Finished Build: Revell 1/25 Ford F-150 Flareside Pickup

Straight Out of the Box



 

I'm not sure what initially drew me to this kit in a local model shop (Rochester Games and Models): maybe it was childhood memories of seeing such pickups on TV and in films, maybe it was just because I thought it looked good. Anyway, during the winter I bought this Revell 1/25 scale Ford F-150 Flareside Pickup (dubbed Flareside in the US because the pickup bed is narrow and sits between the bulging rear fenders or wings), painted and lacquered the bodywork, then left it aside. Cut to last weekend, and after completing a Kenworth truck kit (read more here) I decided to get the painted body out and finish the kit.

 

 

 

This is a slightly strange vehicle to British eyes. The 1980s squared-off cab and hood sit in front of a 1950s-style flareside or stepside body. The truck is also a 4x4: my guess is that Ford created this model as a sort of sporty truck for people who like an outdoor lifestyle, a bit like car manufacturers do these days with their numerous SUV models.

 

I quite like the look of the finished truck, but the kit itself is not a particularly well detailed one. For example, the model lacks a bulkhead or firewall at the rear of the engine bay, leaving an open gap. It also lacks inner wings or wheel arch liners at the front, so you can see the untidy meeting of chassis and interior components behind the wheels. The lack of a correct engine bay led me to choose not to model the engine and to seal the bonnet or hood closed.

 

 

The kit includes quite a nice set of decals in dark grey which recreate the original factory side panels on the cab and bed. After spraying the bodywork with silver auto paint, I applied the side panel decals and over-sprayed the whole lot with clear gloss lacquer. This has given a reasonably good finish, though quite honestly I did not get a good enough finish with the silver paint so some areas look a little dark or mottled. Also, in places I could not the get the large decals to sit flat on the bodywork, and where they stand a little proud they have cracked or stretched. Ultimately I began to realise that this model was not going to turn out to be a masterpiece, so I stopped worrying about all these things and just got on with finishing it!

 

 

 

The interior was sprayed with Humbrol dark red in a satin finish, with the seat panels given a coat of matt lacquer to give the impression of fabric inserts with vinyl surrounds, along with the carpet. The coloured interiors of American cars in this period have always fascinated me, which is why I decided to go with a dark red interior instead of black or grey or something more European. The kit also includes a nice set of off-road style wheels with nice big rubber tyres, which really look the part.

 

Overall, I would not say that this kit is a must-have, but even given a quick build turnaround it can still be made to look good enough to go on your shelf.