http://www.ScaleAutoMag.com 17Ford 1953-56 F-100 pickups have been
overwhelmingly popular since the day they were
introduced. The AMT Trophy Series ’53 Ford pickup kit
debuted in 1963 (top center) with a fully detailed stock
version, two custom treatments, and an optional DeSoto
Hemi V8. Round 2’s most recent release repurposes the
original box art. Revell’s 1956 kit broke cover in 1962
(center) in a slightly customized form with opening doors
and Ford Y-block/Pontiac engines. Revell largely revamped
the tooling in the mid-1990s (bottom center), adding the
large rear factory window option and parts to build, for
the first time, a completely showroom-stock pickup.
The Monogram 1950 Ford F-1 kit
was considered one of the best model kits
ever made after its release in 1995. The
superb Ford flathead V8 inspired an entire
1/25 scale aftermarket of flathead hot-rod
conversion parts. A custom-only version
followed (bottom right) with period high-
performance Ardun V8 conversion heads
but incorrect exhaust manifolds; the latter
were rectified in 2007 (top). This version
also omits factory-stock parts but adds a
dropped suspension option and a second
set of wheels and tire choices.MPC joined the fray in 1975 with a 1953 F-
rendered in the then-current “street freak” genre. Popular
features included a one-piece tilting front end revealing a
blown-Chevy big-block V8. Each of MPC’s follow-on
reissues featured fresh box art and minor part revisions.
Monogram’s 1/24 scale 1955 F-100 debuted in 1978 with a
more street-friendly Ford small-block V8 and an emphasis
on better handling with a Mopar torsion-bar front
suspension and a Corvette independent rear suspension.
Revell’s Chip Foose FD-100 is a heavily modified design
based on the 1956 F-100 released in 2017.AMT first entered the fully detailed 1/25 scale
pickup market with a 1960 F-100 Styleside annual kit. It
was one of the few AMT annual kits that year to include
an opening hood and engine. Ford’s all new unibody
pickup configuration was featured in AMT’s 1961-63 long-
wheelbase (LWB) Styleside annual kits. The 1963 annual
kit included a twin-engine go-kart premium — itself
reissued for the first time (without the Bonneville
streamliner body) in 2019 in the updated 1960 Chevy
pickup kit from Round 2. The 1963 kit was reissued in 1964
and 1968, then disappeared, seemingly for good.