Revell Germany new VW Golf (Rabbit for you guys)

[dublin boy]

The block is the same, the 1.5 is on a carb with 70 hp, the 1.6 GTi with fuel injection had 112.

So both engines are much the same except for bits on the top for carb/injection.

[PowerPlant]

What's the difference between this and the one that was out earlier? I remember the Valvoline racer and a stock version. Is this a reissue?

The earlier kits you are mentioning are the gen. 2 Golf, this one is a new tool of a gen. 1

Edited December 28, 2014 by PowerPlant

[Mr Stock]

I bought the GTi sedan kit on release, and I have the convertible on the way along with another standard GTi, they are great looking kits the decal sheet is very comprehensive all body stripes, guages and numberplates for numourous different countries, even comes with seat pattern decals

[dublin boy]

The Cabrio has a good decal sheet too.

Can you show us a pic of the GTi bodyshell Gary?

[niteowl7710]

I couldn't get a GTi, but I did get a Cabrio. Both kits are European Spec, so no Rabbit versions for you guys.

Oh a little thing like that isn't going to stop Revell U.S. from reboxing the GTi, slapping a set of Rabbit decals and U.S. plates in it, and marketing to their fawning audience that considers them the second coming of the Messiah as a VW Rabbit shamelessly. Probably in the California Wheels marketing line too to make things more obtuse.

I can promise you that no one on this side of the Atlantic has paid a whit of attention to anyone putting out these kind of warnings and are going to eagerly run right out and buy one of them and promptly the whining, wailing, backlash will start by all the people who don't seem to understand people build model kits outside of the United States, that Revell dared to sell them something that hadn't had additional parts tooled up to make an American version of the car in question. This EXACT thing happened with the '68 Beetle kit where no one here (in the States) or HERE (on this board) could (or perhaps wanted to) understand that the '68 is a German Spec'd and German Specific vehicle no matter how many U.S. license plates the folks in Illinois put on the decal sheet.

I have one each of the Golf kits in their Revell AG boxes on pre-order at Tower Hobbies, they look fantastic, and you have to appreciate the approach Revell AG took in making the kits different from one another and not just cramming a Cabrio body onto all the GTi parts and pretending like that's acceptable. For anyone who has a wide spectrum interest in automobiles (and not a laser focus on the middle two decades of American Iron of the last century), and can handle the fact they are making European cars for a European hobby consumer, Revell AG has been en fuego with their releases for about 5 years now. Just one excellent release after another starting back with the DTM Audis and new full-detail Trabant 601 right through the other DTM cars, the VW Samba & T1, both Beetle kits, the Trabbie Universal, the Mini Coopers (Street & Rally), the 2CV Charleston, along with the SLS AMG and all the Ferraris. I'm pacing a trough in my basement floor wondering what they have planned for 2015, the Nuremberg Toy Fair can't come soon enough.

[dublin boy]

Well said James!

We don't look for Euro Spec American cars, they are American. That's what they are.

As I said you guys will probably be getting them both soon in an American Revell box.

Just remember they're European Spec cars, and if I hear anyone grumbling about it, I'll come over there there and fight ya!

Edited December 29, 2014 by dublin boy

[Luc Janssens]

Well said James!

We don't look for Euro Spec American cars, they are American. That's what they are.

As I said you guys will probably be getting them both soon in an American Revell box.

Just remember they're European Spec cars, and if I hear anyone grumbling about it, I'll come over there there and fight y

So parts 206, 207, 208, 211, 212 & 215, on the clear tree for example, are not US spec side marker lights?!

Wait 'till the US box kit, is on the store shelves, then buy, lay out the parts and study the instructions, please!

[dublin boy]

Yes it has got a few extra tiny clear pieces. These alone in no way can turn it into a US spec car.

I'm getting fed up already here.

If it magically turns into a Rabbit on the trip across the Atlantic, so be it.

[Luc Janssens]

I'm pacing a trough in my basement floor wondering what they have planned for 2015, the Nuremberg Toy Fair can't come soon enough.

In the past Revell Germany always announced the new lineup, a minute or so, into the new year..

a few sites to watch

http://www.plastik-modellbau.org/

http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/

http://www.modellversium.de/

[niteowl7710]

Well said James!

We don't look for Euro Spec American cars, they are American. That's what they are.

As I said you guys will probably be getting them both soon in an American Revell box.

Just remember they're European Spec cars, and if I hear anyone grumbling about it, I'll come over there there and fight ya!

We're getting the GTi reboxed here as a Rabbit in the next month or so. There's been no announcement of the Cabriolet, and if it follows the Beetles there will not be one. They didn't rebox the Beetle Cabriolet for us, if you wanted one you had to seek out an AG box - the same for the Trabbies, and the Rally version of the Mini Cooper. Edited December 29, 2014 by niteowl7710

[dublin boy]

Any test pics of the US GTI anywhere?

The front grille and lights and the big bumpers could be done I guess.

[niteowl7710]

Any test pics of the US GTI anywhere?

The front grille and lights and the big bumpers could be done I guess.

I can't find the one I've seen floating around, but it's quite clearly a narrow bumper Euro Spec car with a big RABBIT wording on the box. The other thing at hand is the AG kit is a '77/78 Golf GTi, we didn't get GTi Rabbits in the States until 1983...they didn't even take the front Euro plate holder off the '68 Beetle reboxing, just instructions to cut it off - ya know the CHROME front bumper - so why anyone thinks Revell of GERMANY is going to provide U.S. Spec parts is beyond me.

[dublin boy]

Why should they?

If you guys don't like it, I'm sure you won't buy it.

They're already getting difficult to get over here now which is good news for Revell AG.

[Junkman]

We don't look for Euro Spec American cars, they are American. That's what they are.

My '59 Electra 225 'vert does look mighty fine with its Liechtenstein plates and orange indicators, though.

Yes, it's a gimmmick, but I've seen one in Vaduz.

Heck, I might put Iran plates on a Challenger, because I've seen oodles of superb Mopar Muscle in Tehran.

However, I must agree with you and James on a general principle.

I would build these Golfs German spec, no matter where I am on this planet, complete with - yikes! - OMGLHD.

And how about finishing it off with a Salzburg, or Vienna plate, just to be different?

Even in the deepest of the deep of the USA, I couldn't bring myself toward building a Euro car model with ghastly 5mph bumpers

and sealed beams and side markers and what have you.

I like exotic plates and now have a few Guam ones printed for upcoming Detroit tin models.

This is car MODELLING. A bit of internationality on the shelf is the salt in the soup, isn't it? Like in real life.

I love meeting foreigners and have been one myself most of my life.

We can always dream of faraway places. I find this romantic. I'll put Venezia plates on my next Mercedes model...

Edited December 30, 2014 by Junkman

[jbwelda]

I always much preferred car versions that reflected their home market, not as imported into the USA. Most were either watered down or geegawed up for the American market and I have always appreciated more what was available in whatever country of origin the car was.

jb

[martinfan5]

I always much preferred car versions that reflected their home market, not as imported into the USA. Most were either watered down or geegawed up for the American market and I have always appreciated more what was available in whatever country of origin the car was.

jb

Agreed

[Junkman]

Gosh, when you imported US cars into Europe, you always had to remove some lights here, and add some there.
I hated it.
You know the wonderful combined brake lights/indicators of the older cars? You had to separate them in Europe, which was naff.
In some European countries, you even had to add orange indicators in the back. How gopping is that?



Red side markers are still forbidden, despite they look so good on - say - a '70 Eldorado.
I usually reversed all that rubbish once the car was registered and re-instated the changes for the next MoT - just to reverse them again ten minutes afterwards.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Junkman

[Can-Con]

Just for the record. We had GTi Rabbits here in Canada in '79.

Looked pretty well like the box illustration except for the larger North American bumpers.

It had the standard 1.6 engine though.

[Erik Smith]

I always much preferred car versions that reflected their home market, not as imported into the USA. Most were either watered down or geegawed up for the American market and I have always appreciated more what was available in whatever country of origin the car was.

jb

Ditto. Most are totally gewgawed up for American markets. I have been fortunate to drive cars in a few different countries and always liked things like base model manual transmission cars - RAV4s and Landcruisers...that for some reason are completely full of doodads here in the USA...

[niteowl7710]

For the record I'm not complaining, My '68 Beetle in USA rebox glory will wear some spiffy Euro plates from the Cabrio kit i also bought. Just warning of the pending avalanche o diisappointment I saw well up after the '68 Beetle debacle where literally tens of European modelers across FB, and modeling forums attempted to explain to no avail that the kit is in fact correct for what it represents instead of what people here WANTED it to represent. Before fleeing the unflappable cries of "MURICA!"

Frankly there's probably an entire subset of casual modeler who has no idea about the entire Revell USA rebox scheme and presumes Revell USA is the one tooling the kit.

[martinfan5]

For the record I'm not complaining, My '68 Beetle in USA rebox glory will wear some spiffy Euro plates from the Cabrio kit i also bought. Just warning of the pending avalanche o diisappointment I saw well up after the '68 Beetle debacle where literally tens of European modelers across FB, and modeling forums attempted to explain to no avail that the kit is in fact correct for what it represents instead of what people here WANTED it to represent. Before fleeing the unflappable cries of "MURICA!"

Frankly there's probably an entire subset of casual modeler who has no idea about the entire Revell USA rebox scheme and presumes Revell USA is the one tooling the kit.

Same can be applied to the Asian kits, (murican) builders get upset when they do not do a US Spec version of whatever kit , well , of course not, and why would they ?, they are doing kits for their home market, just like RAG (lol) is doing.

[Atmobil]

Same can be applied to the Asian kits, (murican) builders get upset when they do not do a US Spec version of whatever kit , well , of course not, and why would they ?, they are doing kits for their home market, just like RAG (lol) is doing.

The Japanese market is apperently very big, the European market is not so big but that is just more cudos to Revell AG to give us europeans kits of the cars we have been seeing on our roads.

My only grumble about the Revell AG 68 beetle is that they claimed it to be a 1500 when it is acctaully the bottom of the line 1200 but a 1200 is almost a littlebit cooler in my eyes as it is very much back to basics.

I don't have the Golf GTi yet but will have to get my hands on both it and the Cabriolet.

I think it would actually be quite cool to see a kit with both Eurospec and US spec parts in the kit. Back in the day, a lot of cars sold here in Eurospec was retrofitted with "US spec" look headlights such as on Mercedes W108 and W111 and there was many Volvo 240s and 740s with US-look quad headlights.

But in the past, also american kit manifacturers have made kits of cars in eurospec. The Monogram Mercedes 450SL (W107) dates from 1978 I think (?) and that has Eurospec bumpers and headlights and no side markerlights.

I'm guessing this is what it shloud have looked like:

And this is what the kitbox looks like

[unclescott58]

The Japanese market is apperently very big, the European market is not so big but that is just more cudos to Revell AG to give us europeans kits of the cars we have been seeing on our roads.

My only grumble about the Revell AG 68 beetle is that they claimed it to be a 1500 when it is acctaully the bottom of the line 1200 but a 1200 is almost a littlebit cooler in my eyes as it is very much back to basics.

I don't have the Golf GTi yet but will have to get my hands on both it and the Cabriolet.

I think it would actually be quite cool to see a kit with both Eurospec and US spec parts in the kit. Back in the day, a lot of cars sold here in Eurospec was retrofitted with "US spec" look headlights such as on Mercedes W108 and W111 and there was many Volvo 240s and 740s with US-look quad headlights.

But in the past, also american kit manifacturers have made kits of cars in eurospec. The Monogram Mercedes 450SL (W107) dates from 1978 I think (?) and that has Eurospec bumpers and headlights and no side markerlights.

I'm guessing this is what it shloud have looked like:

And this is what the kitbox looks like

Back in the late 70's serveral people in this country (the USA) use to get European style headlamps, mainly for Mercedes. At the time I though they looked cool compared to the seal beam lamps we were forced to have on our cars. Now that most cars here have composite headlamps like the older European cars, I kind of miss the look of the old round seal beams. It's interesting to look back and see how stylists use to design front ends to acomadate the old US spec headlamps.

Scott

Edited December 30, 2014 by unclescott58

[jbwelda]

>Back in the day, a lot of cars sold here in Eurospec was retrofitted with "US spec" look headlights such as on

>Mercedes W108 and W111 and there was many Volvo 240s and 740s with US-look quad headlights.

and everyone in California was doing exactly the opposite, "Euro"-ing up their BMWs, Porsches and Benzes. lights, number plates and any number of other things.

first thing I used to do when I got a new (or new to me) car was swap out the lights for some 110W high beams, usually Hella H4s.

jb

[sbvwfanatic]

Iceracer1 is building up both the GTI and Cabro on automotiveforums.com both kits look great. If there is one reason alone to be excited by the North American Revell version, it's the $15-$19 price over the Revell Germany's $35-40. Some one on here did post pre-production photos of the NA version and it looks pretty good.