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The 1910 Ford Model T car kits available in 1/32 scale is somewhat of a
research project all in itself. The first kit ever produced that is
acknowledged was the Hudson Miniature wood, plastic and metal kit of the
1949 era. If a great deal of patience and time combined with good modeling
skills were applied, it rendered a very credible replica of the Ford.
In the early 1950's as
plastic kits were in their infancy, Gowland & Gowland and Revell designed
and marketed some clever, factory-assembled toy cars called "Action
Miniatures". There were five in all, and when a cable protruding from the
front of the vehicles was pushed (like a camera release), the car would
spring up and the driver would lurch forward, somewhat duplicating the
backfiring action of some of the early automobiles after the turn of the
century. In a non-prototypical fashion, the rear axle was mounted on a
long
protrusion that extended from what would be the differential on the axle
up into the area below the drivers seat where it was hinged. A spring on
this, combined with the cable release allowed the movement of the axle to
produce the bucking effect. When the success of these waned, Revell/Gowland
& Gowland went on the market with these as Series One of their Highway
Pioneers. This unusual rear axle mount continued on with the cars, only
now the cars were unpainted kits and no mechanical parts were included to
make the
car jolt up and down. Now, here is where the fun begins with the "cloning"
of these cars by other manufacturers.
While Revell did license other companies to use their molds, some others
made tooling to try to duplicate these cars. Cars made by Merit and Lodela
used the Revell molds, with no modifications. These cars date to the time
period when the molds were not modified or replaced by Revell. So they
include the incorrect
rear axle assembly. By 1960, Revell had retooled the first five cars
(series one) to elimate this problem and make the cars more accurate
models of the prototypes. Then we come to the 1910 Ford.
While the only changes made to the 1903 Cadillac, the 1900 Packard and the
1909 Stanley Steamer were changes to the rear axle, eliminating the large
hinged extension, two cars were completely retooled. First was the 1903
Model A Ford. When the Action Miniatures were released and when the
Highway Pioneers kits consequently were introduced, both the 1903 Cadillac
and the 1903 Ford A were molded from the same tooling, and only the color
of plastic was different. A careful scrutinizing eye of a collector can
even see the
similarity on the box art of the first edition. The Ford only had the
front seat, while the Cadillac also had a rear seat. Revell made an
entirely new set of molds, correctly protraying the Ford A, including the
color of the plastic (Remember that until the late 1920's you had your
choice of three colors - black, black or black. If you wanted another
color, you bought it and took it home and painted it!). Likewise, Revell
completely retooled
the 1910 Ford Model T, not only changing the rear axle, but including the
correct springing, overall better detailing, a more realistic-looking
driver (closer to 1/32 scale too), plus separate parts for the fuel tank
and tool box.
Now we encounter some humor. As the various companies cloned these first
five kits, they followed the original so closely as to include the
mistakes. Both Premier and Lincoln International used the incorrect axle,
designed for the springing action of the toy cars. Premier's car kit
toolings are more crude, including some rough surfacing and poor
proportions to some detail parts. Lincoln International's tooling is
good, and the
detailing is closer to the Gowland & Gowland quality. I have only one car
in my collection and have seen one other kit by Lincoln, and there is a
glaring difference between them. They are right hand equipped for driving,
while the G&G Revell cars are American style, left hand equipped. It is
almost comical that everybody cloning the cars, especially the 1910 Ford,
copied the driver, an oversized cowboy-like man that would scale out to be
about nine feet tall. In all the kits, including the G&G originals, he
towers over the windshield.
So, to date, if one is collecting 1/32 scale antique car kits, it is
possible to have at least four 1910 Ford Model T cars that are similar,
but different. If you collect to own the brands and add the Merit, the
Lodela, several South American runs of the G&G molds, a possible Yamada
run of the car, a later release of the correct Revell mold by Minicraft
and the most recent run by Dapol, you'll have yourself a shelf filled with
just one model of car. Only the revised Revell, the Minicraft and the
Dapol will be close to the real item though. But that's what collecting is
all about, so buy every damn one and enjoy it!
Dave Deyo. March 2003
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