16 Scale Auto • OCTOBER 2019
SCALE AUTO TAILGATE SPECIAL
When the Model A debuted in
1928, a roadster pickup was soon joined
by a closed-cab. Both versions can be
found in scale offerings from Revell,
MPC, and Monogram (in 1/24 scale), all
introduced in the mid-60s. Revell’s kit
debuted in 1965 and included a choice
of roadster or closed-cab bodies and
factory-stock and early hot-rod builds.
The original kit and its many reissues
included a big, non-stock, rear window in
the closed cab, which was eventually
corrected in releases in the early 2000s.
The MPC Model A pickup first appeared
in a 1965 kit with stock and hot-rod versions,
along with an optional woodie body, but it was
superseded by a stand-alone pickup release. The
’28 Ford pickup (bottom center left) dates from- That release turned out to be the only one
to feature a modern, Chevy small block V
instead of the nostalgic flathead. Monogram’s
original Blue Beetle (far right) was a custom-
only offering introduced in 1964, recently
revisited in the limited issue Blue Bandito. The
1970s Early Iron Series kit (top center right)
updated the tooling and became a bestseller.
Among the most successful early AMT
Trophy Series kits was the 1934 Ford pickup
introduced in 1962 (top center). Multiple reissues
followed until the kit disappeared from the AMT
lineup in the late 1970s. Lindberg reissued the kit in
the early 1990s (top and center right). Round 2
returned the kit to its original form (mostly) in its
recent release with the original box art and design
(bottom right). For more on this kit series, see
“Model Car Chronicles,” Scale Auto October 1993.
In the 1990s, Revell-Monogram expanded its original kit
tooling, and pre-World War II subjects like the 1937 Ford pickup
were prime targets. The original kit was factory stock only (top
left), while an updated version from 2009 (bottom left) added
some hot-rod parts and a non-factory-correct 1938 Ford-style
grille (real 1938 Ford pickups used a different 1938-1941 cab
design). Monogram issued a 1/24 scale 1940 Ford pickup kit
(not shown) in 1964 and subsequently produced several
versions. It was slightly revamped to a street rod and reissued
multiple times with revised box art (right).