Revell's New Midget Kits

[Gregg]

I guess the fuzz didn't pay attention to the last pic.

And I thought you loved me.......

[Danno]

I redid the rear bumper/guard.

Sprayed it Alclad

Added the photoetched hood straps.

And that's about it.

I pau for this one.

I will build a few more once they are released.

Oh, that?

Well, okay!

Technicality; Case dismissed.

After all, it IS all about you!

By the way, Keemo Sabe, ... Very nice build!!

And I, too, am looking forward to getting my paus ... er, paws ... on a couple of those little guys!

Mahalo nui loa.

[southpier]

http://www.na-motorsports.com/Racing/SprintCars.html

http://winfield.50megs.com/sullivan.htm

Edited November 12, 2010 by southpier

[jbwelda]

that looks sweet! how bout some detail pics, under the hood etc?

[southpier]

color pics here:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=530810

see post #8

[Gregg]

Wait till you see the incredible feature in the November issue of Model Cars my friends!!!!

That's one thing about the print world of today

All the Internet gossips, forums, and instant news makes the print version of this hobby sometimes seem so outdated.

It's hard to keep a lid on something, especially something as incredible as this kit!!!!

And, with the help from so many of you on this feature, it will be one of the best ones yet.

Now, if only that hairless wonder from Hawaii would get off his okole.......

[Chuck Most]

Now, if only that hairless wonder from Hawaii would get off his okole.......

What's my old pal from high school Rick have to do with any of this?

[MikeMc]

I guess the fuzz didn't pay attention to the last pic.

And I thought you loved me.......

:P B)

Great job and build!!!!!!

[MikeMc]

Just got the call, my midget is in and waiting for me to pick up tonight.

Did he wrestle at Sturgis ???

[Joe Handley]

Just picked one up tonight!

[horsepower]

After giving the kit a good grokking (several, actually), here are a few of my random thoughts ...

I know a lot has been said about this kit already, virtually all of it positive, and I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus and say that Revell has REALLY hit a home run with this one! I firmly believe that when the history of our hobby is written, this kit (and no doubt, its forthcoming Offy-powered stablemate) will be regarded as some of the finest mode car kits to have worn the Revell logo.

In fact, I think these are kits that advance the state of the 1:25 scale art significantly, much like Jo-Han's Chrysler Turbine Car, AMT's '66 Nova and Revell's '32 Fords and '59 Caddy convertible before them did.

Knowing that its core audience for these kits would be older modelers with little tolerance for inaccuracies and corner-cutting, Revell obviously went all out in terms of research and design. The tooling is 100 percent new from the ground up, and I'm hard-pressed to think of a single thing Revell could have done any better. The Revell bashers have NO leg whatsoever to stand on here!

While the subject matter may not appeal to as broad a spectrum of builders as some of Revell's other kits, I believe the midgets will be sales hits for Revell for a couple of reasons: 1. Vintage racing subjects are HOT right now; and 2. The kits practically beg the builder to purchase multiple copies to build multiple different versions of these awesome little race cars. (I've said it before and I'll say it again ... someone DESPERATELY needs to reproduce the decal sheet from the old Etzel's Speed Classics midget kit, which had markings for more than a dozen different cars ... all Offy-powered, though, it should be noted.)

Another aside: Even though it doesn't say so on the box art, the kit-supplied decals in the V8-60 enable the builder to construct an exact replica of the famous Vic Edelbrock No. 27 midget. Just leave off the "Precision Engineering" sponsor logos and you've got it! It's also pretty cool to note that because of the way the decals are designed, building the Edelbrock car requires NO masking! The builder needs only to paint the bulk of the car off-white and the nose piece a shade of red that matches the decals. Sweet!

The inclusion of the trailer was also a masterstroke on Revell's part ... certainly, one would think that would help stimulate sales of other Revell kits to be used as tow vehicles. Having said that, though, it should be noted that the midgets also work just fine as stand-alone display pieces, on or off the trailers. I can also see these kits forming the basis for some VERY cool dioramas!

Fabulous job, Revell, simply fabulous! I look forward to buying and building many more of these kits and I can't wait to see what comes down the pike next!

I believe these kits will be the replacement for the old NASCAR kits, they can be built in many variants with just a switch of sponsors & color schemes, & until those of us that love old dirt track cars get tired of building the same kit over & over again they will continue to sell well. Just a thought, but with the current costs of kits, & no relief in sight now would be a great time for Revell to look at the "Parts Packs" program again, there are many of us that just can't afford to purchase a complete kit just to get the extra goodies, or that special set of wheels & tires, or engine, just my thought, how about it guys, think it would work?

Edited November 29, 2010 by horsepower

[Danno]

Once again, Bluesman hits the target dead-on. Unfortunately, parts kits are losers (business-wise) despite their attractiveness as a concept. Unlikely to change.

The resin aftermarket will continue to be the most viable source for individual or small quantity parts sourcing. And that's probably very good.

[Art Anderson]

I believe these kits will be the replacement for the old NASCAR kits, they can be built in many variants with just a switch of sponsors & color schemes, & until those of us that love old dirt track cars get tired of building the same kit over & over again they will continue to sell well. Just a thought, but with the current costs of kits, & no relief in sight now would be a great time for Revell to look at the "Parts Packs" program again, there are many of us that just can't afford to purchase a complete kit just to get the extra goodies, or that special set of wheels & tires, or engine, just my thought, how about it guys, think it would work?

Bluesman Mark hit the nail squarely on the head here: So-called "parts packs" have never worked for the manufacturers, not even most retailers. That was just as true for the Revell, AMT, Aurora and Monogram offerings of the period 1963-65 as it was with Revell's attempts at custom pickup and van parts packs in the late 1970's. In short, nearly all those parts packs which generate so much nostalgia now became "sidewalk sale" fodder within a year or so as hobby shops unloaded dead stock. (I was there, working in a large, well run hobby shop back then, saw it happen, did the markdowns). As late as 1980's, major hobby wholesalers still had 1960's parts packs that were dusty, unsold still. Even though those got bought up by collector/secondary market dealers, nostalgia and collectibility of old stock does not necessarily a market for more of the same.

Stuff like that is pretty much best left to the modern day aftermarket to provide. In the case of the Kurtis Midget, outside of a later hood panel with the flared "scuttle" for a shorter windshield, a Bob Peck nose for it (the low, horizontal grille nose that was tooled into the old Monogram 1/24th scale slot car body midget), some pavement tires, either drum or disc brakes, there really is not a lot that even an aftermarket guy is gonna be able to market for these kits in that regard. Perhaps 3-4 engines I can think of, and certainly a ton of decal sheet possibilities, that's about the extent of it.

Still, it's a neat kit, neat subject, with enough potential paint schemes and variations to keep roundy-round builders occuppied for quite a while.

Art

[Rob Hall]

Mine came in the mail yesterday. Pretty cool, something totally outside my usual kit genre...looks like it will build up very nicely. Looking forward to the Offy version.

[Chuck Most]

I have purchased the Edelbrock V8 version, and I've sampled the Offy version, and I must say I'm impressed. And this is coming from a guy who doesn't see why the Grand Canyon is such a big tourist draw (it's just a big hole in the ground!), or who doesn't get his mind blown when told the universe is 'infinite' (it goes on forever? So what? So do most of my shifts at work.). My response to most things is 'Meh, whatev...". My response to the contents of these new Revell kits? "Wow!" Yeah, there are three or four things I don't like, but they're so inconsequential that they fall into the realm of nitpicking and I don't feel like wasting my time or yours pointing them out! My only real gripe is, because they're midgets, many of the parts would be too small to adapt to a traditional style hot rod model build. I'd love to have a set of those wheels and tires in a more appropriate (for a street driven rod) size for hot rod applications, for instance! I'll be buying quite a few more of these in the coming months. It's kind of like the old Grant King kit- quite a few variations possible out of box, and a pretty much infinite array of possibilities through kitbashing and scratchbuilding!

[58 Impala]

I've seen the kits in person and they are pretty nice. They are not exactly the subject matter I'm really interested in, but I do like the wheels,tires,engine,and photo etch steering in the kits. I'll wait for Michaels or HobbyLobby to carry the kits and run 40-50% coupons. Then they will be worth buying to kitbash for use on streetrod projects.

Edited January 30, 2011 by 58 Impala

[Terror]

I bought one so I could copy the trailer for a full size car.I do plan to build the kit tho.

[Chuck Most]

Those dinky little midget tires wouldn't look too out of place on a 1:32 rod project. I submit this Minicraft '10 Studebaker project of mine as proof=

[khier]

Actually this is the first thing that pops in my mind when I see this kit on Ebay:

I have been wondering what would be an ideal towing car or truck for this racer. The clip contains some suggestions for that.

[mrknowetall]

The Revell V8/60 midget kit is discontinued. Get them while you can find them.

[Eshaver]

Yer a bit late Don. I was told by a distributor back last fall revel was "Canning " the V8-60 midget racer . I got one then just for a V-8 block ..............

[mrknowetall]

Yer a bit late Don. I was told by a distributor back last fall revel was "Canning " the V8-60 midget racer . I got one then just for a V-8 block ..............

There are some in the distribution pipeline, but not many.

[freshawk]

Great stuff, Art! And so well written, always a delight to read.

This is something I know know a litlle about. My recollection, too, was that the record was set around 1950 but it turns out that Alfred LeTourneur, a French 6-day racing cyclist who already held the world's motor-pace speed record for a bike behind a motorcycle on an indoor track set this record on May 18th, 1941 in California, near Bakersfield. He went 108.92 mph behind a midget driven by the great Ronney Householder. I knew that midgets had been around before the war so that must have been a relatively early example of Frank Kurtis' production. IIRC he opened up shop on his own around 1938. Here are a couple of pictures of Ronney Householder and Alfred LeTourner breaking the land speed record. Those must be the steel wheels you refered to. That's some chainring on Alf's Schwinn Paramount! Musta taken him a while to get that thing turning over...

On a brakeless fixed gear to boot!