SCALE AUTO TAILGATE SPECIAL
Moebius Models once again steps in to fill a big hole in model pickup history with 1965 and ’66 Fords. Although rumored
to be in development by AMT before Racing Champions bought Ertl, this is the first time we’ve seen 1/25 scale kits from these
model years. The 1965 F-100 service truck kit hit in 2019. The 1965 LWB Styleside Custom Cab with a 352 FE V8 and the 1966
short-wheelbase (SWB) Flareside (with straight-six power) will likely see release in 2020 or later.
An all-new 1980 F-Series pickup range,
developed under the internal “Ram” product program
name, marked a huge advance in the Ford pickup
product line. Monogram introduced its well-detailed
1/24 scale F-150 SWB 4x4 Flareside concurrently with
Ford’s development, and later reissued it with larger
wheels and tires. Revell’s SWB 4x4 Styleside and
Flareside (not shown) kits were a bit disappointing by
comparison — essentially curbside models with generic
three-piece engines. The 6-wheeler SWB spin-off kit
was complete fantasy; Ford’s 1980 dual rear-wheel
F-350 was only offered in LWB configuration.Fifth generation Ford F-Series pickups
(1967-72) enjoy increasing popularity due to
styling and historical prominence marking the
transition of pickups from work-only to work-
and personal-use vehicles. However, no models
of this era existed until Moebius Models’ recent
“bumpside” Ford kits. The five well-detailed kits
shown here cover model years 1969-72, SWB
and LWB chassis, 4x2 and 4x4 drivelines, six-
cylinder small-block and big-block V8 engines,
and several trim configurations.
AMT’s 1975-77 annual kits replicated the unusual
Ford F-350 4x2 “Super Camper Special” (which included a 140-
inch wheelbase — 7 inches longer than other Ford pickups with
8-foot beds). The 1975 Star Truk could be built factory stock or
in a “Day Two” configuration, including a choice of two highly
detailed frame-mounted trailer hitches. The 1977 annual
included the rare Ford factory bed cap option. The tooling was
updated a the 1978-79 grille and a 4x4 driveline for the 1978
Firestone Super Stones release, but this was a faux
interpretation: The real 1978 4x4 was never offered with the
“Super Camper Special” extended wheelbase.