AMT/Ertl International Scout II- Review
In the late '70's, long before they took over the then-separate AMT and MPC product lines, Ertl decided to get into the plastic kit market. They eventually produced what were some of the most impressive 1:25 scale kits from that or any era- heavy trucks and semi tractors, construction equipment, and even a few farm tractors, with suitable equipment to go with them. These kits all featured hundreds of accurate parts and working features, and are still among the best model kits ever made, even four decades removed. They also bought the tooling for some of MPC's "big rig" kits and reissued them as their own. The REX mixer used in the Ertl Paystar 5000 kit was originally from the MPC Mack, for example.
Ertl also chose to produce a kit of International's venerable Scout II. Introduced for 1961, the Scout was a more refined interpretation of the Jeep idea. It proved to be quite a success, so much so that Ford took the "refined Jeep" idea pioneered by the Scout even further with their 1966 Bronco. Jeep themselves countered the threat with a revived Jeepster Commando model. Not to be outshined, IH introduced a redesigned Scout, called Scout II, for 1972. The Scout II was built until 1980, when IH left the light truck business altogether, and five years after they'd dropped their full-size pickup and Travelall SUV. The Scout developed a reputation for being tough, reliable, and somewhat rust-prone. They even proved popular among people searching for the elusive Sasquatch... IH actually provided Scouts and other vehicles for these teams, as well as other, more traditional "outdoorsy" groups.
Back to those stunning Ertl kits mentioned before. Given the quality of those Ertl-engineered kits, and the Scout's world-beating status, you'd think the Ertl Scout II kit would be pretty good, right? Well...
Take a look at the picture above. No, your eyes aren't playing tricks... the interior tub, chassis, and engine compartment are all one piece. They aren't just stacked together for the pic, they're truly molded as a unit. The cylinder heads are molded to the engine block halves, the carburetor is molded to the manifold (and what's supposed to be a distributor cap is a shapeless blob), the alternator is molded to the belt/pulley casting, and the tops of the differentials are molded open. Yes, those are the inner tire sidewalls you see molded to the wheel backs. Other than the battery and upper radiator hose, there's no underhood detail... no brake cylinder, no steering shaft or box, no overflow tank.... nuthin'. So to say the kit is a tad simplified just barely begins to describe it. And it doesn't get much better from there.
The body has the basic shapes right. The one big issue is with the forward edge of the hood... it is incorrectly curved to fit against the grille (we'll get to that matter in a minute). The hood is also missing the small peak along its center. You'll need to scribe in all the panel cut lines- one at each side of the splash apron, one at each side of the cowl, one at the point where the front fender meets the rocker panel, and one at each rear quarter panel end cap. All "International" and "Scout II" emblems are molded in place, as are the side marker lamps. All feature good engraved detail. Even the IH logos on each front fender are present.
The inner door panels are too long, though the seat backs and thick, one-piece glass unit help to obscure that. Speaking of...
The "glass" looks almost thick enough to surive a direct close-range gunshot. Those are the taillamp lenses molded to the runner. The fact that they're clear makes replicating the backup lens easy. Where are the headlamp lenses, you ask?
Right 'ere, on the chrome sprue, molded to the grille. Sensing a pattern here? Now, notice how the top of the grille is curved? It should be straight across the top. This incorrect curve, along with the slightly underscale headlights and bezels, conspire to give the model a beady-eyed look. The insert itself a nice representation of the '77-'79 style grille, complete with a finely-engraved International nameplate. The valve covers also sport very nicely done International scripts, though they (and the air cleaner) should be stripped of chrome and painted for a factory stock model. We also see the wheels, CB radio and microphone, fuel cap, plate frames, transmission and transfer case levers, and side view mirrors. Bumpers and a radio antenna fill out the remainder.
The tires are actually pretty nice... Goodyear Trackers All-Terrains, which seemed like they were required by law on '70's four-wheel-drive vehicles judging by the sheer number of them you see in period photographs.
The decal sheet includes two "Ertl" logos, four pairs of plates, a "4-Wheelers" or "Jack Pine Logging" bumper sticker, two American flags, and two sets of white Rallye stripes you probably can't see in the picture. The Rallye stripes included are the '77 and earlier style, so with the kit grille, you can feel safe calling the model a '77. The '78 and '79 Rallye stripes looked like this...
The decals are best cut into smaller sections and applied one at a time. Break them down like the 1:1- hood, doors, and rear quarters. Also note that the stripes are a little long, but this is nothing a little trimming and creative application can't cure.
Moving on to the instruction sheet...
Instructions are the familiar "checklist" type that Ertl was known for. I mentioned the Rallye graphic style being correct for a '77 model with the kit supplied grille. The back of the instruction sheet shows a photograph of a completed model with a '76 grille. The original kit did come with the '76-only style grille as shown when it first came out, but it was changed to the '77 style on later versions. Every version rode the standard 100" wheelbase. The 118" Traveler and Terra models were never offered in kit form.
The '76 was molded in orange plastic and was stock only. The other stock-only variant was the '77-'79, which this reissue most closely resembles, molded in yellow. The "Hot Trucks" reissues were molded in grey or white. There was a version that included paint and glue, but those were usually molded in white, not in the color of the box art model, as seemed to be RC2's practice with such kits. It's a good thing they didn't... that would have meant nasty red plastic on the reissue. Ugh...
There were two other variants as well. There was an off-road version, based on the '77-'79 kit, with special wheels, tires, and exhaust among other parts. It was molded in red. There was also an SSII- with a unique body, grille, bucket seats, roll bar, and interior tub, molded in tan. Time Machine Resin offered a transkit to build an SSII for use with the RC2 reissue. I'd love to see those last two reissued by Round 2, but please no pigmented plastic this time! (Big thanks to Dave Carey for giving me the rundown on the different variants!)
It's a good and workable kit, but if they'd lavished it with even 10% of the effort and dedication they'd expended upon their heavy commercial kits, it could have been a great kit. Think of this one as more of a "blank" canvas than a state of the art kit. YES, it's a flawed kit, but it could have been much worse, and I personally like it just because it's a Scout II. Warts and all, this is one of my favorite kits.
This '78 has had many of the kit's flaws addressed. I flattened out the top of the grille, and the lower edge of the hood. I also added the hood peak. I ground off the kit's molded headlight bezels and made new, larger ones, and incorporated clear lenses with reflectors. I also scribed in the body panel cut lines. I also detailed the engine and engine bay.
Since Scout II's attracted rust like honey attracts flies, I just had to build one as a beater. Not only was this one of the first Scout II's I built, it was one of my first weathered models. It also uses the first resin part I ever bought... the snowplow from Replicas and Miniatures Company of Maryland. The wheels are from an MPC Jeep with AMT Firestone tires, but I don't remember where I got the flasher or mirrors. The first aid kit inside is from a Monaco cop car.
Here's a phantom... my idea on what IH's "Little Red Express Fighter" may have looked like had they opted to fight with Dodge in the muscle truck arena. The wheelbase was stretched to 118", a California Stepsides bed was used with modified Ford F-1 fenders... which look pretty close to factory IH fenders. A 2wd powertrain and hopped up 392 reside under the open-top cab and scooped fiberglass hood.
