Review Build: AMT 2023 Ford Bronco Outer Banks Edition

Kit Overview

I'm a big fan of the Bronco, both old and new, and was quite excited when I saw AMT announce the release of this kit. That excitement level had increased when I saw the 'All New Tooling' sticker on the outer shrinkwrap - AWESOME! That, of course, gave me high expectations of how this kit would be and, for the most part, AMT accomplished that. So, let's get into the nitty gritty of this cool new ride.

A quick overview during the unboxing (video below), I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of parts included in this kit - detailed interior and suspension as well as a ton of bits for the body shell. It is, however, a curbside kit so no engine is included, although you do get a couple lower engine, transmission and transfer box parts.

The manual starts with the lower engine and suspension, so we'll start there as well. There's a good bit of detail down under, including a unique 3-piece chassis setup. This includes the floor pan, a detailed 'lower plate' and the actual frame, all layered together to form a realistic looking assembly. However, a quick build tip: be careful around Step 4 and wait to install part 65 (oil pan) until after the floor and frame are assembled. Again, this is a layered assembly and could be a bit difficult to get it looking right. Once done, however, the whole assembly looks quite good. A hit of Tamiya's Panel Liner allowed some of the engine/suspension parts to pop a bit more.

The interior was a simple build as well. While looking at some interior samples on the internet, I was drawn to a nice white/grey color combo on the seats but, after a major mishap during the paint process, got regulated back to simple flat black. In fact, everything ended up being black. A bit boring but it is what it is. I did, however, add a bit of black flocking to the floor for detail. Not really something I would have normally done but, knowing that I could take the roof panel off, thought it might make up for the lack of color.

Moving to the body - after looking at some sample Bronco's online, I saw a wide palette of Outer Banks colors to choose from - green, black, 3-shades of gray, yellow and blue. Having quite a few builds already in most of those colors, I thought I'd go with one of the shades of gray. After priming and shooting, I absolutely hated it. The color just didn't look good and it had some odd reflections in the light. Yuck.

I imported a pic of an Outer Banks Bronco into Photoshop and started playing with the color wheel. After a few minutes of hitting all the standard colors, I stopped on a light tan version and loved it (see photo at the top of the article - it was originally green). I grabbed a can of TS-46 (Light Sand) paint in my collection and gave it a go - nailed it! Yes, it's not standard Outer Banks hue but hey, it's looks great.

I complimented my stylish color was a flat black rear cap (with the lovely pre-smoked windows - thanks AMT), black bumpers, running boards, mirror holders and grille. I shot the wheels in black as well but left off the aluminum/chrome trim - there's no other chrome on the Bronco so I didn't think the wheels would should it.

Finally, mating the body to the chassis did require a bit of massaging (and unfortunately some 4-letter words), but it did finally all come together. Another build note: leave the front hood off until this assembly step. There are some pins on the body that insert into holes on the chassis that are impossible to line up (you just can't see them) - leaving the hood off allows you to insert them easily and makes this part of the build a snap. Thankfully I hadn't glued the hood on (just pressed into place) and was able to take it off for this step.

So, let's take a quick moment to chat about a couple issues I had during the build. First, the instructions could use a little more clarification on certain steps so I suggest taking a moment to review each assembly and fit things together. This is also a good time to see if any parts need additional sanding for a perfect fit.

Next - the incredibly large molding gates. A molding gate, for those that don't know, is the area of a parts tree that connects to the part - it's the 'gate' that the plastic flows through to actually create the part. Part size doesn't matter - AMT has made these gates so large that it takes quite a bit of hand fitting/snipping/sanding to remove them during parts prep. In fact, some of the gates blend right IN WITH the part, making it near impossible to know where the gate ends and the part begins! I typically cut the sprue free (around the part) for painting but found that after I had painted, there was a lot of additional work to sand and fit almost every part, then touch up the paint. Now, I know, it is a model kit and this is sometimes to be expected, but on the very small, delicate parts, this became a matter of patience and delicate handling, both of which I can sometimes be in short supply of. This process does, however, teach you restraint and makes you think outside the box when it comes to cleaning up the parts. In all reality, this can only help my building skills in the future.

Now, I don't want to beat up the Bronco - while the kit did have it's build issues, I found it to be more of a 'builder's kit' than an assembly kit and all the added work just made the completed Ford so much more rewarding. The individual parts have good detail. The removeable top, wheels and interior all look great and the 3-piece chassis is definitely unique.

All in all, it was an enjoyable kit to build and would recommend it to those looking for something a bit more challenging.

Enjoy your build!

Unboxing Video