Revell Ford Expedition

Its name suggests a rugged truck leading to adventure in the wild, yet all of the '97 Ford Expeditions I've seen easily handle the suburban streets and interstate highways.

Like the full-size Ford truck, Revell Monogram's 1997 Ford Expedition SnapTire kit is also versatile. It's ideal for kids or beginner modelers. Only the bottom of the engine is molded into the chassis. The hood is molded with the body, and the only moving parts are the wheels turning on metal axles. The kit's packaging prevented scratching of the parts.

Each of nine steps in the instructions has effective diagrams and a funny cartoon character providing a description of how to assemble the kit.

Just about every thing in this kit is easy to assemble. Instead of snapping together, the seat halves slide together. This doesn't make a great fit, but the seams are hidden when the seats are in the truck. I painted the interior with Testor gull gray with a black wash to enhance the well-detailed moldings. The dashboard is great, giving modelers the option of practicing their detail painting skills or using the dashboard sticker. There was no shifter in the kit.

Before installing the taillights, decide if you want to paint the truck body, use the wild decorative stickers provided with the kit, or both. The truck body is molded in dark green metallic plastic. It didn't buff well with Novus plastic polish, so I painted my Expedition with Testor gloss dark blue over a coat of primer gray. The clear window piece fits into the body well.

Perhaps I need a stronger grip, but I had trouble inserting the metal axles into the wheels. My results were axles nearly 1/2" too long, causing the wheels to stick out beyond the wells. I ended up cutting the axles shorter. Once together, though, the vinyl tires and chrome-plated wheels look sharp!

Follow the directions closely for assembling the chassis and body. It is a complicated step, but the illustration and description are helpful.

I used a silver craft pencil to accent the Expedition and Ford tags on the sides. This wipes off easily, but it is easier to control and more forgiving than silver paint. I had to shorten the nubs of the roof rack supports to get them to fit.

Revell-Monogram's Expedition is fun to build. Beginners can build it quickly right out of the box, but there is enough detail and potential to please experienced builders, too. I spent only 10 hours on mine, about half on painting.