Spooky Benson Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I'm on board for a '57 Handyman wagon, too! Done as a 2-in-1 Special Edition, stock and drag versions. You betcha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Done as a 2-in-1 Special Edition, stock and drag versions. You betcha! And a 57 Ford Ranch Wagon to go with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Here's a complete list of the subjects Revell has kitted in its "new" Tri-5 Chevy line ... '55 convertible '55 hardtop '56 Nomad '56 Del Ray '57 150 '57 Bel Air sedan '57 Bel Air convertible Other than the shared tooling, what's one thing these all have in common? The fact that with the exception of the '55 hardtop, none had previously been done as 1/25 scale plastic kits. (Minor exception for the '57 Bel Air hardtop, but, you can't really count the MPC flip-nose kit since it can't be built stock.) What that tells me is that, once again with the '55 hardtop being the exception, Revell has gone out of its way to avoid duplicating the past efforts of other manufacturers, including the "old" Revell and AMT. (And Monogram, too, although their kits are 1/24.) That wouldn't seem to bode well for either a new '57 Nomad or '56 Bel Air, since the "old" Revell did both ... A 150 Handyman, though ... hmmm ... I think Revell will get to the '57 Nomad at some point. The ex-Monogram kit is a mess, and the Revell kit was never really buildable. Every one of those that I have ever had, has the cowl area on the drivers' side drooping badly. I've got a started original that I want to tackle...it will get a section spliced in from a spare hardtop body. They might get around to a '56 hardtop or even a '55 Nomad at some point; the kits they have done so far seem to have sold very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) Is the Handman version wagon the two door or four door? I've always had a soft spot for the four door wagons of this era. A similar variant of the 57 Ford would also be fantastic! Also, regarding other variants that haven't been made yet, what about a four door hardtop? Or has someone already done that as a resin conversion for the Revell kit? Regarding all the talk about a 57 Nomad, if one isn't released, how easy would it be to transplant the roof and rear panel from the 56 Nomad onto a 57 sedan kit? Wondering if anyone has tried this yet, and how well everything on the body all lined up, given the shared origins of the tooling? Edited May 31, 2014 by Paul H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Benson Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Regarding all the talk about a 57 Nomad, if one isn't released, how easy would it be to transplant the roof and rear panel from the 56 Nomad onto a 57 sedan kit? Wondering if anyone has tried this yet, and how well everything on the body all lined up, given the shared origins of the tooling? It would be a lot less work (and probably just as cost-effective in the end) to order Model Car World's new resin conversion kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Benson Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 They might get around to a '56 hardtop or even a '55 Nomad at some point; the kits they have done so far seem to have sold very well. A new '55 Nomad would be nice, but I question whether Revell would want to cross swords with the old AMT offering, which has held up extremely well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) Is the Handman version wagon the two door or four door? I've always had a soft spot for the four door wagons of this era. A similar variant of the 57 Ford would also be fantastic! Also, regarding other variants that haven't been made yet, what about a four door hardtop? Or has someone already done that as a resin conversion for the Revell kit? Regarding all the talk about a 57 Nomad, if one isn't released, how easy would it be to transplant the roof and rear panel from the 56 Nomad onto a 57 sedan kit? Wondering if anyone has tried this yet, and how well everything on the body all lined up, given the shared origins of the tooling? The Handyman's the 2-door lowest trim level wagon. It has the 55-style 150 trim. I want to see one because they were popular junior stockers, and it would be an easy conversion to a sedan delivery which dominated junior stock for a few years because they were allowed to run Hydramatic transmissions due to a rules loophole. That's a Handyman in the near lane and a sedan delivery in the far lane. A 4door 210 wagon would be cool, there's the well known "Jolly Green Giant" Junior stock. Really, I'd love to see any non-Nomad tri-five wagon, just to have the normal wagon roof and tail. Edited June 1, 2014 by Brett Barrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 conversion to a sedan delivery which dominated junior stock for a few years because they were allowed to run Hydramatic transmissions due to a rules loophole. In other words, they were cheating. They Hydramatic was never used in any Chevrolet car, they only had the SM318, SM319, Powerglide, or starting in '57, the Turboglide. With the Handyman/Sedan Delivery (same basic vehicle), they would register them as "trucks" since they were commercial vehicles. In a Chevrolet truck, you could get a Hydramatic, though only with the 235 6 cylinder ot the 265 V8 (the 283 was not available until you got into the 2 ton trucks in '57). The old tool SWC Swindler has one the nicest Hydramatics I've seen, with a correct separate linkage. There are a few other Revell kits from the era that also use that particular tooling as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 In other words, they were cheating. They Hydramatic was never used in any Chevrolet car, they only had the SM318, SM319, Powerglide, or starting in '57, the Turboglide. With the Handyman/Sedan Delivery (same basic vehicle), they would register them as "trucks" since they were commercial vehicles. In a Chevrolet truck, you could get a Hydramatic, though only with the 235 6 cylinder ot the 265 V8 (the 283 was not available until you got into the 2 ton trucks in '57). The old tool SWC Swindler has one the nicest Hydramatics I've seen, with a correct separate linkage. There are a few other Revell kits from the era that also use that particular tooling as well. Drag racers cheating? Never!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Drag racers cheating? Never!!! But that would be braking the 3 Rule Of Racin'! Rule #1; Everybody Cheats Rule #2; It isn't cheating unless you get caught Rule ##; If you're not cheating, you're not racing Oh, and back on topic, I will be getting at least one of these kits. Partly because I'm a big fan of BDR (I even got to meet him at the World Of Wheels show at the Hoosier Dome back in 2000), but also because I'm a big fan of the old Revell open everything kits. I've built the '57 coupe and Nomad, as well as the '55 and '56, plus several of the other kits. Got hooked on them back during the Hot Rod, Demons, and Saints lines Revell ran back in the '80s. I didn't think the '57 was so bad, even the Nomad was ok compared to the '56 (I have yet to see the '56 without a warped body). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luc Janssens Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Would like a '50s 4dr longroof, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 But that would be braking the 3 Rule Of Racin'! Rule #1; Everybody Cheats Rule #2; It isn't cheating unless you get caught Rule ##; If you're not cheating, you're not racing Oh, and back on topic, I will be getting at least one of these kits. Partly because I'm a big fan of BDR (I even got to meet him at the World Of Wheels show at the Hoosier Dome back in 2000), but also because I'm a big fan of the old Revell open everything kits. I've built the '57 coupe and Nomad, as well as the '55 and '56, plus several of the other kits. Got hooked on them back during the Hot Rod, Demons, and Saints lines Revell ran back in the '80s. I didn't think the '57 was so bad, even the Nomad was ok compared to the '56 (I have yet to see the '56 without a warped body). The '57 still looks buildable, at least from what I've seen so far into the project. The '55 hardtop might be the best of the bunch (in relative terms), with the '57 hardtop right behind. Far behind are the '56 sedan and '57 Nomad. I built one of the '56 kits around 1969, and got it into one piece. The HOT ROD issue '56 I had was unbuildable; windows fell through the openings, warpage, things like that. The wide tires in the Skip's Drive In issue '55 don't fit the back of the car (at least on one side; one inner fender is narrower than the other). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbox55 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 The Hot Rod version of the '56 was pretty bad. I had one of those, and have an unbuilt '56 from the '70s (it has a candy green car on the box art). Both seemed to be warped about the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemi Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I also have the hot rod series 56 ,I got lucky there is very little warping on the body,I was able to put the body on the chassis and with a bit of hot water,she's ad good as new,as far as the slop in the door hinges as soon as I get to were I can take pictures again ill try to get some posted of how I came up with a way to get the goods to open and close smooth,this works on all the tri five and any other kit from revell with the same type of hinge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Did Revell replace the translucent red lens on the tail lights? I know they are gone on my '55. To me, it's a nostalgia item. Then you don't have to look at it as a perfect reproduction and can accept the 50 year old flaws. To me, the original Revell '56 Chevy was a bear to build. I really like the '55 and the '57 was next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I get the financial reasoning behind this, open the gates, draw up new decals, and print money. However the BUT here (and it's big and I can not lie) is that this kit is going on the shelves while the new Tri-5s are active in the catalog. Glancing in the LHS this weekend showed this kit parked right in between both '55s, both '56s, and both of the glue '57s (like most places the Snap-Tites are split separately). If you've built any of those other kits, and you don't know the provenance of this Ed Roth kit and grab it cause the decals look cool....MAN is that going to be a giant sack of disappointment for the casual builder who's not into the minutiae of kit history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Nifty decals and Ed Roth marketing tie-in or not, I will avoid the old Revell kits like the plague. New Revell? Great stuff. Old, fiddly Revell? I survived it once, I don't want to risk it a second time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Kourouklis Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Jairus. J-A-I-R-U-S. eh, don't ride him too hard, Harry. Least he spells "Svendsen" right (I knew I was bobbling that one somehow). And guess what: for being one of the more unapologetic go-pound-it-if-you-don't-like-it "rivet counters" 'round, think I'ma get one of these and backtrack on the '56 pickup, too. Prob'ly nostalgia more than anything else for me. I'm happy to call some kits out for the dogs they are and take out whatever trash results from that. But for all the inane challenges some of us get for NOT liking kits, I do refuse to challenge anybody for liking one. That's entirely a matter of personal judgment, exempt from right or wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 All I know is I loved the old Revell '57 Nomad. Maybe not the kit itself. But, the subject. I would love to see a modern tooling of that kit. I know people say it's been done before, and there are other variations of tri-five Chevrolets that need to be done. But it would be sweet to have a nice looking, fairly easy to build '57 Nomad just once. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim boyd Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Not exactly germane to the topic at hand, but don't forget about the AMT 1/16th scale '57 Nomad kit introduced during the Jim Snedden years at AMT. Kit #T- or Y-483, it came on the market in 1977 and has a current value of $70 according to the Bob Shelton/Bill Coulter kit pricing guide. At the time, AMT commissioned me to build one of their 1/16th scale Nomads in box stock form, to be used at their annual national sales representative meeting and for other purposes. I painted it Testors Metallic Gold with Pactra Clear, but I just can't remember if it was the '55 Nomad or the '57 Nomad that I built for them...whichever one it was, i remember it being a pretty competent kit - not breaking any new ground (as Revell's 1/16th scale funny car kits did earlier), but generally well detailed, relatively easy to assemble, and a big - in fact, really big! - model that required a ton of Bare Metal Foil to complete! TIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Just picked up my copy earlier today. The 1998 issue kit I'm working on now was pretty decent compared to the half dozen or so issues prior to it, but this one seems a little better. The drivers' side FI script still looks a little weak like the '98 issue, but the body parts in the new issue have less flashing, and minimal sink marks. My '98 kit body had one prominent one, on the drivers' side quarter panel above the "washboard" trim. The new issue has no sink marks on the bumpers, and the wheel covers look a bit better than at any time in the last forty years or so. I haven't tried any of the separate panels for fit. My '98 kit doors seem to be pretty good except for a sink mark or two, the trunk lid needed material added along one side to tighten up the gap. Unfortunately, the plated tree in my new kit is contaminated with a lot of junk, so off goes an e-mail to customer service... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuzzed Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I think it would be cool if Revell could re-engineer this series, or produce all-new kits of the series, with all of the details and functions of the originals, and then some. Of course, that will never happen ... but it would still be cool . If there was one piece of original box art that I could choose as a poster (or even the original box) , it would be the '55 kit with the orange car on the cover. Nostalgia is a strong force as one gets older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57peppershaker Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 If anybody buys the kit & doesnt use the decals, I'll be happy to trade them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Fried Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Looks to be the same mold that's been around for a zillion years. Does anyone have one of these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt T. Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I don't, but it is. The old Revell kit with opening doors and trunk and a kool new decal sheet added in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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