Moebius '71 Ford F100 Ranger XLT

The wait is almost over... the '71 Ranger XLT is on US shores, and will be hitting the distributors, and then the stores before you know it. Soon all the overly-active internet modelers will be able to stop whining about how long it's taking and start whining about any real or imagined problems the kit might have! Whoops, my cynicism is showing...

The XLT Ranger package was the top o' the line for Ford's '71 F-Series line, a snappy little pickup (or chassis cab) with additonal brightwork, wood-tone accents, carpeted floor, upgraded insulation, and other creature features like an AM/FM stereo. The Moebius kit comes equipped with a 360 FE big block, C6 transmission, and an 8-foot Styleside (don't call it a Fleetside, it's not a GM pickup) bed.

The arrival of this kit is a watershed moment for light commercial modelers. Unlike the '67-'72 GM pickups, the Fords of the same period were never produced as promos or annual kits. Forget the length of time it took for this kit to hit the shelves- it's been almost a fifty-year wait for a scale "Bumpside" already, not counting the iffy R&R Vacuum Craft kit from years ago.

You already saw the box top in the first photo, let's take a look at the hard parts!

Here are the clear parts- note that the windshield trim/gasket is molded in place. I'd suggest foiling (or painting) it after it's in the cab, because it's a tight fit into the opening. The taillights are molded in clear and painted red- you can use Bare Metal Foil to do the backup lights, or strip and repaint them, leaving the backup light lens section clear.

The chrome parts are sprawled over four sprues. Plating quality is fantastic, and the plating and undercoat are thin enough to let the engraved detail show through... something you can't say about every new kit you'll see.

Here we have the dash, the front bed bulkhead, sway bar, cab crossmember, and steering column on the sprue to the left, and the firewall, inner tailgate, and upper radiator core support on the right. The "padded" part of the dash doesn't have as much overhang as it probably should (compared to the 1:1) but it would be a minor fix if it bothered you. It isn't obvious in the completed interior, anyway.

Here's the hood, cab floor, and the rear interior wall, with the fuel tank molded in place.

The door panels, seat, engine block halves, outer tailgate, and driveshaft are shown here.

You saw the sprue on the left already (wasn't paying attention taking pics), but the one on the right contains the transmission hales, fan, intake manifold (upside down in the pic), and pulley/belt casting.

The chassis is on its own runner, and it's shown here with the sprue containing the oil pan and a few other engine parts, and the far right sprue has the air cleaner housing, steering wheel, and cylinder heads. The teeny tiny little emissions control parts (oil breather and tube, for instance) are also here... just try not to lose them!

Here we have the wheels (with vent slots molded open), steering linkages, radiator, front suspension (twin I beams), and crossmembers. That rectangular thing at the lower right is the bottom of the dash, and the slots in it accept the gas, brake, and parking brake pedals.

Mostly chassis and underhood parts here, with the exception of the sun visor/header panel. The Dana axle shown in early test shots is gone, a 9" is in its place. I'm sure people will gripe about it being "too round" but once installed it looks good. Whoops! There goes my cynical side again...

Here we have the cab, inner quarter panels, and on the right the outer quarter panels (bed sides) and floor. Moebius refined the shape of the window openings from earlier test shots for a more true-to-life appearance. Note the structure for the stake pockets on the inner quarter panels! You'll need to fill in a couple of ejector pin marks on the back of bedsides, but the payoff is the most realistic looking inner bed assembly I've seen on a kit to date.

The plastic parts have something of an "eggshell" texture to them, but a little primer and wet sanding (something you should be doing to raw plastic anyway) gets rid of it.

Here we have the tires- no lettering, but good tread and a molded scuff band which can be painted pretty easily to represent a white-line tire.

Here is the decal sheet, with the nicely- done woodgrain tailgate panel, hood markings, engine graphics, and gauge panel. The gauge panel settles into the engraved detail on the dash much better than you might think.

And finally... the full color destruction sheet.

I mentioned the dash pad and axle. I do have a couple other things I'd like to point out, though keep in mind these are more my own opinion than any real faults with the kit. I wish the grille inserts had been done as separate, unplated parts. Not only would this have eased detail painting, it would have enabled Moebius to share one grille surround for '70, '71, and '72 variants. I'd have liked the tailgate applique to have been separate, plated or not. Having the stake pocket holes molded open on the bed rails would have been nice, though looking at how the bed sides are molded and positioned on the sprue, that may not have been possible without some kind of pricey, complicated sliding mold. The box-stock ride height looks okay, but raising the back end just a touch probably wouldn't hurt, especially if you don't plan to "load" your F100 model, or hitch it up to a trailer.

I haven't built the production kit yet, but the finalized test shot was the best-fitting kit I've ever built!

Here it is box-stock. I broke the wing-vent post, that's why it doesn't meet the top of the widnow opening. MY FAULT, not the kit's!

I chose to permanently use the optional five-spoke wheels, with printed Goodyear tires from an AMT Parts Pack.

Here's the inside of the bed... about all it's missing are the actual holse for the stake pockets, though it would not be a big deal to cut out your own. Adding a cargo light just above the rear window would be a nice touch too... almost every XLT Ranger I've ever seen has one, though at this time I can't verify if it was standard with the package or not.

I wired the engine, but everything else you see is from the kit. Even the familiar Ford bottle jack is here. There's no crank for it, though making one from thin brass rod wouldn't be a big deal. Some heater hoses, starter solnoid, and a few other details would fill out an already-nice engine room. Rather than fitting from the inside, the firewall slips between the inner fenders and cowl from above. Remember that this is a test shot- the production kit includes decal graphics for the air cleaner housing and oil filter.

Here's a pre-production sample I built as a beater. This kit was the one photographed for this review. I used the decal sheet from it on the yellow and white one.

I will say this... this is probably the best-fitting kit I've ever built. The separate side spears need a little attention as you can install them less-than-level, but even that is no big deal. Just hold off adding them until the cab and bed are on the chassis, pay attention to what you're doing, and you'll be fine. The windshield is a TIGHT fit, but on the plus side it fits so well you won't need glue. Again, foil or paint the trim/gasket after you install it in the cab, to prevent messing up your detailing job. A little sanding of the opening and/or outer edge of the glass may be helpful, too.

Many parts fit together so well you can temporarily test-fit them and they'll stay in place with no need for glue, tape, or any other outside means... there's enough tension to hold things together just as they come.

All in all? This kit was most definitely worth the wait... nearly fifty years from the time these trucks were new, or the few years since Moebius announced the kit. This is the best Moebius automotive kit to date, and that alone is saying something. And Moebius plans to do at least one example of each "Bumpside" model year (1967-1972), so we have yet to hear the last of this tooling.

I'd be willing to bet Moebius has a smash-hit on their hands with this one. I know I'll be getting an inadvisably-high number of these kits in the coming months.