzi-Fur (Pic 23). It is simple to do and makes a nice add on detail. Paint the floor the color of the carpet; in this case I wanted a Dark Gray so I did it Flat Black. Using a watered down White Glue mix (OR THE CLEAR PARTS CEMENT IS THIN ENOUGH AS IS) paint a thin layer of glue on the area you want flocked ONLY. I use a fine strainer and dump the flocking into it and then shake the strainer over the glue area. Do this in a box so you can re-use the unused flocking. Cover the area densely with flocking and lightly pat it on. Shake off the loose stuff and it will be carpeted, See Pic 24. Look in Hobby Lobby, Michaels and even Staples for CRAFT FLOCKING, it is very inexpensive and makes a really nice addition for that extra reality. This is 100% optional. Pic 25 is an overall chassis photo. Painting: Paint the springs Flat Black with Steel coils the same as the front springs (Pic 15). There are many ways to paint the chassis pan. I found depending on the restoration or design the underside is typically Flat Black but I found Body Color photos too. The inside fender wells are either Flat Black or Body Color. The interior flooring is your choice of interior color or a Black mat. I decided since typical of the period was a Flat Black chassis I did my whole chassis pan Flat Black. Paint the gas tank Gray or Aluminum, I have found both. Paint the exhaust pipes Steel with Silver mufflers. Assemble the rear axle, differential and cover and paint that Black. Paint the driveshaft Gray. Paint the track bar Flat Black. Paint the cross member Black. Paint the stabilizer Steel with Black mounts. Paint the shocks Green. Paint the brakes Flat Black.
Pic 26 is a shot of the rear suspension. Assembly: Mate the frame and chassis pan. Assemble the springs and insert them into the holes on the frame. Attach the exhaust pipes. NOTE: the pipes needed a little tweaking and twisting on my sample, test fit them and carefully adjust as needed before gluing in place. Insert the driveshaft into the transmission and attach the rear axle onto the springs and insert the driveshaft into the differential. The track bar goes under the exhaust pipe by the spare tire hump and attaches to the rear of the axle. Attach the cross member. Attach the stabilizer to the corners by the cross member and onto the bars of the axle. Attach the shocks to the frame and the axle. Attach the brakes to the ends of the axle; I used a toothpick to align the holes easier. Pic 27 shows the parts to build the engine bay. Pic 28 (right) is a shot of the completed engine bay. Painting: Paint the gas and brake pedals Black. Paint the firewall Body Color on the motor side and Flat Black on the interior side. Paint the battery Black. Paint the right air duct Silver with a Flat Black tube. Paint the left air tube Flat Black. Paint the clear bottle Gray on the cap and add decal #6. Assemble the radiator wall and radiator core and paint that Flat Black with an Aluminum core Paint the radiator cap Silver. Paint the fan shroud Flat Black. Paint the radiator hoses Flat Black with Silver ends. Assembly: Attach the gas and brake pedals to the floor. Attach the right and left air ducts in place on the firewall. Attach the firewall to the engine bay. Add the clear tank to the right fender well and the battery to the left fender well. Attach the fan shroud to the radiator back side. Attach the lower radiator hose to the radiator and mount the radiator in place lining up the lower hose. Add the upper radiator hose to the motor and radiator.
Pic 29 (upper) is a close up of just the dash. Pic 30 (lower) shows the completed detailed dash ready to install. Painting: The dash is Body Color and a corresponding color usually part of the interior. As I did my interior Gray and Black I did the inner trim Gray. Details need painting as follows; the knobs, grated panels on the lower section, emergency brake handle and radio are Silver. The radio has Black buttons. Decal 8 is the speedometer, decal 9 the shift indicator and decal 10 is a clock. See Pic 30 for placement. Pic 31 is a shot of the interior parts. Pic 32 (right) shows the completed interior. Painting: Assemble the front seat and the seat back before painting. Paint the door panels and seats your interior color of choice. The door panel details are as follows; trim and handles are Silver. The top trim is Body color and the rest is optional as to your interior color. Paint the steering column Body Color with Silver shifter and blinker shafts and Black knobs. Paint the steering wheel Body Color with a Silver horn ring and decal 7 in the horn center. Assembly: Glue the rear seat and front seat onto the floor pan. Glue the door panels on to the floor pan and firewall. Glue the dash in place. Attach the steering wheel to the column and add the clear dome onto the horn button over the decal. The column glues to a spot on the firewall then to an indent in the dash, no real secure attachment point is given.
Pic 33 is a shot of the Fiesta Hubcaps the directions show being used. Pic 34 (right) is the Stock Rims that are also included in the kit that I chose to use. Stock hubcaps are included too! Pic 35 shows the parts to assemble the wheels and tires as I am building the car. Pic 36 (right) is a finished shot of the wheel assembly. Painting: To give the wheels a road worn look roll them on a sheet of 220 grit sandpaper pressing the tread into the sandpaper as you roll it. The tires have a nice Tampo-Print Wide Whitewall, you can do either side on display as they are not directional tires. As I used the Stock rims I will paint those and the rim backs Body Color, if you use the Fiesta caps just paint the rim backs Body Color. Assembly: Insert the metal pins into the rim backs from the inside. Glue the rim fronts to the rim backs. Glue the trim rings in place, and if you used the Stock rims the hubcaps. Insert the rim assemblies into the tires from the BACK of the tire, seating the tire bead on the edge of the rim. I used the Chrome hub caps so those get installed, and as I did not have the decals for the trim I painted it Silver in the cap center. Pic 37 Here is the finished ROLLING CHASSIS view of the build so far. Attach the tires to the axles by using superglue on just the pin and inserting that into the holes on all 4 brakes into the axles. This completes the chassis subassembly.
Pic 38 is a shot of the body parts that need to be painted and assembled. Some minor items need fixing and some assembly done before you do the paint work. More attention to details here will make the overall build look better. Pic 39 shows the fender skirts; you can build the car with or without these as it is a design style of your choice. I decided to use them and prior to paint I installed them so the color will be uniform when painted. Pic 40 is the hood hinges; install these prior to assembly as they are painted with the hood anyway. And the less you have to work on and handle the completed parts the better. Pic 41 shows the mold lines areas that need attention before painting. On the roof (behind the C pillar) and rear fenders, both sides have a minor line that can be sanded out easily. Pic 42 There is a straight line across the trunk lid and fenders that needs extra sanding too.
PIC 43 Your build choice determines how you deal with certain issues: if you are using the Stock parts or making the Custom version you either have to open some holes or fill some holes! Pic 43 is under the hood. There are 2 holes that need to be opened if you are going to use the hood ornament. Pic 44 is the rear fenders. The holes for the Stock Chrome pieces are already there and opened. If you plan on making a Custom without the rear light units you need to fill and smooth the holes with putty on both sides. Now the whole body and hood needs water sanded with 1000 grit sandpaper to break the gloss and give a good surface for the primer to Bite into. After the primer cures water sand the body and hood with 1000 grit sandpaper. You can now paint the body and hood your Body Color. ***OPTIONAL IDEA*** Pic 45 shows the supplies needed to Bare Metal Foil a car. If you want more accurate looking chrome trim work the application of Bare Metal foil is the simplest way. Bare Metal Foil Application is a little on the tricky side if not done slowly. Here is a method I use: It is VERY IMPORTANT that you use a BRAND NEW #11 blade in your hobby knife, and keep a few extras handy as all you are using is the very end of the tip point. From the foil sheet cut a strip twice the width and about ¼ inch longer than the detail you intend to cover using a sharp set of regular scissors. I then peel the foil off of the backer sheet and lightly lay it on the detail area. Using my finger I will slowly slide along the detail area smoothing the foil lightly, then a second time more firmly to press it into place. Using a Q- Tip I burnish the foil onto the detail area only. I then use a toothpick that has been tapped on the table to dull the tip and run that along the outside edge of the details I intend to cut the foil around. After the detail area is defined and the foil is smooth and burnished on I slowly cut around the edge with the hobby knife. If you feel the knife snag or grab the foil CHANGE THE BLADE, it will rip your foil very easily. Now you can strip all excess foil away. You can peel the excess loose leaving just your detailed part covered. I then burnish it again with a Q-Tip. You can do foil work in sections as it is thin enough that when burnished it will mold itself into looking like one piece. Most people Bare Metal Foil AFTER clear coating the car, I prefer to clear coat over the foil so it will never move as my cars tend to get handled.
Pic 46 shows the Bare Metal Foil in place. The Chrome trim can be painted Silver if you do not wish to follow this step. Pic 47 shows the parts that will be installed next. Pic 48 (right) is a shot of the completed windows. The windows install from the inside. Place the window in the position it goes and there will be a small edge on the inside of the body. Run a bead of the Clear Parts Cement around the edge of each glass piece after it is set in place to secure it. I always let each window cure before doing the next one as to not upset the already placed ones. Assembly: From the inside place the front windshield in place. Install the wing glass into the front corners of the window. Install the side glass one at a time. Install the back glass. After all the glass is set in place and dried any glue that is on the windows can be rubbed off using a blunted toothpick. Clean the windows inside and out to remove fingerprints. Glue the rear view mirror in place. Glue the dome light to the ceiling. Glue the visors in place. PIC 49 & 50 The body can now be mated to the chassis. CAREFULLY slide the body over the interior and line up the engine bay with the hood opening. Slowly Shoehorn the edges of the body over the chassis until it slides down over the wheel wells. The front and rear chassis will fit flat with the body.
**NOTE** The Final Assembly is not done in the sequence indicated in the directions as they tend to bounce you around too much. I found it easier to finish one area and move to the next. I will do the assembly in two parts, front of car then rear of car. Pic 51 shows all the final assembly parts including the OPTIONAL BUILD ones I will use. I will denote the options on assembly in Blue Print. Pic 52 is a frontal picture of the car. Painting: On the head light bezels use a 2:1 mix of Black and Thinner to wash the bezel for details. On the marker lamp, the proper color is clear but I did a custom Marker Lamp Yellow lens. Assembly: Glue the headlights in place in the Bezels and mount them on the car. Attach the bumper to the front of the car. Attach the plate holder to the center of the bumper and use your front plate of choice and attach that to the holder. Attach the wiper blades to the windshield molding. Attach the door handles in place. Attach the mirror to the driver s door; there is no positive attachment point for it. OPTIONAL: Attach the hood ornament to the hood in the holes you made earlier. Attach the Olds badge to the front of the hood center. Pic 53 Here is the rear of the car. Superglue the metal exhaust tips to the pipe ends. Attach the bumper in place. Attach the plate holder in place above the bumper and attach the rear plate of your choice to it. OPTIONAL: Using the rear tail light units paint the tail light Stop Light Red and the marker light White. Attach those to the holes in the fenders. Attach the Olds badge onto the trunk centered over the lock. Once you slide the hood on you are FINISHED with your model!
PIC 54 Depending on HOW you did your assembly compared to the review determines what remaining parts you will have. This photo shows what I had left for parts with my version. Pic 999 Overall Impression: Revell made a really nice kit with this one, but it could be better. Being as the parts are available to create a 3n1 kit I would have loved to see it. The few parts excluded from this kit would have changed it immensely. That being said I really like the look of the finished build. Parts assembly is straight forward for the most part and everything fit right without much fuss. The few lack of positive attachment points the kit has does not distract from the build or create major issues for builders. One glaring problem is the build deleted the rear tail light units but the kit has the holes for them. The beginning builder must fill and remove these to create a nice build. Not the best idea for beginning builders, but this is a Skill Level 3 kit so maybe they expect you to have experience. Is this a repeat builder kit? Yes, I can see me doing some Low Rider Customs. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this kit an 8. If it had the Rocket 88 Valve covers and Stock OLDSMOBILE decals Revell would have hit it out of the ballpark!
BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR BUILD: Having organization and a well lit work area is important if you want to build a model properly. You do not need a lot of space; a sturdy card table can work just fine. I am lucky in my office I have a dedicated building space. But even without dedicated space a place to leave your build while you work is preferred. Being able to lay out your parts in assembly order or just organized helps the build as you are not digging for parts in the box possibly losing or damaging them and you have to have a place to let painted parts cure. There are many ways to get an acceptable finish but I prefer to use Automotive Use Products. I ve been asked: What do you mean by Automotive Use Products? I use paint I get from a local auto body shop or I purchase from NAPA. Due to the caustic nature of these products use caution with eye and skin protection and a good respirator mask. Also, do not use a cheap airbrush, the Lacquer Thinner and paints will destroy it QUICKLY! I personally prefer the Paasche Brand Airbrushes. They seem to hold up well to the abuse I give them. One of the major benefits of using automotive paint is I can quickly move from color to color and clear. The average hobby product like Testors Lacquer spray or other enamels usually takes up to a week to cure. Automotive paint is FULLY cured in less than an hour and clear about 6 hours. I can paint in the morning and build in the afternoon!