6 replies to this topic

[Casey]

Monogram's 1/24 scale “Chevy Street Van” kit, number 2216, was first released in 1977 and replicates a one-ton, G30 short wheelbase (110”) cargo van with a sliding side door and dual rear cargo doors. Molded in black, the body shell was mostly stock except for the molded in fender flares over each wheel opening. Considering 1977 was the pinnacle of the custom van craze, Monogram made sure to include plenty of custom parts for use when customize your 1/24 scale van: turbine style “mag” wheels, Goodyear Rally GT big 'n' little 60-series tires, an independent front spoiler, clear porthole windows in three different shapes (triangle, trapezoid, and Chevy “bowtie”), clear rear roof vent and cab area sunroof pieces, front fog/driving lamps (molded to the bottom of the front bumper), a CB antenna, hood scoop, and chrome side pipes, just to name a few. The most glaring error with the body shell lies with the roof area which should overhang the windshield ever so slightly, but doesn't. As Dave Van suggested, this may have been a compromise regarding how the molds were designed, but it's an area which is not easily corrected. The chrome plated grille/filler panel/bumper is very well done, with separate turn signal/parking lamps and headlight lenses, as well as nicely molded grille slots, and good scale depth.




The kit's interior was a bit on the sparse side, and featured only eight pieces-- the “tub”, which covers only the cab area and has the floor, firewall, door panels, engine cover, and pedestal style seat bases molded as one single part, dashboard, steering column, steering wheel, drink tray, CB radio, and bucket seats with folded down armrests. Given how difficult is was to see the rear cargo area, it's not surprising the designers at Monogram decided not to provide any extra parts, even though MPC van kits of the same era included full interiors.

The one-piece chassis is very basic but still nicely detailed, and features separate independent front suspension parts, with the lower control arms/spindles and crossmember molded as one part, and each upper control arm a separate piece. At the rear of the van, there are three suspension parts- two parallel multi-leaf springs and the rearend assembly. Shocks? Don't bother looking for them, because there are none.

The small block V8 engine consists of thirteen parts- two engine block/transmission halves, two cylinder heads, two valve covers, a set of aftermarket tubular headers, the fan, belts and pulleys, an alternator, the intake manifold, and a single snorkel air cleaner assembly. Typical of Monogram kits, it has the basic look and the parts fit well together, but there isn't a ton of detail and some parts which could've been made as individual, separate pieces are combined into one part, such as the intake manifold/carburetor/distributor.

Clear parts include the windshield and front door vents windows molded as one piece, fog/driving light lenses, under-grille turn signal/parking lamp lenses, tail light lenses, and the previously mentioned sunroof, rear roof vent, and porthole windows.



Some porthole window variations/options shown on the instruction sheet:




The decal sheet features “Black Gold” lettering (in gold), multi-color orange/red/yellow striped panels for the upper quarter panels, and two California license plates.




Here's an image showing everything included with the kit:

Edited by Casey, 24 May 2012 - 08:38 AM.

[Casey]

The second variation on this tooling also was released in 1977 as the “Off Road Van”, kit number 2224. The most notable change was the addition of the four-wheel-drive drivetrain, including a new solid axle with parallel leaf springs (all molded as one piece), two shocks, and a driveshaft up front, as well as a transfer case and a modified rear suspension with a shorter rear driveshaft, more arched leaf springs, and two shocks. New parts include two round roof-mounted auxiliary lights, a very nice set of eight-lug, eight-spoke chrome “wagon” type wheels and matching Goodyear Tracker AT tires, a transfer case lever which mounts to the interior floor, as well as the “Desert Rat” decals.











Most of the "new" parts added:







Front suspension resting in place on the chassis:



Close up image of the eight-spoke, eight-lug wheels:



The decal sheet:

Edited by Casey, 24 May 2012 - 08:38 AM.

[Casey]

The two-wheel drive version was reissued in 1978 as the “Vanpire Chevy Van” (very punny, those folks at Monogram!), kit number 2232, and was the same as the Chevy Street Van, only this time with new decals:




In 1983, Monogram teamed up with the National Football League (NFL) and reissued the two-wheel drive kit in two new versions- the “American Football Conference Van”, kit number 2233, and the “National Football Conference Van”, kit number 2234. Each version included team helmet, name logos, and matching stripe decals for the then-14 teams in each conference, to be applied to the upper rear quarter panel areas. Both kit's contents are the same as the previous two 2WD issues, except for the new decals, molded-in-white plastic color, and the new “smoke” tinted clear parts.

American Football Conference Van:








National Football Conference Van:




The new “smoked” clear parts:





The NFC decal sheet:

[Casey]

Thirteen years later, in 1996, the Chevy van was reissued again under the Revell brand as kit number 7250, and combined with a four-wheeled trailer and labeled as the “Chevy Van with Race Car Trailer”:




The basic 2WD kit was still present, but there were some significant changes: “clear” glass returned, but the the custom porthole windows and sunroof were deleted; new Chevy Rally wheels and Goodyear Radial GT tires were added in place of the eight-lug turbine wheel and Goodyear Rally GT big 'n' little tires; a new single exhaust system with dual tailpipes and stock type exhaust manifolds (which replaced the headers) were added, making the chrome sidepipes for show only since they could no longer be connected to the stock type exhaust manifolds; new tripod style side view mirrors replaced the pedestal mount 4”x6” mirrors; a very basic trailer hitch was added; and the under-bumper mounted driving lights were deleted.

The van related parts:





Fast forward to 2012, when Revell reissued the “'77 Chevy Van” as kit number 85-7221, only this time without the race car trailer. The kit's contents remained the same as the previous release, save for new decals:



More info on this most recent reissue can be found in these two topics:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53928&st=120

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=55152

Edited by Casey, 28 May 2012 - 07:23 AM.

[socal76]

Casy, one thing to add to your review, the chassis was updated to be more prototypically correct when the race team was released. Pics sent to Monogram for that were actually from an '82 GMC but they were virtually identical. Main reason I know this is I sent the rolls of film, yes film pics and negatives, to Revell-Monogram prior to the kit being released.

[Danno]

Interesting stuff. Nice to see it laid out like this. Thanks.

Would you happen to have a similar chronology/review for the AMT Chevy van series? I'd be interested in seeing that.

[Austin T]

These are pretty cool kit histories,You need to make a model textbook.Lol.