Revell’s 1/25 Tony Schumacher U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

The Kit

Long and skinny best describes this kit, just like the real thing. This kit comes molded in white plastic with nearly 100 parts, including the rubber tires and a couple clear parts. The tooling is crisp throughout, with only a slight bit of flash around the edges of the sprues. The main body is designed to be removable, showing off the structure underneath.

What makes a dragster impressive is its engine, and this kit does a great job of showing off the impressive powerplant found in Schumacher’s vehicle. No less than twenty pieces make up this powerhouse, full of details including a separate oil pump, four-part blower and even a clear window for the manifold. Of course such a powerful engine drinks lots of fuel, requiring a good-sized fuel tank. This is split into top and bottom halves, with a separate piece for the fuel pipes running the length of the car.

Speaking of the length of the car, the interior main structure is molded in one piece. While this makes for somewhat simpler construction, you will have a fair amount of work to do in cleaning up the myriad of tubing. This is the easy part, though, as there are lots of additional details to add to the basic framing. A complete front suspension and steering assembly is present, including a very long steering shaft. Also separate are the gas and brake pedals, as well as the chute lever. There are three additional levers included, but they are only labeled as ‘short’ and ‘long’. The driver’s seat is a separate bucket, with a separate seat support and driver’s cage structure. The seatbelts are molded into the seat bucket, giving you the option to either paint them up or use the decals.

Up next is the back end of the dragster, where all the good stuff goes. The rear framework is separate and is split into right and left sections. These parts fit onto the completed forward structure, trapping the two-part rear axle in between. Bracing for the spoiler and chute are molded separately, adding more strutwork for you to work on. The finished engine assembly fits into the bracing and there are some small details that fit on top of the engine. The spoiler is made up of five parts while the twin chutes are made up from three pieces.

At this point, all that’s left are the wheels and front wings. The front tires and wheels are very skinny, with the rims molded as one piece, taking thin rubber tires. The rear wheels and tires are multi-part, with both the hubs and the tires split into outer and inner pieces. The front wings are in four pieces, with the wing split into right and left halves with separate outer wing plates. You’ll want to take some care in getting these two halves aligned right. A pair of side skirts and the windscreen finish off this dragster.